Gunmen kill 11 at Jewish festival on Australia beach

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Two gunmen shot and killed 11 people and wounded many others at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday in a “terrorist” attack on a gathering for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Emergency responders rushed at least 29 people to local hospitals from the beach, one of the biggest tourist draws in Australia’s largest city, said New South Wales police.

One of the alleged shooters was killed, and the second was in a critical condition, they added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed ordinary citizens who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen as “heroes”.

Police declared the shooting a “terrorist incident” and said they had found suspected “improvised explosive devices” in a vehicle near the beach that was linked to the deceased suspect.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith — an act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said.

“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian,” Albanese said.

The shooting took place during an annual “Hanukkah by the Sea” event at Bondi Beach which police said was attended by over a thousand people.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the shooting as a “cruel attack on Jews” and urged the Australian authorities to step up the fight against antisemitism.

And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia’s government of having fuelled anti-Jewish sentiment in the period leading up to the shooting. Vanguard