At least 16 people were killed and more than 40 wounded after gunmen fired on a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi beach. Australian police and officials are describing it as a terrorist attack.
Among the dead is one of the alleged gunmen, and one of the injured is a man who has been hailed a hero after he tackled the other of two suspected gunmen.
Those who died are yet to be formally identified but police believe their ages range between 10 and 87 years old, he said.
Here are the victims who have been named so far.
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Matilda
The 10-year-old girl killed in the attack has been identified as Matilda. Her aunt, Lina, gave permission for Guardian Australia to publish her first name and photos approved by her mother.
“A great tragedy has happened to my family,” she wrote on social media. “My beloved niece Matilda was killed during a terrorist attack in Bondi beach. I don’t know how we survive such grief.”
Matilda was taken to Sydney children’s hospital on Sunday night, where she later died.
She was a former student of the Harmony Russian school of Sydney, which said it was “deeply saddened to learn of her passing”.
[ ‘Everyone was screaming’: Irish eyewitness describes Bondi Beach killingsOpens in new window ]
“Her memory will remain in our hearts, and we honor her life and the time she spent as part of our school family,” the school said in a statement posted to social media.
Her language teacher, Irina Goodhew, described her as a “bright, joyful and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her”.
[ Gardaí to increase presence at Jewish events following Bondi Beach shootingOpens in new window ]
Peter Meagher
Peter Meagher, also known as Marzo, died at Bondi on Sunday. He was a long-time volunteer at Randwick rugby club and they confirmed his death in a statement on Monday.
The statement said Meagher was working as freelance photographer at the Chanukah By the Sea event, and described his death as “simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time”.
It said Meagher was “much loved figure and absolute legend in our club” and “one of the heart and soul figures of Randwick Rugby”. He had served as first grade manager of the club for most of the last decade and was previously a highly respected referee.
“In his professional life, Peter served for almost four decades in the NSW Police Force and retired as a Detective Sergeant, where he was hugely respected by his Police colleagues,” the statement read.
Eli Schlanger
London-born rabbi Eli Schlanger (41) was the first victim to be named.
Jewish News reported that the father of five, who was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, a Jewish cultural centre, grew up in Temple Fortune, north London, and his family members attend Kinloss synagogue in Finchley. His first cousin, Brighton-based Rabbi Zalman Lewis, described Schlanger as “vivacious, energetic, full of life and a very warm outgoing person who loved to help people”.
He told Jewish News: “How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?
“We can only respond by doing what Eli would have wanted, what he dedicated his life to – doing more mitzvot [good deeds] and to keep spreading positive energy.”
Schlanger and his wife, Chayala, celebrated the birth of their youngest child, a boy, in October.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which represents the Australian Jewish community, told the ABC Schlanger was “a person who personified goodness and godliness and holiness, a person who lived literally for no reason other than to do good deeds”.
“I was praying, please don’t let it be him. I don’t know what we’ll do as a community without him,” Ryvchin said.
Rabbi Yossi Friedman said Schlanger was a “wonderful community man”, who was “just full of light”.
“He was just so positive and so obsessed with life and just bringing joy to everyone,” Friedman said.
Alexander Kleytman
Alexander Kleytman was also among those killed, his wife, Larisa Kleytman, told reporters outside St Vincent’s hospital.
“We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom’, and everybody fell down. At this moment he was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me,” she told the Australian.
The couple were both Holocaust survivors, and had recounted their experiences to JewishCare in 2023.
“As children, both Larisa and Alexander faced the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust. Alex’s memories are particularly harrowing; the dreadful conditions in Siberia where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival,” the Australian Jewish health provider’s 2022-23 annual report reads.
“The scars of the past, however, did not deter them from seeking a brighter future. They later made the move to Australia, immigrating from Ukraine.”
Dan Elkayam
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has confirmed French man Dan Elkayam is among the dead. In a translated post from X, Barrot said France mourned with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the Australian people.
“This low act is a new, tragic manifestation of a revolting outpouring of antisemitic hatred that we must put a stop to,” he wrote.
“France will spare no effort to eradicate antisemitism wherever it is emerges, and to combat antisemitism in all its forms. The lights of Hanukah must not be extinguished and they will not be.”
The president, Emmanuel Macron, said his thoughts were with Elkayam’s family and their loved ones and expressed to them “the fullest solidarity of the nation”.
Elkayam was a soccer fan and played the 2025 season with the Rockdale Ilinden football club premier league squad, who described him as an “an extremely talented and popular figure amongst team-mates”. He was due to join Arncliffe Aurora football club, in southern Sydney, for their premier league squad for the 2026 season.
“Dan was a valued and deeply respected member of our football community. Our hearts are with his family, friends, team-mates, and all those who loved him during this unimaginably difficult time,” the club wrote on Instagram. “Dan will always remain part of our club.”
Reuven Morrison
Also known as Rueben, Morrison emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Australia in the 1970s. Chabad.org reported he divided his time between Sydney and Melbourne, and was a “successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart”.
In a 2024 interview with the ABC, Morrison said he had experienced persecution as a Jewish person in the Soviet Union but didn’t expect it to be happening in Australia.
“We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such anti-Semitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment,” he said.
One Israeli citizen
An Israeli citizen was among those killed during the attack, according to multiple reports citing the Israeli foreign ministry.
Arsen Ostrovsky
One of the injured to be identified is the head of the Sydney office of a public affairs organisation for the Australian Jewish community. Arsen Ostrovsky, head of the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Sydney office and an international human rights lawyer, was named by the Jerusalem Post, where he is a long-time contributor, as among those wounded. The Jerusalem Post reported Ostrovsky was receiving treatment and has been in contact with people via WhatsApp.
An image has been released of Ostrovsky lying on the floor with blood dripping down his face.
“[I’m] in [the] hospital recovering now,” Ostrovsky wrote to the Jerusalem Post. “Bullet grazed head. Lot of bleeding. Doctors said miracle survived, was that close. Have been stitched up now. Worst thing was being apart from my wife + kids at that instance. I got hit when I went towards them. Thankfully they got out OK. It was absolute bloodbath, children and elderly everywhere. Felt like scene from Nova. But also incredible seeing how everyone rushed to help. Surreal.”
Evan Zlatkis
Evan Zlatkis, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry director of media, was also injured in the attack, telling the Daily Telegraph he heard “dozens and dozens” of gunshots. As he fled, he said he felt he was bleeding.
“I thought it was rubber bullets, but it’s gone into my own skin and into my leg,” he said. “I’ve been shot myself. They bandaged me up. I’m okay.” – Guardian
- In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and Griefline on 1300 845 745. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
