Australian leaders vowed Monday to strengthen the country’s already restrictive gun laws in the wake of the mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 victims.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced several proposed actions, including one to limit the number of guns a person can own and a review of permits held over time.
“The government is ready to take all necessary measures. This includes the need for stricter gun laws,” he said after a meeting with his National Cabinet.
“If we need to strengthen this, if we can do something, I’m certainly willing to do it,” he added.
ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKERS DESTROY SYNAGOGUE, ISRAELI RESTAURANT IN AUSTRALIA
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces at a press conference in Canberra on August 11, 2025 that Australia would recognize a Palestinian state. (Mick Tsikas/AAP image via AP)
Australia already has strict gun control laws, which severely restricted the ownership of civilian firearms after a gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania in 1996.
Other proposed actions include limiting the number of firearms a person can have, requiring Australian citizenship as a condition of obtaining a firearms permit, and limiting open-ended firearms permits and the types of weapons that are legal.
Sunday’s shooting took place during a Hanukkah celebration when thousands of people gathered at Bondi Beach, a popular local and tourist destination. The event – Chanukah by the Sea – celebrated the beginning of the Jewish holiday.
Albanians called the shooting “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah.”
Two gunmen, a 50-year-old father who died on the spot, and his 24-year-old son, opened fire, killing 15 people. The dead ranged in age from 10 to 87, authorities said. Both shooters were shot by police. The son is recovering in a hospital.
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People gather around a tribute to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Monday, a day after the massacre. (Mark Baker/The Associated Press)
At least 38 other people are being treated in hospitals. Among them is a man captured on video he appears to want to tackle and disarm an apparent attacker before pointing the man’s gun at him and then placing the gun on the ground.
The man was identified by Home Secretary Tony Burke as Ahmed al Ahmed. The 42-year-old fruit shop owner and father of two children was shot in the shoulder.
Al Ahmed’s family says he emigrated from Syria in 2006 and underwent surgery on Monday. His parents recently moved to Australia. They said he had a background in the Syrian security forces.
People pay their respects to the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting, in Sydney, December 15, 2025. (Reuters/Hollie Adams)
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“My son has always been brave. He helps people. That’s how he is,” his mother, Malakeh Hasan al Ahmed, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. through an interpreter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
