"Australia ... warns against any 'phobic' association of Islam with extremism. Indeed, in recent months, as the killers of Bondi were reportedly in the Philippines learning how to murder Jews, Aussie officials were poring over a new report titled 'A National Response to Islamophobia'."

"It proposes, among other things, challenging 'narratives that depict Islam as being 'intrinsically associated with ... extremism'."

"You couldn't ask for better proof of the moral corrosion and wilful blindness of the West than this vision of Australia's ruling class fretting over Islamophobia, as two men were plotting an apocalyptic act of Islamist violence."

"The fear of offending Muslims has had deadly consequences."

"Radical Islam directly benefits from this snivelling culture of cowardice. As we gag ourselves, it takes root and spreads. Our self-censorship creates the dark corners in which it can fester -- uncommented on,  uncriticized, even unnamed."

Brendan O'Neill, chief political writer, Spiked 

Candlelight vigil at Bondi Pavilion, December 16, Sydney, Australia,. Audrey Richardson, Getty Images

 

Naveed Akram made a brief video court appearance from the Sydney hospital while being treated for an abdominal injury. He has since been transferred to an unnamed prison. Australian police on Monday released documents outlining the two men, father and son, had recorded footage justifying the planned Bondi Beach attack that killed 15 people and wounded 40 others. Akram himself had been wounded on December 14 when the duo committed their mass atrocity while Australian Jews were celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, at the popular beach.

 

The attack by the 24-year-old and his father began when they threw four improvised explosive devices at the crowd of families, children and friends bathed in a communal euphoria of remembrance that light dispels the darkness surrounding us. For the children it was the epitome of a joyous holiday, where sweets were in abundance, playgrounds beckoned, face-painting and animalia balloons were available and a general aura of peace and tranquility prevailed. The IED devices failed to explode. But the staccato of gunfire took their place, shocking the celebrants and killing some immediately.

 

The Bondi Beach shooting suspects seen leaving a rental in Campsie

New South Wales Police

 

The Islamist jihdists had rented a room in Campsie, a suburb of Sydney, for three weeks, refining their plans of attack. On the day of the attack they left for the short journey that would take them to the destination they had carefully chosen as their attack venue. CCTV revealed their arrival, bearing two shotguns, a rifle, five IEDs and two Islamic State flags wrapped in blankets. The IEDs were comprised of three aluminum pipe bobs and a tennis ball bomb filled with an explosive, gunpowder and steel ball bearings, described as 'viable' by police.

 

Images of the two killers shooting from a footbridge -- overlooking the beach below, which also provided them a raised vantage point, along with the protection of waist-high concrete walls -- were released by police. Akram was charged with 59 offences ranging from 15 counts of murder to 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.

 

Still from video

 

Draft laws were introduced by the New South Wales government to Parliament, promising to be the toughest in Australia, according to Premier Chris Minns. Among them new restrictions included a condition of qualifying for a firearms licence requiring Australian citizenship beforehand. Sajid Akram was an Indian citizen living in Australia on a permanent resident visa. He had purchased the six long guns in his possession legally. No word, however, of the Australian government's permissiveness of the years-long 'pro-Palestinian' marches to 'globalize the intifada'. 

 

The memorial that had quickly been mounted near the Bondi Pavilion as an expression of grief and mourning following the massacre, with thousands of mourners bringing flowers and cards as an expression of sorrow and solidarity, was no longer to be seen on Monday, removed as the beachfront returned to normal activities. The jarring vision of a memorial to murdered Jews no longer visible to shock the gaze of beachgoers. Part of the memorial is set to be installed at the Sydney Jewish Museum as a permanent exhibit. 

 

Birds fly over police cordons at the scene of the mass shooting at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025 in Sydney, Australia.   George Chan/Getty Images

 

"[A video on Naveed Akram's phone shows him and his father expressing] their political and religious views and appears to summarize their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack."

"[The men are seen in the video] condemning the acts of Zionists [while they also] adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to Islamic State."

"[October video shows them] firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner [on grassland surrounded by trees]."

"There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months."

New South Wales Police