Anger in Israel and condemnation from Middle East after Sydney shooting

Israeli politicians renew feud with Australian leadership, while Middle East countries offer condolences

Police officers stand guard at Bondi Beach a day after Australia's worst mass shooting in decades. Reuters

The deadly gun attack on Hanukkah celebrations in Sydney has been widely condemned in the Middle East, with Israel laying blame at Australia's stance on the Palestine conflict.

The shooting, carried out by a father and son, shocked Australia and Jewish communities worldwide, with many quick to criticise the country’s leadership for ignoring warnings about rising anti-Semitism.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed tightening gun laws following the mass shooting, after authorities revealed one of the suspects had held a gun licence for a decade and amassed six guns legally. Officials believe those weapons were used in the attack.

The shooting at Bondi Beach killed at least 15 people. Another 27 remain in hospital, some in critical condition.

Mourners lay flowers at Bondi Pavilion a day after the shooting in Sydney. Getty Images

Mr Albanese nonetheless faced strong criticism, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the Australian government’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state had fuelled an “anti-Semitic fire” in the country.

Mr Netanyahu said he had urged Mr Albanese in August to “replace weakness with action” in a letter warning about rising anti-Jewish hatred, but the Australian leader instead “replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement”.

Mr Albanese rejected the Israeli Prime Minister’s attempt to link recognition of Palestine to the attack. “Most of the world recognises a two-state solution as being the way forward in the Middle East,” he said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Israeli officials have increasingly criticised Australia’s government amid widespread protests against the Gaza war. There has also been a rise in anti-Semitic incidents since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, including attacks, vandalism and harassment.

But the incident at Australia’s most popular beach was the country's deadliest shooting for almost three decades.

Countries across the Middle East condemned the attack. The UAE said it “condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that occurred at a Jewish gathering" in Sydney. It stated its "permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability".

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry similarly expressed its "stance against all forms of violence, terrorism and extremism". It offered condolences to bereaved families and a speedy recovery to the injured.

Qatar expressed its “condemnation and denunciation,” with Jordan and Oman issuing similar statements.

A Hanukkah menorah is projected on to the sails of Sydney Opera House. AFP

Iran also condemned the attack. “Terror and killing of human beings, wherever committed, is rejected and condemned,” Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for the country’s Foreign Minister, wrote on X.

Israel was unwilling to accept Iran's condolences though, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein calling them deceptive. "Iran perpetrated murderous terror attacks against Israelis and Jews in the past, and it is constantly attempting to murder Israelis and Jews all over the world," he said.

Australia designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state sponsor of terrorism last month. Intelligence agencies earlier assessed that the organisation was overseeing arson incidents at Jewish sites in the country.

Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the tourist town of Port Arthur, Tasmania in 1996. It led to sweeping reforms that were long seen as a gold standard worldwide. These included a gun buyback scheme, a national firearms register and a crackdown on the ownership of semi-automatic weapons.

Pope Leo XIV joined those from beyond the Middle East offering condolences on Monday.

"Today I wish to entrust to the Lord the victims of yesterday's terrorist massacre in Sydney against the Jewish community. Enough of these forms of anti-Semitic violence - we must eliminate the hatred in our hearts," he said during a audience at the Vatican.