Bondi Beach shooting: 16 confirmed dead, including child, after gunmen target Jewish festival

At least 16 people are dead, including a child, and 40 others are injured after two gunmen opened fire on a packed crowd at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.

Hundreds of people had gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney for an event to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, when gunmen opened fire.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed the rising death toll on Monday morning.

Police are in the process of informing the families of the victims as federal and state law enforcement launch an investigation into the incident.

“The evil that was unleashed at Bondi Beach today is beyond comprehension, and the trauma and loss that families are dealing with tonight is beyond anyone’s worst nightmare,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Sunday night.

“Our first thoughts are with those in the terrible early hours of their grief.”

Families sat in the halls of St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney’s east on Sunday as they waited for updates.

One of the gunmen is in a serious condition in custody and is expected to face court after police raided a house at Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s southwest.

A bomb disposal unit was deployed when a number of improvised explosive devices were found in a vehicle linked to the dead shooter, and police are investigating the possibility of a third gunman.

But Australia’s policing and intelligence agencies have faced some criticism over their response to the shooting.

Witnesses recalled the shooting lasting for five minutes before police intervened, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation acknowledged one of the alleged gunmen was known to them, though he was not seen as an immediate threat.

ASIO has since committed to reviewing the issue and searching for others who might be plotting similar attacks, though its director general stressed there was no indication anyone else in the community had a similar intent.

The shooting has officially been declared a terrorist incident, which will allow ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and its state counterpart to deploy special powers as it investigates the shooting.

Mr Albanese also hinted additional funding for security for the Jewish community - a recommendation of the Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism Jillian Segal - would be considered.

World leaders reacted to the shooting, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog saying the “heart of the entire nation ... misses a beat at this very moment, as we pray for the recovery of the wounded, we pray for them and we pray for those who lost their lives”.

King Charles III said he was “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful anti-Semitic terrorist attack” and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “Our prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack, the Jewish community, and the people of Australia”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he had spoken with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in a call overnight.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his past criticism of Mr Albanese, saying he had warned the Australian government in August that its “policy was promoting and encouraging anti-Semitism in Australia”.

“Anti-Semitism is a cancer. It spreads when leaders stay silent; it retreats when leaders act. I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve,” Mr Netanyahu said.

A security guard at the scene of the mass shooting on Sunday, named only as Vlaj, recalled the chaotic aftermath.

“The shooting was going on four, five minutes non-stop, probably 50, 60 gunshots,” he told Sky News.

“I was just covering bodies because there were people dead everywhere.

“It was not just (any) people, it was people that I know.”

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- With AAP