On December 14, 2025, a terrorist mass shooting occurred at Archer Park beside Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a Hanukkah celebration attended by around 1,000 people. The attack, which began around 6:47 PM local time, involved two gunmen who opened fire on the crowd, resulting in 16 deaths (including one of the perpetrators) and 40 injuries. The victims included rabbis, a Holocaust survivor, and a 10-year-old girl. Authorities found homemade ISIS flags in the attackers’ vehicle, along with undetonated improvised explosive devices. The incident was declared a terrorist act motivated by antisemitism and Islamic State (IS) ideology.
The perpetrators were identified as Sajid Akram, a 50-year-old Indian national from Hyderabad, India, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, who was born in Australia. Sajid emigrated to Australia legally in 1998 on a student visa after completing a business degree in India, later transitioning to a partner visa in 2001 following his marriage to an Australian woman, and eventually obtaining a resident return visa. Naveed, as an Australian citizen by birth, had no migration history. Both had pledged allegiance to IS, with Naveed known to intelligence agencies since 2019 for associations with radical preachers and IS-linked individuals, though he was not deemed an immediate threat at the time. Sajid’s family in India was reportedly unaware of his radicalization, and the radicalization seems tied to local networks in Australia rather than their origin country.
In response to the attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on December 19, 2025, the establishment of a national gun buyback scheme—the largest since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre reforms—to purchase and destroy surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms. This initiative aims to reduce the number of guns in circulation, with Albanese stating it would “get more guns off our streets.” The National Cabinet also agreed to broader gun law reforms, including restricting firearm ownership to citizens, accelerating a national firearms register, limiting the number of guns per person, and further restricting certain weapon types. New South Wales recalled its parliament to debate state-level changes. These measures directly address the fact that the attackers used legally obtained firearms (a Beretta rifle and two Stoeger shotguns) in the shooting.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been criticized for prioritizing a national gun buyback scheme in response to the recent terrorist attack, effectively diverting attention from addressing migration policies linked to individuals with terrorist affiliations or certain religious backgrounds. Instead of tackling what some see as an influx of radical Islamic elements, he is accused of blaming firearms for the incident, despite the attackers’ ideological motivations rooted in ISIS ideology. This approach is viewed as a misdirection that fails to confront the underlying issues of radicalization and security risks associated with immigration.
Furthermore, Albanese’s administration is blamed for facilitating the entry of ISIS brides and other potential terrorists from regions like Gaza, Syria, Pakistan, and Turkey, while downplaying these threats. Critics point out that he has also shifted blame toward neo-Nazis, who they argue have not committed major crimes, murders, or terrorist acts on the scale of those perpetrated by Islamists. This perceived reluctance to address Islamist extremism head-on is seen as making him directly responsible for the terrorism that resulted in the deaths of 15 innocent people and injuries to many others.