Two police officers were also injured in the attack, New South Wales police said. Five people remained in a critical condition on Wednesday, the New South Wales Department of Health said on Wednesday.
The police and civilians who tried to stop the gunmen drew widespread praise.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday praised the heroic act of an elderly couple who were killed after trying to subdue and disarm one of the shooters, a dramatic intervention filmed by a dashcam. “They are Australian heroes,” he said of Boris and Sofia Gurman, both in their 60s.
Albanese also praised Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian Australian trader who was seen in video tackling one of the shooters from behind and knocking his gun away. “Our thoughts are with him today as he is undergoing surgery today for his injuries,” Albanese told reporters.
The local council on Wednesday called on the community to light a candle every evening at 6:47 p.m. – around the time of Sunday’s attack – to honor the victims for the duration of the Hanukkah holiday, which ends on Monday.
The massacre on a beach that is a symbol of the Australian way of life has sent waves of shock and grief across the country.
Police said they had partially opened road access to the area around Bondi Beach but were maintaining a crime scene.
The attack sparked renewed scrutiny of the country’s already strict gun laws and criticism that the government ignored warning signs amid a series of anti-Semitic incidents.
“We cannot ignore the fact that a man was able to obtain a firearms license and possess six weapons, four of which were used in this attack,” Albanese told Australian ABC radio on Wednesday.
