After four days of intensive searches, the body of a teenage boy from Bnei Brak was recovered from the Yarkon River on Sunday afternoon.
The search was launched after 19-year-old Eliyahu Abba Shaul, who had been missing since Wednesday, failed to return home. Police said that ZAKA volunteers located his body a short time ago as part of the ongoing efforts to find the missing youth.
Search operations had continued around the clock over the past several days, focusing on the Yarkon River area after the teenager’s bicycle and personal belongings were discovered nearby. That finding led police and rescue forces to concentrate their efforts along the riverbank and surrounding parkland.
Since then, large numbers of police officers, special units, and volunteer rescue organizations have been deployed to the scene. The operation included ground searches, water-based searches, and the use of specialized technological equipment.
Despite difficult conditions, search teams continued their efforts at night as well, assisted by advanced equipment and ZAKA’s diving unit, which operated along the river’s course and adjacent areas in an attempt to locate any clue that could shed light on the circumstances of the disappearance.
ZAKA officials said that after four consecutive days of intensive activity, the body of the missing teenager was found in Yarkon Park by volunteers from the organization’s special units.
The multi-day operation was carried out in full cooperation with Israel Police and the Fire and Rescue Service’s Lahava Unit. It included land searches, aerial scans using ZAKA’s drone unit, underwater searches along the riverbed, and the use of advanced sonar systems. The entire effort was coordinated from a dedicated command post established at the site.
{Matzav.com}
Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that one Israeli was killed and another Israeli was wounded in the deadly shooting attack at a Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia. Israel’s embassy in Australia and the Foreign Ministry’s department for Israelis in distress are accompanying the wounded man’s family, as he remains hospitalized at a local medical center.
An Israeli consul is expected to arrive at the hospital to assist the injured Israeli and provide support to his relatives.
The wounded man, Arsen Ostrovsky, an international human rights lawyer who recently relocated from Israel to Sydney to work with the local Jewish community, described scenes of terror and chaos as gunfire erupted around him and his family. Ostrovsky was photographed at the scene with his head bandaged and his face covered in blood.
Speaking to Australian television, Ostrovsky, who serves as chairman of the Australia–Israel and Jewish Affairs Council in Sydney, recounted the moments of the attack: “I was here with my family. It was a Hanukkah celebration. There were hundreds of people. There were children, there were elderly people. Families enjoying themselves. Kids at a festival, playing. And then suddenly, absolute chaos. There are guns, fire everywhere, people running. It was absolute chaos. We didn’t know what was happening, where the shots were coming from.”
“I saw blood flowing in front of me,” he continued. “I saw people being hit, I saw people falling to the ground. My only concern was, where are my kids? Where are my kids? Where is my wife? Where is my family?”
Ostrovsky noted that he had lived in Israel for the past 13 years and had arrived in Australia just two weeks ago. “I lived in Israel for the past 13 years,” he said. “We came here just two weeks ago to work with the Jewish community to fight antisemitism, to fight this bloodthirsty, raging hatred.”
Referring to the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, Ostrovsky added: “We’ve experienced worse things. We’ll get through this, and we’ll catch those who did this.”
When asked whether he saw the gunmen, Ostrovsky replied: “I did. I saw at least one gunman shooting, with what looked like a shotgun, firing randomly in all directions. I saw children falling to the floor, elderly people.”
“I never thought I would see something like this in Australia. Not in my lifetime. Especially not at Bondi Beach, especially not at this iconic place,” he said.
Speaking about his family, Ostrovsky added: “My children, my wife are safe, thank God. They’re okay. They managed to escape. But I didn’t know where they were. There is no greater fear, no greater terror, than not knowing where your family is. They’re okay. I’ll be okay.”
Bahraini peace activist Loay Alsharif also responded to the attack, referring to his wounded friend Ostrovsky. “Please pray for my brother Arsen Ostrovsky, who was injured in the terror attack in Australia. I’ve known Arsen for years, and I pray to God to grant him the same strength He granted Judah and the Maccabees against their enemies. To the terrorists behind this evil act: you will fail, just as Antiochus failed.”
Alsharif added: “I pray for my Jewish brothers in Australia who were at a horrific shooting carried out by terrorists on Chanukah. We will continue to speak out against terror and antisemitism. And we will always stand united against the forces of darkness that harm innocent lives.”
{Matzav.com}
In the wake of the deadly assault on a Jewish Chanukah gathering in Sydney, Israeli officials convened urgent security and strategic consultations to assess responsibility for the attack and determine who orchestrated the violence against the local Jewish community.
Israeli intelligence assessments have increasingly centered on Iran as the primary suspect. As more time passed following the massacre, officials said Israel’s evaluation grew firmer that Tehran played a direct role in the deadly incident.
At the same time, investigators are examining whether additional terrorist groups linked to or influenced by Iran may have been involved. These include Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba organization, which has ties to Al-Qaeda.
According to intelligence material shared with senior political figures, Iran has recently intensified efforts to smuggle weapons, construct terror networks, and establish online “incitement cells” via social media platforms, with the stated goal of striking Jewish targets around the world.
Israeli warnings about such threats were issued months ago, after assessments indicated that Iran was laying the groundwork for attacks on Jewish communities and institutions in Australia.
Background events in Australia have also informed Israel’s suspicions. In August, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese publicly accused Iran of being behind two antisemitic attacks in the country and announced that diplomatic relations with Tehran would be severed in response.
At that time, Albanese stated that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation had concluded that the Iranian government ordered arson attacks on Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food business in Sydney, in October 2024, and on the Adas Yisrael shul in Melbourne two months later.
Australian intelligence officials assessed that those attacks occurred amid a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne following the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, and that Iran sought to conceal its direct involvement in the operations.
{Matzav.com}
The aftermath of the deadly attack at Bondi Beach has sparked sharp diplomatic criticism, with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee publicly rebuking Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over what he views as an inadequate response to the violence that claimed at least 12 lives during a Hanukkah celebration on the beachfront.
Huckabee reacted forcefully on social media after reviewing the prime minister’s remarks, describing the statement as “disgraceful” for what he said was a failure to clearly acknowledge the ideological and religious nature of the assault. He accused Albanese of engaging in a “politically correct omission,” arguing that sidestepping the antisemitic motive behind the attack weakens public understanding of the threat and minimizes the gravity of the crime.
In his official response, Prime Minister Albanese denounced the shooting as an “act of evil” and emphasized that his government remains committed to safeguarding all Australians, with particular attention to the Jewish community in the wake of the tragedy.
{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] A dramatic act of bravery unfolded during the deadly Chanukah by the Sea attack in Sydney on Sunday, when a local shopkeeper intervened and stopped one of the terrorists who had opened fire on the crowd at Bondi Beach.
Footage from the scene shows the rescuer, dressed in a white shirt, quietly approaching the armed assailant from behind as the terrorist held a shotgun. Seizing a moment of opportunity, he lunged forward and grappled with the gunman, forcing the weapon out of his hands.
The recording captures the attacker collapsing to the ground before scrambling away from the area as chaos continued around him.
Authorities later confirmed that the assault left at least 12 people dead, including children, and injured 29 others, after two terrorists opened fire at the popular beachfront Hanukkah celebration.
Police said one of the attackers was killed, while the second suspect was arrested and taken into custody.
Officials indicated that the violent rampage continued for roughly 10 minutes before security forces and bystanders were able to neutralize the attackers.
Relatives identified the man who disarmed the terrorist as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Sydney resident, father of two, and owner of a fruit stand, according to news.com.au.
A cousin told 7News that Ahmed was shot twice during the confrontation and was rushed into surgery as a result of his injuries.
“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero 100 percent,” the relative said.
According to the video, Ahmed waited until the gunman briefly stopped firing before rushing in, wrapping the attacker in a bear hug. After a short struggle, he emerged holding the weapon himself and turned it toward the terrorist, effectively ending the immediate threat.
WATCH:
{Matzav.com}
The Jewish community in Sydney is mourning the killing of Rabbi Eli Schlanger Hy”d, a Chabad shliach in Bondi, Asutralia who was murdered in the terror attack tonight, the first night of Chanukah. He was 40 years old.
Rabbi Schlanger was shot while attending the annual Chanukah by the Sea gathering in Bondi Beach Park, an event he helped organize each year. The program includes the lighting of a large menorah followed by a community celebration. Rabbi Schlanger regularly served as the event’s emcee and was targeted when terrorists opened fire on participants at the Jewish celebration.
A devoted shliach, Rabbi Schlanger was widely admired for his warmth, energy, and deep commitment to the community. He was especially proud of his work with Sydney’s Russian-speaking Jewish population, numbering approximately 5,000 individuals, many of whom had fled the former Soviet Union and found renewed Jewish life through his efforts.
Born in England, Rabbi Schlanger pursued his Torah education in Europe and the United States. He studied at Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Brunoy, France, and later received semicha at the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch in Crown Heights.
Following his marriage to Chayale Ulman, the daughter of Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, senior dayan of the Sydney Beth Din and director of Chabad of Bondi F.R.E.E., Rabbi Schlanger joined his father-in-law in rabbinic leadership. He served as an assistant rabbi and worked closely with him on a range of communal initiatives.
Among his many projects, Rabbi Schlanger partnered with his father-in-law to create and launch a website designed to assist shluchim and individuals worldwide in obtaining certification of Jewish status. The platform was used for matters such as aliya to Israel, band mitzvahs, shul membership, marriage, and other communal needs.
Rabbi Schlanger also served in several chaplaincy roles, including as a chaplain to New South Wales Corrective Services, chaplain to New South Wales Prisoners of War, and chaplain at St. Vincent’s Hospital. In addition, he headed Project Noah, an educational initiative that presents the timeless values of the Seven Noachide Laws to youth through engaging and interactive programming.
Rabbi Schlanger is survived by his wife, Chayale, and their children, including a two-month-old baby. He is also survived by his parents, Rabbi Binyomin and Dobra Schlanger of Israel, and his siblings: Baruch Schlanger of Toronto; Chanie Drizin of Crown Heights; Dena Gansburg of London; Tzippy Kastel of Sydney; Shmuli Schlanger of Bakersfield, California; Perela Goldhirsch of Melbourne; Sorala Hayes of Miami, Florida; and Shaina Joseph of Sydney.
Hashem yikom damo. Umacha Hashem dimah me’al kol ponim.
{Matzav.com}
