Children and a Holocaust survivor are among the 15 people killed when a pair of deranged gunmen opened fire on a crowded Australian beach where thousands of local Jews had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.
The victims range in age from 10 to 87, Australian authorities confirmed, and include religious leaders, devoted friends and beloved family members.
"This attack was designed to target Sydney's Jewish community," said New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
The shooting broke out Sunday evening on Bondi Beach, a popular tourist destination in Sydney where a massive crowd from the local Jewish community was holding a Hanukkah celebration.
But the celebratory beach outing quickly turned into terror when a hateful father and son -- Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father -- showed up with shotguns, a rifle, and a car full of explosives and started shooting at anybody in sight.
Screams mingled with the gunfire as the attack went on for 10 terrifying minutes, and it only stopped after a local fruit seller -- 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmed -- tackled Akram to the ground and wrestled the gun from his hands. The gunman father was killed by police, while his son was wounded and hospitalized in custody.
And with nearly 40 people wounded, the death toll could continue to rise in the coming days. Below are the victims known so far:
A father of five, he had just welcomed the birth of a baby boy around October.
He was originally from the UK, and came from a family of Jewish leaders. His cousin is a rabbi in England, as was his great uncle.
Kleytman survived the mechanized murder of millions of Jews in World War II, but was gunned down while protecting his wife in the land where he fled for refuge years ago.
Born in Ukraine, Kleytman wound up in Siberia during the chaos of the 1940s and spent his childhood battling to stay alive on a daily basis.
"Alexander faced the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust. Alex's memories are particularly harrowing; recalling the dreadful conditions in Siberia where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival," the Australian charity JewishCare said in a 2023 report.
"The scars of the past, however, did not deter them from seeking a brighter future. They later made the move to Australia, immigrating from Ukraine," the report added, noting his wife Larissa also escaped Europe after the war.
Decades later, Alexander was killed defending his wife of 57 years from the bloodthirsty gunmen on Bondi Beach.
"[Alex] was behind me and at one moment he decided to go close to me. He pushed his body up because he wanted to stay near me," Larissa said after the massacre, describing hearing "boom, boom" erupting across the beach before her husband threw her to the ground for cover.
Kleytman was struck and killed as he lay on top of his wife.
Rabbi Levitan was a Jewish leader in Sydney, and held positions at numerous organizations, according to Chabad.
Reuven Morrison
A USSR native, Morrison became an active member of the Jewish community in both Sydney and Melbourne when he moved to Australia, Chabad.org reported.
Elkaymann, a French native, was killed on Bondi Beach.
"This low act is a new, tragic manifestation of a revolting outpouring of antisemitic hatred that we must put a stop to," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X, confirming Elkaymann's death.
"France will spare no effort to eradicate antisemitism wherever it is emerges, and to combat antisemitism in all its forms," he added. "The light of Hanukkah must not be extinguished and they will not be."