A rabbi and a Holocaust survivor have been named among 16 dead as a horrific mass shooting at Australia’s most famous beach was declared an act of terror targeting Jews.

A 12-year-old girl has also died in hospital from her wounds, NSE Health has confirmed.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin also confirmed the youngster – a daughter of one of his friends – was among the fatalities.

Two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday night, sending hundreds of terrified people running for their lives.

Forty-two people were injured in the attack — including two police officers. Eleven people, among them another child, remained in critical conditions in Sydney hospitals on Monday morning.

The “unbelievable” attack is Australia’s worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

Shocking footage showed the shooters positioned on a footbridge overlooking the park, picking off people who had come to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah.

One of the gunmen, aged 50, was shot by police and was among the dead.

The other gunman is in a serious condition in custody. He is expected to face court after police raided a house at Bonnyrigg in Sydney’s south-west.

The surviving alleged shooter has been widely named as Sydney man Naveed Akram, 24.

In breaking news on Monday morning, the ABC reported that the two suspects were believed to be father and son.

Police said the 50-year-old shooter who was killed had a firearm licence and owned six guns.

“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 said in Canberra on Sunday night.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger

One of the first victims to be publicly named on Monday morning was Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

Another was Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, whose wife Larisa told The Australian he was shot in the back.

“We were standing and suddenly came the ‘boom boom’, and everybody fell down. At this moment he 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,” she said.

“His body is still there and I am sitting there and don’t know what I have to do.”

Schlanger was a 41-year-old father of five, including a son born in October. His cousin told the BBC that Schlanger would have wanted people to “keep spreading the light”.

“He was incredibly vivacious. He was was full of life, a really pleasant, warm person who really loved helping people and was always a real joy to chat with,” the cousin said.

“The world is a positive place and we need to show that and I know Eli would be saying that.”

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

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

Horror unfolds

Witnesses described how a picturesque summer night at the iconic spot turned into a nightmare.

When gunshots rang out at the pleasant grassy patch with a playground, many witnesses first mistook the noise for festive Sunday night fireworks.

Sydneysider Catherine Merchant was walking on the beach, one of her favourite things to do, when the shooting began.

“Everyone was just running and there were bullets and there were so many of them and we were really scared,” Merchant told ABC News through tears.

Merchant said she didn’t know whether to hide in bushes, crouch behind rocks or run south towards Icebergs restaurant.

“Bondi is just such a special place to me,” she said.

“I always walk in the water if I feel good, if I don’t feel good, and I take millions of boring photos all the time with Bondi and the sun setting.

“It was the most perfect day and then this happened.”

Victims are taken to hospital. There were 29 among the injured. Photo: AAP

A security guard and Jewish chaplain, named only as Vlaj, said he pushed his eight-year-old son to the ground to protect him, before a wounded colleague fell on top of them.

“Probably 50, 60 gunshots. It was non-stop,” he told Sky News.

When the shooting stopped, Vlaj frantically started trying to help his wounded colleague and then tried to save lives.

“People from our community. People that we know well. People that we see often – dead,” he said.

‘Attack on our way of life’: PM

Albanese decried the mass shooting attack as a “vile act of violence and hate”.

He said what should have been a day of joy and celebration of faith was the setting of antisemitic terrorism that “struck at the heart of our nation”.

“An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian. And every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated by this attack on our way of life,” he said.

“There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation, and let me be clear, we will eradicate it.

Witnesses recalled the shooting lasting for five minutes before police arrived. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said one of the alleged gunmen was known to it, though he was not seen as an immediate threat.

A firearm on the ground near the legs of a NSW Police officer. Photo: ABC

ASIO has since committed to reviewing the issue and searching for others who might be plotting similar attacks. However, director-general Mike Burgess stressed there was no indication anyone else in the community had similar intentions.

The shooting has officially been declared a terrorist incident, which will allow ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police to use special powers for the investigation.

Albanese also hinted additional funding for security for the Jewish community — a recommendation of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal — would be considered.

Israeli PM slams Albanese

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”.

The King said he was “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic 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 overnight.

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

“Antisemitism 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,” Netanyahu said.

Albanese defended his government’s response to antisemitic attacks on Jews in Australia since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel.

“We have taken it seriously, and we’ve continued to act,” he said.

“We’ve continued to work with Jewish community leaders. We’ve continued to take all the advice from the security agencies to put in place special measures, and will continue to do so.”

Act of terrorism

AFP acting deputy commissioner of national security Nigel Ryan said the attack had been declared a terrorist incident.

Burgess said the national threat level would remain at probable, meaning there was a 50 per cent chance of an act of terror.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn said Australians across the country were shocked and heartbroken.

“Australians have also witnessed extraordinary acts of heroism by so many today – brave members of the public, devoted first responders including police officers, emergency services personnel, ambulance officers and the dedicated hospital teams who are now providing care to those injured,” she said.

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-with AAP