Who were the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting? what we know

At least 15 people have been confirmed dead in a shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday.

Many people were attending an event marking the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Authorities confirmed that the victims included two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl.

Here’s what we know about what’s been confirmed so far:

Authorities confirmed that a 10-year-old girl, whom her family named Matilda to local media, was among those killed.

Irina Goodhew, who organized a fundraiser for the girl’s mother and said she was the child’s former teacher, wrote:

Harmony Russian School of Sydney also confirmed she was one of its students.

“We are deeply saddened to report that a former student at our school died in hospital from a gunshot wound,” the school said on Facebook.

“We offer our sincere condolences to her family, friends and everyone affected by this tragic event. Her memory will remain in our hearts and we celebrate her life and the time she spent as part of the school family.”

Meanwhile, Matilda’s aunt told ABC News that her sister, who was with Matilda when she was shot, is struggling to come to terms with the loss.

“They were like twins – they were never separated,” she told ABC.

Eli Schlanger, 41, known as “Bondi Rabbi,” was one of the main organizers of Sunday’s event. He was the head of the local Chabad mission, an international Hasidic Jewish organization headquartered in Brooklyn.

The death of the British-born father of five was confirmed by his cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis.

“My dear cousin Rabbi Eli Schlanger @bondirabbi was murdered today in a terrorist attack in Sydney,” Zalman wrote on Instagram. “He leaves behind a wife, young children, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters. He was an incredible man.”

In a post on its website, Chabad said Schlanger’s youngest child was only two months old.

“He was the most godly, humane, kind and gracious person I have ever met,” Alex Ryvchin of the Australian Jewish Executive Committee told reporters in Bondi on Monday morning.

The death of French national Dan Elkhayam was confirmed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barro.

“It is with great sadness that we learned that our compatriot Dan Elkayam was one of the victims of the terrorist attack that struck a Jewish family gathered on Bondi Beach in Sydney,” he wrote on social media.

“We mourn with his family, loved ones, the Jewish community and the Australian people.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Elkayam worked as an IT analyst for NBCUniversal and moved to Australia last year.

He was also a keen footballer and was an “integral member” of the Premier League team at Rockdale Ilinden Football Club in Sydney’s west. I wrote on my Facebook page.

He was “an extremely talented and popular figure among his teammates. We send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Dan’s family, friends and everyone who knew him. He will be missed,” the club wrote.

Alexander Kleytman was a Holocaust survivor who came to Australia from Ukraine.

“I don’t have my husband. I don’t know where his body is. No one can give me answers,” his wife Larisa Kleytman told reporters outside a Sydney hospital late Sunday.

“We were standing and all of a sudden there was a ‘boom boom’ sound and we all fell down. At that moment he was behind me and at one point he tried to get closer to me. He pulled himself up because he wanted to stay near me,” she told The Australian.

Chabad wrote in

The couple shared part of their life story with Jewish Care Australia in 2023.

“As children, Larissa and Alexander faced the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust,” the health group wrote in its annual report.

“Alex’s memories are particularly harrowing, recalling the terrible conditions in Siberia where he struggled to survive with his mother and younger brother.”

Former police officer Peter Meagher has died while working as a freelance photographer at a Hanukkah event, his rugby club has confirmed.

“For him it was just a catastrophic event at the wrong place and time,” Randwick Rugby Club general manager Mark Harrison wrote on the website.

“Marzo, as he was universally known, was a much-loved figure at our club and an absolute legend, volunteering for decades and being one of the heart and soul of Randwick Rugby.”

The club said he spent nearly 40 years in the NSW Police Force, where he was “highly respected by his colleagues”.

The club said: “The tragic irony is that he spent so much time on the dangerous front lines as a police officer and collapsed while taking pictures in a role he was passionate about in retirement.”

Ruben Morrison moved to Australia from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s as a teenager, according to an interview with ABC exactly a year ago.

“We come here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and that Jews will not face such anti-Semitism in the future,” he told national broadcaster.

Confirming his death, Chabad said he had been a resident of Melbourne for many years but “discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney”.

The organization wrote that

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan’s death was confirmed by Chabad, which described him as a “popular coordinator” of Sydney activities.

He also served as secretary of the Sydney Beth Din, a rabbinic court, and worked at the BINA Center, which he describes as a center for Jewish learning.

Tibor Weitzen was attending the event with his wife and grandchildren when he was killed while trying to protect a family friend, Chabad said.

The 78-year-old was a “beloved” member of the Bondi Chabad synagogue, according to the organisation.

His granddaughter Leor Amzalak told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he was “the best you could ask for”.

She said Mr Weitzen moved to Australia from Israel in 1988.

“He only saw the best in people and he will be sorely missed,” she told the broadcaster.

The Australian Jewish Executive Committee and local media identified Marika Fogani, 82, as one of the victims.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Mr Fogani was an avid volunteer and member of the Sydney Harbor View Bridge Club.

“She was a great person, a great bridge player and an even better friend,” said club director Matt Mullampy.

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini also said that among the dead was a Slovak woman named Marika, and former leader Jujuna Čaputova said she was her close friend.

In a social media post, Çaputova described her as an extraordinary woman who “lived her life to the fullest.”

She said Mr Fogani passed away at his “beloved Bondi Beach” and that Sydney had been her “sanctuary”.

Local media confirmed that Boris and Sofia Gurman, a couple, were killed early in the attack.

Dashcam footage circulated online appears to show two people attempting to snatch a gun from one of the attackers on the side of the road.