(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Police were warned of an impending terror attack before two terrorists killed 11 people in December in Australia, according to the New York Times.
The attack, which took place during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, was the country’s worst mass shooting in some three decades.
Citing a newly published government report from Australia, the Times reported Thursday that a Jewish security group had warned police six days before the event that a terrorist attack against the Jewish community was “likely.” The full report, which makes a number of security recommendations moving forward, is classified, the Times noted.
https://t.co/ksUYZJBD2O pic.twitter.com/WNo0JzIN5Z
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) April 30, 2026
The report said police gave the Jewish event organizers the option to pay for protection, but would not send guards for free. The event organizers apparently opted not to pay.
“The New South Wales police told the commission that event organizers were responsible for providing security, and that any law enforcement assistance was supplementary. Event organizers have the option of paying for police presence but that did not appear to have been requested,” the Times said.
It had already been reported in December that at least one of the terrorists was known to Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, but hadn’t been considered an immediate threat.
One of the shooters was on the Australian domestic intelligence agency's radar, according to WSJ. https://t.co/ukk2qaBXNw pic.twitter.com/qdgzHep57v
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) December 14, 2025
The attack may have been even worse if not for the heroic actions of a 43-year-old man identified as Ahmed el Ahmed. Footage shows him disarming one of the terrorists. He was later shot twice but survived, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
A series of hearings on the attack are set to take place next week in Australia.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
