A child, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor: Lives lost in Bondi Beach attack

A spirited 10-year-old girl, a prominent assistant rabbi, a Ukrainian-born Holocaust survivor and a young network engineer from France were among roughly 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday.

Australian authorities, who classified the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community, have not yet released an official list of victims.

However, a day after one of the deadliest mass shootings in Australia, the identities of several victims emerged through social media posts, news reports, and the official website of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, whose Bondi Beach chapter hosted Sunday’s Hanukkah event.

The Harmony Russian School of Sydney confirmed in a Facebook post that 10-year-old Matilda, “a former student of our school,” had died “in hospital due to injuries sustained from a gunshot.”

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, and everyone affected by this tragic event,” the school said.

Matilda’s language teacher, who launched an online fundraising campaign for the family, described her as “a bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to everyone around her.”

According to Chabad.org, another victim of the mass shooting was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a 41-year-old assistant rabbi at Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi. Schlanger was on stage leading the Hanukkah ceremony when the two gunmen opened fire.

The website described him as an “irreplaceable leader of the community” who had become “a vocal advocate for protecting Jewish communities against rising antisemitism.”

Earlier this year, Schlanger had written to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging him to “act firmly” against terrorism and antisemitism, the website said.

Around 1,000 people flocked to Bondi Beach on Sunday for “Chanukah by the Sea,” an annual event marking the first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights. The attackers—a father and son—opened fire on the crowd, killing 15 people and wounding at least 40 others, including three children. One of the gunmen was shot dead by police, while the other remains in critical condition.

Among the fatal casualties was also 87-year-old Alexander Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor, and 27-year-old Dan Elkayam, a French national.

Chabad.org confirmed that Kleytman, a “native of Ukraine,” was killed “while shielding his wife from the gunfire.” He is survived by his wife, two children, and 11 grandchildren, the website said.

French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged Elkayam’s death in the “antisemitic terrorist attack” in an X post published on Monday. “My thoughts are with his family and loved ones, and I extend to them the full solidarity of the Nation,” Macron wrote.

A football fan, Elkayam had spent several years travelling the world and worked in Sydney as a network engineer since 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile. According to some media reports, he tried to protect a young girl during the Bondi attack before he was killed.

Jean-Baptiste Borsali, the mayor of Le Bourget, the French city Elkayam came from, also paid tribute to the young man, saying his death “far from his relatives” and “in such tragic circumstances” had “deeply shaken us.”

Additional victims reported by Chabad include Yaakov Levitan, a rabbi affiliated with BINA, a Sydney-based Jewish organisation and Reuven Morrison, a “Chassidic businessman who divided his time between Melbourne and Sydney.”