HEROIC bystanders living near Bondi Beach took fleeing survivors into their homes – while a lifeguard bravely jumped into the water to save a drowning tourist during the horror attack.
Brave acts of selflessness were posted on social media following the harrowing assault – with chilling footage showing beachgoers escaping the deadly gun rampage.
The brazen attack which targeted a Jewish event celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney, Australia, left 16 people dead including a 10-year-old girl.
At least 40 wounded people are still in hospital – with five fighting for their lives, police have confirmed.
Among the heroic bystanders was a courageous lifeguard who jumped into the water to save a drowning tourist amid the horrifying chaos.
The brave rescue worker was seen diving into the sea to save a man who was struggling to stay afloat as shots rang out above him.
One post on X read: “Shout out to the #bondi beach lifeguard who, while there was shots being fired and we were all ducking for cover behind their buggy, noticed someone in the water struggling so grabbed a board and went to rescue them.”
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The post showed a picture of a lifeguard – not the one that dived in the sea to save a man – as horrified beachgoers cowered behind a buggy.
“I should say that the lifeguard pictured isn’t the one who went into the water, that guy is already in the water at this point,” the post said.
“Not that the one in the picture, keeping watch, is doing anything less important.”
The man who was rescued is reportedly a tourist from China called Levi, The Standard reported.
He told local media he was swimming with friends when he heard gunshots before immediately warning others in the water.
An Australian lifeguard then arrived on a surfboard as the holidaymaker rapidly lost strength.
Word of the dramatic rescue quickly spread across social media, with users hailing the lifeguard as a hero.
Another social media post on TikTok claimed that a local resident living near Bondi Beach let dozens of people fleeing the attack into their house to take shelter.
Dramatic footage showed crowds of shocked beachgoers crowding in a back garden.
Some stood in disbelief with their hands on their heads or covering their mouths, while others made frantic phone calls, seemingly alerting loved ones.
The post read: “Shoutout to the people who live here and allowed us and 20+ others who ran in off the street to hide in their house while the shooters were active in Bondi today.”
Most notably among the Bondi heroes was a shopkeeper who wrestled and disarmed one of the gunmen during the mass shooting.
Extraordinary footage showed brave fruit shop owner Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, approaching the gunman and grabbing his rifle after 16 people including a 10-year-old girl were killed in the attack.
The hero dad-of-two was seen engaging in a brief tussle before out-muscling the gunman and seizing the firearm.
As the assailant lies on the ground, the shopkeeper briefly turns the gun towards him but doesn’t pull the trigger.
The gunman stumbles off as Al Ahmed calmly places the weapon against a tree.
He was then wounded after coming under fire from another gunman on a nearby bridge and suffered wounds to his hand and shoulder.
Australia’s 7News confirmed the hero was Al Ahmed – who runs a shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland.
The unarmed civilian – who was supported by a passer-by who threw a rock at the fleeing terrorist – is now undergoing surgery after being shot twice.
Donald Trump called the heroic bystander a “very, very brave person who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives”.
The US president said: “Great respect to that man who did that.”
On Sunday, police revealed the two gunmen behind the horrifying attack were a father and son duo.
The 50-year-old dad was shot dead by cops during the terrifying assault while his 24-year-old son was left in critical condition.
A Holocaust survivor was also shot dead while trying to protect his wife during the terrifying shooting.
Alex Kleytman was killed while shielding his wife Larisa from bullets, saving her from death in his selfless final act.
French citizen Dan Elkayam was also killed in the shooting, according to France’s president Emmanuel Macron.
Reuven Morrison and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan were also named among those killed in the attack, according to Chabad.
Police said the older shooter had six firearms registered to him, and that six were recovered from the scene.
Cops said: “As part of the investigation, we conducted two search warrants last night, one at Bonnyrigg and a second at Campsie.
“The 50-year-old male is a licensed firearms holder, he has six firearms licensed to him.”
Two “rudimentary” bombs were also found at the scene and taken away to be deactivated.
Authorities said they were proving the motives behind the horror gun rampage but ruled out searching for a third suspect.
There was also “no indication to indicate that either of the men involved in yesterday’s attack was planning the attack that happened yesterday,” police said.
New South Wales police commissioner Mal Lanyon said on Sunday: “There was very little knowledge of these two men.
At least 200 people had gathered on Sunday night for Chanukah by the Sea – advertised as a night of family fun to celebrate the Jewish holiday.
Politicians must wake up to threat
By Noa Hoffman
THE Jewish community in Sydney lives peacefully among the sand and sea.
They work hard, spend weekends surfing, jogging along the golden crescent coastline, and slurp green smoothies under the blazing sun – like every other Bondi Aussie.
They chill on the beach, and every year at Chanukah they eat jam doughnuts and light a menorah.
I know this all too well because the eastern suburbs of Sydney are where I grew up – my life before moving to the UK.
Bondi is home to Sydney’s vibrant Jewish community, including my grandmother, sister, aunts and many cousins.
In a tragic turn, the beautiful beach life I enjoyed until 19 is no more.
Sydney’s small, quiet Jewish community, like Britain’s, now finds itself at the mercy of Islamist extremists.
These vile radicals – who do not represent mainstream Muslims – have been left to fester, almost unchecked, in closed-off pockets that refuse to integrate with wider society.
They’re aided and abetted by woke lefties who are obsessed with Israel.
Most dangerously, they’re wilfully ignored by MPs who enjoy the votes that come with appeasing them.
The result of politicians in Australia and Britain turning a blind eye to these dangerous extremists is death.
Death that struck at the Heaton Park Synagogue on Yom Kippur, in my adopted home of England.
And death in my birthplace this Chanukah, at a joyful party by the Sydney sea.
Thankfully my family in Bondi are all ok – but they are also distraught with fear.
Until politicians, particularly Labour, wake up to this threat, more of these grim days will unfold.
Leave a sick, twisted ideology like extremist Islamism to rot, and consequences follow.
For some Labour MPs that may mean more votes – but for my deeply patriotic, quiet community, who just want to get on with life, it means murder.
I hope politicians choose the right path.
