Australian News correspondent says 'our country will never be the same' amid fatal terror attack

Police have confirmed the attack is being treated as a terrorist incident. At least 12 people were killed, including the gunman, while another 29, including a child, were taken to hospitals across Sydney.

The festival, Chanukah by the Sea, was a family-friendly Hanukkah celebration attended by over 1,000 people, including children, when the suspects opened fire.

Speaking to GB News, Mrs Markson, who works for Sky News Australia, said: "The Jewish community has been vulnerable. We’ve been like sitting ducks here.

"It’s not a surprise that something like this has happened. We’ve been warning that a serious event could result in lives lost if the authorities didn’t take anti-Semitism seriously and they just didn’t.

"They didn’t act because of local political considerations. We had a federal election in May, and some of the marginal seats in question are in areas with large Muslim communities.

"Ministers of the Labour Government didn’t want to be seen talking about anti-Semitism, which left us very exposed.

"We have already been living in fear and anxiety. It’s the first day of Hanukkah here in Australia.

"I was at the front of a similar Hanukkah celebration just up the road from the one that was targeted tonight.

"I’ve been here since this afternoon, interviewing people at the scene, people who lost family members or whose loved ones were shot.

"Parents whose three-year-old daughter went missing were later reunited with her, found under the body of a woman who had been shot.

"She took the bullet to save a child she didn’t even know, protecting her after she had become separated from her parents.

"This is the worst massacre Australia has seen since Port Arthur. It is absolutely devastating.

"Our country will never be the same, and our Jewish community will never be the same. No one is going to feel safe if this can happen at Bondi, the iconic Bondi Beach, it can happen anywhere."

The attack has sparked widespread condemnation, with leaders calling for renewed action against anti-Semitism and terrorism.

Local authorities are appealing for information from anyone who witnessed the events or may have relevant footage.

Emergency services responded rapidly, but the scale of the attack has left the community in shock.

Police have confirmed the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia is being investigated as a terrorist attack.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed authorities will "make sure no stone is left unturned" over a potential third gunman, adding police are investigating thoroughly anyone linked to the attack.

Premier Chris Minns said the shooting was "designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community" and confirmed counter-terrorism teams will lead a "significant investigation".

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed more than 1,000 people were at the event, which was celebrating the Jewish holiday.

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, described the attack as "very deliberate and very targeted," adding that it occurred during a "family event".

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