Israeli intelligence blames Iranian-backed foreign terror cell for Bondi Beach massacre

However, Australian authorities have yet to confirm whether there was any overseas involvement in the terror attack, which targeted a Jewish gathering celebrating Hanukkah and left 16 people dead.

Israeli intelligence sources have claimed the sophistication and highly coordinated nature of the attack closely resembled the tactics of Hezbollah’s external operations arm, Unit 910.

Any Iranian involvement would add to a growing record of terror plots and attacks linked to Australia in recent years.

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency said in October it had disrupted dozens of planned attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets across the globe since October 7, spanning countries such as Germany, Greece, Belgium, Sweden and Australia.

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador in August after accusing Tehran of orchestrating attacks against Jewish sites in Sydney and Melbourne, including an arson attack on a Sydney cafe in October 2024 and a separate blaze at a Melbourne synagogue just months later.

Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said that while it was “too early to jump to conclusions” that Iran was definitively behind the attack, its alleged track record meant Iranian-linked actors, including Unit 910, were “definitely suspects and high on the priority list”.

Israeli intelligence expert on Hezbollah, Ronen Solomon, told The Telegraph: “Australia has long been known to be a hub for Hezbollah and Iran’s sleeping cells, so it could even be a joint operation between Hezbollah and Quds Force.

“But this will mean it’s going to be very hard to pin this incident on them as Iran will want to cover this up as an anti-Semitic incident.

"If the investigation incriminates Iran or Hezbollah, Israel will respond, which will also make things much more complicated.”

Mr Solomon added that the Bondi Beach gunmen had evaded local security measures and conducted extensive reconnaissance to plan the attack in advance.

Mr Citrinowicz said Tehran was "hiring proxies, criminals or those in the local community" to carry out attacks on Israeli, Jewish and Western targets.

The former leader of the Iran division of Israeli defence intelligence added: "But Iran’s involvement targeting Jewish facilities in Sydney and Melbourne really points that way.

“We cannot rule out the Sunnis, however. We know that Al-Qaeda and IS have also been active in Australia.

"This isn’t going to be an easy investigation if it’s Iran or Hezbollah, as they will be covering their tracks very well.”

Mr Citrinowicz suggested the incident on Sunday was calculated and structured rather than a random act or terror.

He said: “It’s not something you do ‘now to now’ and it seems that they were very capable of using their weapons. It looks very organised.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a scathing attack on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the massacre, accusing him of pouring “fuel on the anti-Semitic fire” by recognising a Palestinian state.

He added: “You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today."

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