The antisemitic terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on 14 December saw a father and son, Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, open fire during a Hanukkah celebration, killing 16 people, including one gunman, and injuring dozens. Police shot Sajid Akram at the scene, while Naveed Akram remains in critical but stable condition under guard and is expected to face charges if he survives. Authorities have designated the incident as an Islamic State-linked terrorist attack, with reports of an ISIS flag and an improvised explosive device recovered during the investigation (here, here, and here).
Following this incident, a video is being shared on social media (here, here) with the claim that it shows celebrations in a town in Pakistan after news of the Bondi Beach terror attack emerged. Let’s verify the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: The video shows celebrations in a town in Pakistan following the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Fact: The video does not show celebrations in Pakistan after the Bondi Beach attack on 14 December 2025. It actually depicts a pro-Palestinian rally in Karachi in October 2023, organised by the Imamia Students Organization during the Israel–Gaza conflict. The video predates the Sydney attack by over two years. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to multiple social media posts (here, here, and here) featuring the same video from October 2023. This confirms that the video was on the internet years before the 14 December 2025 Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia. These posts claimed that they showed pro-Palestinian supporters gathering in Karachi, Pakistan, to celebrate an attack against Israel. One of the posts also mentioned that the event was organised by the Imamia Students Organisation.
We then conducted a Google search and found the Facebook page of the Imamia Students Organisation. Upon reviewing the page, we found a post debunking the viral video as fake. The post stated that the video of ISO Karachi’s October 2023 “Hamas Victory Celebration” event at Numaish Chowk, being linked to the terrorist incident in Sydney.
According to reports (here, here, and here), in October 2023, after the Israel–Gaza conflict began, large pro‑Palestinian rallies were held in Karachi, with political parties, student groups, and activists joining marches and demonstrations. Major rallies were led by Jamaat‑e‑Islami on Shahrah‑e‑Faisal, and other groups held protests in key city areas, featuring speeches condemning Israeli attacks.
To sum up, a 2023 pro-Palestinian rally video from Karachi is shared as showing celebrations in Pakistan after the Bondi Beach terror attack.
