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).
Amid this, a video is being shared on social media with the claim that it shows a Muslim cleric delivering a speech before a crowd chanting “Allahu Akbar”, allegedly depicting Muslims in Sydney celebrating the Bondi Beach terror attack. Some posts further allege that fireworks were lit to mark the incident and make calls for the deportation of Muslims. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows Muslims in Sydney, Australia, celebrating the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Fact: The video predates and is unrelated to the Bondi Beach attack. It is from a pro-Palestinian rally held at Lakemba in south-west Sydney on 08 October 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel. Cleric Ibrahim Dadoun addressed the crowd, describing the 07 October Hamas attack as an act of resistance. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A closer examination of the viral video shows that it features chants of “Free Palestine” towards the end and carries an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) News watermark. Using these hints, a keyword search led to an ABC News report dated 09 October 2023 that includes the same footage. The report makes it clear that the video predates the Bondi Beach terror attack on 14 December 2025 and is unrelated to it, explaining that the visuals are from a pro-Palestinian rally held at Lakemba in south-west Sydney following the attacks and counter-attacks in Israel.
According to reports (here, here, and here), on 08 October 2023 at Lakemba, Sydney, cleric Ibrahim Dadoun addressed a crowd, calling the 07 October 2023 Hamas attack a “day of courage, pride, and victory,” which drew condemnation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who stated there is nothing to celebrate in the killing of innocent civilians. Following the backlash, Dadoun clarified on Facebook that he does not support or condone the loss of innocent lives. During the rally, participants were heard chanting slogans such as “Palestine will be free” and “occupation is the crime,” while Dadoun described the attacks on Israel as acts of resistance.
To sum up, an old, unrelated video is being shared as showing Muslims in Australia celebrating the Bondi Beach terror attack.
