10-year-old girl, Holocaust survivor, 2 rabbis… The stories of those who died in Bondi Beach attack

The shooting at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach has sent shockwaves throughout the world. At least 15 people, aged 10 to 87, were killed in the terror attack that targeted the Australian Jewish community. People had gathered to celebrate the start of Hanukkah when two gunmen, a father-son duo identified as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, fired more than 100 rounds in less than six minutes.

As Australia mourns the attack and vows to tighten gun laws, here are the heartbreaking stories of the victims.

Matilda

Ten-year-old Matilda is the youngest among those killed in the Bondi Beach attack. She died on Sunday night (December 14), her aunt confirmed.

The girl was a former student at Harmony Russian School of Sydney. She has been described as a “bright, joyful, and spirited child who brought light to those around her", local media reported.

Matilda’s aunt Lina spoke on behalf of the family to ABC News, asking that their surnames be withheld, though they gave permission to publish her image. “Matilda was very friendly, she loves school, and has a lot of friends,” she said.

The victim was rushed to the Sydney Children’s Hospital after the shooting, but could not be saved as she had reportedly lost a lot of blood.

According to Lina, Matilda has a younger sister who is struggling to cope with the loss.

“She’s in absolute shock and stress, she’s missing her sister badly, she was lucky she didn’t get any injuries, but her mental state now [is a worry],” Lina said. “Imagine you see your beautiful sister that you love just being killed in front of you.”

“They were like twins, they’ve never been separated,” she added.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger

The first victim to be identified was Eli Schlanger. He was an assistant rabi at Chabad Bondi, which organised the Hanukkah event from the Jewish community.

Schlanger, who served as a shliach for 18 years, is survived by his wife Chayale (née Ulman) and five children, including a two-month-old baby.

According to Schlanger’s social media accounts, he studied at the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch and Yeshiva Brunoy, France, reports The Jerusalem Post.

The rabbi, who was born in the UK, moved to Sydney in 2008 as part of his Chabad mission and became an important figure in the Jewish community. He was also active in causes linked to the community outside of Australia.

He participated in memorial initiatives for victims of the October 7 attack and, in recent months, travelled to Israel, where he was photographed strengthening and encouraging Israel Defense Forces soldiers, reports Ynetnews. His WhatsApp profile photo showed him surrounded by troops.

Weeks before his death, Schlanger had written a letter to Australian PM Anthony Albanese after the government’s decision to recognise the Palestinian state.

“As a rabbi in Sydney, I ask you not to betray the Jewish people and not to betray God,” Schlanger wrote. He said the land of Israel was given by God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the eternal homeland of the Jewish people and warned that history judges leaders who turn their backs on Jews with contempt.

“You have an opportunity to stand with truth and justice. By reversing this act of betrayal, you will honour the Jewish people and our heritage and stand with the word of God,” he wrote, according to Ynetnews.

Friends and acquaintances fondly remembered the rabbi. “Nothing was too big for him,” said friend Alex Ryvchin, who is the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. “He would drive out to regional parts of the state and sit with prisoners in our jails and listen to their stories. He would go to Waterloo and Redfern and to the public housing and sit with the elderly, he would listen to their stories and feed them and make sure they had meals and kosher products. He was the sort of person who illuminated our lives with kindness, his grace and generosity.” 

Alexander Kleytman 

Among the victims of a mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach, the oldest was a Holocaust survivor, Alex Kleytman. He was attending the event along with his wife, Larisa, children and grandchildren. 

Alex was a native of Ukraine. His death was confirmed by his wife, Larisa Kleytma, outside St Vincent’s hospital, according to a Chabad report. 

The couple were Holocaust survivors. In 2023, they recounted their harrowing experiences to JewishCare. The Jewish health provider’s 2022/23 annual report says, “As children, both Larisa and Alexander faced the unspeakable terror of the Holocaust. Alex’s memories are particularly harrowing; the dreadful conditions in Siberia where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival.” 

The report also noted how their dreadful experiences and “scars of the past” did not stop them from seeking a brighter future in Australia. 

Grieving Larisa, narrated how her husband saved her. “We were standing, and suddenly came the ‘boom boom’, and everybody fell. At this moment, he was behind me, and at one moment, he decided to go close to me,” she said, adding that Alex was trying to “shield” her from the gunman’s bullets.   

Larisa continued, “I have no husband. I don’t know where his body is. Nobody can give me any answer.”

The holocaust survivor is survived by his wife, two children, and 11 grandchildren. 

Dan Elkayam 

Dan Elkayam was a Jewish man with French citizenship. He was working as an IT analyst for NBC Universal in Sydney and has been living in Australia for several years.

Elkayam completed his bachelor’s in computer systems, networking and cloud from Université Paris-Est Créteil in France. He then pursued his Master’s in the same course from ESGI, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Elkayam, a football fan, had joined the Rockdale Ilinden, a semi-professional football club. He played the 2025 season with the Premier League squad. The members of the team described him as “an extremely talented and popular figure amongst teammates." 

The club wrote on social media, “Dan will always remain part of our club. He was a valued and deeply respected member of our football community. Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates, and all those who loved him during this unimaginably difficult time." 

Elkayam was all set to join the Arncliffe Aurora Football Club in southern Sydney for their Premier League squad for the upcoming 2026 season, as reported by the Guardian. 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed Elkayam’s death on X, stating France mourned with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the Australian people. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts are with the family of Elkayam, expressing “the fullest solidarity of France”. 

Peter Meagher 

Peter Meagher, also known as Marzo, was a former police officer, a photographer and a volunteer at a rugby club Randwick Rugby Club.

Meagher was pursuing his new corporate photography business and was on assignment at Bondi. He retired from the NSW Police Force a few years ago as a detective sergeant. He was working as a freelance photographer at the Chanukah By the Sea event, a statement said.

At the club, he was a highly respected referee, but for most of the last decade, he served as a grade manager.  Randwick Rugby Club described Meagher as a “much-loved figure and an absolute legend”.

Marzo was always a lovely man, his friend Steve Keys said “Peter not only served our country by upholding our safety and laws. He actively gave back to society through his love of our sport, giving tirelessly,” Keys wrote about on Facebook. 

Reuven Morrison 

He was a businessman and a member of the Chabad community. In the 1970s, he emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Australia. 

He was living with his wife and daughter in Melbourne and built his business in Sydney. Chabad.org reported that Morrison was a “successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart.” He discovered his Jewish identity in Sydney, the report noted. 

While speaking to ABC in 2024, Morrison asserted that he had experienced persecution as a Jewish person in the Soviet Union but didn’t expect it to happen in Australia. “We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such anti-Semitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment,” he asserted.

Tibor Weitzen

Tibor Weitzen was fatally wounded while shielding his wife from the gunfire, who survived the Bondi Beach attack.

His grandson, Mendy Amzalak, told the Australian that his grandfather was a “man full of life, joy, smiles and laughter”.

Amzalak said he was one of the first responders at the site of the attack when he came across his grandfather’s body. “My family were there for the event, and my wife called me, so I ran down to the beach with my defibrillator, and the shooting was still going on. I started treating people, and then I came across his body,” he told the Australian.

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan

Yaakov Levitan is the second rabbi who died in the attack. He served as secretary of the Sydney Jewish religious organisation Beth Din, Chabad said.

An Israeli citizen

An Israeli citizen was among those killed during the attack, according to multiple reports citing the Israeli foreign ministry.

With inputs from agencies