Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Australia’s leader on Sunday while nations expressed shock and sympathy over a mass shooting at a Jewish holiday event, saying he had warned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.”
Netanyahu during the war in Gaza has repeatedly sought to link widespread calls for a Palestinian state, and criticism of Israel’s military offensive in the territory following Hamas' 2023 attack, to growing incidents of antisemitism worldwide.
While others in Israel’s government on Sunday also urged Australia to do more against a sharp rise in antisemitic attacks, Netanyahu went further in attempting to link the attack in Sydney that killed at least 11 people, including an Israeli, to support for a Palestinian state.
Australia was among several countries formally recognizing a Palestinian state in September during the United Nations gathering of world leaders. According to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, 159 countries have recognized Palestine. The vast majority of the international community believes that a two-state solution is the only way to end decades of conflict.
Netanyahu's government has said the international push for a Palestinian state rewards Hamas.
Here are some global reactions to the Australia shooting:
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that “terrorism and the killing of people, wherever they occur, are unacceptable and must be condemned.” Australia in August cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and accused it of masterminding antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
President Donald Trump called the shooting “a purely antisemitic attack,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “antisemitism has no place in this world.”
King Charles III said he was “appalled and saddened.” He also leads the Commonwealth, and the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday said Herzog had reached out to the king in September warning of an “epidemic of antisemitism” in three Commonwealth countries: Britain, Canada and Australia.
Meanwhile, police in London said they would step up security at Jewish sites.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the attack “has left me speechless” and added that “this is an attack on our shared values. We must stop this antisemitism, here in Germany and worldwide.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was horrified and that “My heart is with the Jewish community worldwide on this first day of Hannukah, a festival celebrating the miracle of peace and light vanquishing darkness.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “ghastly terrorist attack” and said that “we stand in solidarity with the people of Australia in this hour of grief.”
The organization's president, Ronald Lauder, said that “No community should ever fear coming together to celebrate its faith, traditions, or identity,” adding: “Make no mistake, this will not break us."
"I’m surrounded by antisemitic graffiti constantly. I think for our community in the east (of Sydney), and as a Christian, I just want to declare I stand with the people of Israel,” Anglican pastor Matt Graham told Australian Broadcasting Corp. He said he had been conducting a service at the nearby Bondi Anglican Church when panicked people began entering to take shelter.
Police cordon off an area at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Police in Rhode Island say they have a person of interest in custody after a shooting at Brown University killed two students and wounded nine others.
The incident happened Saturday afternoon in a classroom during final exams.
The shooting paralyzed the campus, with students sheltering in place for hours. Nine students with gunshot wounds were taken to the hospital, with one in critical condition. An FBI agent says the arrest took place at a hotel in Coventry, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Providence.
The latest:
A group that works to end gun violence has issued a statement in support of the victims of the shooting at Brown University.
The statement was released Saturday by Sandy Hook Promise.
“Thirteen years ago today, 26 precious lives were stolen at Sandy Hook Elementary. It was an attack that could have been prevented if the warning signs had been taken seriously. Now, the Brown University community has been shaken by this same kind of nightmare, students shot and killed in their classroom,” the statement said.
“The fact that these college students were elementary school students in 2012 underscores the sobering truth: an entire generation of youth in America has grown up with threats of being shot in a classroom.”
Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez did not give any details about the progress of the investigation except to say it was progressing “extremely fast.”
No other information about the progress of the investigation was released at a noon press conference in Providence.
Meanwhile, the city's mayor said he visited victims in the hospital.
“The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me was frankly overwhelming,” Mayor Brett Smiley said.
Armed with a handgun, the shooter fired more than 40 9 mm rounds, according to a law enforcement official.
Authorities as of Sunday morning hadn’t recovered a gun but did recover two loaded 30-round magazines, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
— by Alanna Durkin Richer
Classes and exams have been canceled. University officials also said students are free to leave.
Those who remain on campus will have access to services and support, Provost Francis Doyle said in a statement.
“At this time, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing care and support to the members of our community as we grapple with the sorrow, fear and anxiety that is impacting all of us right now,” Doyle wrote.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, one of the leading Democratic voices on gun policy, said Sunday that the prospects of new restrictions on firearms were “slim.”
“As we know right now, unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress don’t ever meaningfully break from this president,” Murphy said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” arguing that Trump and the GOP were too aligned with the gun lobby.
Murphy added: “That doesn’t mean I won’t try.”
A police officer hangs yellow crime tape at Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
A police vehicle rests at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A law enforcement official directs traffic in a neighborhood near Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday, Dec. 13 shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
