At least 12 people have been killed and 29 have been injured in a mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday that targeted the Jewish community, according to authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).
Police said the alleged shooter was among the dead, while a second suspect was injured.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared the attack to be "a terrorist incident," and said a thorough investigation is underway.
The incident site has been sealed off, with more than a dozen ambulances and police vehicles remaining on standby.
Police said the shooting occurred around 18:40 local time, when a celebration for Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, was being held at the beach.
"What we saw was people running away, shooting from far away. We had to run, but we wanted to know what happened, really. But everyone was screaming. Everything was so messed up, so it's scary," an eyewitness said.
According to local media reports, shortly after the shooting, officers at the scene located a vehicle near the beach believed to contain several improvised explosive devices, which were removed by bomb squad specialists.
Following the incident, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Committee.
At a press conference later, he called the attack "an act of evil antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation."
The Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney said it had not received reports of casualties involving Chinese citizens by early Monday morning local time.
At least 12 killed in mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach
12 killed in mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.
"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.
Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."
Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.
Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.
German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.
According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.
"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.
He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.
Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees
