Bondi Mass Shooting: Israeli Minister Says IRGC, Muslim Brotherhood Put ‘World Under Threat’

Last Updated:December 15, 2025, 15:08 IST

Sharren Haskel, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, told CNN-News18 that Jewish holidays are being chosen to target Jews.

Israeli Minister Sharren Haskel says she lived in Bondi for six years and described Sydney’s Jewish community as her own. (IMAGE: X/@SharrenHaskel)

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel on Monday said the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pose a global threat and are driving radicalisation worldwide.

Haskel made the remarks in an interview with CNN-News18, a day after two individuals with links to a South Asian nation killed 16 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in what authorities have described as Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in more than three decades.

The Israeli Minister said the Bondi Beach attack was deeply personal for her, noting that she had lived in Bondi for six years and that Sydney’s Jewish community was her own. “My heart is broken," she wrote, adding that warnings issued to the Australian government had gone unheeded.

She accused the Australian government of inaction after what she described as pro-Hamas rallies were allowed to take place in the aftermath of the Gaza war triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack. Earlier, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu accused his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese for ignoring his warnings.

While the demonstrations were organised as pro-Palestine protests, footage and reporting from the period showed that a section of participants openly expressed support for Hamas — a pattern that has since drawn scrutiny across pro-Palestine protests against the Gaza war globally.

“This has been growing in Australia because even after October 7, three years back, you saw that just two days later there was a march in support of Hamas in Sydney. No one was arrested, no one was prosecuted. Authorities did nothing to stop that," Haskel said.

“The world is under threat from these radicals. The IRGC and the Muslim Brotherhood are pushing radicalisation. These organisations are radicalising the youth," she added.

Haskel said she was not targeting Muslims as a community but questioned the ideological roots of terrorism while also referring to its impact on India. “They are doing these things in Germany, in Australia and in India. It should be very clear that this is not some territorial dispute issue. This is a war between extremists and people who value law," she said.

“Let’s look at the statistics. How many suicide bombers are Jewish or Hindu? It’s zero. I am not saying all Muslims are the same. These communities themselves are paying a price. But we can also say that the source of these terror attacks is radicalised Muslims. We cannot ignore that," she added.

CBS News reported that the two accused gunmen were originally from Pakistan and legally owned six firearms, all of which authorities believe were used in the attack. Investigators are also examining evidence suggesting the pair may have assembled an improvised explosive device intended to target the Jewish gathering, according to officials cited by the American broadcaster.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that authorities are probing possible links between the attackers and the Islamic State group, with senior officials telling the network that two IS flags were found inside a vehicle linked to the gunmen near the beach, a detail New South Wales police said they could not independently confirm.

The father, identified by local media as Sajid Akram, was killed in a shootout with police and was licensed to own six firearms.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Akram first arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa and later moved to a partner visa in 2001, travelling overseas three times since. His son, identified as Naveed Akram, was born in Australia, is an Australian citizen, and remains in critical condition in hospital under police guard.

“It’s shocking to see what happened there. This Jewish community is my community. Two terrorists came hunting Jews gathered there for celebrations. We have seen throughout history that enemies look for high holidays to target Jewish communities," Haskel further said.

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