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Israel's Netanyahu accuses Australian PM of fuelling antisemitism

JERUSALEM, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Sunday's ​deadly shooting at a Jewish ​holiday celebration in Sydney and said he had warned his Australian ⁠counterpart that the country's support for Palestinian statehood would fuel antisemitism.

Gunmen opened fire during an event marking the first night ​of Hanukkah at Sydney's Bondi Beach, killing at ‍least 11 people in what ​Australian officials described as a targeted antisemitic attack. One of the suspected gunmen was also killed.

Netanyahu said the shooting was "cold blooded murder".

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Israeli Supreme Court rules against government's dismissal of attorney general

JERUSALEM, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court ruled on Sunday against ​a government push to oust the ​attorney general, who has sparred with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition ⁠over the legality of its policies, court documents showed.

In March, the cabinet held a no-confidence vote against Gali Baharav-Miara, citing substantial differences ​between the government and the attorney general, who was ‍appointed by the previous government.

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara listens on as she attends  a cabinet meeting at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on June 5, 2024.     GIL COHEN-MAGEN/Pool via REUTERS

For Australia's Jews, Bondi shooting feels tragically inevitable

By Byron Kaye and Pete Mckenzie

SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Days after Hamas attacked Israel in ​2023, killing some 1,200 people and sparking the ​war in Gaza, an inverted red triangle was spray-painted on the front of a Jewish bakery in ⁠Sydney, the first of a string of antisemitic incidents in Australia.

Sixteen months and thousands of arson, firebombing, graffiti and hate-speech incidents later, the head of the nation's main intelligence agency ​declared that antisemitism was his number one priority in terms of threat ‍to life.

People walk at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham

Bystander who tackled armed man at Bondi Beach shooting hailed as hero

By Christine Chen

SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - A bystander captured on video tackling and disarming ​an armed man during an attack in ​which 12 people were shot dead at a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach ⁠on Sunday has been hailed as a hero whose actions potentially saved lives.

Footage circulating on social media shows a man in a car park wearing a white ​shirt running up to a man in a dark shirt who ‍is holding a rifle. He then ​tackles the armed man from behind, wrenching the rifle from him with his hands before pointing the gun back at the man.

Emergency vehicles at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025. REUTERS/Izhar Khan

World reacts to shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach that killed 12

SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed and around ​a dozen wounded when gunmen ​opened fire during a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi ⁠Beach on Sunday, Australian officials said.

Following are comments from world leaders in the wake of the deadly shooting:

ANTHONY ALBANESE, ​PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA

"The scenes in Bondi ‍are shocking and distressing. Police ​and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives. My thoughts are with every person affected."

SUSSAN LEY, OPPOSITION LEADER OF AUSTRALIA

People walk at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham

Ten killed in Hanukkah shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach

By Kirsty Needham, Stella Qiu and Alasdair Pal

SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ten people were killed and around a dozen wounded after two ​gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach ​on Sunday, Australian officials said.

One suspected gunman was dead and the other in a critical condition, while 11 injured people were taken to local hospitals, police ⁠in New South Wales state said. Two police officers were also among the injured.

An Australian State Emergency Service (SES) member operates at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025. REUTERS/James Redmayne

Hamas chief negotiator says Israel's killing of senior commander threatens ceasefire

By Menna AlaaElDin and Muhammad Al Gebaly

CAIRO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Hamas' ​chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya said ​on Sunday that a targeted assassination by Israel on Saturday of ⁠one of the group's senior commanders threatens the "viability of the truce" in the enclave.

In a televised address, Hayya, who is also ​exile Gaza Hamas chief, confirmed the killing of ‍the group's senior commander Raed ​Saed in an Israeli strike a day earlier.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a car in Gaza City, December 13, 2025.REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Zelenskiy demands 'dignified' peace as US and Ukraine officials meet in Berlin

By Friederike Heine and Matthias Williams

BERLIN, Dec 14 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Sunday for ​a "dignified" peace and guarantees that Russia would not ​attack Ukraine again as he prepared to meet U.S. envoys and European allies in Berlin to ⁠end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a peace deal that initially backed Moscow's demands, Zelenskiy accused Russia of dragging ​out the war through deadly bombings of cities and Ukraine's power and ‍water supplies.

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool/File Photo

Iran's foreign minister to visit Russia and Belarus, foreign ministry says

DUBAI, Dec ​14 (Reuters) - ​Iran's ⁠Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, will ​visit ‍Russia and ​Belarus in the ⁠next two to three days, foreign ministry ​spokesperson ⁠Esmail ⁠Baghaei said on Sunday.

Iranian ‌President Masoud ​Pezeshkian met Russian counterpart Vladimir ‍Putin in Turkmenistan ‌on ‌Friday.

(Reporting by Dubai NewsroomEditing by ⁠David Goodman)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Trump vows revenge after troops in Syria killed in alleged IS ambush

Two American troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State (IS) group opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol, officials said.

"We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria," US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform, vowing "very serious retaliation."

The Islamic State destroyed many of Palmyra's famed historic artefacts when it occupied the area a decade ago