The Israeli government has publicly criticised Australia’s leadership in the aftermath of a devastating mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in Sydney’s Bondi Beach that claimed at least sixteen lives and wounded dozens.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the attack that Australian authorities have described as a deliberate antisemitic terrorist act, said he had previously warned his Australian counterpart that Canberra’s political stance would exacerbate antisemitism.

Mr Netanyahu said he had written to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese months earlier, arguing that Australia’s support for recognition of a Palestinian state and other policy signals were “pouring fuel on the antisemitic fire” and emboldening extremists.

In televised remarks, he called the Bondi Beach massacre “cold-blooded murder” and said that failure to confront rising antisemitism had allowed a toxic environment to spread.

The comments followed a letter Mr Netanyahu sent in August in which he urged Mr Albanese to take stronger action against what he described as growing antisemitism in Australia, linking it to Canberra’s foreign policy decisions.

Mr Albanese condemned the Bondi Beach attack as an incomprehensible act of evil and convened a meeting of the nation’s security council to coordinate the response, emphasising that the government stands firmly against hatred and violence.

Australian leaders have mobilised federal and state resources to support investigations, bolster protection for Jewish communities and reassure the public.

The shooting, one of the deadliest in Australia in decades, has prompted deep reflection on the security of minority communities and the impact of international tensions on domestic society.

Mr Netanyahu’s remarks have resonated internationally as governments and Jewish communities worldwide seek clarity about the causes of rising antisemitic violence and strategies to prevent further tragedies.