Australia begins day of mourning for victims of Bondi Beach attack

By Alasdair Pal

SYDNEY, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Australia began a national day of mourning on Thursday for the victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, with flags across the country ‍flown at half mast ahead of a commemoration event at Sydney’s iconic Opera House.

A father and son allegedly opened fire at an event celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on December 14, killing 15 people in Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades.

Police claim the men were inspired by ‌Islamic State to carry out the attack, that ‌the government has called an act of terrorism against Jewish people.

“Today is an opportunity for us to remember and pay respect to the 15 lives,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Thursday.

“It’s an opportunity for ​us as a nation to wrap our arms around the Jewish community because people were targeted because they were Jewish Australians.”

A ‍minute’s silence, including on the country’s ​main television channels, will be held across the nation ​just after 7 p.m. local time in Sydney (0800 GMT) when the ‍memorial event begins.

“This will be an opportunity to just take that minute to really think about what’s happened and to pay respects, and I invite all Australians to participate in observing that minute of silence,” Albanese said.

Event attendees, including relatives of the victims, ‍will light candles and hear speeches from lawmakers, as well as Jewish prayers and video tributes.

Buildings across the country, including cricket stadiums in Melbourne ‍and Perth, will ‍also be illuminated.

The Bondi attack shocked the nation ​and led to calls for tougher action on antisemitism ​and ⁠gun control, with Albanese pledging to tackle both.

Australia’s ‌lower house of parliament on Tuesday passed laws to enable a national gun buyback and tightened background checks for gun licences, despite opposition from the conservative opposition.

Lawmakers are also debating separate legislation that would lower the threshold for prosecuting hate speech offences.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing ⁠by Michael Perry)