ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA PRAISES AHMED AL AHMED AS A TRUE HERO

Israeli ambassador honors hero of Bondi Beach Chanukah attack

Maimon Amir praised Ahmed al Ahmed's bravery for confronting a gunman who opened fire on civilians, including children and women, calling him a "true hero." 

 

JNS

Dec 31, 2025

 

 

Ahmed al Ahmed, left, meets with Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 29, 2025.

 

Israeli Ambassador to Australia Maimon Amir met with Ahmed al Ahmed during Ahmed’s recovery from the Dec. 14 Bondi shooting, alongside New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, the Israeli Embassy in Australia said on Tuesday.

Amir praised Ahmed’s bravery for confronting a gunman firing on civilians, including children and women, calling him a “true hero.” 

Ahmed was injured while intervening in the antisemitic terrorist attack on a Jewish gathering to celebrate Chanukah at the popular beach town in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He was one of dozens who suffered gunshot wounds in the attack, which left 15 people dead.

The Syrian-born Muslim, who became an Australian citizen five years ago, told CBS News in an exclusive interview that his only goal was to save innocent lives.

“I couldn’t handle it—to hear kids, and the women, and oldest and men, screaming and asking for help,” he said.

 

Video footage shows Ahmed al-Ahmed tackling one of the two shooters during the Bondi Beach Chanukah attack on Dec. 14, 2025, in Sydney. 

 

Ahmed said he didn’t see anyone else trying to stop the massacre, so he crouched behind parked cars and waited for a chance to act.

“My soul, my mind, my everything asked me to go and defend innocent life,” the convenience store owner said. “I didn’t think about it.”

Ahmed tackled the gunman from behind, shouting at him to drop the weapon. “I don’t want to see people killed in front of me,” he said.

He was shot five times but managed to disarm the attacker. “Everything in my heart and brain worked just to save people’s lives,” he said.

Now recovering in a Sydney hospital, Ahmed said he’s proud of what he did. “I can’t call them strangers,” he said. “They are human beings, like me, like you.”