New intel confirms Bondi Beach terrorists’ ISIS connections, says Australia’s PM Albanese

New intelligence further confirms the suspicions that the attackers who murdered 15 Jewish Australians at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this week had connections to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, Albanese said Australia’s intelligence services found an online video feed indicating that the shooting attack at the Hanukkah event was “an ISIS-inspired attack.”

According to previous reports, Australia’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) suspected that the attackers had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, after two ISIS flags were found in their car.

The two reportedly stayed in the Philippines for nearly the entire month of November, with Australia’s ABC reporting that authorities believe they underwent military training from ISIS-affiliated groups there. However, Philippine officials say there is no evidence at the moment.

Albanese also said that the two attackers, a father and his son, were not detected earlier because they “weren’t part of a wider cell.”

The son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, had reportedly been investigated by an Australian intelligence agency in 2019 due to “his connections with two people who subsequently … went to jail,” Albanese said, adding that the investigation concluded that there was “no evidence” he had been radicalized.

Akram’s father was killed by the police on site. Naveed survived with critical wounds and will be charged with 59 separate offenses, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.

Israeli leaders have blasted the Australian government for failing to combat rising antisemitism in the country and ignoring concrete warnings that terror attacks could occur, although there was no particular warning for the Bondi Beach attack.

So far, Albanese announced that, in response to the attack, his government would crack down on “those who spread hate, division and radicalization,” and announced a new national gun buyback scheme.

The prime minister also said that next Sunday would be designated as a national “day of reflection.”

“This day is about standing with the Jewish community, wrapping our arms around them, and all Australians sharing their grief,” Albanese explained.

The prime minister has notably remained absent as the first of the 15 victims were brought to burial on Wednesday and Thursday.

Funerals for Rabbi Eli Schlanger (41), father of five and well-known as the “Bondi rabbi,” and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan (39), a father of four, were held on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Alex Kleytman (87), Tibor Weitzen (78), Reuven Morrison (62), and Matilda (10)[family name not released], were laid to rest.

Later on Thursday, Netanyahu appeared on Sky News Australia to renew his criticism of the Australian government and Albanese, who he said had ignored his warnings.

“I think the writing was on the wall,” Netanyahu charged, highlighting the “antisemitic attacks, the incitement, the marches who called to ‘globalize the intifada.’ What does that mean? It means ‘murder innocent Jews around the globe wherever you can.’”

“I called for the intensification of security arrangements around Jewish institutions,” the Israeli leader said, urging stronger action against terrorist cells to “stop them before they act.”

“I say now to the Australian Government, 'Dammit, wake up. You don’t need any more warnings, you’ve already received enough.”