A Holocaust survivor, a 10-year-old and a Chabad rabbi were among the 15 people killed when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event at Australia's Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Hundreds of people had gathered to mark the first day of the Jewish festival, before the attackers struck at the event in Sydney.
The dead range in age from 10 to 87, and include French, Slovak and Israeli citizens, officials have said. At least 40 people were also wounded.
Police have not publicly identified any of the victims, but the names of some have been shared by family and friends.
Here are some of the victims identified so far:
Matilda Britvan
Ten-year-old Matilda Britvan was identified as one of those killed in the attack by her aunt, Lina Chernykh.
Chernykh told Australia’s Channel 9 that her niece was “a happy kid,” and that their heartbroken family would never recover from their loss.
“Everywhere she goes, she was like a sun,” Chernykh said.
Channel 9 reported that Matilda and her six-year-old sister Summer were enjoying the celebrations at the beach Sunday when gunshots rang out. Matilda was fatally shot in front of her sister, according to the outlet.
Alex Kleytman
Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, was identified as one of the victims of Sunday's attack.
His wife, Larisa Kleytman, also a Holocaust survivor, confirmed his death to The Australian newspaper, saying she heard loud “boom” sounds before seeing him fall to the ground.
“He came on Bondi Beach to celebrate Hanukkah, for us it was always a very, very good celebration, for many, many years,” Larisa Kleytman told the outlet.
The couple emigrated from Ukraine and had been married for 57 years, living in Matraville in Sydney’s southeast, The Australian reported.
They recounted their experiences to charity JewishCare in 2023, with Alex describing "dreadful conditions in Siberia where he, along with his mother and younger brother, struggled for survival," the organization's annual report stated, according to The Australian.
Kleytman was a retired civil engineer, it said.
Dan Elkayam
French citizen Dan Elkayam was identified as one of the victims by Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs.
“We mourn with his family and loved ones, with the grieving Jewish community and the Australian people,” Barrot said in a statement on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron also shared a statement about Elkayam's death on X: "I am thinking of his family and loved ones and express to them the full solidarity of the nation," Macron wrote.
A Sydney-based soccer club, Rockdale Ilinden FC, said in a statement on Facebook that Elkayam, 27, was a "Frenchman of Jewish faith" and "an extremely talented midfield player" with a passion for soccer. The club said he lived in eastern Sydney with his girlfriend and "loved the Australian way of life."
According to a LinkedIn page that NBC News has verified as belonging to Elkayam, he was an IT systems administrator who recently moved from France to Australia "to explore new opportunities."
Eli Schlanger
A cousin of a Eli Schlanger, a Chabad rabbi who helped organize the Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach, confirmed his death in the attack.
“He was truly an incredible guy,” his cousin, Zalman Lewis, said in a post on Instagram that he shared with a picture of Schlanger.
Despite the tragedy, Lewis wrote that the positive light of Hanukkah will triumph against the darkness. "I knew Eli well enough to know he’d concur," he said, encouraging the Jewish community to pray and light Hanukkah candles.
On a Facebook page that NBC News has linked to Schlanger, he promoted the "Chanukah by the Sea at Bondi Beach" event last week. The page also says that Schlanger hails from London, England.
Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia, a non-profit that supports people living in areas that have little Jewish presence, also identified Schlanger among the deceased on Sunday, saying: "Our hearts are shattered."
Motti Seligson, a fellow rabbi and friend of Schlanger, told NBC News that Schlanger is survived by his wife and five children — all of whom were at the Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach when the shooting occurred.
One of his children is barely two months old, Seligson said.
Schlanger also has several siblings in Australia, according to Seligson, who said he has spoken to some of them since the shooting.
"They're all obviously numb and in shock," he said.
"Schlanger served his community and really personified righteousness and service and dedication," according to Seligson.
Yaakov Levitan
Another Chabad rabbi reported killed in the attack was Yaakov Levitan.
His death was confirmed to Guardian Australia by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, a senior member of Sydney Beth Din, a rabbinic court.
The Chabad organization said in post on Instagram confirming his death that Levitan served as the secretary of the Sydney Beth Din and was deeply involved in Chabad operations in Sydney.
Peter Meagher
Peter “Marzo” Meagher was identified as killed in the attack by his Sydney-based rugby club, Randwick Rugby.
In a statement shared on its website, the club’s general manager, Mark Harrison, said Meagher was an “absolute legend” in the club, and served as a manager, referee and volunteer.
Harrison said Meagher, a former police officer, was working as a freelance photographer at the Hanukkah event at Bondi and “for him it was simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”
Tibor Weitzen
The granddaughter of Tibor Weitzen, 78, identified him as killed in the attack.
Leor Amzalak told Australia’s ABC News that Weitzen was "truly the best you could ask for."
"He was so proud of us … and loved us more than life itself," Amzalak told the outlet, which reported that Weitzen immigrated to Australia from Israel in 1988. “He only saw the best in people and will be dearly missed,” Amzalak said.
Marika Pogany
Slovak citizen Marika Pogany has been identified among those killed by several of her friends quoted by Australia’s Channel 7.
Slovakia's former president, Zuzana Čaputová, said in a statement on Facebook that Marika was a close friend, identifying her by her first name only.
The country's current leader, Peter Pellegrini, also said on X Monday that a Slovak woman named Marika was killed in the attack, extending his “heartfelt and sincere condolences" to her family.
Pellegrini condemned the “brutal, deadly attack on innocent people” as he expressed solidarity with Australia, which he said was “plunged into grief and shock.”
