Australia's spy chief told an inquiry that anti-Semitism escalated and went unchecked in the country following the start of the Gaza war. This rise in severity preceded the Bondi Beach mass shooting.

Australia’s spy chief on Monday told an inquiry into the Bondi Beach mass shooting that anti-Semitism was left unchecked in the country after the start of the war in Gaza. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation head Mike Burgess added that before the attack that killed 15 people attending a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in December 2025, anti-Semitism had escalated in severity from “intimidating behaviour to direct targeting of people”.