Sydney terror fears intensified Thursday as Australian police launched a counterterror operation in a southwest Sydney suburb, detaining seven men after receiving intelligence that violence was imminent. The Sydney terror investigation unfolded just days after a deadly Islamist attack at Bondi Beach, keeping authorities on high alert nationwide.
New South Wales police said tactical officers intercepted two vehicles in Liverpool, about 30 minutes from Bondi Beach, after acting on intelligence “to information received that a violent act was possibly being planned.” Officials stressed there was no confirmed link to the earlier massacre, but noted the vehicles were traveling from Melbourne toward Bondi Beach. Police detained seven men for questioning but announced no arrests, adding they believed there was no ongoing threat to the public.
The operation comes four days after a terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor. Authorities confirmed the shooting was motivated by Islamic State ideology, citing ISIS flags found in the attackers’ vehicle and their extremist associations. Police identified the attackers as a father and son who were killed at the scene after opening fire on the Jewish gathering.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal officials described the shooting as terrorism, triggering a nationwide counterterror response. Albanese later called the massacre “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah,” after facing criticism for initially omitting references to Jews or anti-Semitism.
Further scrutiny followed revelations that one attacker had previously been investigated for potential ISIS ties but was deemed not a threat, while his father legally retained firearms. The renewed Sydney terror concerns also revived debate over Australia’s security posture amid global unrest, including Albanese’s earlier decision to recognize a Palestinian state—a move critics warned could embolden extremists.
