On December 14, 2025, the annual “Chanukah by the Sea” event, celebrated on the first day of Hannukah at this site for years, was attacked by two gunmen, a father and son. The two appear to have been radicalised and aligned themselves with ISIS, deciding to attack this large, public Jewish event. They opened fire on the crowd, killing fifteen people and wounding 39 more. Among the murdered were three people who had tried to stop them, and one of the wounded, Ahmed al-Ahmed. al-Ahmed succeeded in disarming the elder gunman, before being shot by the younger one. Members of the local Surf Lifesaving clubs evacuated the wounded even as the attack went on, using surfboards as makeshift stretchers, and opened their buildings for all to take shelter in.
The police soon cordoned off the area, and returned fire. The elder gunman was slain and his son wounded, and later arrested. Fortunately, the home made bombs they threw at the crowd failed to detonate, or the toll would likely have been much higher. Likewise, without the heroism displayed on the day by unarmed ordinary citizens, the numbers killed or wounded would have been larger.
