Australia falls silent, lights candles for shooting victims

AUSTRALIANS fell silent in flickering candlelight yesterday to honour the Bondi Beach shooting victims, marking one week since gunmen fired into crowds at a Jewish festival.

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A father and son are accused of targeting the beachside Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people including children and Holocaust survivors on one of the nation’s darkest days.

From raucous city pubs to sleepy country towns, Australia observed a minute's silence at 6.47pm - exactly a week since the first reports of gunfire.

Countless homes lined their windowsills with candles in a nationwide gesture of “light over darkness”.

“We're here together,” said Roslyn Fishall, a member of Sydney's Jewish community.

“Turn to strangers and hug them. Let's make peace together,” she said from a makeshift memorial at a cloud-covered Bondi Beach.

Summer winds buffeted flags lowered to half-mast across the country, including over the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge.

A candle was lit before thousands of people held their silent vigil at Bondi Beach.

However, anger spilled over at the government's perceived failure to act swiftly and forcefully enough after a rise in antisemitic incidents.