Australian Jews hold prayers, hundreds of surfers paddle out at Bondi to honour shooting victims

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SYDNEY, Dec 19 - Australias Jewish community gathered at Sydneys Bondi Beach on Friday for prayers, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers paddled out into the water to honour the 15 victims killed after alleged father-and-son gunmen opened fire at people celebrating Hanukkah.

Authorities have said Sundays shooting, ‍Australias deadliest ​in almost 30 years, appears to have been inspired by the Islamic State, and ‍police have ramped up patrols and policing in an effort to prevent further violence.

Late on Thursday, police said they had intercepted two cars and detained seven men ​in Sydneys ​southwest after receiving information that a violent act was possibly being planned.

Australian police said the men, who were known to authorities, likely had similar links to extremist Islamic ideology as the two alleged Bondi gunmen.

We have some indication that Bondi was one of the locations they ‍might be visiting yesterday but with no specific intent in mind or proven at this stage, New South Wales state Police Deputy ​Commissioner David Hudson told ABC Radio.

A knife was found, but no ⁠guns, Hudson said.

Islamic State has called the Bondi mass shooting a source of pride, in an article published on the groups telegram channel, though it did not explicitly claim responsibility.

At the beach on Friday, names of victims were read out during the prayer at the site of the attack as swimmers entered the water in a ​show of solidarity.

Community leaders described the support as deeply moving amid heightened fears over a surge in antisemitic incidents since the war in Gaza.

Over the past two ‌years, theres been a lot of people who have been ​questioning whether