Australian teen wounded while shielding children during Bondi attack says she is not a hero

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Members of the forensic team work at the scene of a shooting during a Jewish holiday celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, December 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

SYDNEY, Dec 19 - As two gunmen opened fire on hundreds celebrating Hanukkah on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, 14-year-old Chaya Dadon’s mind was clear.

Across from where she had taken cover from the gunshots under a bench, Dadon saw two children stranded out in the open, beside their ‍wounded parents.

I ​knew in that moment, I felt like Hashem was sitting right next to me, ‍she said in an interview with Reuters, using a Hebrew name for God. He was whispering into my ear, This is your mission: go save those kids.

The ​schoolgirl left the ​safety of her hiding spot, pulled the children away and jumped on top of them, covering their bodies with her own. At some point, she was shot in the thigh. But she kept shielding them, reciting the Shema, a Jewish prayer.

I knew ‍I got shot, but I wasnt even worried, I channeled all that energy that I had into strength and I made sure ​that I knew I had to be there for those ⁠kids, she said.

If I could give up my life saving these children, thats what I was going to do.

Her father eventually found them and took her to get help. When he found me, he told me this after, that I had the girl in this arm and