ZAKA International Unit Completes “Holy Recovery Mission” at Bondi Beach Massacre Site in Sydney

ZAKA’s international unit has completed its forensic recovery mission at the site of the Bondi Beach terror massacre in Sydney, concluding several days of continuous and complex work following the deadly attack.

According to ZAKA, the delegation operated inside a closed crime scene in full coordination with Australian authorities and members of the local Jewish community. The mission focused on the careful collection of all physical remains to allow burial in accordance with Jewish law, a task ZAKA undertakes at mass-casualty scenes around the world.

During the operation, ZAKA volunteers worked with what the organization described as extreme precision and sensitivity, collecting every possible finding from the scene. The delegation was dispatched to Australia from Israel immediately after the attack and entered the site once all required approvals were received from local authorities.

Yossi Landau, ZAKA’s Lachish region security officer and head of the delegation, described the emotional toll of the mission. “We worked here for days with a deep sense of mission,” Landau said. “The scenes at the shooting sites are extremely difficult and bring us back to the horrific events of October 7. We did everything required to complete the mission to the very end, so that not a single drop of blood would remain.”

Chaim Weingarten, ZAKA’s deputy director of operations, said the organization’s experience in international disaster zones guided the mission in Sydney. “Unfortunately, ZAKA has extensive experience operating at disaster sites around the world,” Weingarten said. “Volunteers were dispatched to this difficult event as well, on behalf of the Jewish people, to carry out this sacred task while preserving the dignity of the victims, in full cooperation with local authorities and the Jewish community.”

As part of the visit, members of the delegation met with Rabbi Yehoram Ullman, the Chief Rabbi of Sydney and a Chabad emissary to Australia. Rabbi Ullman personally thanked the volunteers for their work at the massacre site.

“Our community has suffered an enormous tragedy,” Rabbi Ullman said. “Fifteen members of our community were brutally murdered, among them my own father-in-law, who was killed in the prime of his life. ZAKA’s volunteers — angels of God — came here, and I saw up close the sacred work they carried out at the massacre site. This is work that requires immense emotional strength. My deepest gratitude for your work here in particular, and for ZAKA’s steadfast presence at disaster sites everywhere.”

ZAKA said the completion of the mission allows the families and the community to move forward with burial arrangements in accordance with Jewish tradition, marking the end of the organization’s work at the Bondi Beach site.