French soccer player Dan Elkayam among 18 killed in Bondi terror attack

A French soccer player killed during the Bondi massacre has been remembered by his Sydney team as “extremely talented” and popular among his teammates.

Dan Elkayam is one of at least 16 people killed when Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, opened fire on a Hanukkah event on Sunday night, sparking chaotic scenes as hundreds of people fled the beach, screaming and running, as gunshots rang out.

The 27-year-old was remembered in a heartfelt tribute from his inner-city Sydney football club, Rockdale Ilinden FC.

“It is with extreme shock and sadness to discover our Premier League 1 player – Dan Elkayam – was a victim of the horrendous, tragic, and senseless events at Bondi Beach.

“Dan was an integral member of our PL1 Squad in 2025 – who was an extremely talented and popular figure among teammates.

“Our deepest and sincerest condolences to Dan’s family, friends and all that knew him.

“He will be missed.”

Mr Elkayam was earlier named by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as a victim of the attack.

“We mourn with his family and loved ones, with the Jewish community and the bereaved Australian people,” Mr Barrot wrote on social media, vowing France would “root out” anti-Semitism “wherever” it emerged.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with Mr Elkayam’s loved ones, saying they had “the fullest solidarity of the nation.”

Rabbi Eli Schlanger

Eli Schlanger, a beloved rabbi killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack, has also been remembered as a dear friend who “personified goodness”.

Mr Schlanger was the head of the Chabad mission in Bondi.

An emotional Australian Council of Jewry chief executive Alex Ryvchin, a close friend of the rabbi’s, returned to the scene on Monday just hours after the tragedy.

“He lived to do acts of kindness. He actually drove around in a car, which I think, said, just do good on it and he would help people light candles, and he would help old people and prisoners and jailers in remote parts of the state. That’s all he did,” he said.

“ … and without him we can say that we’ll go on and we’ll rebuild, but you don’t get people like that often, and we’ll be poorer for it. We’ll be weaker for we’ll be worse for it.”

He revealed that the rabbi had welcomed another child into his family just one month ago.

The rabbi’s family are reeling from the loss, he said.

“Every happy occasion will now be tinged with our sorrow, because he was a part of every good moment,” he said.

Mr Ryvchin said that his own daughter was “terrified” after the attack, which his family have attended every year with the exception of yesterday.

“But what do you say to kids now? How do you tell them not to be afraid when there’s people at Bondi Beach with weapons, massacring children and women in the elderly?” he said.

“How can you not be afraid?”

Mourners have been told to stay away from not just Rabbi Schlanger’s synagogue in Bondi, but all Jewish institutions, out of fears for the community’s safety.

The “unprecedented and extremely difficult decision to recommend that all communal institutions are closed until further notice” was announced by the Jewish Board of Deputies on Monday.

The rabbi’s cousin Zalman Lewis remembered his relative as an “incredible guy”.

The loss felt “confusing” and like a “piece of (their) world (was) just … missing,” he wrote online.

The rabbi’s friend Eliezer Tewel also paid tribute online.

“He was just doing his job. Showing up. Being the constant, reliable presence for his community,” Mr Tewel wrote.

“And that’s where the gut punch lands: He was killed while doing the most basic, kindest, most normal part of our lives. It wasn’t a battlefield. It was a Chanukah party.”

As authorities work to investigate the horror attack, the list of named victims – many remembered by community members – continues to grow.

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan

Rabbi Yaakov Levitan was identified as another victim gunned down in Sunday’s massacre.

He was a secretary of the Sydney Beth Din and “deeply involved” in Chabad operations in Sydney, the organisation said in a statement online.

Alex Kleytman

Holocaust survivor and Ukrainian-Australian grandfather Alex Kleytman was also killed in the attack.

His wife, Larisa, told the Daily Mail she watched her husband of five decades be gunned down trying to protect her.

“I think he was shot because he raised himself up to protect me, in the back of the head,” she said.

Mr Kleytman was fondly remembered by Mr Ryvchin as an enthusiastic community member.

“Some of my very dearest friends are dead. Their families are now destroyed, their worlds are gone,” he said.

“And some of the people that were killed are just the most gracious, kind, hearted, beautiful human beings.

“You know, there was a man in his 90s, a Holocaust survivor who would always seek me out at every communal event and shake my hand and give me some word of wisdom about media or government and how to handle things.”

Reuven Morrison

Religious institution Chabad also identified grandfather Reuven Morrison, a member of the community who lived between Melbourne and Sydney, as another victim of the attack.

“He was a longtime resident of Melbourne, where he and his wife moved to afford themselves a superior education for their daughter, Shaina,” the organisation wrote online.

“He remained deeply connected to Sydney, where he continued to do business. A successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart, notably Chabad of Bondi, which organised the event.”

The death of a 12-year-old girl was confirmed by Mr Ryvchin on CNN.

He told the network a friend had “lost his 12-year-old daughter, who succumbed to her wounds in hospital”.

“I know everyone who was (at the festival),” he said.

“That’s an event where I attend with my family every single year.”

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park told the ABC a child was among the 16 people who had died.

Four children had been transferred to Sydney Children’s Hospital, he said.

The 15 victims had yet to be formally identified, NSW Police said, however authorities believes their ages ranged between 10 and 87.