President Joseph Aoun delivering a speech on the eve of the 82nd anniversary of Lebanon's independence, Nov. 21, 2025. (Credit: X/Lebanese Presidency)
BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Sunday condemned the attack on Sydney's famous Bondi Beach in Australia, which killed 12 and injured several, according to the latest figures, as a Jewish holiday celebration was taking place.
"Just as we condemn and reject any attack targeting innocent civilians in Gaza, South Lebanon, or anywhere else in the world, we condemn, by the same principle and the same duty, what happened in Sydney," Aoun said.
According to Australian authorities, Sunday's shooting cost the lives of eleven people and injured several others. One of the two suspected assailants was killed, while the second, seriously wounded, is in critical condition. At the time of the shooting, a festive event was taking place on the beach to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday which begins Sunday.
Aoun also emphasized that "human values, foremost among them the right to life, are immutable universal principles, which cannot be subjected to arbitrariness, mood, or selective application."
He stressed that the responsibility for these tragedies lies with systems that "spread ideologies of hatred, extremism, and rejection of others," and that seek to "impose, through violence, regimes based on religious, ethnic or political singularity."
The Lebanese head of state also called on the international community to focus on "the root causes" and "the scope of these disasters," and to work to combat terrorism through "a comprehensive approach that addresses its perpetrators, ideologies, ways of thinking, and all its pretexts."
"Lebanon has always been, and will remain, at the forefront of this commitment, relentlessly fighting all forms of extremism, and remaining a land of openness, justice and peace among all peoples," he concluded.
