Holocaust survivor dies from Bondi Beach terror attack injuries, raising toll to 16

Eva Geller, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor who was seriously wounded in the Bondi Beach terror attack nearly a year ago, died in a Sydney hospital overnight Thursday, raising the death toll from the massacre to 16.

Geller was among dozens wounded when two gunmen opened fire on a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, 2025. Fifteen people were killed in the shooting, which Australian authorities have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack.

Australian-Israeli human-rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky, who survived the attack, mourned Geller’s death on Friday.

“Absolutely devastating,” Ostrovsky wrote on X. “Eva Geller, 90, shot during the Bondi terror attack, has just died, following complications from her injuries, becoming the 16th victim of the massacre. Eva was a HOLOCAUST survivor!

Geller, who fled Romania as a child during the Holocaust, had been in and out of the hospital because of the extensive injuries she suffered in the shooting, according to Australian media.

Rabbi Aron Moss of Nefesh Synagogue in Bondi Beach, which Geller attended, said doctors had initially told her that she would never walk again.

Through determination, however, she managed to walk again and lived to celebrate her 90th birthday, Moss said. Although largely bedridden after the attack, she retained her positive outlook.

Geller had lost many relatives during the Holocaust and later lost her husband at a relatively young age, according to the rabbi.

‘An act of terror and antisemitism’

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed condolences to Geller’s family and the Jewish community following her death.

“Eva should have been able to celebrate Chanukah in peace and safety and instead, her life was changed forever by an act of terror and antisemitism,” Albanese said.

New South Wales police said they were aware of Geller’s death and were awaiting further advice while working with the coroner’s office.

Police have said the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were inspired by Islamic State. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while his son survived and faces 15 murder charges and a terrorism offense.

The Dec. 14 attack was Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in decades. The New South Wales government has since made a rapid-response police unit permanent, citing the Bondi Beach antisemitic terror attack and an increase in religiously motivated and hate-related offenses.

A government-backed inquiry into antisemitism and social cohesion, established following the massacre, is due to issue its final report on Dec. 18. More than 340 witnesses testified during 62 days of hearings, and the inquiry received more than 20,000 submissions.

Geller’s funeral and memorial service are scheduled for Monday, according to Australia’s ABC.