Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Australia’s leader on Sunday while nations expressed shock and sympathy over a mass shooting at a Jewish holiday event, saying he had warned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.”
Netanyahu during the war in Gaza has repeatedly sought to link widespread calls for a Palestinian state, and criticism of Israel’s military offensive in the territory following Hamas’ 2023 attack, to growing incidents of antisemitism worldwide.
While others in Israel’s government on Sunday also urged Australia to do more against a sharp rise in antisemitic attacks, Netanyahu went further in attempting to link the attack in Sydney that killed at least 11 people, including an Israeli, to support for a Palestinian state.
Australia was among several countries formally recognizing a Palestinian state in September during the United Nations gathering of world leaders. According to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, 159 countries have recognized Palestine. The vast majority of the international community believes that a two-state solution is the only way to end decades of conflict.
Netanyahu’s government has said the international push for a Palestinian state rewards Hamas.
Here are some global reactions to the Australia shooting:
Iran
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that “terrorism and the killing of people, wherever they occur, are unacceptable and must be condemned.” Australia in August cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and accused it of masterminding antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
United States
President Donald Trump called the shooting “a purely antisemitic attack,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “antisemitism has no place in this world.”
Britain
King Charles III said he was “appalled and saddened.” He also leads the Commonwealth, and the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday said Herzog had reached out to the king in September warning of an “epidemic of antisemitism” in three Commonwealth countries: Britain, Canada and Australia.
Meanwhile, police in London said they would step up security at Jewish sites.
Germany
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the attack “has left me speechless” and added that “this is an attack on our shared values. We must stop this antisemitism, here in Germany and worldwide.”
United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was horrified and that “My heart is with the Jewish community worldwide on this first day of Hannukah, a festival celebrating the miracle of peace and light vanquishing darkness.”
India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “ghastly terrorist attack” and said that “we stand in solidarity with the people of Australia in this hour of grief.”
World Jewish Congress
The organization’s president, Ronald Lauder, said that “No community should ever fear coming together to celebrate its faith, traditions, or identity,” adding: “Make no mistake, this will not break us.”
Australia
“I’m surrounded by antisemitic graffiti constantly. I think for our community in the east (of Sydney), and as a Christian, I just want to declare I stand with the people of Israel,” Anglican pastor Matt Graham told Australian Broadcasting Corp. He said he had been conducting a service at the nearby Bondi Anglican Church when panicked people began entering to take shelter.
Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out while world shows shock and sympathy over Australia shooting
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Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out while world shows shock and sympathy over Australia shooting
- President Donald Trump called the shooting “a purely antisemitic attack,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “antisemitism has no place in this world.”
Trump downplays importance of Russia reportedly sharing intel with Iran to help it hit US targets
- Critics charge that Trump was giving Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine
- Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets
DORAL, Florida: President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was inconsequential if Russia has provided Iran with information to help Tehran target US military personnel and assets in the Middle East as the week-old war rages.
The president dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran that has unsettled the global economy.
Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets that US intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran with such targeting information. But if Moscow is passing on such details, he said Iran was getting little out of it.
“If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them much,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he’s spending the rest of the weekend.
The president also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the US-Russia relationship.
“They’d say we do it against them,” Trump responded. “Wouldn’t they say that we do it against them?”
Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.
Downplaying the significance of Russia handing off battlespace intelligence to Iran came after the US Treasury Department announced earlier this week that it was temporarily allowing India to keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.
The administration decision to grant the world’s most populous country a temporary exemption faced bipartisan blowback. Critics charge that Trump was giving Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, condemned the move, saying in a post on X that “weakness toward Russia is appalling.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in his own X post directed at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also decried the administration’s decision.
“Reverse your decision to lift oil sanctions on Russia. It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia,” Lieu said. “Meanwhile, Russia is assisting Iran in targeting American troops.”
Trump has decided to give India leeway on oil purchases from Russia as global oil prices surge and investors across sectors worry about how long the Iran war will last.
The waiver for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government followed Trump announcing weeks ago that he was cutting tariffs on India after their officials agreed to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian crude.
India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The price of oil has surged higher and shows no signs of halting a week into a war that the US and Israel launched and has widened through the Middle East as Tehran strikes back. Ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day are unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.
The shipping disruption and damage to key Middle East oil and gas facilities has interrupted supplies from some of the world’s largest oil producers.
Asked whether he was willing to take other steps to ease oil prices, Trump said that “if there were some, I would do it, just to take a little of the pressure off.”
He appeared Saturday to wave off, at least for now, the possibility of tapping the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying the US has a “lot of oil.”
The reserve — a supply of oil that the US government can tap in case of emergencies — held more than 415 million barrels as of the end of last month, up from about 395 million barrels at this time in 2025. In total, when full, the SPR can hold more than 700 million barrels.
“We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”
