Australian police carried out a counterterror operation in a Sydney suburb on Thursday, intercepting two vehicles and detaining seven men after receiving intelligence that a violent act was possibly being planned.
New South Wales police said tactical officers stopped the vehicles in the southwest suburb of Liverpool, about 30 minutes from Bondi Beach, and emphasized they had not identified a direct connection to the recent terror attack at the beach, according to CBS News. Police said they were responding "to information received that a violent act was possibly being planned."
The vehicles had been traveling from the city of Melbourne and were heading towards Bondi Beach, authorities said. Though the men were detained, no arrests were announced. Police added that they believed there was no ongoing threat to the public.
The counterterrorism operation comes 4 days after the terror attack at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor, at a Hanukkah celebration. Australian officials have confirmed the shooting was motivated by Islamic State ideology, citing evidence including ISIS flags recovered from the suspects’ vehicle and their prior extremist associations.
Authorities identified the attackers as a father and son who opened fire on the Jewish holiday gathering before being killed by police. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal law enforcement officials said the attack is being treated as an act of terrorism, prompting a nationwide counterterror response and additional raids.
Reports revealed that one of the attackers had previously been investigated by Australian authorities for potential ISIS ties but was ultimately deemed not to pose a threat. His father was allowed to legally retain firearms under Australian law.
Albanese faced criticism for his initial statements on the anti-Semitic terrorist attacks, in which he failed to mention Jews, Hanukkah, or anti-Semitism. He eventually called the shooting "a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah."
The prime minister was one of several world leaders who recognized a Palestinian state in September, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both leaders warned at the time that the recognition would reward Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
