The victims of Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years have not yet been officially identified, CNN reports, but their families and friends are paying tribute to those they lost.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the victims ranged in age from 10 to 87.
Matilda
Matilda's aunt described her as "a very sweet and happy child, with a beautiful smile", reports this media.
She was enjoying a celebration on Bondaj beach with her parents, younger sister and friends when two attackers opened fire, the text states. Matilda was wounded in the shooting and rushed to the hospital, where doctors unsuccessfully tried to save her life.
"Children should be happy. They should be playing on the beach, not thinking about bullets flying around," said her aunt Lina, who did not want to share the family's last name, CNN writes.
Matilda's language teacher described her, as stated, as a "bright, joyful and lively child who brought light to everyone around her".
The family moved from Ukraine to Australia in the 1990s and enjoyed walks on the beach, picnics in the park and trips to the zoo, Lina said, as reported by this American media.
The Harmony Russian School in Sydney announced on Facebook that Matilda was their former student. "We honor her life and the time she spent as part of our school family," the announcement said, according to CNN.
Rabin Eli Šslanger
Rabbi Eli Schlanger (41) organized the "Hanukkah by the Sea" event on Bondi Beach, CNN writes.
"Schlanger was a dedicated rabbi and chaplain," the Jewish organization that organized Hanukkah said in a statement, adding that he worked tirelessly "to support Jewish life in the Bondaj community," reports this media.
"For 18 years, the Schlanger family served the Jewish community, but the rabbi's influence extended far beyond the walls of a synagogue. He was a chaplain in the New South Wales Correctional Services and Prisoners of War; he was also a chaplain at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, where he provided support to patients and their families," the statement said.
Schlanger's cousin, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, described him as "a truly amazing man" in a Facebook post. "He leaves behind his wife and small children, as well as my uncle and aunt and brothers and sisters," it said.
The rabbi, born in Great Britain, was the father of five children, and his youngest son was only born in October, Chabad confirmed.
"Schlanger will be buried in Jerusalem," added the statement reported by CNN.
Alex Kletman
Alex Kletman (87) was a Holocaust survivor who died while protecting his wife from the bullet of one of the attackers with his body, according to the Jewish organization Chabad, according to this media.
Kletman, born in Ukraine, left behind his wife, two children and 11 grandchildren, the Chabad statement added.
CNN affiliate 9News reported that Kletman survived the Holocaust with his mother and younger brother in Siberia, before he and his wife moved from Ukraine to Australia. They were married for almost 60 years, it is said.
French citizen Dan Elkajam was among those killed, this media writes.
And Elkajam
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barot said Elkayam had gathered on Bonday Beach with other members of the Jewish community to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. "France will spare no effort to eradicate anti-Semitism wherever it appears and to fight terrorism in all its forms," he wrote on the X network, according to CNN.
Elkayam was a football fan. Elkayam recently moved from France to Australia and has been working in technical support at the Sydney office of global media company NBC Universal since last December, according to data from his LinkedIn profile, this media reports.
Rabbi Jacob Levitan was "deeply involved in Chabad activities in Sydney". Reuven Morrison was a businessman and a longtime resident of Melbourne, Chabad announced, reports CNN.
Originally from the former Soviet Union, Morrison "discovered his Jewish identity" in Sydney. Peter Meagher, a former New South Wales detective and member of the rugby club, was also killed in the shooting. Miger was working as a freelance photographer at a Hanukkah event at the time of the attack.
Tibor Weizen (78) is remembered as a "sweet boy" who "loved life". Marika Poganj, an 82-year-old citizen of Slovakia, was fatally shot while attending a Sunday Hanukkah event, TV 9News reported. Poganj was a close family friend of the former president of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputova, who stated on Monday in a post on the Facebook page of the Slovak Jewish Association that only Poganj's mother and uncle returned from the Auschwitz concentration camp, writes CNN.
