Eva Geller, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor who was shot during the December 2025 terror attack at Bondi Beach, has died in a Sydney hospital, bringing the death toll from the massacre to 16.
Geller died overnight Thursday after suffering complications from injuries sustained when two gunmen opened fire on a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, 2025. Fifteen people were killed outright in the attack, which Australian authorities have classified as an antisemitic act of terrorism.
Arsen Ostrovsky, an Australian-Israeli human-rights lawyer who survived the shooting, announced Geller’s death on social media.
“Absolutely devastating. 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!” Ostrovsky wrote on X.
Geller had fled Romania as a child during the Holocaust. According to Australian media, she was in and out of hospital in the months following the attack due to the extent of her injuries.
Rabbi Aron Moss of Nefesh Synagogue in Bondi Beach, where Geller was a member, said doctors initially told her she would never walk again. She proved them wrong, regaining the ability to walk and living to celebrate her 90th birthday, though she remained largely bedridden and kept a positive outlook, Moss said. Geller had already lost many relatives in the Holocaust and lost her husband at a relatively young age.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered condolences to Geller’s family and the Jewish community.
“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 are working with the coroner’s office as they determine next steps.
Authorities have said the two attackers, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were inspired by the Islamic State. Sajid Akram was killed by police at the scene. Naveed Akram survived and now faces 15 murder charges along with a terrorism offense.
The Dec. 14 shooting remains Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in decades. In its wake, the New South Wales government made a rapid-response police unit permanent, pointing to the attack and a broader rise in religiously motivated and hate-related offenses as justification.
A government-backed inquiry into antisemitism and social cohesion, launched after the massacre, is set to deliver its final report on Dec. 18. More than 340 witnesses testified over 62 days of hearings, and the inquiry received over 20,000 submissions.
Geller’s funeral and memorial service are scheduled for Monday, according to Australia’s ABC.
