RSS
Australian Police Announce Major Breakthrough in Hunt for Melbourne Synagogue Arsonists
Arsonists heavily damaged the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
Five months after the arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, Australian law enforcement announced a major breakthrough that could lead to the identification and arrest of those responsible for the assault that shook the local Jewish community.
The attack took place on Dec. 5, 2024, at approximately 4.30 am. At the time, two worshippers attending morning prayers spotted the flames and quickly alerted emergency services and firefighters, helping to prevent casualties and more extensive damage.
Thanks to the swift response of local authorities, the fire was contained to one section of the synagogue. While the neighboring area was heavily filled with smoke, it remained unharmed. No injuries were reported during the attack, though two people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
Following the incident, local authorities established a Joint Counter Terrorism Team, including Victorian state police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), to lead the investigation into the assault and address the rising wave of antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish communities nationwide.
On Thursday, the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) released footage of the attack, which they believe has provided a crucial breakthrough in the case, and urged anyone with information to come forward.
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, an intiative between Victoria Police, @AusFedPolice and @ASIOGovAu has released footage of those believed to responsible for an arson attack on a Synagogue in Ripponlea last year.
https://t.co/YF7sIp063s pic.twitter.com/ZkmxskJ20K— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) May 15, 2025
Based on the footage, authorities have identified a blue 2020 Volkswagen Golf sedan as the getaway car used in the attack, where two masked men set fire to the synagogue established by Holocaust survivors.
According to police records, the car is a stolen vehicle linked to several crimes around the same period, including an arson and shooting in a Melbourne suburb on the night of the synagogue attack, as well as a nightclub fire in November 2024.
As of now, authorities have arrested two suspects connected to the nightclub arson, both linked to the stolen vehicle. Although there is no evidence connecting them to the synagogue fire, investigators say they are closing in on those responsible.
“We believe several offenders are directly and indirectly connected to the synagogue arson, and our terrorism investigation is ongoing,” police said in a statement. “We remind those involved that terrorism carries a life sentence.”
“It is only a matter of time before the police knock on your door. It is in your interest to come forward now,” authorities warned those involved in the crime.
Tess Walsh, deputy commander of Victoria Police’s counter-terrorism unit, said investigators have worked “tirelessly over the past five months” to determine not only who carried out the attack, but also who planned it and why.” Authorities have appealed to the public for assistance, stressing that any detail may be crucial.
Stephen Nutt, AFP Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command, stated there was “no indication” of neo-Nazi or other extremist group involvement but emphasized that the task force continues to investigate the incident as a “politically motivated attack on the Jewish community.”
“The JCTT is leaving no stone unturned in this investigation, and I want to thank the Jewish community for their patience and support,” Nutt said during a press conference.
Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the torching of the synagogue, arguing the “abhorrent act of antisemitism” was linked to what he described as the Australian government’s “extreme anti-Israeli position.”
Antisemitism spiked to record levels in Australia — especially in Sydney and Melbourne, which are home to some 85 percent of the country’s Jewish population — following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s bloody invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
According to a report from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the country’s Jewish community experienced over 2,000 antisemitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024, a significant increase from 495 in the prior 12 months.
Following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, the number of antisemitic physical assaults in Australia rose from 11 in 2023 to 65 in 2024. The level of antisemitism for the past year was six times the average of the preceding 10 years.
The post Australian Police Announce Major Breakthrough in Hunt for Melbourne Synagogue Arsonists first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.