Senior Israeli intelligence officials have disclosed that Australia received warnings months in advance regarding the establishment of foreign-linked terrorist infrastructure on its soil. These activities, which include threats aimed at Jewish communities, have raised alarm due to both Iranian-directed operations and the potential resurgence of ISIS in Syria.
A high-ranking Israeli intelligence official, speaking anonymously to Fox News Digital, revealed that Israel’s foreign intelligence agency provided Australian authorities with detailed warnings. These alerts highlighted Iranian-directed terrorist activities occurring within Australia. The official clarified that while the warnings did not specifically pertain to the Bondi Beach attack, they addressed broader attempts to establish terror networks targeting Jewish individuals.
“We thwarted several imminent threats,” the official noted. “Individuals were being targeted directly.”
Police officers maintain a presence on the street following the shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 2025. (AAP/Jeremy Piper/via Reuters)
According to the official, Israeli intelligence unearthed evidence of Iranian involvement, including operatives who were allegedly armed and operating within the heart of Jewish communities, evading local detection.
In the lead-up to the Bondi Beach attack, Australia took the significant step of expelling Iran’s ambassador. This decision followed public accusations by Australian security services, which alleged that Iran was behind or facilitating attacks on Jewish targets in the country. Tehran has denied these accusations and dismissed any involvement.
After the shooting, Iranian state media published an official condemnation of the attack, denouncing the killing of civilians and rejecting any connection between Iran and the violence. Australian officials said the investigation into the attack remains ongoing and have not attributed it to a foreign state. An intelligence source said we will know in the next few days if there has been such guidance.
The Israeli intelligence assessments align with warnings from a senior foreign diplomatic source, who described the current threat environment as being driven by a global contagion effect, in which extremist networks worldwide amplify and celebrate attacks, encouraging others to replicate them.
According to the diplomatic source, online jihadist ecosystems play a central role in accelerating this dynamic, rapidly turning incitement into action. From an operational standpoint, the source said such attacks are increasingly attractive to extremists because they are relatively simple to carry out while producing disproportionate impact.
Armed police work at the scene after the shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Dec. 14, 2025. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
Two sources cautioned that the threat extends beyond Jewish targets, warning that attacks against Christian communities are also plausible, particularly during overlapping Jewish and Christian holiday periods that tend to heighten extremist motivation.
The senior Israeli intelligence official said Australia is not an isolated case, describing what he said is a sharp global rise in Iranian-linked terror activity targeting Jews.
“Since the war, there is a huge rise in attempts by Iran to execute terror all over the world against Jews,” the official said. “Not only Australia.”
The official said Israeli intelligence has identified or disrupted similar activity in Europe, Africa and Asia, including Germany, Austria and multiple locations beyond the Middle East, as well as alleged plots in South America, India and Thailand.
“If you knew how many terror attacks the Mossad has prevented, you would drop your jaw,” the official told Fox News Digital.
A second senior Israeli intelligence source said the threat landscape has worsened after two years of war in the Middle East, which the source said has energized radical Islamist movements globally.
Police teams take security measures at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday after a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community during the first night of Hanukkah. ( Claudio Galdames A/Anadolu via Getty Images)
According to the source, the threat increasingly comes from lone actors or sleeper cells, which require minimal resources and are harder to detect, but can still cause mass casualties and inspire copycat attacks.
The source warned in particular about developments in Syria, saying the instability there could allow ISIS to regroup and reemerge, creating new waves of violence beyond the region. “I’m worried about Syria and that ISIS will return,” the source said, while also warning that the recent attack in Australia could inspire further violence elsewhere.
The intelligence warnings resurfaced after a terror attack Sunday evening at a public Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic and densely populated locations.
Australian authorities said two gunmen — a father and his adult son — opened fire on the beach, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens. Police said the father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by officers and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities classified the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.
A menorah is projected onto the Sydney Opera House sails after a shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 15, 2025. (Reuters/Hollie Adams)
While Australian officials have not linked the Bondi Beach attack to foreign intelligence direction, the incident has intensified scrutiny of earlier warnings, the rise in antisemitic incidents nationwide and whether sufficient action was taken to disrupt emerging threats.
Australian leaders have condemned the attack, increased security around Jewish institutions and pledged to review counterterrorism measures.
