Prime Minister Albanese denounced the attackers as “cowards” and confirmed that the National Security Committee had convened to investigate the assault as an act of terrorism.

“This attack targets Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, a day meant for joy and celebration of faith,” Albanese stated.

He was joined at the announcement by Acting Deputy Commissioner Nigel Ryan of the Australian Federal Police and Mike Burgess, Director-General of ASIO.

Ryan explained that labeling the incident as terrorism enables the AFP to collaborate with ASIO and New South Wales Police, utilizing specialized powers during the investigation.

Burgess noted that the national terrorism threat level remains at “probably,” adding, “I don’t anticipate this changing at the moment.”

The “probably” threat level indicates a 50 percent likelihood of a terror act, Burgess explained, “and tragically, we witnessed such a horrific event tonight in Australia.”

“We are looking at the identities of the attackers and where that is known, we are looking at the community to see if there is anyone who has similar intent.

“It’s important to stress at this point that we have no indications to that fact, but that is something we have active investigations on.”