A ZAKA delegation began operating at the scene of the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney, Australia, after receiving an emergency permit to enter an area that had been completely closed until now.
The operation is being carried out in professional cooperation with the Sydney Police, local security forces, and representatives of the city's Jewish community.
ZAKA volunteers reported that the scene was left exactly as it was immediately after the attack. The volunteers began collecting blood and other items that require burial according to Jewish law.
The operation is being accompanied by the Sydney Police, which expressed deep understanding of the importance of the organization's work. Earlier, members of the delegation met with Commissioner Krissy Barrett of the Australian Federal Police and with Interior and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who expressed deep shock at the attack and thanked the delegation.
Yossi Landau, ZAKA unit commander for the Lachish region and head of the delegation, said, "Since the attack, the scene was completely closed, and only after sustained efforts by us and members of the Jewish community to negotiate with the authorities were we allowed to enter the site. We entered and saw a silent testimony to lives cut brutally short. The sights and smells immediately brought flashbacks to October 7. It is the same evil and the same pain. We worked with devout reverence to collect and gather all the items and blood left at the scene, so that not a single drop of blood would be left behind. This is our moral and Jewish obligation."
ZAKA emphasized that there are a large number of separate scenes in the shooting. At first light (Wednesday), the teams are expected to return to their operations.