A man hailed as a hero for wresting a gun from one of the attackers during the Hanukkah terror attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach has received over A$2.5 million in donations from tens of thousands of people worldwide, Reuters reported Friday.
Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, was credited with saving lives when he hid behind parked cars before charging at one of the terrorists from behind, seizing his weapon, and knocking him to the ground. Moments later, he was shot and wounded by a second terrorist. He remains in St. George Hospital after undergoing surgery.
Videos posted online on Friday showed Ahmed, a Muslim father of two, receiving an oversized cheque at his hospital bed from social media influencer Zachery Dereniowski, who co-organized the GoFundMe campaign. When handed the cheque, Ahmed asked, “I deserve it?” Dereniowski replied, “Every penny.”
More than 43,000 people donated to the fundraiser, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who contributed A$99,999 and shared the campaign on his X account.
Footage of Ahmed’s heroics:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the New South Wales state premier both visited Ahmed in the hospital to commend his bravery.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Ahmed said, “To stand with each other, all human beings. And forget everything bad ... and keep going to save life.”
Reflecting on the day of the attack, he added, “When I saved the people I (did it) from the heart because it was a nice day, everyone enjoying celebrating, with their kids, woman, man, teenager all, everyone was happy and they deserve, they deserve to enjoy.”
Ahmed, who owns a tobacco shop, did not disclose how he plans to use the funds. He fled his hometown in Syria’s Idlib province nearly two decades ago to build a new life in Australia.
15 people were murdered and dozens wounded in the attack on Sunday.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)