A London-born rabbi is among 11 people killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, died when two gunmen targeted a Hanukkah celebration at a park next to the beach on the first day of the Jewish festival of lights on Sunday evening.
One of the attackers has been confirmed dead, in addition to the 11 people killed, while the second is in a critical condition police said.
Follow live: 11 people killed at event celebrating Hanukkah
Mr Schlanger was assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi, a Jewish cultural centre, according to Jewish News.
His first cousin, Brighton-based Rabbi Zalman Lewis, told the paper: “How can a joyful rabbi who went to a beach to spread happiness and light, to make the world a better place, have his life ended in this way?
“We can only respond by doing what Eli would have wanted, what he dedicated his life to – doing more mitzvot (good deeds) and to keep spreading positive energy.”
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Mr Schlanger was reportedly a father of five who, along with his wife Chayala, celebrated the birth of their youngest child, a boy, two months ago, and grew up in Temple Fortune, north London.
His cousin, who described him as “vivacious, optimistic and full of energy and life”, also paid tribute to him on social media.
“Please don’t send sympathy messages,” he wrote. “My dear cousin, Rabbi Eli Schlanger was murdered in today’s terrorist attack in Sydney. He leaves behind his wife & young children, as well as my uncle & aunt & siblings.”
Another one of his cousins, Rabbi Dovid Lewis, of the South Manchester Synagogue, told Sky News he had “dedicated his life to adding light and to spreading Torah and Judaism”.
“There’s a feeling of numbness but there’s also a feeling he lived,” he said.
“I’m not going to wallow in pity, I’m going to do something in his memory.”
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He said his cousin “lit a light”, adding: “I’m now obliged to pick up that light and become a torch bearer…
“We have got to say darkness can only be combatted with light. It’s what he did, it’s what I will do, it’s what we ask everyone else to do as well.”
Israel’s foreign ministry has said one of the country’s citizens is also among those killed.
