Australian lifesavers return to duty at Bondi Beach after massacre

SYDNEY, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Around 1,000 surf lifesavers returned to duty at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Saturday, restarting regular patrols six days after two gunmen killed 15 people and wounded dozens more at a seaside celebration of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

The mass shooting, Australia's worst in nearly 30 years, is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community, while authorities have ramped up patrols and policing across the country to prevent further violence.

The Bondi Beach volunteer and professional surf lifesavers, in their distinctive red and yellow uniforms, lined the sand on Saturday morning for two minutes of silence to honour the shooting victims, a Surf Life Saving Australia spokesperson said.

Peter Agnew, the group's president, said in televised remarks that the tribute was "out of respect to the Jewish community and also to support each other this morning".

On Friday, Australia's Jewish community gathered at Bondi Beach for prayers, while hundreds of swimmers and surfers formed a huge circle in the waters off the famed beach to honour victims.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday joined an event at the Great Synagogue in Sydney, writing on social media platform X: "All Australians stand together against antisemitism and hatred."

Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his centre-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism since the start of the Gaza war, has said the government would strengthen hate laws in the wake of the massacre.

Both the federal government and the state government of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, have pledged a raft of reforms, including tightening gun control laws.

Alleged gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene.

His 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, who was also shot by police and emerged from a coma on Tuesday afternoon, has been charged with 59 offences, including murder and terrorism, according to police. They believe the pair was inspired by militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Edmund Klamann)