Ahmed al Ahmed, the bystander who tackled a gunman during the Sydney Hanukkah massacre, seen while being treated for his wounds on December 14, 2025. (Screenshot used in accordance with clause 27a of the coypright law)

Relatives of Muslim man who disarmed Sydney terrorist say Syria is ‘proud of him’

‘He will prove to the world that Muslims are peacemakers’: Ahmed al Ahmed is recovering from gunshot wounds after he disarmed one of the terrorists who killed 15 at Hanukkah event

by · The Times of Israel

Relatives in Syria of Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, the Muslim fruit vendor lauded for disarming one of the terrorists who attacked a Hanukkah event in Sydney, called him a hero on Wednesday, and expressed their pride.

Ahmed left his hometown in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia. His uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed, recognized him from footage circulating online.

“We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we’re proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” the uncle told Reuters.

The man said his nephew left Syria in 2006 after completing a degree at Aleppo University. He hasn’t been back since.

“Since he was young, he was gallant and a hero,” his uncle said, describing him as a happy and passionate person.

“He acted impulsively without thinking who the people were that were being killed, without knowing their religion, if they were Muslim or Christian or Jewish. That’s what made him jump up and carry out this heroic act.”

This handout photo taken and received from the NSW Premier’s Department on December 15, 2025, shows New South Wales Premier Chris Minns (L) talking with Ahmed al Ahmed, the man who tackled and disarmed one of the Bondi Beach terrorists, at St George Hospital in Sydney. (Handout/ NSW Premier’s Department/AFP)

Ahmed, who now holds Australian citizenship and has two daughters, remains in a Sydney hospital with gunshot wounds from the terror attack, which killed 15 people and wounded dozens.

A GoFundMe campaign set up for him has raised more than $1.5 million.

Back in Syria, the Ahmed family home remains in ruins from the country’s 14-year civil war. Piles of smashed cinderblocks ring the concrete carcass of the two-story house, whose walls are punctured by shelling.

“This is Ahmed’s father’s home. It got destroyed during the war. Bombing, bombing from planes, missiles – every type of weapon,” Ahmed’s cousin, who is also named Mohammad al Ahmed, told Reuters.

He said his cousin “was the reason that many innocent people who did nothing wrong were saved.”

“He will prove to the world that Muslims are peacemakers, not warmongers,” said Ahmed.