Police said that weeks prior to the assault, Bondi attackers practiced shooting and threw explosives

Police claim that the attackers in Bondi had been planning for months, rehearsing their shooting skills, and throwing functional explosives prior to firing on civilians.

Authorities claim that the assailants responsible for the recent fatal incident at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach launched several homemade explosive devices at the beginning of the attack and had practiced the operation weeks in advance.

Newly released court documents reveal that the attackers deployed four undetonated explosives, including a device referred to as a “tennis ball bomb,” as they neared the footbridge close to the Hanukkah celebration on December 14. The devices did not detonate, yet authorities later evaluated them as functional.

Naveed Akram, 24, faces multiple charges, including 15 counts of murder. During the attack, he was shot by police, received treatment in the hospital, and was transferred to prison on Monday. Another alleged gunman, recognized as his father, Sajid Akram, was killed at the scene.

The police claim that the two individuals carefully orchestrated the attack over a period of months, driven by a violent extremist ideology associated with the Islamic State group. Investigators report that videos retrieved from Naveed Akram’s phone reveal the two individuals recording a manifesto in October, positioned in front of an Islamic State flag, where they articulate their motivations and denounce what they refer to as the actions of “Zionists.”

Another video reportedly depicts the duo engaging in firearms training in what authorities suspect to be rural New South Wales. The footage shows the two individuals firing shotguns and maneuvering with tactical precision, as detailed in police statements submitted to the court.

Investigators have reportedly obtained CCTV footage that places the pair at Bondi Beach two days prior to the attack, where they were allegedly conducting reconnaissance. Authorities report that the video captures them traversing the same footbridge from which they subsequently discharged their weapons at civilians.

Extra CCTV footage from a rented property in the Sydney suburb of Campsie reportedly recorded the men departing hours prior to the attack, carrying long, bulky objects concealed in blankets. Authorities report that the items seized comprised three firearms, homemade improvised explosive devices, and two flags associated with the Islamic State.

Investigators claim that the duo traveled to Bondi, positioned the flags within the front and rear windows of their vehicle, and subsequently took out the weapons and explosives before proceeding toward the footbridge. As they drew near, three pipe bombs and the tennis ball bomb were reportedly thrown but did not explode. Authorities later discovered a fifth explosive device within their vehicle.

On Monday, a temporary suppression order that safeguarded the identities of survivors was lifted after media organisations submitted an application, although the majority of survivor names continue to be redacted.

According to police, Naveed Akram was absent from his court hearing on Monday because of injuries he sustained during the attack.