The youngest and oldest victims of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting have been laid to rest as the community continues grieving after the terror attack.
Scores of friends and family flocked to a funeral home to honour 10-year-old primary school student Matilda, struck down while enjoying the day with her family on Sunday.
As well as her devastated family, mourners included NSW Premier Chris Minns, Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin, local Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite and Opposition leader Sussan Ley, who wiped away tears at the door.
Matilda has been remembered by her school as a "little ray of sunshine" who always brought joy to those around her, and by her aunt as "full of life and happy".
Her grieving father, Michael, asked the crowd gathered at the service in Bondi on Wednesday to remember his daughter's name.
"I couldn't imagine I would lose my daughter here," Matilda's mother, Valentyna, told a crowd in Bondi. Source: AAP / Flavio Brancaleone
"So just remember — remember her name."
Jewish funerals do not traditionally take place in a synagogue, with both Matilda and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, having their funeral service in a centuries-old Sydney Jewish funeral house.
Chevra Kadisha has helped the Jewish community mourn its dead since 1817, including conducting Jewish funerals, known as 'levaya'.
Many of those entering the funeral carried sunflowers and wore stickers adorned with bumblebees, which have been handed out over the past few days to commemorate Matilda.
The service for Kleytman was held earlier on Thursday morning at the funeral house.
His wife has remembered her Ukrainian-born husband for his resilience and courage after he moved to shield her from gunfire in his last moments.
Government support package
Meanwhile, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has announced a joint federal and state government support package, including $75,000 for the victims and family members of those killed in Sunday's attack.
He said the package would cover funeral and burial costs, as well as repatriation costs for family members overseas.
A community support hub at North Bondi RSL club, including representatives from the NSW Reconstruction Authority, Service NSW and Lifeline, will also be established.
The package also includes: $2 million for Jewish community organisations to support victims' families, $1 million for legal aid and services, $1 million for Jewish organisations to provide mental health support, $3.6 million for place-based recovery officers and $1.5 million for additional security at Jewish community locations.
Another $2.8 million will provide coordinators for community engagement and local community support.
Impacted small businesses in Bondi will also be able to access up to $25,000.
“This assistance package is recognition that our community is at its strongest when it pulls together — and that when it does so, terror can never prevail," Mookhey said.
“We will make every effort to ensure that one of Australia’s best loved landmarks remains a place of joy, celebration and freedom for all.”
Funerals in Sydney and Melbourne
The funerals of two other victims, Tibor Weitzen and Reuven Morrison, will also take place on Thursday in Sydney and Melbourne, respectively.
They are among 15 people killed when 55 people were shot on Sunday night.
Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, are accused of using long-arm guns to fire at a crowd of people at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday night.
Naveed, who was critically injured after being shot by police and spent days in a coma, was charged on Wednesday with 15 counts of murder — one for each of the victims — and one count of committing a terrorist act.
He did not appear or apply for bail during a brief court hearing, and the case was adjourned until April.
His father, a licensed gun owner, died at the scene.
Naveed is also charged with 40 counts of wounding with intent to murder and single counts of discharging a firearm in public, causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist symbol and placing an explosive in or near a building with intent to cause harm.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the victims at a ceremony of remembrance held at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney's CBD on Wednesday evening.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attend a memorial prayer service at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts
He was joined by multi-faith leaders and NSW Premier Chris Minns to commemorate the victims, with candles lit in their memory.
Attending a memorial at the Chabad of Bondi synagogue alongside Israel's diaspora affairs minister, Amichai Chikli, on Wednesday evening, former prime minister Scott Morrison said the charges were the first step towards closure.
"Fifty-nine charges is the least, I hope," he told Australian Associated Press as he entered the synagogue.
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