Hundreds of people gathered on Thursday morning in Sydney at the levayos of the youngest and eldest victims of the Bondi beach massacre.

Matilda B., H’yd, 10, was cruelly gunned down as she was attending the Chanukah Chabad event. Her heartbreaking levaya was held at Sydney’s Chevra Kadisha.

Matilda’s mother previously spoke to the press, saying she cannot get the sight of her child being gunned down in front of her out of her mind.

In a cruel twist of irony, her parents fled war-torn Ukraine in hopes for a safer life in Australia.

Relatives and friends distributed bumblebee balloons at the levaya, a reference to her nickname, Matilda Bee, and stickers were distributed of a bumblebee holding a menorah.

The levaya of Alex Kleytman, H’yd, 87, a Holocaust survivor who was shot dead as he protected his wife, also took place on Thursday.

A statement issued by the family on Thursday said, “Alex loved his wife, Larisa, with unparalleled passion, the kind you only see in the movies. He discovered Judaism in his 50s and became observant after immigrating to Australia, where he married Larisa AGAIN on the 25th anniversary of their civil wedding, but this time according to Jewish law.”

“Equally, he cherished Australia, the Australian way of life, the freedom, democracy, people, all of it. In his presence, no one could ever criticize anything about his beloved new home.”

Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon wrote, “We mourn the loss of Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman. After enduring the horrors of the Nazi regime, to face the same antisemitic hatred once again at Bondi Beach is truly heartbreaking. Alex, a beloved husband, father, and grandfather, leaves behind a family who cherished him deeply. Ambassador Maimon was honored to recite a prayer at the memorial service. Now more than ever, we must stand together and reaffirm our promise to never forget. May Alex’s memory be a blessing, always.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)