💔 TEARS FOR A HERO 💔
The father of the forgotten “red-shirt hero” breaks down, speaking about his son’s condition after bravely risking his life at Bondi Beach: “Will my boy recover?” 😔
One shocking update about his injuries has left the community holding their breath… 👀 READ MORE 👇

Mystery Bondi hero identified as he fights for life

Gefen Bitton was filmed running to help Ahmed Al Ahmed, who became a national hero. Photo: Supplied

The identity of a mystery hero who ran towards the Bondi gunfire before he was critically shot has been revealed.

Previously referred to as “red shirt man”, he was seen in video rushing to help Ahmed Al Ahmed, who was trying to wrestle a weapon from one of the shooters.

Friends have identified the unknown identity as Gefen Bitton, an Israeli national who has been working in Australia for about three years as a garage door technician, 7NEWS reports.

Instead of running away from the scene with his friend when gunshots rang out, Britton turned back to help.

Soon after, his sister in Israel received a phone call from Bitton saying he had been shot, 7NEWS reports.

His sister alerted his friends in Sydney who later found him at St Vincent’s Hospital where he remains in intensive care after undergoing multiple surgeries.

It’s believed he was allegedly shot by Naveed Akram when he raced towards the scene to help.

One of Bitton’s friends, Tom Cohen, told 7 NEWS he remained in intensive care, was unresponsive, and had undergone five surgeries.

His pelvis was shattered when he was shot near the hip and had severe internal injuries.

Gefen Bitton was reportedly shot three times.

Another friend, Cayli Barr, said Britton put himself at risk to save the lives of others.

“Gefen had escaped, he was safe, but when he saw the terrorist, he ran into the line of fire to help,” Barr wrote on a GoFundMe page.

“As Ahmad Al Ahmad heroically jumped on the terrorist, Gefen ran in alongside to confront the terrorist.

“There, he was shot, fell to the ground, and shot again.

“Now in the ICU, Gefen’s put his own life at risk with his selfless actions.

“He ran into the face of danger like only a hero does, guided by the values on which he was educated and raised.”

PM attends synagogue

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his wife Jodie Heydon attended a service at the Great Synagogue in Sydney to “honour the memory of those lost”.

Earlier on Friday the prime minister announced the nation’s largest gun buyback since the Port Arthur mass shooting “to get more guns off our streets”.

Gun owners would be offered cash for their firearms, and Albanese said “hundreds of thousands” would be collected and destroyed.

Seven men with links to Islamic extremism were intercepted and arrested in Sydney are considering legal action after they were released without charge.

The group was travelling in convoy, potentially towards Bondi Beach, when tactical police rammed their cars in Liverpool and took them into custody on Thursday.

The men were arrested on suspicion they were plotting a violent act, detaining them under special counterterrorism powers.

But about 4pm AEDT on Friday the men, aged between 19 and 24, were released.

The men however insist they don’t have links to any extremist views, claiming they were driving to their Airbnb while on holiday in Sydney.

“We didn’t do nothing wrong, there was nothing found on us,” one of the men told reporters after being released.

The group believed they had been targeted due to their appearance and religion.

“My head got smashed, I was bleeding all over my head. They were like ‘bloody terrorists’,” said another man who walked out of the station with his head heavily taped.

Sydney lawyer Ahmed Dib said the men were considering legal action.

The NSW police commissioner earlier conceded there was likely not enough evidence to lay charges.

“The justification for their ongoing detention no longer exists,” Mal Lanyon told reporters on Friday.

“If they haven’t been charged, they’re not subject to bail conditions … we will monitor these men whilst they’re in NSW.”

Video shared on social media shows tactical operations officers carrying large weapons arresting several men at a busy intersection in Liverpool.

NSW Police usually cannot detain people without charge for longer than six hours for the purposes of an investigation.

But a magistrate approved a special warrant under counterterrorism laws, allowing the seven men to be held until Friday night without charge.

The men were believed to have arrived from Victoria on Wednesday and all were known to Victorian police, Mr Lanyon said.

No firearms were found in the cars, but one knife was seized.

One of the men was reportedly under the watch of domestic spy agency ASIO.

Police, acting on information from another agency, believe the men might have been planning to commit a violent act at a number of locations, including Bondi Beach.

“The potential of a violent offence being committed was such that we were not prepared to tolerate the risk,” Mr Lanyon said.

A link of Islamic extremist ideology between the men was being investigated despite the full intentions of the group remaining unknown, the commissioner said.

He stressed there was no definitive link yet between the group and either Sajid or Naveed Akram, the father-and-son gunmen involved in the Bondi massacre.

Homemade Islamic State flags were found in a car registered to one of the gunmen.

The potential of the Bondi shootings to embolden other extremists was concerning but the speed of the police response was encouraging, the NSW premier said.

“(The police are) not mucking around and I don’t think anyone in NSW wants them to muck around,” Chris Minns said.