The Portuguese government today strongly condemned the attack on a Jewish celebration on Australia’s Bondi Beach, which left 16 dead, and at least 40 others injured.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign affairs described the horror as “a heinous act of anti-semitism”.

Similar statements of repudiation and commiseration have come from countries, religions and groups around the world.

The Portuguese government expressed “deepest condolences to the families of the victims, to the Australian people and authorities, as well as to the entire Jewish community.”

Two attackers (possibly three: this is still being ascertained) opened fire today on a crowd celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney, in what Australian police described as a “terrorist act” against the Jewish community.

According to various media outlets, 16 people were killed (not including one of the attackers, who was also killed). A total of 40 injured people have been transported to hospitals in the area.

Deaths from mass shootings are extremely rare in Australia. A massacre in 1996 in the town of Port Arthur, Tasmania – where a lone gunman killed 35 people – led the government to drastically tighten gun laws (something that has never happened in the United States, in spite of repeated mass shootings) making it much more difficult for Australians to acquire firearms.

This far it does seem that at least one of the attackers was already known to police and “may have also been known by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation”, says the Aljazeera outlet.

One of the gunmen has already been named as Naveed Akram – but it is unclear whether he is the gunman shot dead, or the gunman taken into police custody after being shot.

At such a delicate time – with so much in the way of condemnation coming from all quarters – Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already started ‘blaming’ Australia for the attack, linking it to the country’s recognition of the state of Palestine. He did at least have nothing but praise for the “brave Muslim man” who tackled one of the gunmen and disarmed him.