{"id":227835,"date":"2026-01-11T06:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T06:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/227835\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T06:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T06:26:18","slug":"ahmed-al-ahmed-bondi-heros-health-declines-after-busy-us-trip-meeting-kevin-rudd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/227835\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahmed Al-Ahmed: Bondi hero\u2019s health declines after busy US trip, meeting Kevin Rudd"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bondi\u2019s brave attack survivor Ahmed Al-Ahmed has faced another major setback after falling ill during his visit to the United States.<\/p>\n

The 43-year-old Syrian-born Sydneysider, who was hailed a hero after being shot five times while confronting alleged gunmen Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, in Bondi on December 12, flew to New York earlier this week for ongoing medical care. The attack left 15 people dead and dozens more injured.<\/p>\n

Since arriving in the US, Mr Al-Ahmed has appeared on several television programs, attended a high-profile Jewish gala dinner, and met with Australia\u2019s Ambassador to the US, and former prime minister, Kevin Rudd.<\/p>\n

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He was preparing for additional treatment in New York when suddenly began experiencing severe pain and swelling in his hand. A video shared to his Instagram on Saturday night showed Mr Al-Ahmed resting in his hotel bed, surrounded by visitors after cancelling multiple engagements.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy health has declined again,\u201d he captioned the video.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the pain returns after the medicine wears off, I feel discouraged. But when I remember that I did what I did to protect innocent people and that so many people love me and are wishing for my recovery, I feel hope, optimism and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expressed gratitude to those who visited him despite his cancelled meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite that, they came with such kindness and respect to check on me in my modest hotel room, just to make sure I was okay,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mr Al-Ahmed also thanked his many supporters worldwide, writing, \u201cThank you from all my heart. Please remember me in your prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 04: Ahmed al-Ahmed stands for the national anthems after receiving a guard of honour for his service during the Bondi massacre during day one of the Fifth Test in the 2025\/26 Ashes Series between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 04, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images) Credit: Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Just hours earlier, he shared footage of his meeting with Mr Rudd, calling it a great honour. He told the former prime minister that doctors believed he was only months away from making a full recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did an extraordinary thing, my friend,\u201d Mr Rudd told him. \u201cYour image went across the world. We love you for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BondiBondi attack survivor Ahmed Al-Ahmed has suffered another health setback while in New York for medical treatment, after meeting Kevin Rudd and being honoured at a gala dinner. Credit: ahmedalahmedsydney\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Earlier in the week, Mr Al-Ahmed received a standing ovation at a $1,000-a-head Colel Chabad Gala in New York, where billionaire Bill Ackman presented him with a golden Menorah inscribed with the words Light Will Win. Mr Ackman, who has donated nearly $100,000 to Mr Al-Ahmed\u2019s GoFundMe, described the refugee\u2019s actions as profoundly courageous.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Jews) are 0.2 per cent of the world. So seeing someone step forward on behalf of people he didn\u2019t know, to risk his own life, and the calculus of going after a guy with a gun,\u201d Mr Ackman told the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really one of the great acts of heroism, and I think it was very reaffirming to the Jewish community to have someone stand up on behalf of our community in the most profound, life\u2011affirming way. That\u2019s why we were here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bondi\u2019s brave attack survivor Ahmed Al-Ahmed has faced another major setback after falling ill during his visit to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[85,42,43,3655,135,40,38,41,39,377],"class_list":["post-227835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-australia","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-nsw","tag-politics","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}