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Bondi Beach massacre death toll rises to 16: Survivor dies from complications resulting from their injuries almost eleven months later

Bondi Beach massacre death toll rises to 16: Survivor dies from complications resulting from their injuries almost eleven months later

A survivor of the Bondi Beach massacre has died from complications stemming from her injuries as the one year anniversary of the tragedy looms.

Great-grandmother Eva Geller, 90, was shot during the terrorist attack in Sydney's eastern suburbs on December 14 last year.

The Holocaust survivor originally from Hungary had spent lengthy stints in hospital for extensive wounds she sustained in the alleged attack, including shrapnel in her leg.

She managed to make it to the synagogue to commemorate High Holy Days but recently returned to hospital following an infection. 

Ms Geller suffered a stroke while receiving treatment in Prince of Wales Hospital and died on Thursday night - taking the death toll from the massacre to 16. 

'Ever since being shot at the Bondi attack she'd been in and out of hospital, always wanting to come home,' Rabbi Aron Moss from Nefesh Synagogue told News 24.

'She was told she will never walk again but miraculously, and with incredible determination, she did walk again.

'She escaped the Holocaust as a child, eventually coming to Australia, and built a beautiful family.'

Great-grandmother Eva Geller, 90, has died almost 11months after the Bondi terrorist attack

The death toll from the Bondi terrorist attack has risen to 16 after Ms Geller died in hospital on Thursday night

Alleged shooter Naveed Akram on the bridge at Bondi that evening

Ms Geller's funeral will be held at Chevra Kadisha Memorial Hall in Woollahra on Monday. 

Ms Geller becomes the eldest victim of the terror attack, which was previously fellow Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87.

The youngest victim was 10-year-old schoolgirl Matilda, who would have celebrated her 11th birthday on Thursday.

NSW Police says it is now awaiting further advice and are working with the office of the coroner.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich was devastated to learn of Ms Geller's death.

'Eva Geller came to that beach healthy and living on her own. She spent much of the year that followed in a hospital bed,' he told the Daily Mail in a statement.

'I call on the Prime Minister and the NSW Premier to ensure Eva Geller's name is read with the 15 other victims at every commemoration on 14 December, and that the toll of this massacre is counted in full, including every life it claims in the months after.'

NSW Chris Minns led the outpouring of tributes.

The Bondi Beach terrorist attack was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which 35 people were killed

'My thoughts are with Eva's family and the Jewish community as they face another painful loss,' Minns said in a statement.

'Almost a year on, we are still living with the pain and aftershock of that evil act.

'We will never forget Eva or any victim whose life was changed forever.'

Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, allegedly opened fire during Hanukkah celebrations at Archer Park near Bondi Beach on December 14 last year.

Sajid was shot dead by police during the alleged attack while his son Naveed faces 59 charges including terrorism offences and multiple counts of murder. 

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard from more than 340 witnesses earlier this year.

The commissioner, former High Court Justice Virginia Bell, is expected to hand down her findings next month.

The alleged attack was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which 35 people were killed.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to visit Brussels next week as they resume public appearances in the wake of child sexual abuse image allegations facing Meghan's father.

Prince Harry and Meghan will deliver a joint keynote address at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial in the European Parliament on Tuesday.

It is expected to be the first time the pair will have been seen in public since Thomas Markle Sr was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI over a haul of suspected child abuse images.

The brief trip abroad will see Harry and Meghan listen to addresses by European Parliament president Roberta Metsola and MEP Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, the first vice-chairman of the Child Rights Intergroup, before delivering their own speech.

The Sussexes will have between 15 and 20 minutes for their rare dual-address, which they will use to speak about the importance of children's digital safety.

Harry and Meghan will also be shown the memorial exhibition, which remembers children who have lost their lives as a result of the harm they suffered on social media.

The Duke will later join a panel discussion called Beyond Promises: Building A Digital Future That Works For Children to discuss how to protect children online.

Prince Harry and Mehgan arrive for a visit to Himmah Hub in Nottingham on October 15

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has said videos of alleged child sexual abuse and exploitation were among files found in four storage boxes that allegedly belonged to Mr Markle Sr, after he was reported by his son Thomas Markle Jr last month.

Major General Wilson Asueta of the PNP said it had yet to be confirmed who owned the devices, which included nine mobile phones, three memory cards, five hard drives and a camera.

The 82-year-old was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI last month by Mr Markle Jr, who handed over a haul of alleged child abuse images he said he found in his father's belongings in Cebu City.

A second hoard was discovered last Friday in a storage unit Thomas Markle Sr is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by Mexican police.

Reports have since claimed Mr Markle Sr was moved into a care home for dementia patients in Florida, described as a specialist 'memory care' facility.

It has raised concerns the FBI may never be able to interview Meghan's estranged father because of the legal barriers over interrogating suspects with cognitive issues in care homes.

Meghan was left 'deeply distressed' at the allegations and revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection seven years ago which made 'troubling and disturbing allegations' about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated.

Harry and Meghan are set to be seen in public for the first time since her father Thomas Markle was reported to police over a haul of alleged child sexual abuse images

The Metropolitan Police has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, now investigating the force's conduct.

The Duchess had wanted to 'speak out' immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said.

Meghan has been estranged from her father since the run-up to her 2018 wedding when he was caught staging paparazzi photographs and then had a heart attack, meaning the King, then-the Prince of Wales, stepped in to walk Meghan down the aisle.

When former TV lighting director Mr Markle Sr had his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, he made pleas for the duchess to contact him, saying he did not want to die while they were still estranged.

A spokesperson for the duchess confirmed at the time she had 'reached out to her father'.

Last week, it emerged Meghan wrote in this final letter that she knew he was an abuser and that he would never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Mr Markle Sr, who returned to the US in May, has admitted to paying for sex in the Philippines but denied ever possessing child abuse imagery.

READ MORE: Harry and Meghan lose another key member of staff as Archewell's head of factual programmes steps down after more than five years

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