Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited  Australia on Monday and met with victims' families and survivors of the Bondi Beach attack on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in which 15 people were killed.

The Israeli president laid a wreath and two stones he had brought from Jerusalem at a pavilion near the attack site, which has become a makeshift memorial.

Herzog said the stones would remain at the site in victims' memory as a reminder that people of all faiths and nations "will continue to hold strong in the face of terror, violence and hatred, and that we shall overcome this evil together."

Speaking to reporters, the Israeli president said he was "shaken to the core" when hearing about the attack on December 14. "Our heart missed a beat, like all Israelis and all Jews. And I'm here to express solidarity, friendship, and love," he said.

Herzog added his visit provided an opportunity to improve bilateral relations between Israel and Australia.

"We are two democracies that share values together, and we are confronting the roots of evil from all over the world," Herzog said. "And we should do it together."

Security measures in Sydney

Tight security accompanied Herzog's visit,with police snipers seen on rooftops near Bondi Beach.

The Israeli president, whose role is largely ceremonial, was invited to visit Australia by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the shooting.

Herzog's visit has also drawn the ire of those in Australia who accuse the Israeli president of complicity in civilian deaths in Gaza.

Last year, the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry found Herzog liable for prosecution for inciting genocide after he said all Palestinians, "an entire nation," were responsible for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Israel has "categorically" rejected the inquiry's report.

Albanese has been at odds with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu,  following Australia's recognition of a Palestinian state six months ago.

Apart from his visit to Sydney, Herzog will also visit Melbourne and Australia's capital, Canberra, before heading back to Israel on Thursday.

Pro-Palestinian protests planned against visit

Thousands gathered in a square in Sydney's central business district on Monday to protest Herzog's visit. Police used pepper spray and clashed with protesters as a demonstration escalated, with police also hitting members of the media, AFP reported.

"Herzog has dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Australia and Israeli relations, but he is complicit," Reuters news agency quoted Jackson Elliott, a 30-year-old protester from Sydney, as saying.

Though the Israeli president's visit was welcomed by most parts of the Jewish community in Australia, some also openly opposed it.

On Monday, the Jewish Council of Australia, a progressive advocacy organization, released an open letter signed by more than 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog's invitation.

Pro-Palestinian groups planned further protests against the visit.

Australia has seen similar protests throughout the two-year war that started after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack.

In response to the Bondi Beach shooting being declared a terrorist attack, the state Parliament of New South Wales passed legislation that increases police powers to arrest protesters.

Protests can be restricted for two weeks at a time for up to 90 days, with police continuing the restrictions in an effort to contain potential civil disorder during Herzog's visit in Sydney.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko