Sarah Murdoch was overcome with emotion as she attended a heartbreaking vigil for the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack at the Bondi Pavilion on Monday afternoon.

The former model, 53, looked visibly distressed as she clung to her husband Lachlan, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her protectively during the sombre gathering.

The couple cut subdued figures, with Sarah dressed in a loose navy blouse tucked into high-waisted black trousers.

She wore dark sunglasses to cover her tears as the couple paid their respects to the victims of the horror tragedy.

Families, locals and holidaymakers gathered to pay their respects, many holding candles and flowers as they stood in stunned silence.

The vigil drew large crowds from Sydney‘s Jewish community, following the deadly attack during a Hanukkah event called Chanukah by the Sea on Sunday.

Sarah Murdoch was overcome with emotion as she attended a heartbreaking vigil for the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack at the Bondi Pavilion on Monday afternoon

The former model, 53, looked visibly distressed as she clung to her husband Lachlan, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her protectively during the sombre gathering

Two heavily armed men, allegedly Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father Sajid Akram stood on a pedestrian footbridge and opened fire with military-grade weapons into crowds of locals, holidaymakers and families.

So far 16 people have died, including alleged gunman Sajid Akram, while a further 42 people, including four children, were taken to hospital.

Police confirmed 14 people had died at the scene, while two others died overnight in hospital, with the victims ranging in age between 10 and 87 years old.

As of Monday, there were five people in critical condition, including two police officers – a constable and a probationary constable who was repeatedly shot in the face.

Naveed Akram is in hospital under police guard after being shot by police.

Speaking at the vigil, Rabbi Mendel Kastel, who attended the Hanukkah event with his family, said the Jewish community was in shock.

‘We’ve seen antisemitism, we’ve seen people get hit, we’ve seen people get punched, people knocked over but this is a whole other level,’ he said.

A distraught woman is seen at the vigil on Monday

One man is seen paying his respects to those who lost their lives on Sunday

‘I don’t know what’s happened to our country and we need to take it back.

‘I think it’s time that people actually step up and say, ‘You know what, we need to step forward and say we are with the Jewish community, we care about you, we’re here to support you.’

‘We’re not just looking after ourselves, we are part of the fabric of this country, we contribute to this country, we participate in this country and therefore it’s important that people step up and make sure that we feel safe.’

Meanwhile, police removed a woman from the vigil after she launched into a pro-Palestine protest and made anti-Israel comments.

Serial protester Michelle Berkon shouted accusations that others were politicising the tragedy and demanded Israeli flags be taken down, as she was escorted away from the vigil by police.

‘Remove the Israeli flag. Depoliticise this event, and we can all come out here,’ she said.

Berkon who was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, was heckled by hundreds in the crowd, with chants of ‘get her out’.

She later told the media that she was Jewish and believed she had a right to protest at the vigil.

‘I came here today because I’m a Jewish person. My family was murdered in the Holocaust… This community has politicised this tragedy,’ she said.

Berkon is a member of Jews Against the Occupation and claimed she was removed from the event due to ‘aggressive Zionists’.

Jews Against the Occupation describes itself as a ‘clear Jewish voice in support of Palestinian human and national rights’.

She is also a prominent member of the Palestine Action Group, behind the pro-Palestine protests that were held in Sydney’s CBD.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn called the Berkon’s intervention ‘incredibly disrespectful’.

‘It was a disgrace and I know the community here reacted how they should.’

One mourner told Daily Mail: ‘This was meant to be a quiet moment of reflection, people were grieving, and suddenly it just descended into chaos.’