Heartbreaking scene as youngest Bondi victim Matilda, 10, is laid to rest with hundreds paying tribute to ‘sweet girl’

HUNDREDS of mourners today gathered in grief to bid an emotional farewell to the youngest victim of the ghastly Bondi Beach attack.

Matilda, 10, was tragically shot in the stomach in front of her six-year-old sister when two gunmen opened fire at the famous Sydney beach.

Mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered in Sydney‘s Chevra Kadisha Memorial Hall, a Jewish funeral home responsible for customary burial rites.

Others held balloons emblazoned with pictures of bumblebees, a reference to the young girl’s nickname “Matilda Bee”.

Photos taken in the hours before the first bullets were fired showed Matilda stroking animals at a petting zoo and smiling after having her face painted.

She was killed along with 14 other people in a mass shooting targeting Jews.

The suspects, a father and son, were inspired by the Islamic State group, Australian authorities have said.

Beaming photos of Matilda have become a focal point for Australia‘s grief at one of the worst hate-fueled attacks ever committed in the country.

Matilda’s parents, who arrived in Australia from Ukraine, moved away from war-torn Eastern Europe to come here for a good life, Rabbi Dovid Slavin told said as he entered the service.

“Matilda is our little ray of sunshine,” said the rabbi leading the service, reading a message from her school.

“She is genuinely the most kind, caring and compassionate young girl, who brightened everyone’s day with her radiant smile and infectious laugh.”

Matilda’s family left Ukraine to settle in Australia.

“I couldn’t imagine I would lose my daughter here. It’s just a nightmare,” mother Valentyna told reporters ahead of the funeral.

Her father, Michael, said they chose Matilda’s name as a nod to Australia, where the beloved folk song “Waltzing Matilda” is sung as an unofficial national anthem.

“We came here from Ukraine, and Matilda was our firstborn here in Australia,” he said earlier this week.

“And I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist.

“So just remember. Remember her name.”

Survivor Matan Atzmon, 40, said he was briefly with Matilda after she was shot.

“I don’t know Matilda, but I was confused between her and my daughter,” he said.

“I was with her when she got injured. I remember the look in her eyes.

“It’s not leaving me.”

Cops confirmed at least another 40 people – including more children – were injured in the attack carried out by a father and son duo targeting people celebrating a Hanukkah event.

Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot dead by cops at the scene, and his 34-year-old son Naveed carried out the worst mass shooting in Australia’s recent history.

Naveed was critically injured in the shootout with cops but has since been recovering.

He has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act, after waking from a coma on Tuesday.