The bystander who tackled one of the gunmen in the attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney was seriously injured, according to Australian officials, who on Monday identified him as Ahmed el Ahmed. He is recovering in a hospital.

When Ahmed al-Ahmed tackled and wrested a gun from an alleged shooter at Bondi Beach, he was simply thinking he “couldn’t bear to see people dying”, his cousin says.

Less than a day later, Ahmed remains in a critical but stable condition at St George hospital in Sydney. Since the attack, the 43-year-old father of two young girls has catapulted to international fame with a GoFundMe page already raising more than $A1.3m (£645,000; $864,000) in less than 24 hours.

He has also been hailed as a hero by the Australian prime minister, the New South Wales premier and the US president.

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