A royal commission is probing the intelligence and law enforcement response leading up to last year's December 14 mass shooting at the famous Sydney beach.
Operation Shelter was established by NSW Police to protect high-risk Jewish events following a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents after Hamas' attack on Israel in October 2023.
But a NSW Police superintendent told the commission on Tuesday the operation had been "de-escalated" to the point resources were no longer available at the time of the Bondi attack.
"Not disbanded, it had (been) reduced or de-escalated," she told the commission, speaking under a pseudonym.
Decisions on what resources to allocate to Chanukah by the Sea, which was targeted by the two gunmen, were made by an operations inspector, who told officers to provide "high-visibility policing" at the event.
"Please take a car crew or two with you, provide a (high-visibility policing) presence, no need to stay the entire duration, but your presence will ensure the community feels safe," an email to officers read.
The superintendent told the commission she agreed with the decision based on what was known at the time, but in hindsight greater security resources should have been allocated.
"We treated the event based on the information we had at the time, but it was a local community event," she said.
"I had no specific intelligence of a direct threat to the Hanukkah event."
At the time of the shooting, four NSW Police officers were present at the celebration.
The superintendent was quizzed over the "poorly worded" email, which made it unclear whether police should remain for the duration of the event.
She understood the intention was for officers to remain at the event the whole time, but that more senior police could come and go as necessary.
"For four years under my command, the importance of community safety, particularly for the Jewish community, is a key priority," she said, fighting back tears.
In the lead-up to the attack, NSW Police were warned by Jewish security group CSG that a heightened atmosphere of anti-Semitism made a terror attack on the community likely.
The state's police rate security risks to events on a three-tier system, with tier-one events handled by local police officers, while those on the third and highest tier are managed by counter-terrorism officers.
The Chanukah by the Sea event was given a tier-one rating, while other Jewish celebrations held in September and October were classified as a tier-three risk.
One of the recommendations made by the commission in an interim report released in April was that Jewish community gatherings be earmarked as higher risks.
Commissioner Virginia Bell opened Tuesday's hearing with a warning to those engaging in online harassment and intimidation of witnesses.
In a first block of hearings, witnesses from the Jewish community gave evidence about their experiences of anti-Semitism.
"We have received reports from a number of witnesses concerning a dramatic increase in online hate messages," Ms Bell said.
"The commission is keeping a close eye on these instances and recording these offensive social media posts."
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