Hamze gangland war: Salim buried on Sunday in family-only funeral as father is taken to Lebanon

A depressing mound of dirt adorned with a single bouquet of flowers is the final resting place of a teenage gangster who was gunned down alongside his father.

Salim Hamze, 18, was buried in Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery on Sunday afternoon in an intimate ceremony surrounded by loved ones – just days after his life was cut short in a brazen daylight execution.

His father Toufik Hamze, 64, will be flown overseas for burial in his native Lebanon.  

Salim’s low key funeral was in the same grounds as distant relatives Bilal and Mejid, both of whom were also killed as a result of their family name and ties to the underworld.

But the 18-year-old’s farewell couldn’t have been more different. Details of his funeral were provided to immediate family only, and he was buried without any fanfare.  

On Monday, two black plastic chairs lined a gravel footpath in front of a dirt mound and temporary headstone that marked Salim’s final resting place.

The plot was marked with just a simple plaque bearing his full name, age, and dates of birth and death, while a single bouquet of flowers had been placed on the dirt in the centre of a smattering of plants.   

Salim Hamze was farewelled at Rookwood Cemetery on Sunday afternoon, five days after he tragically died outside his father’s Guildford home in Sydney’s southwest. He was executed in broad daylight on Wednesday

Salim's lonely gravestone was void of any fanfare on Monday. Two black plastic chairs lined a gravel footpath in front of a dirt mound and temporary headstone

Salim’s lonely gravestone was void of any fanfare on Monday. Two black plastic chairs lined a gravel footpath in front of a dirt mound and temporary headstone

Salim's plot was marked with just a simple plaque bearing his full name, age, and dates of birth and death

Salim’s plot was marked with just a simple plaque bearing his full name, age, and dates of birth and death

Salim Hamze, 18, and his father Toufik Hamze, 64, (pictured) were killed in a spray of bullets as they sat in the front seat of a red utility in Guildford last Wednesday

Salim and Toufik became the latest victims of a high profile gangland feud on Wednesday morning.

The duo were about to leave for work in their battered old Nissan Navara Ute when they were executed outside Mr Hamze senior’s Guildford home in Sydney’s southwest.  

While Salim is the latest of his relatives now buried at Rookwood – Sydney’s biggest graveyard – his father’s body was prepared to make the 21-hour journey back to Lebanon.

The 64-year-old had made it clear to loved ones he wanted to return to where he was born and raised when he died.

Details of Salim’s intimate funeral were kept off social media and were passed on directly to immediate family to avoid any commotion. 

A source told Daily Mail Australia the service was ‘small, nice for the family’.   

There are no limits on the amount of people who can attend a funeral, but capacity limits restrict services to no more than one person per four square metres indoors and one person per two square metres outdoors.   

About a hundred men gathered at Rookwood necropolis to bury Bilal Hamze, 34, a far cry from the intimate ceremony held for Salim Hamze

About a hundred men gathered at Rookwood necropolis to bury Bilal Hamze, 34, a far cry from the intimate ceremony held for Salim Hamze

A single bouquet of flowers had been placed on the dirt in the centre of a smattering of plants by Monday afternoon

A single bouquet of flowers had been placed on the dirt in the centre of a smattering of plants by Monday afternoon

Medics try to save Toufik Hamze, 64, after he was shot on Wednesday beside his son Salim, 18. The fatal shootings were believed to be an extension of the bloody Hamze-Alameddine gangland battle

Medics try to save Toufik Hamze, 64, after he was shot on Wednesday beside his son Salim, 18. The fatal shootings were believed to be an extension of the bloody Hamze-Alameddine gangland battle

It was a far cry from the funerals of some of his distant relatives, including notorious cousins Bilal and Mejid.

On both occasions, more than 100 mourners turned out to say their farewells, flanked by police officers who were alert and prepared for further attacks.  

But Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett confessed last week there are ongoing concerns about reprisal attacks.

‘We’ve had this going on for a number of years now – tit for tat targeted shootings. I’m not shying away at all from the fact that we’ve got a significant issue in our south-western suburbs,’ he said.

‘These retribution-style, drug turf-style shootings are an ongoing problem. We’re always worried about reprisals.’ 

It’s not clear if this concern prompted Salim’s family to organise a low-key, private send-off. 

A burnt out Lexus SUV (pictured) was found 1.8km away in Murdock Lane a short time after the shooting

A burnt out Lexus SUV (pictured) was found 1.8km away in Murdock Lane a short time after the shooting

Salim's relatives chose to host a private, intimate funeral for immediate family only on Sunday afternoon

Salim’s relatives chose to host a private, intimate funeral for immediate family only on Sunday afternoon

Salim's plot is the most recent that was dug at Rookwood Cemetery as of Monday afternoon

Salim’s plot is the most recent that was dug at Rookwood Cemetery as of Monday afternoon

The funeral home which organised Salim’s funeral is understood to be repatriating Mr Hamze senior’s body.  

What started as a feud between rival bikies in Sydney’s south-west has blown up into an all-out war that now stretches across the city and even into the leafy North Shore.

Police believe crime families are using mercenary guns-for-hire to carry out their brutal executions with military-style precision to slaughter their Hamze enemies.

While Salim had loose ties to the Hamze gang – but wasn’t related – his father was a wholly innocent victim of the gang war, condemned to death by his surname.

While Salim (pictured) had loose ties to the Hamze gang - but wasn't related - police admit Toufik Hamze was an innocent victim of the gang war, condemned to death by his surname

While Salim (pictured) had loose ties to the Hamze gang – but wasn’t related – police admit Toufik Hamze was an innocent victim of the gang war, condemned to death by his surname

Family members, many of them masked, are seen carry the coffin of slain gangster Bilal Hamze following his funeral prayer service at Lakemba mosque. Salim's funeral was kept private to all but immediate family

Family members, many of them masked, are seen carry the coffin of slain gangster Bilal Hamze following his funeral prayer service at Lakemba mosque. Salim’s funeral was kept private to all but immediate family

Pictured: This is the lonely tombstone of Bilal Hamze, the crime boss who was killed in a bitter war between his family and the Alameddine clan. Bilal was shot dead earlier this year

Pictured: This is the lonely tombstone of Bilal Hamze, the crime boss who was killed in a bitter war between his family and the Alameddine clan. Bilal was shot dead earlier this year

Mr Hamze senior is believed to have been an innocent victim caught in the crossfire of the tit for tat reprisals between the two warring clans. 

Salim was charged last month after police found a prohibited gun in the door of his car.

Mr Bennett said when officers stopped him and seized the firearm, the teenager knew he was ‘under threat’.

‘He was known to us as a person who was sometimes under threat and known to be involved in criminal organisations,’ Supt Bennett said last week.

As Salim was laid to rest, detectives may have made a breakthrough in the case, seizing a high-powered Ford Mustang which matches the description of a car seen speeding away from a lane in Guildford where an earlier getaway car was torched after the shooting. 

The front yard of Toufik Hamze's home (pictured) where the pair died was littered with construction site debris, including a toilet and a frying pan

The front yard of Toufik Hamze’s home (pictured) where the pair died was littered with construction site debris, including a toilet and a frying pan

The assassins made their escape in a Lexus SUV which was later found burning out in Murdock Lane, less than 2km away from the shooting (pictured)

The assassins made their escape in a Lexus SUV which was later found burning out in Murdock Lane, less than 2km away from the shooting (pictured)

Salim Hamze, 18, (left) and his father Toufik Hamze, 64, (right) were killed in a spray of bullets as they sat in the front seat of a red utility in Guildford on Wednesday

‘The search warrant relates to an ongoing investigation by officers attached to the State Crime Command’s homicide, criminal groups and Raptor squads,’ a NSW Police spokesman said in a statement.

‘No further information is available at this time.’

Police Minister David Elliott warned on Friday officers would ‘not stop’ until culprits were off the streets.

“This ’boutique approach’ to lawlessness by these gangs is taking control, and we have to stop at nothing,’ he said.

“What’s going to happen is that they will either find themselves in Long Bay [Correctional Centre] or in Rookwood [Cemetery].’

The state’s anti-bikie squad, Strike Force Raptor, would ‘fight fire with fire’ if required on the streets.

Toufik Hamze was hit by a shot to the head in the salvo of shots that also cut down his son as they sat in the front of their bullet-riddled red Nissan Navara ute (pictured)

Toufik Hamze was hit by a shot to the head in the salvo of shots that also cut down his son as they sat in the front of their bullet-riddled red Nissan Navara ute (pictured)

THE TIMELINE OF SYDNEY’S BLOODY GANGLAND WAR

MAY 2007 – Prison officers find notes in Bassam Hamzy’s Lithgow jail cell referring to the Brothers 4 Life bikie gang for the first time

OCTOBER 2012 – Tensions between the Bankstown and Blacktown chapters of B4L blow up with the shooting of Yehye Amood, 27 and Bassim Hijazi. Amhoom is killed but Hijazi survives and flees to Lebanon

MARCH 9, 2013 – Bassam Hamzy’s aunt Maha Hamze is shot eight times in the legs, but survives, in a reprisal attack for her son Ashkan Rajabi demanding money from another gang member’s mother

JULY 2013 –  Ashkan Rajabi and Bilal Hamze survive an assassination attempt in Wenworthville

OCTOBER 29, 2013 – Mahmoud Hamzy – cousin of Bassim Hamzy – shot dead in Revesby Heights. Five B4L members were later charged with the murder

NOVEMBER 3, 2013 – B4L member Michael Odisho shot but survives 

NOVEMBER 4, 2013 – Masood Zakaria – an Alameddine associate – survives shooting attempt but his 13 year old sister is injured by shotgun pellets

DECEMBER 16, 2013 – Standover man Joe Antoun shot dead in Strathfield

JANUARY 1, 2014 - Farhad Qaumi shot at as his yacht pulls into Rose Bay Marina in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (pictured) after the NYE fireworks

JANUARY 1, 2014 – Farhad Qaumi shot at as his yacht pulls into Rose Bay Marina in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs (pictured) after the NYE fireworks

DECEMBER 11, 2014 – Bassam Hamzy’s mother Lola Hamzy was shot through her front door in Auburn

APRIL 9, 2016 – Safwan Charbaji – a relative of Alameddine associates – shot dead outside a smash repair shop in Condell Park

APRIL 29. 2016 – Wally Ahmad – associate of the Hamzi family – shot dead in Bankstown 

OCTOBER 25, 2016 – Hamad Assad executed in Georges Hall. Assad was suspected of killing Ahmad 

MARCH 20, 2017 – Hell’s Angel bikie Kemel Barakat is shot dead at home in Mortdale

MARCH 28, 2017 – Emed Sleiman is shot dead in his car park in Auburn. He was suspected of killing Barakat

OCTOBER 4, 2020 – Shaylin Zreika – an associate of the Alameddines – is beaten with a metal bar in a street fight in Strathfield

OCTOBER 18, 2020 – Rafat Alameddine’s former home is shot up in a drive-by shooting

OCTOBER 19, 2020 – Mejid Hamzy is shot dead in Condell  Park

JANUARY 30, 2021 – Mustafa Naaman is shot dead in Hurstville in a suspected mistaken identity attack on Ibrahem Hamze

JANUARY 30, 2021 – Mejed Derbas is shot dead in Smithfield

FEBRUARY 15, 2021 – Bilal Hamze’s mother Maha Hamze comes under gunfire again in another drive-by shooting at her home in Auburn

MARCH 12, 2021 – A home linked to the Alameddine family in Guildford is shot up 

JUNE 17, 2021 - Bilal Hamze is shot dead outside Mr Wong's restaurant in Sydney's CBD

JUNE 17, 2021 – Bilal Hamze is shot dead outside Mr Wong’s restaurant in Sydney’s CBD

AUGUST 6, 2021 – Alameddine low-level associate Shady Kanj is shot in Chester Hill and found dead by police in Guildford 

OCTOBER 20, 2021 – Salim and Toufik Hamze are gunned down outside their home in Guildford 

Police are seen here at the scene of the double murder of Salim and Toufik Hamze in Guildford on Wednesday

Police are seen here at the scene of the double murder of Salim and Toufik Hamze in Guildford on Wednesday

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