A pregnant mum who used her body as a human shield to protect a three-year-old girl during the Bondi Beach terror attack has been thanked by her grateful parents.

The deadly attack at the iconic beach unfolded as hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event just before 7pm on Sunday.

Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father Sajid are alleged to have opened fire with military-grade weapons on hundreds of beachgoers.

Vanessa had been watching her three-year-old daughter Gigi dance when suddenly ‘she was gone’.

After calling her husband Wayne to check if Gigi was with him, she soon realised the toddler was missing and ‘absolute panic’ set in.

Jess, who is five months pregnant, was also searching for her son after they became separated when she spotted Gigi crying for her parents.

Jess had been at Bondi Beach celebrating Hanukkah with her mum, mother-in-law, husband and their three-year-old son and 18-month-old baby.

While looking for her son, Jess spotted Gigi in an open area and ran towards her, grabbed her and lay on top, using her body as a human shield.

Parents Vanessa and Wayne (right) have met with pregnant mother-of-two, Jess (left), after she used her body to shield their three-year-old daughter Gigi during the chaos in Bondi

The mothers broke down in tears and embraced after Vanessa thanked Jess for saving her little girl’s life, claiming the heroic mother ran towards the bullets to protect her baby girl

‘We stayed still, I laid on top of her and we spoke about how we were going to stay still and calm, and quiet,’ she told Sky News.

As bullets rang out around them, Jess comforted Gigi, saying: ‘I got you, we are going to stay here and be nice and safe and no one is going to hurt us.’

Video showed Jess, with blood dripping down her forehead, shielding a scared Gigi who asked if they could hide, to which she replied: ‘Yes, we can hide baby girl.’

Jess protected Gigi until the ordeal came to an end, with Wayne finding the heroic mother still lying on top of his daughter.

Both Jess and Vanessa broke down in tears during an emotional reunion on Tuesday.

The family embraced Jess and thanked her for saving their little girl.

‘Everyone ran for their lives, you ran towards the bullets, to my baby girl. I know she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for [Jess],’ Vanessa said.

‘What three-year-old knows to duck and take cover?’

Footage from the scene showed Jess laying on top of Gigi as blood dripped down her forehead and bullets rang out around them

The deadly attack unfolded after Naveed Akram, 24, (pictured) and his 50-year-old father Sajid Akram allegedly opened fire on crowds of people at Bondi Beach

Jess said a woman had been fatally shot less than two metres from where she had been lying on the ground with Gigi.

She said she felt ‘very afraid’ but protecting Gigi was the only thing she could do as she could not find her own son.

‘I’m just a mum and I did what mums do. I saw a little girl and she needed help and I tried to do what I could. I couldn’t help everyone,’ Jess said.

After the shooting stopped, Jess found her son alive and well at the playground with his grandmother.

The death toll has risen to 16 people including gunman Sajid Akram, while a further 42 people, including four children, were injured and taken to hospital.

The victims include 10-year-old girl Matilda, prominent Sydney Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Rabbi Yakkov Levitan, 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, beloved husband and father Tibor Weitzen, an assistant at a synagogue Reuven Morrison, beloved rugby volunteer and photographer Peter Meagher and  27-year-old French Jewish national Dan Elkayam. 

Hundreds have flocked to pay tribute to the 15 innocent people who were killed and the dozens injured in the attack (pictured, memorial outside the Bondi Beach Pavilion)