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A few dozen McGill University students wrapped in Israeli flags lined the entrance to the school Tuesday morning, calling for the release of hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack.
Demonstrators held up posters of the hostages as organizers said prayers through a microphone.
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About 240 Israelis were taken hostage and about 1,200 were killed in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in counterattacks by Israel in the time since.
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It’s estimated that about 100 Israelis are still being held hostage today.
“This event is organized by students representing a coalition of Jewish groups on campus who are deeply concerned about the situation of Israeli hostages in Gaza and who are dedicated to defending their freedom and human rights,” vigil organizers said in a statement ahead of the protest.
Tuesday’s vigil happened to coincide with a demonstration by McGill teaching assistants striking for better wages. A few people in kaffiyeh scarves stood near the Roddick Gates, where a large Palestinian flag laid on the ground beside a speaker blasting music.
Vigil organizers, meanwhile, read the names of hostages as well as their ages one by one.
Just after 11:30 a.m., two people chanting “free, free Palestine” walked through the corridor of vigil participants. They were followed closely by another person holding a poster of a hostage.
Both the number of vigil participants and counter protesters slowly picked up as the event continued, with the latter peeling the Palestinian flag off the ground and holding it up near the entrance to the corridor of people holding hostage posters.
This story will be updated.
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