More than 50 students and community members gathered at G Street Park for a vigil on Tuesday, which marked the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The event, organized by GW for Israel along with several other Jewish student organizations, featured speakers from University leadership, Jewish student group leaders at GW and a local rabbi who honored the 1,200 people killed by Hamas two years ago. Students wrapped in Israeli flags and wearing kippahs tearfully leaned on one another for support while speakers called for the release of the 48 hostages in Gaza — honored by photos placed on blue chairs in the park — and condemned the rise of antisemitism they have witnessed on GW’s campus since Oct. 7, 2023.

Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Sigma Delta Tau, Zeta Beta Tau, J Street, Club 18, Jewish on Campus, Chabad GW, GW Hillel and the Jewish Students Association co-sponsored the event.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants raided army bases, farms and attacked an outdoor music festival, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, marking the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. In the two years following the attack, Israel has launched a counteroffensive in Gaza that has killed over 67,000 Palestinians and injured 169,600, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire and hostage deal Thursday that would free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The agreement is the first stage of President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war in Gaza.

Trump said Thursday that he expects that Hamas will release the hostages either Monday or Tuesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said 20 of the 48 hostages who remain in Gaza are alive.

Joshua Horwich, a student speaker from Alpha Epsilon Pi, said the surviving hostages in Gaza have endured an “unimaginable hell” since Oct. 7, 2023.

“We stand here tonight as a community,” he said. “One that refuses to forget the hostages, because each one of those 48 has a name, a family, a story.”

Horwich said the hostages’ lives were ripped away in an instant, noting the victims were teachers, doctors and grandparents and pointing at the 48 empty blue chairs set up in the park. Two students took turns reading the names of each hostage, vowing to remember them and continue fighting to bring them home.

“When we read the names of these hostages, remember that each name we read is a promise that we will not stop speaking, not stop praying and not stop fighting,” Horwich said.

Chief of Staff Scott Mory, Dean of Students Colette Coleman, Interim Provost John Lach and Vice President for Communications and Marketing Ellen Moran attended the event.

Mory, the only GW official who spoke at the vigil, commended the commitment of the student organizers and the work they put into the vigil.

“This vigil reflects the unique strength of our community,” Mory said.

Noah Shapiro, one of the student speakers for the Jewish Student Association, said Jewish students have experienced “shocking” displays of antisemitism on campus since Oct. 7, 2023.

“It can often feel like those who aren’t members of our Jewish community here on campus don’t understand how we feel and how painful that these attacks have been with us,” Shapiro said.

The Department of Justice alleged in August that the University acted “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitism on campus stemming from the pro-Palestinian encampment in University Yard in spring 2024.

Two former students, along with a coalition of students and alumni, sued GW in May, alleging the University failed to respond to “pervasive and severe” campus antisemitism, and lawyers for GW in August moved to dismiss the case, saying the suit failed to show deliberate disregard of antisemitism.

Shapiro said he visited the site of the Nova festival massacre, which occurred in the morning on Oct. 7, 2023 and resulted in Hamas killing almost 400 people, in Israel over the summer and heard explosions from the war as he mourned the victims.

“As I stood there mourning all that had been lost, I could feel the ground shake from the explosions that were happening less than five miles away,” Shapiro said. “It’s a hard reality to comprehend war and suffering.”

James Maslow, who starred on the Nickelodeon show “Big Time Rush,” also spoke at the vigil, saying he was encouraged by the turnout of the event. Maslow, who posted on his Instagram story earlier in the day that he was in D.C. advocating for Israel, said he came to the GW vigil to show the students that they’re not alone.

“You’re not only showing up for yourself, you’re showing up for everybody next to you,” he said. “You’re showing up for your brothers and sisters all over the country, all over the world and in Israel.”

Maslow said he “can’t apologize” for the many people in Hollywood who are not speaking up about antisemitism, but he can understand how scary this moment is for Jewish students. He said despite his frustration, he’s doing the best he can to extend sympathy and kindness to those he disagrees with about the war.

“I try and believe that they simply don’t have the full picture, or worse yet, they’re being given a narrative, and so many pictures, quite literally, that have led them to believe a version of the truth at best or a complete lie at worst,” Maslow said.

Maslow said he’s received a lot of public backlash for his pro-Israel advocacy and estimated he’s lost “about a million” followers, but said he’s gained new ones who support his message.

“It is far more powerful, far more impactful, and simply better than having a huge amount of people who don’t give a sh*t about and are not aligned with you,” he said.

Geena Seflin, a senior studying political science and history, said in an interview after the vigil she was glad the speakers emphasized a message of unity in a time where there is a lot of hate and destruction within the Jewish community. She said she felt supported at the event, surrounded by members of her community as she grappled with the sadness of the hostages still not being home two years later.

“Within our Jewish community, there’s a lot of hate and destruction within our community, and it’s up to us to stick together and we welcome all allies,” Seflin said. “Unfortunately, that’s been really hard. We just want peace, and we want love, and we want our people home.”