Around 70 people marched around Alumni Park while holding “KIDNAPPED” signs on Tuesday demanding Hamas release the 134 hostages still being held in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Demonstrators, including students, chanted “Free them all” and called on others to join them in their support of Israel in the war.
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel — in which they captured roughly 240 hostages and killed about 1,200 people — the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that Israel’s war operations have killed 34,000 people in Gaza. Over half of the hostages are still in captivity, according to the New York Times.
“Taking time out of your day to just be aware of [the hostages] and speak, it is really important,” said Neev Efrat, a graduate student studying business who participated in the march. “If you don’t speak [about] it, you don’t take action, [Israel] will not exist,” Efrat said. He reiterated that Israel has existed as a state for over 75 years.
Logan Barth, a senior majoring in law, history and culture, said his January visit to Israeli towns near the Gaza border motivated him to help organize the demonstration.
“We should be focusing our efforts on bringing the hostages home, protecting civilian lives and protecting life in general,” Barth said. “That’s a Jewish value, that’s my personal value, life for all. And that’s why we care so much about the hostages.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s goal is to achieve “total victory” last year and the country is planning a ground invasion in Rafah, a region in southern Gaza with an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced from their homes by the war, according to the Associated Press.
Barth said that nobody wants the death or destruction that has come with the war when asked about the deaths in Gaza.
“I encourage people to visit Israel [and] talk to Jewish people,” Barth said. “I strongly believe that people will see that Israelis care about life, and death and destruction is the last thing we want.”
Pro-Palestinian advocates are calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire and increased aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants. A truce was last called to allow for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza on Nov. 24 and ended seven days later.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution yesterday demanding a ceasefire in Gaza for the duration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, adding momentum to demands for a lasting ceasefire and an immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.
The resolution passed with 14 countries voting in favor and one country abstaining — the United States. Israel responded to the vote by canceling its national security adviser and other high-level officials’ planned visit to Washington D.C. to discuss alternative strategies to its operation in Rafah, CNN reported.
It’s the first resolution the Security Council has passed after months of vetoed resolutions, but whether or not the resolutions are legally binding is still being debated.
Hagit Arieli-Chai, a Hebrew Language Instructor at Dornsife, said Israel’s actions are driven by a desire to “defeat terror.”
“The people are suffering because of Hamas,” Arieli-Chai said. “Instead of [the] United Nations seeing the suffering — where it’s coming [from], where it’s the source — they’re looking at Israel and saying ‘Stop.’ When are we going to stop? We’re going to stop when the hostages are back and when the terror is eliminated.”
Rabbi Dov Wagner, director of the Chabad Jewish Center at USC, performed the Shema — a Jewish daily prayer — with students. He said the march was to both keep the focus on the remaining hostages and to support students.
“We have a student community here at USC as well as around the world that’s been extremely deeply affected, not only by the events in and around Israel, but also by the rise in antisemitism in and around the world, and especially on college campuses in the United States,” Wagner said. “[I’m] really praying that we finally see true peace in our world and that starts by bringing the hostages home.”