Around 50 pro-Israel demonstrators gathered in Bruin Plaza on Wednesday to raise awareness about Israeli hostages.

The event – hosted by the organization Let’s Do Something, which provides equipment and funds for the Israeli military and Israelis affected by war – followed an announcement that three Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian political party and militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 – Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas – died in captivity.

Demonstrators carried photographs of the family members, wrapped Israeli flags around their shoulders and wore orange – a color which has become a symbol for the Bibas family.

The Israeli military launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israeli villages that killed around 1,200 people, according to the Associated Press. The campaign has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to AP.

The event included two accordion performances of the Israeli national anthem, alongside a prayer and speech from Moshe Shear, a founding member of Let’s Do Something.

“We knew that Jews are very scared to show presence here and come together,” Shear said. “We knew that someone had to do something about that.”

Daniel Braun, Let’s Do Something’s creative director, said that although the group is unaffiliated with UCLA, it decided to hold the demonstration on campus in response to pro-Palestine protests.

Around 150 people marched across campus Tuesday to protest UCLA’s suspension of two pro-Palestine student groups. UCPD detained one person following the protest.

Let’s Do Something attempted to bring a jumbotron to the UCLA campus Tuesday, according to a post on the organization’s Instagram story.

[Related: Multiple pro-Palestine groups protest suspension of SJP, Graduate SJP on campus]

Pro-Israel counter-protesters also attended the Tuesday event, attempting to cheer over and heckle pro-Palestine speakers.

However, Bella Brannon, a former co-president of Hillel at UCLA, said she disagreed with these counter-protesters’ actions.

“I know many of us in the Jewish community noticed that the agitators at the protest yesterday were all non-students,” said Brannon, a fourth-year public affairs and religion student. “Even if we don’t agree with what someone has to say, we should never antagonize them, and I know Hillel, Ellie (Cohen) and me wholeheartedly condemn outside agitators.”

Ellie Cohen, a current co-president of Hillel at UCLA, added that she views the campus as a “town hall” for free expression and a place for the Jewish community to come together and mourn. She said she appreciates external organizations such as Let’s Do Something coming to UCLA to support current students.

“We are so grateful that the Jewish community gets to stand together in this practice of being public with our mourning and with our experiences,” Cohen said.