This post was updated Oct. 6 at 11:57 p.m.

About 50 demonstrators attended a vigil Tuesday to remember Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in the Israel-Hamas war. 

Attendees sat on the Dickson Court South lawn at about 6 p.m. for the vigil, which was hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA. Organizers handed out water and tea to attendees, shared prayers and read eulogies for the Palestinians killed in the war. 

“We mourn those who have been killed, we pray for those who continue to suffer and we pray for the families,” one speaker said.

The Israeli military has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The military campaign in Gaza began after Palestinian political party and militant group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people.

Students sat in a circle around red poppies made of pipe cleaners and behind string lights that outlined two banners. 

One banner read, “Fight for the martyred, the living and the land,” and the other banner displayed pictures of Palestinians who were killed in the war.

“Whether you are Arab, Middle Eastern, Christian or Muslim, thank you again for standing with us together in community, faith, strength and solidarity today,” another speaker said.

The vigil started with the Maghrib prayer, an Islamic prayer that takes place after sunset. Attendees then bowed their heads for a prayer led by members of the organization Palestinian Christians for Justice. 

About six UCPD officers stood around Dickson Court South, and employees from UCLA Student Affairs observed the event.

The southeast corner of Dickson Court South is recognized as a free expression area under UCLA’s Time, Place and Manner policies, which outline the areas that people can demonstrate in without prior approval from the university.

[Related: UCLA’s finalized Time, Place and Manner policy alters public expression guidelines]

The group held a moment of silence at 6:30 p.m. to remember the Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military.

Noor Kafalaq, president of the Middle Eastern Student Association at UCLA, said in a speech that UCLA students should advocate for the Palestinians who died and remember them in their everyday lives.

“The topic of the Middle East is something that people often push to the side,” she said. “What isn’t complicated is our strength in numbers and the voices of our community.”

Organizers recognized the Palestinians who were killed by passing out paper booklets and projecting a slideshow on a screen – including a photo of Nawal Abdallah Abu Nada, a 17-year-old who organizers said wanted to become a doctor and graduated from a university in the United States. 

Attendees also recalled the story of Rwieda Hassan Mihssen, a teacher in the United Arab Emirates and an Islamic University graduate who died in the war. 

In another activity, speakers read aloud the names and ages of the people killed by the Israeli military, while other attendees wrote the names on white paper kites. 

“We will always honor our martyrs – from those of us who read eulogies today, from those of us who bore witness to their stories, and we will continue in doing so with the kites,” a speaker said.

Organizers closed the vigil around 8:30 p.m., sharing Palestinian art and recognizing journalists in Gaza by playing an audio recording of their testimonies.

“It is in saying their stories and remembering their stories that the legacy remains,” a speaker said.