'Gaza Will Win' Painted on March for Israel Medical Tents

Pro-Palestinian messages including "Gaza will win" were spray-painted onto medic tents at the March for Israel rally in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, according to video posted to social media.

Thousands of pro-Israel protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon to show support for Israel amid its war with Hamas, who on October 7 fired thousands of missiles into southern Israel from the Gaza strip. Israel has since fired its own missiles, and cut off supplies of food, water and electricity to Gaza while also launching a ground invasion aimed at eliminating Hamas. The conflict has killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza and 1,400 people in Israel, according to the latest figures from the Associated Press.

The March for Israel rally, organized by the Jewish Federations of North America, Tuesday comes as tensions between supporters of Israel and supporters of Palestinians continue to remain tense in the U.S. Those who support Israel argue that Hamas' attack was unwarranted, and therefore Israel has a right to defend itself against them.

Others, however, have raised concerns about Israel's treatment of Palestinian civilians amid the conflict, pointing to their high death toll and reports about deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip in calling for a ceasefire from both sides.

Ahead of the rally, video emerged on social media alleging that pro-Palestinian activists vandalized a medic tent at the event.

The video, the authenticity of which Newsweek was unable to independently verify, was first posted to X, formerly Twitter, by user Yaakov Langer just after noon EST. The video has since been viewed more than 125,000 times.

The video appears to show messages including, "Palestine will be free," "Gaza will win," and "Free Gaza" spray-painted on the walls inside a medic tent.

"Vandalizing our EMT spot. So low," Langer captioned the video.

It remained unknown who was responsible for the graffiti Tuesday afternoon.

Newsweek reached out to the rally's organizers and the Metropolitan Police Department for comment via email.

Washington, D.C., Increased Security Ahead of March for Israel

Ahead of the rally, local authorities announced several measures to ensure the safety of protesters amid an increase in antisemitic incidents across the U.S. Metropolitan Police announced that streets around the National Mall would be closed to traffic, while D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said police requested assistance from other law enforcement agencies and the National Guard to support traffic point.

ABC and NBC News, citing official sources, reported the event's Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) had been upgraded from a level three on Friday to one on Monday. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas was said to have signed off on the new designation.

SEAR levels range from five to one, with one being defined by the DHS as "significant events with national and/or international importance that require extensive federal interagency support.

The rally comes amid heightened concerns about antisemitism. Several pro-Palestinian rallies have occurred. In some cases, these rallies have spilled over into expressions of support for Hamas' actions and overt antisemitic threats.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) wrote in an October 25 analysis of the threat environment in the U.S. that "violent extremists" could potentially target minority groups.

"Tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories have long been a source of calls for violence against Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities," the report said. "This history, coupled with the current widespread sharing of graphic and disturbing content related to this conflict, increases the risk of incitement to violence in the United States."

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