Chicagoans held multiple gatherings Thursday to show their support for Israel and mourn Israeli and Palestinian deaths as violence escalates between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

“We are not going to be afraid,” Rabbi Mendy Benhiyoun said before a crowd of about 70 people in Daley Plaza. “We are going to be proud.”

The crowd sang songs and chanted in Hebrew and waved Israeli flags while some attendees wrapped tefillin, Jewish prayer boxes containing Torah verses. The group later set off on a march down Michigan Avenue.

Benhiyoun’s sister Shaina, 26, said she had family in Israel and feared for their safety.

She said she thought the Chicago event was small because those who might otherwise attend feared antisemitic violence against demonstrators.

“Everyone here knows that we could be attacked, here, right now,” she said.

Attendee Zach Thompson, 21, a Skokie native who attends the University of Illinois at Chicago, said he had thoughts about the risks of public demonstration but wanted to attend out of pride.

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“I’m not going to cower and hide my Jewishness,” he said, wearing a jersey for the former Israeli basketball player Omri Casspi.

Emily Underwood, 35, and her sister Kelsey attended the rally “to gather with other Jews and be with people who are experiencing the same thing.”

The last several days had been “very scary and very sad,” she said.

A few miles north, at Belmont Harbor, organizers estimated that about 70 people came to say a prayer for peace and recite the Mourner’s Kaddish — a Jewish prayer recited for deaths or death anniversaries — in honor of Israelis and Palestinians who have died in recent attacks.

Co-organizer Aaron Niederman, 25, said he hoped the gathering would help attendees process the deaths. He also said the event was a call for de-escalation of the violence and a chance to raise awareness around the broader historical context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We’re shocked by the scale of the violence on both sides toward both Palestinians and Israelis, but we also refuse to let our grief be used to justify the collective punishment or genocide of Palestinians,” he said.

Hamas’ assault on Saturday killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers — a toll unseen in Israel for decades — and the ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to The Associated Press. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.