Chloe Edwards, Photography Editor

On Sept. 12, around 200 Yalies gathered on Cross Campus to mourn the Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas war.

Attendees initially gathered around the Women’s Table in front of Sterling Memorial Library to hear speeches, poems and prayers from vigil organizers. Afterward, students staked around 500 small Palestinian flags on the Cross Campus lawn before forming a circle around the space.

“This was a vigil to mourn all of the lives that have been lost in the colonial genocide that has been going on in Gaza not just since Oct. 7, but for the past 75 years,” an attendee of the vigil, who requested to remain anonymous out of fears of doxxing, told the News. 

According to the attendee, the flags at the vigil were inspired by a similar vigil held by Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return at the University of Washington on Oct. 19, 2023, in which attendees placed thousands of flags, each corresponding to one Palestinian killed during the war in Gaza.

“Because of the sheer number of people who have been martyred [since then], we were unable to print 186,000 flags,” the anonymous attendee said. “So we chose to have each flag represent hundreds of lives.”

Organizers printed a message on the back of each flag reading “OVER 186,000 LIVES STOLEN.” According to a vigil organizer affiliated with Yalies4Palestine, who also requested to remain anonymous for fear of doxxing, attendees placed 500 flags. 

The count of 186,000 refers to a research article stating that the total death toll could be up to 186,000 based on indirect deaths, a claim not confirmed by other sources. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war as of Aug. 15.

The vigil coincided with a national day of action organized by National Students for Justice in Palestine, in which chapters of SJP at institutions across the country held protests and vigils in support of Palestine.

Nina Fattore, assistant director for university life, was present at the vigil with a badge identifying her as a “free expression facilitator,” or FEF. Fattore declined to comment at the vigil, instead directing questions to the University spokesperson.

According to the University spokesperson, Fattore was also present as an FEF at the Shabbat table hosted by Yale Friends of Israel on Sept. 6 to call for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and mourn six hostages recently killed by Hamas. 

“FEFs cover events across the university, both large and small, and are assigned based on a variety of factors including location, size, and the information we have in advance of the event,” the University spokesperson wrote to the News. “Event planners often reach out in advance so that the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life can help with planning.”

During the vigil, organizers also mourned the death of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, an American citizen who was killed by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank during an anti-settlement protest. 

Miguel Monteiro GRD ’27, a doctoral student in Near Eastern languages & civilizations, read a statement that he and other students in his department wrote concerning Eygi’s death.

“Our project, and Ayşenur’s project, was one of an internationalist solidarity that recognizes how every person is rooted in their land, in their community, in their dreams, while also being part of a larger human and non-human community that includes people, rivers, mountains, skies, languages and birds which we will never meet and will never know, but whose liberation is necessary for our own,” Monteiro read in the statement. 

Attendees of the vigil also heard organizers read poems and lead prayers. A member of Jews for Ceasefire recited Kaddish, a Jewish mourning prayer, for the Palestinians who have been killed during the war in Gaza. Organizers also led Dua Nasiri, a Muslim prayer for the oppressed.

The Women’s Table was designed by Maya Lin ’81 ARC ’86 in 1993.