Hundreds gather in Downtown El Paso in solidarity for the hostages being held by Hamas

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Hundreds of El Pasoans gathered in solidarity for the 240 hostages being held by Hamas, in a vigil at San Jacinto Plaza Sunday.

"It's a very important event that is focused on bringing home the hostages," said Grace Rendall, who attended the gathering.

Rendall joined people of various faiths at the vigil, which was organized by the Jewish Federation of El Paso and Las Cruces, and the Anti-Defamation League in El Paso.

One Christian pastor who was that the vigil, spoke to ABC-7 about the importance of supporting people of other religions.

"The scripture talked about one Lord, one faith, one baptism. So we're really all one," said Pastor Michael Grady, of the Prince of Peace Christian Fellowship. "And I think one of the greatest challenges is to stop talking about ourselves based on our religions, but rather, based on our relationships."

That challenge is something that not just El Pasoans, but people across the U.S. have been facing since the war's beginning. The nation has seen several hate crimes against both Jewish and Palestinian people since the attack by Hamas on October 7.

But organizers of Sunday's vigil said the war is not against the innocent people of Palestine, and they pray for peace for everyone.

"The war that's going on here is a war against Hamas. It is a war not against the Palestinian people. And in fact, Jewish people and Israeli people want peace and have offered peace many times before and will continue to do so in the future," said Peter Svarzbein of the Anti-Defamation League in El Paso.

ABC-7 reached out to EP for Palestine -- a local group advocating for the people suffering in Gaza -- to ask about their perspective on the hostage situation created by Hamas, as well as on the situation in Gaza. The group did not respond in time for the publication of this article.