Video showing the October 7 attack in Israel in downtown El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – About two dozen people were invited to a private screening of videos recorded during the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.

To prevent protests or threats, the location was kept secret until about 24 hours before the screening, said the Israeli Consulate General in the Southwest, which organized the screening at the Hotel Indigo in downtown El Paso.

A film screening at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles last year drew dozens of protesters, according to reports in the LA Times and Variety.

In El Paso, some participants said there may have been a handful of protesters standing on the street in front of the hotel.

The screening of this raw, highly graphic compilation of footage has been controversial since the Israeli government began showing it shortly after the attack that killed 1,139 Israeli military personnel – men and women of all ages and children – and took more than 240 Israelis hostage.

While about half of the hostages are still in Hamas captivity, the Associated Press reported on June 3 that four more Israeli men had been confirmed dead, leaving 80 of the 43 remains believed to be alive.

The 45-minute video includes footage from surveillance cameras across Israel, traffic cameras, home surveillance videos, cell phone videos of victims and terrorists, and body and dashboard cameras of the shooters.

The small crowd, which included El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas, El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D'Agostino and a number of delegates attending the Texas Democratic National Convention, also being held downtown, was mostly silent but gasped or groaned as the brutal violence was shown on screen. Cellphones or recording devices were not allowed in the room.

Opponents of the film screenings say the Israeli government is using them as a justification for its military operation in the Gaza Strip, which made headlines on June 6 after 40 Palestinians, including children, were killed in an attack on a UN school.

The Israeli consul general said there were many reasons for showing the videos: among other things, they wanted to show the brutality they were facing from Hamas and they also wanted to counteract growing anti-Semitism in the United States.