What Videos of Fight Outside Gal Gadot's Hamas Movie Screening Reveal

Videos shared on social media have shed light on the brawl outside a screening that Gal Gadot helped facilitate of a film showing the October 7 surprise attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants on Wednesday night.

Video footage shared by Los Angeles' KABC-TV has shown groups clashing outside the city's Museum of Tolerance on Pico Boulevard. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were shown to be present during the skirmish, which saw punches being exchanged and pepper spray used.

Israeli-born actress Gadot was not among the estimated 200 people who were in attendance at the screening, where guests included an official with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, and a number of Hollywood executives.

The film covers Palestinian militant group Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, which subsequently launched airstrikes on Gaza. According to Israeli officials, 1,400 people in Israel have been killed as of Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, while more than 10,300 Palestinians have been killed, according to officials from the health ministry in Gaza, the AP said.

Called Bearing Witness, the 43-minute film was described as featuring "extremely graphic and violent" video footage "documenting the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th, 2023." According to reports, the film includes footage shot by members of Hamas.

The location of the film's screening was shared online ahead of time, necessitating an FBI advance team, per The Hollywood Reporter. On the night of the screening there was a heavy police presence, with several LAPD officers stationed outside the museum's theater, on the surrounding streets and in a helicopter.

Video footage shared by a number of users on X, formerly Twitter, appears to show that while there were several people who arrived outside the venue to protest the film, there were also many counter-protesters present.

Los Angeles-based video artist and filmmaker Helen Katz shared a stream of videos that showed Israel supporters largely on one side of the street, while pro-Palestinians gathered on the other.

"Free Palestine" was heard being shouted from one side, while "release the hostages" came from the other, in reference to the more than 200 people that were taken by Hamas during the October 7 surprise attack.

Katz, who was among the Jews supporting Palestinians, showed protesters shouting for "peace" as attendees departed the screening. One of the attendees was seen answering that they should "ask [former President Barack] Obama for peace."

Another Jewish woman who attended the protest in support of Palestinians was seen being called "Arab" by Israel supporters, before she corrected them. One man reacted by making a sexually offensive remark.

In another clip, a man was shown holding a sign that read, "Honk for ceasefire." As the man stood on the curb, another man approached him and knocked the placard out of his hand, before security stepped in to keep the two separated.

"The cops moved pro Palestinian protestors to the Shell station opposite the Museum of Tolerance," Katz wrote alongside a photo. "After the screening the Zionists came over to where we were, surrounded us with their vehicles yelling at us."

"When we tried to leave the Shell they kept following us in a mob and eventually surrounded and started attacking us," she added. "Our comrade pepper sprayed them. I was filming and then one of them threw me on the ground."

Further footage showed Katz on the receiving end of transphobic remarks as the two groups clashed on the streets of West Los Angeles.

One man was also shown telling another Jew that they were a "traitor," and demanded that they should "take off" their Star of David necklace.

While it continues to be disputed which side used pepper spray during the heated confrontations, another X user shared video footage that showed a sizable group brawling in the middle of the street as traffic was brought to a standstill.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass decried the violence in a post shared on X.

"We cannot allow current worldwide tension to devolve into this unacceptable violence in our city," she wrote in response to brawl footage. "This is a time of immense pain and distress for thousands of Angelenos. We must stand together."

Throughout the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Israeli-born Wonder Woman star Gadot has frequently shared social media posts supporting the people of Israel. In particular, she has shone a spotlight on hostages taken by Hamas.

To illuminate the conflict, Gadot helped to organize a screening of the footage provided by an IDF spokesperson.

Oscar-winning director Guy Nattiv, who reportedly spearheaded efforts to bring the film to the United States, recently revealed, per Israeli-based i24NEWS: "Gal Gadot and her husband, Yaron Varsano, helped make this possible."

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Gadot, who served in the IDF before launching her acting career, was not in attendance at the Los Angeles screening on Wednesday. However, her film producer husband Varsano was, as well as Nattiv.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Gadot, the LAPD, and Katz for comment.