Pro-Israel rally happening in Washington DC

(NBC) - Thousands of people from across the country are descending on Washington today to show their support for Israel.

According to a permit issued by the National Park Service, organizers anticipate 100,000 attendees to show solidarity with Israel in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th and condemn the historic rise in anti-Semitism.

Now to the huge pro-Israel rally in the nation's capitol today.

It was upgraded to a level 1 security event with the National Guard assisting DC police as demonstrators call for the release of hostages and an end to anti-semitic attacks.

NBC's Alice Barr is at the National Mall with more.

"We're here on the national mall for the march for Israel… And the organizers, U.S.-based Jewish groups, are expecting tens of thousands of people here.

You can see that there is a very large crowd already… This is just the very front of it looking up at the main speakers that are gonna be on the stage up here.

People have come in from all over the country… We've been speaking to a lot of them today… We've spoken to the descendants of holocaust survivors… We've spoken to people who have actually experienced very stark examples of anti-semitism themselves just in the past few weeks since the start of the israel-hamas war.

And really, that is the main message we're hearing today… People are holding signs saying, "Never again is now." many of the people that we're speaking to say that they were moved to be here, to speak out against what they see growing across this country, these instances of anti-semitism have happened on college campuses and in other instances.

They, of course, also are speaking very powerfully about the pain they feel, seeing the humanitarian crisis that's unfolding in Gaza.

People we speak to say that they are praying for people on both sides… But that today, they're really here to stand for israel, and also for freeing the hostages and reducing anti-semitism.

Now this is just one of many demonstrations that have been growing across the country… You can hear right now they're chanting, "Bring them home," speaking about the hostages.

There have been demonstrations on both sides of this conflict across the country and around the world.

Just ten days ago, there was a massive pro-Palestinian rally here in Washington, DC, as well.

But again, the pain is very clear and the power is very clear to the people around here, who say they stand with israel and they want to send a clear message: the violence needs to end… The war needs to end… And that they are praying for peace.

NBC's Alice Barr

You can watch the rally in the livestream below.