PARIS — A group of pro-Palestinian activists appear to have made “anti-Semitic gestures” as the Israeli national anthem was played before the men’s Olympic soccer match against Paraguay in Paris on Saturday.

Video circulated on social media on Monday also showed the protesters waving Palestinian flags and shouting an unrecognizable slogan. Earlier, photos circulated of the group holding two banners with the words “Genocide Olympics” scrawled across them.

A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a Yahoo Sports message seeking comment. Olympic organizers told Sky News on Monday that they were aware that “a banner with a political message was displayed and anti-Semitic gestures were made.”

“Paris 2024 strongly condemns these acts,” the statement read. “A complaint has been filed by Paris 2024, which is at the disposal of the authorities to assist in the investigation.”

The incidents came as Israel is embroiled in a bloody conflict in Gaza.

On the morning of October 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack in response to what it called Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people. Waves of gunmen affiliated with the Palestinian militant group stormed the Gaza-Israel border, killing more than 1,100 people and taking hundreds more hostage.

Hamas “committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians,” according to a Human Rights Watch report released earlier this month. “The Hamas-led attack on October 7 was designed to kill civilians and take as many hostages as possible,” said Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch.

Hoping to end Hamas’s control over Gaza and prevent its leaders from emerging from the rubble of war, Israel retaliated with a heavy air bombardment followed by a ground invasion, killing more than 37,000, Gaza’s health ministry said.

“People in Gaza have told us that the dead are the lucky ones,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement last month, “because the wounded are suffering so severely due to the Israeli authorities’ blockade of life-saving aid.”

In the days leading up to the start of the Olympics, a left-wing French politician sparked outrage when he said that Israeli athletes were “not welcome” in Paris. Subsequently, the Palestinian Olympic Committee wrote a letter to IOC chief Thomas Bach demanding that Israel be banned from the Olympics.

In an effort to limit the threat of potential clashes between Israeli fans and pro-Palestinian activists, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin pledged to create an “anti-terrorism perimeter” around Israel’s opening match against Mali on Wednesday. Outside the stadium, swarms of police stood guard or patrolled on foot. Most carried weapons and bulletproof vests. Some were on horseback or dressed in riot gear.

The Israeli soccer team bus arrived last Wednesday, accompanied by an armada of motorcycle police and police vans. As kickoff approached, the sound of police helicopters could be heard.

The kick-off between Israel and Mali passed off without major disturbances, apart from loud boos and whistles from the crowd at the start of the Israeli national anthem. It is unclear to what extent, if any, the police presence was scaled back for Israel’s second match against Paraguay.