Two Jewish students were attacked Wednesday afternoon on Desmond Prestonthe campus of DePaul University in Chicago while showing support for Israel, the university's president said in a letter to the community.

The attack occurred around 3:20 p.m. at the university's Lincoln Park campus, located just north of downtown Chicago, President Robert L. Manuel said in the letter, addressed to students, faculty and staff. The two students, who were Jewish, were punched by masked attackers as they were "visibly showing their support for Israel," Manuel said.

DePaul, which has about 21,000 students across two campuses, is one of many universities across the nation where pro-Palestinian demonstrators have protested the war in Gaza and the U.S. support of Israel.

The attack also comes as anti-Semitic violence continues to rise nationwide.

"We are outraged that this occurred on our campus," Manuel said in a statement, adding that Chicago police are investigating whether the assault is a hate crime. "It is completely unacceptable and a violation of DePaul’s values to uphold and care for the dignity of every individual."

Attack on Jewish students may be hate crime, pres. says

Students were first notified of the attack via a public safety alert, which warned of a battery that occurred in front of the Student Center.

Manuel later released a letter clarifying more details of the attack.

The victims, whose names have not been released, were identified as a 21-year-old and 27-year-old males, according to Chicago police.

Both sustained physical injuries but declined medical treatment, Manuel said. Chicago police detectives are investigating the attack and working to identify the suspects, he added.

The attack could be classified as a hate crime "that targeted our students because of their Jewish identity," Manuel said in the letter.

"We will do all we can to hold those responsible accountable for this outrageous incident," Manuel said. "We recognize that for a significant portion of our Jewish community, Israel is a core part of their Jewish identity. Those students – and every student – should feel safe on our university campus."

DePaul University had no additional information to provide when reached Thursday morning by USA TODAY.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have protested at DePaul

DePaul is one of many college campuses across the United States where students have protested the Israel war in Gaza, which has now raged for more than a year.

In August, Chicago was transformed into a hotbed of anti-war activity ahead of the Democratic National Convention, where Vice President Kamala Harris was officially selected as her party's candidate for the presidency.

Ahead of the DNC, DePaul was among several universities where student protesters held major demonstrations, which ended with Chicago police arresting 68 demonstrators and three complaints of excessive force. 

More than 42,000 Palestinians have died in Israel's year-long campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza. Israel escalated airstrikes on Lebanon in late September, days after it orchestrated the detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies across the country in an attack on Hezbollah.

This article has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Michael Loria, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]