YORK, Pa. — Central York student Wyatt Pottorff may be at home, but his heart is somewhere else.
"I feel like it’s a horrible thing that people have to live through that," Pottorff said about the ongoing war in Israel. "There’s bombs going off and people getting hurt and kidnapped. I think it’s horrible."
Pottorff's cousins are on the frontlines of the conflict, not far from Gaza. These photos were taken Thursday morning - His cousin Ari, holding his kids on top of his rifle.
On the front lines
"I’m scared every day that I might not get another text from him or I might not see him at the next family reunion," Wyatt said.
Outside the auditorium at the York Jewish Community, a long line awaits their turn to get in.
Leah McQuillis and her four-year-old son were among hundreds who came to Thursday night's vigil praying for peace, which was held at the York JCC in conjunction with other Jewish organizations.
"We’re Christians but I did explain to him coming here that we were going to be praying to God," she said, holding back tears, "that there are people fighting and being mean to each other, and we want to pray that they would be at peace and be nice to each other again."
Much of her family and friends are Jewish, and she has been part of the community her entire life. She was supporting them, as well as those she may not know who are suffering.
"Of course it’s something that we want to pray for and help to support in any way we can," McQuillis said.
Speakers at the vigil included both faith leaders and elected officials.
"Human life is holy," Rabbi Melody Davis from Temple Beth Israel expressed. "And all human beings should see one another as kin."
"I had the blessing to go to Israel in 2015," State Representative Seth Grove of York County said. "There's no hate, just families working and living just like we do every day."
While Wyatt’s cousins see countless rockets, he sees a never-ending flow of support.
"I think it’s great that everyone is coming together to support a cause," Wyatt said. "Maybe it’s not us personally, but in our minds, and in our communities, it affects everybody in [one] way or another."