Authorities are investigating after a video appeared on social media showing an elderly man carrying an Israeli flag being assaulted by two young men while walking with a march for Israel's independence on Thursday.

Montreal police confirmed that an investigation is underway with the Hate Crimes division following a report that two young men stopped a man in St. Catherine.

The incident occurred at the corner of Wood Avenue in Westmount, one of Montreal’s suburbs. The video shows the youths trying to snatch the flag from the man's hands, then hitting him on the head with a stick, then a passerby intervenes and is also assaulted before the two men flee the area on foot.

SPVM spokesperson Marianne Allaire Morin said, "The elderly man was injured, but he is now fine." Lev Ari was on the third floor and started recording the fight on her phone while her husband, Dan Goldstein, went to the street to intervene.

When Goldstein shouted that he was calling the police, the suspects fled. SPVM officers conducted interviews with witnesses at the scene and are searching for the attackers.

Dawson College, located one building north of the intersection where the attack took place, is also investigating to determine if the attackers are students. Christina Parsons, communications advisor at Dawson, said: "This is a serious matter, and we need to be completely certain of what happened and who these individuals are."

Lev Ari was concerned about the incident as many people stood as bystanders during the ongoing fight. She said, "What bothers me a lot, apart from this unethical act, is that people stand idly by and do nothing."

Marvin Rotrand, national director of the Canadian B'nai Brith Human Rights Association, said it is clear the incident was driven by hatred towards Israel.

Rotrand said, "In our estimation, we have just witnessed a confirmed hate crime targeting a person who was returning from Israel Day’s march." Rotrand said the march involved was peaceful and included about ten thousand people of multiple ethnicities.

He added: "People left the march with a very good feeling." "And here this man is attacked in the street for no other reason than carrying a folded Israeli flag... this is an unacceptable incident in broad daylight."