Protesters call for Gaza ceasefire amid Blinken’s Senate testimony

A group of protesters calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip interrupted Senate testimony by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Several protesters were removed from the room as they kept interrupting the proceedings.

The protesters chanted anti-war slogans during Mr Blinken’s opening remarks during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

“Save the children of Gaza!” one man began yelling, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Ceasefire now!” a protester with the antiwar group Code Pink shouted.

Anti-war protesters raise their “bloody” hands behind U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine

(REUTERS)

An anti-war protester wearing “stop funding genocide” on his shirt, is removed by police during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine

(REUTERS)

The group held up their hands, which were covered in red paint to simulate blood, showing the “free Gaza” message several of them had written on their forearms.

“Palestinians aren’t animals,” a woman yelled.

The chair of the panel, Democratic Washington Senator Patty Murray, paused the hearing as a number of protesters were escorted from the hearing room. On several occasions, she called for order even as she noted that the conflict has led to intense feelings.

Mr Biden and Mr Austin are testifying before the committee following the congressional budget request from President Joe Biden, asking for a $105bn national security package, including funding for Israel, Ukraine, and border security, in addition to other issues.

Protesters raise their painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testify during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request

(AFP via Getty Images)

An anti-war protester is removed by police during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental funding request to support Israel and Ukraine

(REUTERS)

Mr Blinken told the panel that a ceasefire would “consolidate what Hamas has been able to do and allow it to remain where it is and potentially allow it to repeat” its attacks on Israel. More than 1,400 people have died in Israel following the 7 October attack by Hamas.

The group, which has been labelled as a terror organisation by the EU and the US, has said that Israel’s counterattacks have led to more than 8,000 deaths in Gaza.

Mr Blinken said that Israel should consider allowing humanitarian pauses to allow for evacuations and for aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

The secretary of state reiterated that Israel “not only” has the right to defend itself, but the “obligation” to do so. But he added that it’s vital “how Israel does this”.

More follows…

Source link