Israel Gaza Conflict: About 100 protesters staged a sit-in inside a US Capitol building today. AFP
About a hundred protesters, many of them Jewish, protested at the US Congress today, raising slogans against Israel's offensive in Gaza and demanding that the Joe Biden administration push for a ceasefire.
The protesters were dressed in black t-shirts with "Jews say cease fire now" and "Not in our name" messages. Many of them wore the kippah, the Jewish traditional cap.
The protesters occupied a building of the Congress, Canon Rotunda, and started singing and waving banners. Many of them were arrested.
"We warned the protestors to stop demonstrating and when they did not comply we began arresting them," the US Capitol police's official handle posted on X.
The protest was organised by the Jewish Voice for Peace, a Jewish anti-Zionist organization, reported news agency AFP.
Seventy-one-year-old Linda Holtzman, a rabbi from Philadelphia, demanded an immediate ceasefire and urged Biden to "open your eyes", AFP reported.
"Biden really is the only one that has the power to pressure Israel right now and he needs to use that power to save innocent lives," said Hannah Lawrence, 32, who came from Vermont.
"Look at what's happening in Gaza. Look at the devastation in Gaza," Holtzman tolf AFP. "If you want to be able to live with yourself, you need to stand up and end the genocide. I demand a ceasefire right now."
Visuals on social media showed cops taking away the handcuffed protesters and removing the banners. Dramatic visuals also showed Republican Congressman Brandon Williams waving an Israeli flag as a mark of solidarity as the protesters calling for a ceasefire staged a sit-in.
Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel and the brutal counterstrike have claimed nearly 4,800 lives so far. Global outcry demanding an immediate end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip has grown louder after an attack on a hospital claimed hundreds of lives. While Hamas has accused Israel forces of striking the hospital, Tel Aviv has denied a role in the bombing and said a rocket misfired by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad led to the tragedy.
US President Biden reached Tel Aviv yesterday and met Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During their meeting, Biden told the Israel Prime Minister that he is visiting for a "simple reason". "I want the people of Israel and the people of the world to know where the US stands," he said, adding that 33 American citizens were among those killed in the Hamas attacks. "They have committed evils and atrocities that make ISIS look somewhat more rational," he said, adding that "Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and has brought them only suffering".
The US president said he was "deeply saddened" and "outraged" by the explosion at the hospital. "Based on what I've seen, it appears it was done by the other team, and not you," he told Netanyahu, publicly supporting Israel's position.