In a chaotic scene, protestors with "bloody" hands, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, interrupted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee at the Congress on Tuesday.
The protestors with their hands raised and painted red, interrupted Blinken multiple times by chanting slogans like "Ceasefire now!" "Protect the children of Gaza!" and "Stop funding genocide." A protestor even shouted, “Blinken, you have blood on your hands. Murderer!," according to Reuters.
The protestors also held sign boards calling for a cease-fire and the end of US funding in Israel. According to US Capitol Police, around 12 people were arrested for illegally protesting inside the Senate office building.
Blinken's testimony was part of a hearing reviewing the President Joe Biden administration's national security supplemental funding request for Israel before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The administration has requested $106 billion in supplemental funding, which would be used in Ukraine, Israel and other countries facing war-like situations.
Throughout the interruptions, Blinken continued to outline the request for aid saying of the $106 billion, $3.7 billion would be dedicated to Israel's "security needs," including bolstering air and missile defense systems. Another $50 billion of the funding "will replenish US military stocks, strengthen our domestic defense industrial base, and will be spent through American businesses," he added. Blinken will visit Israel again on Friday for meetings with members of the government and then make other stops in the region, the department said.
{{/usCountry}}Throughout the interruptions, Blinken continued to outline the request for aid saying of the $106 billion, $3.7 billion would be dedicated to Israel's "security needs," including bolstering air and missile defense systems. Another $50 billion of the funding "will replenish US military stocks, strengthen our domestic defense industrial base, and will be spent through American businesses," he added. Blinken will visit Israel again on Friday for meetings with members of the government and then make other stops in the region, the department said.
{{/usCountry}}However, the Republicans have sought to separate Israeli aid from Ukrainian aid with Congressional Republicans unveiling a $14.3 billion standalone measure on Monday.
According to a report by CBS news, the protesters belonged to an organisation called CODEPINK. Several members, including a US Army veteran, former diplomat and peace activist were arrested for the protest. CODEPINK said the red-painted hands of the members were meant to symbolise blood.
The protest comes amid the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza against the Hamas terrorists following the deadly attack by the militants on southern Israel on October 7 which killed about 300 soldiers and around 1,100 Israeli civilians. Gaza has been under a blockade that has prevented food, water and other necessary supplies from entering the territory, except for some humanitarian convoys allowed in recent days.
On the war front, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) hit a densely populated refugee camp in Gaza, which killed at least 50 Palestinians and a Hamas commander, and medics struggled to treat the casualties in the enclave where food, fuel and basic supplies are running scarce.