“Shame on you all!”, “Stop the fire now!”, “Save the children of Gaza!” shouted protesters on Tuesday in the United States Congress when the head of diplomacy, Antony Blinken, appeared, as did Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, at a hearing on aid to Israel and Ukraine.
First, several people sitting behind Blinken and Austin silently raised their hands, smeared with red paint to symbolize the blood shed in the Gaza Strip.
Every few minutes, one of them gets up to protest.
“Cease the fire now!” they shouted before the Senate committee.
“Palestinians are not animals!” shouted one. “Save the children of Gaza!” “Shame on you all!” shouted another.
One person wears a jacket with the words “Stop Funding Genocide.”
Blinken had to stop his speech several times as the protesters were escorted out of the room by police.
Ten days ago, President Joe Biden asked Congress for a package of more than $105 billion, including $14.3 billion in aid for Israel.
In the Gaza Strip, “fierce ground combat” has been launched against the Islamist group Hamas, the Israeli army reported on Tuesday, which is slowly advancing amid the ruins of the Palestinian territory, where the humanitarian situation, described as “devastating” by the UN, has worsened.
The Israeli government declared war to “exterminate” Hamas after commandos from the group in power in the Gaza Strip infiltrated southern Israel on October 7 to carry out an attack of violence not seen since the creation of Israel in 1948, with 1,400 dead, mostly civilians.
More than 8,525 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the Israeli army began bombing the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.
