Pro-Palestine protesters stormed and occupied the Cannon House Office Building rotunda on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon, video of the demonstration shows. The group held a sit-in with signs demanding Congress officially call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“There’s an insurrection happening now on Capitol Hill,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X – formerly Twitter – along with video of the scene.
The demand for a “ceasefire” in Gaza comes after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, killing 1,300 people – mainly civilians – and wounding thousands more. Israel formally declared war against Hamas shortly after the deadly terrorist attacks.
While Israeli officials have repeatedly urged civilians in Gaza to leave, Hamas is known for using civilians as human shields and started broadcasting messages in the Gaza Strip telling residents to stay, Reuters reported.
According to a NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence report, Hamas has been using human shields in conflicts with Israel since at least 2007.
“The strategic logic of human shields has two components. It is based on an awareness of Israel’s desire to minimise collateral damage, and of Western public opinion’s sensitivity towards civilian casualties,” the report continues. “If the IDF uses lethal force and causes an increase in civilian casualties, Hamas can utilise that as a lawfare tool: it can accuse Israel of committing war crimes, which could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions,” the report states.
Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that describes itself as “Jews organizing toward Palestinian liberation and Judaism beyond Zionism,” also posted video of the demonstration, writing on X, “HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds of American Jews are holding a sit-in at Congress — and we won’t leave until Congress calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. As thousands of U.S. Jews protest outside, over 350 are inside, including two dozen rabbis, holding prayerful resistance.”
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.