Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters chant ‘Guilty!’ and smear red paint on the gates in front of White House.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Washington, DC, on Saturday in support of Palestinians.
After hours of speeches in a downtown plaza, protesters marched several blocks to the White House, where they chanted “Guilty!”
As the sun set, protesters also smeared the White House gates with red paint, according to footage from journalist Steven Nelson.
Thousands of protesters came to the city on buses, many from out of state, including as far away as Georgia and Massachusetts.
Washington, DC, is the latest city to see large pro-Palestinian rallies. Hundreds of thousands of protesters around the world have staged demonstrations in the last week, including massive protests in London, Istanbul, and elsewhere. Major cities throughout the United States have also seen rallies, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston.
Several large protests took place last weekend after the Israel Defense Forces launched its ground operation in Gaza.
Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people and kidnapped an estimated 100 to 200 people in a series of attacks in southern Israel on October 7.
In response, Israel launched punishing air strikes and a ground offensive in the densely populated Gaza Strip, a sliver of land the size of Philadelphia that is home to about 2 million people, many of them children.
The Hamas-led Palestinian Health Ministry has said that the death toll in Gaza is nearing about 10,000 people. The Ministry said thousands of those fatalities have been children. The median age in Gaza is 18 .
Organizers say 100,000 demonstrators were in DC to call for a cease-fire.
Organizers told Insider they expected 100,000 people to gather in DC on Saturday to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. They said the demonstrators planned to march from Freedom Plaza to the White House, then back to Freedom Plaza.
Protesters are demanding the US stop sending military aid to Israel.Insider spoke to demonstrators who called for the United States to stop sending military aid to Israel.
One man carried a poster that said he was a veteran and that he was shocked that his country “supports war crimes with $$$ & arms.”
“I can’t believe more veterans aren’t here with me right now,” he told Insider.
President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $14.3 billion in aid for Israel, $10.6 billion of which would go to the Department of Defense to use for Israeli defense systems and to replenish US munitions going to Israel, Insider previously reported .
The United States has long provided Israel with billions in military funding.
