The morning after one of the deadliest nights in the 11-week-old battle between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, protests were held on Christmas in front of the homes of two key members of President Joe Biden’s administration.
On Monday morning, in front of the home of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the pro-Palestinian protesters held signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and chanted “Austin, Austin, rise and shine, no sleep during genocide.”
By early Monday afternoon, a large crowd of protesters had marched to the Washington, D.C., home of White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
According to posts on X, formerly Twitter, the marching protest was organized by The People’s Forum, which according to its bio, is “a movement incubator based in NYC for the working class. Political education. Cultural work. Internationalism & movement building.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give a statement after their meeting in Jerusalem on April 12, 2021. Pro-Palestinian protests were held Christmas morning in front of the homes of two key members of President Joe Biden’s administration.
AFP/Getty Images
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.
After Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was at war, carrying out extensive airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza while also cutting off supplies of water, food and electricity.
More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas and more than 53,000 wounded, according to health officials in Gaza. Israel has vowed to keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed and removed from power in Gaza and all hostages are freed.
Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of the People’s Forum, said a crowd of “several hundred” participated in the Christmas Day protests, which he said, have been without confrontation.
In one video, law enforcement could be seen between protesters and Austin’s residence.
“Due to the intensity of Israel’s bombing of Gaza, we decided to focus this week on the Secretary of Defense and Jake Sullivan because of their particular complicity in genocide against Palestinians.”
De Los Santos said the protests were organized in conjunction with the Palestinian Youth Movement. He said the group has more targeted protests planned for New Year’s Eve as part of its national coalition.
“We have another day of action planned on New Year’s Eve with protests at hundreds of cities across the country,” De Los Santos said. “We do this, not to inconvenience people, but to bring attention to the people who have been killed and displaced from their homes.
An Israeli airstrike killed 100 in Maghazi in the Gaza Strip on Monday. Palestinian media said Israel has stepped up its air and ground shelling in central Gaza.
Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said many of those killed in Maghazi were women and children. Eight others were killed as Israeli planes and tanks carried out dozens of strikes on houses and roads in nearby al-Bureij and al-Nusseirat, health officials said.
Israel denies targeting civilians and accuses Hamas of building tunnels and military infrastructure in densely populated civilian areas.
Posts about the protest used the hashtags #NoXmasAsUsual and #ShutItDown4Palestine.
A post on X by Brian Becker said: “Virginia: surrounded by cops, Secret Service, Pentagon police. But strong young people!!”
Last week, Austin met with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv as pressure grows to curb civilian deaths.
Austin, speaking at a press briefing with Gallant, reiterated the Biden administration’s position that U.S. commitment to Israel is “unshakeable.” He also called for the country to make stronger efforts to protect Palestinian civilians during their war against Hamas.
“Protecting the Palestinian people in Gaza is both a moral duty and a strategic imperative,” Austin said. “We know that the past 72 days have been some of the most painful days in Israel’s history. But it would compound this tragedy if all that was waiting for the Israeli people and your Palestinian neighbors at the end of this awful war was more insecurity, fear and despair.”
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