Hundreds protesting Israel-Hamas war at Capitol arrested

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Hundreds of protesters took over a congressional building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday in demand of a cease fire in the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in scores arrested.

The protest, some of which was streamed online, was organized by progressive Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now and took place inside the Cannon Rotunda, where more than 350 demonstrators, including two dozen rabbis, held up banners painted with demands for a cease fire and sang in Hebrew.

Law enforcement had warned the protesters to stop demonstrating, and when they didn't, officers pulled out zip ties.

U.S. Capitol Police has since confirmed on X, the social media platform formerly know as Twitter, that the building has been cleared.

Though U.S. Capitol Police only said three people were charged with assaulting officers during processing, Jewish Voice for Peace said upwards of 500 were arrested.

UPI has contacted U.S. Capitol Police to confirm.

"We shut down Congress to draw mass attention to the U.S. complicity in Israel's ongoing oppression of Palestinians," the anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace said in a statement.

U.S. Capitol Police said demonstrations are not permitted inside congressional buildings.

The protest was held amid the ongoing war in Gaza that began Oct. 7 with a surprise Hamas attack on Israel, which killed some 1,300 people.

In retaliation, Israel has been incessantly bombing Gaza, killing 3,478 people as of Wednesday.

The international Jewish Anti-Defamation League reacted to the Capitol protest by stating the "far-left radical organizations" that organized the demonstration "do not represent the overwhelming majority Jewish community."

"Let's be very clear -- anti-Zionism is antisemitism," ADL D.C. Regional Director Meredith Weisel said in a statement.