Protesters have interrupted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's testimony before a Senate committee to denounce Washington's support for Israel amid its genocidal war in besieged Gaza.
Rubio was on Tuesday addressing the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees on the proposed State Department budget for fiscal year 2026 when two activists shouted slogans condemning US policy.
Both protestors were removed by security.
There were also protests before Rubio entered the room.
"Stop the genocide," "Sanction Israel," and "Start feeding the children!" protestors affiliated with CODEPINK, a group advocating peace and human rights, yelled as Rubio was entering the hearing.
Committee chairman Jim Risch had earlier warned of "zero tolerance" for disruptions, threatening custody and year-long bans for any protester attempting to engage with lawmakers.
The disruption follows mounting criticism of US military aid to Israel.
Genocidal war
The Israeli army has been carrying out genocide against Gaza since October 2023, reportedly killing nearly 64,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children — including some 11,000 people feared buried under debris of bombed homes — rejecting international demands for a ceasefire, and weaponising food aid.
Experts suggest the actual Palestinian death toll may be closer to 200,000.
Washington doles out $3.8 billion in annual military funding to its longtime ally Israel, and the administration has so far resisted calls to condition any arms transfers even though senior US officials have criticised Israel over the high civilian death toll in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya
Meanwhile, Rubio told the hearing that the United States has not discussed the deportation of Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, but he said that Washington had asked other countries in the region if they would be open to accepting Palestinians who want to move voluntarily.
"What we have talked to some nations about is if someone voluntarily and willingly says I want to go somewhere else for some period of time because I'm sick, because my children need to go to school, or what have you, are there countries in the region willing to accept them for some period of time?," Rubio said, adding that he was not aware of Libya being included in that.
Rubio also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States was pleased to see the resumption of food shipments to Gaza, adding that the United States understands that another 100 trucks are behind the initial ones to cross in to Gaza and more might enter in the coming days.
