Protesters occupy Sanders’s office, press for Gaza cease-fire

Protesters have occupied Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) office, demanding that he call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Protesters went inside Sanders’s Washington, D.C., office and demanded an “immediate cease-fire,” according to activist group DSA Palestine. His chief of staff reportedly “denied to speak with members.”

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights wrote, “As @SenSanders chief of staff walks away: ‘You walk away from us as our people die.'” The post included a video of protesters shouting at Sanders’s chief of staff and chanting “cease-fire.”

According to a separate post from another X user, the protesters “read the names of over 7,000+ Palestinians killed since October 7, and holding up photos to show they are not just numbers.” The post included photos of the demonstration in which protesters held signs and banners urging Sanders to “stop arming Israel” and “stop funding Genocide.”

According to some protesters’ estimates, reading the full list of Palestinians killed would take more than 6 hours.

Sanders, accompanied by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote a letter to President Biden Wednesday to express “serious concern” about Israel’s invasion.

The senators reiterated that they support Israel’s right to defend itself following Hamas’s surprise attack on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel but expressed concern about the “likely humanitarian toll” that could be left in the wake of a massive invasion by Israel’s forces.

Though Sanders previously criticized Israeli forces for cutting off access to resources in Gaza and asked the Israeli military to refrain from attacking Gaza, the senator recently praised the U.S. for offering to support Israel in its counterattack.

Sanders is among a group of progressive lawmakers who have faced backlash for their response to the Israel attacks. Democrats have put pressure on members of Congress to condemn the counteroffensive.

The protests follow others that have erupted outside and inside of Capitol Hill since the start of the war. A large group of protesters entered the Cannon House office building in October to demand a cease-fire. Roads around the Capitol area were closed because a group estimated there were more than 10,000 people.