Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza interrupt Biden’s speech

Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted President Biden’s speech at a church in Charleston, S.C., on Monday, urging him to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“If you really care about the lives lost here, you should honor the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Gaza,” shouted an audience member at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where a white supremacist killed nine people in 2015. .

A group of protesters then began chanting: “Ceasefire now.”

As supporters of Mr. Biden responded with chants of “Four more years,” Mr. Biden said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He then paused as the chants continued and protesters were led outside, before saying he understood their “passion” and was working to reduce suffering in Gaza.

The Biden administration has broadly supported Israel – both verbally and with the supply of weapons – in its invasion and bombardment of Gaza, after Hamas terrorists killed about 1,200 people in an attack on Israel on October 7. Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 22,000 people. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, people have entered Gaza in the three months since.

As civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have increased, Mr. Biden has urged Israel to scale back its campaign and take greater precautions to prevent civilian casualties. But he has continued to support military aid and has not called for a ceasefire, and the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for one.

Voters broadly disapprove of Biden’s handling of the war, and it has become a major political vulnerability for him.