Friday, 26 July 2024

Ukraine behind Moscow car bombing – suspect to FSB

Ukraine behind Moscow car bombing – suspect to FSB

Ukraine behind Moscow car bombing – suspect to FSB




Yevgeny Serebryakov, suspected of carrying out a car bombing that wounded two people in northern Moscow on July 24, looks on after he was detained in the Turkish city of Bodrum and delivered to Russia, in Moscow, Russia. © Sputnik






A Russian citizen suspected of carrying out a car bombing in Moscow has told Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) that he collaborated with a presumed member of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) while being instructed on how to conduct the attack.







A Toyota Land Cruiser reportedly belonging to a Russian serviceman exploded near a residential building in the northern part of Moscow on Wednesday. The bomb went off when the owner of the vehicle and a person believed to be his wife entered it. Both were hospitalized, with the man reportedly losing his feet and the woman receiving shrapnel wounds.


Evgeny Serebryakov, 29, who is accused of blowing up the car, was detained the same day by police in the Turkish city of Bodrum and transferred to Moscow.


In a video of his interrogation shared by the FSB on Friday, the man says he began collaborating with “Ilya from the SBU” in February 2023. Serbryakov stated that he communicated with the man via messengers and met him in Istanbul once.


“After that, I received the components to assemble an improvised explosive device. Ilya proposed to eliminate the officer,” the suspect said.


Serebryakov claimed that ‘Ilya’ instructed him on how to assemble the bomb and plant it under the serviceman’s car in Moscow, adding that he was promised Ukrainian citizenship and a reward of $10,000 to $20,000 for the attack. Kiev has denied involvement in the terrorist attack.


Serebryakov lived in a rented apartment in central Moscow. According to his brother, he moved to the Russian capital 12 years ago. He worked in a bank and also served as an altar boy for a Catholic church in Moscow.



Moscow car bombing suspect arrested in Türkiye – Interior Minister



A Russian citizen suspected of being responsible for a car bombing in Moscow on Wednesday morning has been detained by police in the Turkish city of Bodrum, the country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.


The arrest comes after a Toyota Land Cruiser, reportedly belonging to a Russian serviceman, exploded near a residential building in Northern Moscow earlier in the day. The bomb went off when the owner of the vehicle and a person believed to be his wife, got inside. Both were hospitalized, with the man reportedly losing his feet and the woman receiving shrapnel wounds.


Several hours later, the Turkish Interior Minister published a statement on X that Russia’s Interpol unit had informed it that the person behind the car bombing, identified as Yevgeny Serebryakov, a Russian citizen, had boarded a flight from Moscow to Bodrum.


Serebryakov was arrested by the Mugla Provincial Police units in the city, Yerlikaya said. The arrest was caught on video, which was shared by the minister.





According to media reports, citing sources within the Turkish Interior Ministry, Serebryakov was able to enter the country as a tourist, given that he was not yet placed on any international wanted list.


While investigators in Russia continue to examine the details of the terrorist act, no official statements have been made yet regarding potential reasons for the brazen attack.



















Watch Russian Iskander-M Hit Ukrainian Weapons Depot in Kramatorsk

Watch Russian Iskander-M Hit Ukrainian Weapons Depot in Kramatorsk

Watch Russian Iskander-M Hit Ukrainian Weapons Depot in Kramatorsk










The attack resulted in the destruction of a HIMARS launcher, five BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, five tanks, and up to 10 armored vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF).







The Russian military conducted a strike using an Iskander-M missile system on an arms depot in Kramatorsk's industrial zone, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense.


The targeted site included an armament depot of Ukraine's 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade and a hidden storage area for artillery and armored vehicles. The strike was reported to have been so powerful that it was felt in Slavyansk, according to Sergei Lebedev, a coordinator of the Nikolayev underground movement.


In response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian objects, Russian forces regularly conduct precision strikes on locations housing personnel, equipment, and mercenaries of the UAF, as well as on infrastructure such as energy facilities, defense industry sites, and military command and communication centers in Ukraine.



Russia says its battlegroup North eliminated up to 235 Ukrainian troops



The Russian battlegroup North struck three enemy brigades and repelled six counterattacks over the past day, causing Ukraine to lose up to 235 troops, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily bulletin of the special military operation.


©Vincenzo Circosta/Anadolu via Getty Images



Here are the details of this and other combat actions that happened over the past day, according to the bulletin.



Battlegroup North



"Units of the battlegroup North hit the troops and equipment of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade, the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 36th Marine Brigade near Volchansk, Glubokoye, Liptsy, Staritsa and Shestakovo in the Kharkov Region. Six counterattacks by the forces of the 92nd Airborne Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces were repelled," the ministry said.


In addition to 235 troops, the enemy lost four motor vehicles, a 152 mm D-20 howitzer, a 122 mm D-30 howitzer, a US-made 105 mm M101 howitzer and a Khortitsa-M signal reconnaissance system.



Battlegroup West



"Units of the battlegroup West units improved their frontline positions and inflicted casualties on the Ukrainian 144th infantry brigade, 110th and 112th territorial defense brigades, 1st National Guard brigade near the settlements of Petropavlovka, Stepovaya Novosyolovka, Peschanoye in the Kharkov Region and Makeyevka in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the ministry said.


Ukrainian losses in that area over the past day were up to 460 personnel, five motor vehicles, a 155mm Bogdana self-propelled artillery system, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, a 152mm D-20 howitzer and a Ukrainian Anklav-N electronic warfare station. Russian troops also destroyed two Ukrainian ammunition depots.



Battlegroup South



The battlegroup’s forces moved to more advantageous positions and struck units of five Ukrainian brigades near Chasov Yar, Krasnoye, Konstantinovka, Krasnogorovka and Verkhnekamenskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic.


"Ukrainian forces lost up to 680 troops, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, two armored fighting vehicles, four pickup trucks, a UK-made 155 mm FH-70 towed howitzer, two US-made 155 mm M198 howitzers, a Polish-made 155 mm Krab self-propelled howitzer, a US-made 155 mm M777 howitzer, a 152 mm D-20 howitzer, three 122 mm D-30 howitzers and a US-made 105 mm M119 howitzer," the ministry said.



Battlegroup Center



"Units of the battlegroup Center improved their tactical position, striking the forces of the 28th, 31st, 32nd, 41st, 47th and 151th mechanized brigades, the 68th Infantry Brigade and the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 111th Territorial Defense Brigade near Timofeyevka, Vozdvizhenka, Mikhailovka and Kalinovo in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 410 troops, two tanks, including a US-made Abrams tank, two pickup trucks, a 152 mm Msta-B howitzer and a 100 mm Rapira MT-12 gun," the ministry said.



Battlegroup East



"Units of the battlegroup East improved their frontline positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian 72nd mechanized, 58th motorized infantry brigades, 123rd territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Vodyanoye, Prechistovka, Neskuchnoye and Razdolnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.


Ukrainian losses in that area over the past day were up to 125 personnel, a tank, two motor vehicles, a 152mm Akatsiya self-propelled artillery gun, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, two Ukrainian Anklav-N electronic warfare stations and a field arms depot.



Battlegroup Dnepr



"Units of the battlegroup Dnepr struck manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian 128th mountain assault brigade, 38th marine brigade and 15th National Guard brigade in the areas of Lugovoye, Malaya Tokmachka in the Zaporozhye Region; as well as Tyaginka, Pridneprovskoye and Antonovka in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.


Ukrainian losses were up to 115 troops, two armored combat vehicles, 17 motor vehicles, a US-made 155mm M777 howitzer, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, a 152mm Akatsiya self-propelled artillery unit, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, and two Anklav-N electronic warfare stations.



Air Force and air defenses



"Operational-tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, rocket troops and artillery of Russian battlegroups destroyed a Ukrainian fuel and lubricants depot, up to five US-made Bradley IFVs on a site with foreign military equipment and a sea drone base. In addition, they struck repair and recovery workshops of an armored vehicle plant and clusters of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in 104 locations," the ministry said.


"Air defenses shot down three HIMARS rockets and 52 unmanned aerial vehicles, including 26 outside the area of the special operation," the ministry said.



Tally of destroyed equipment



Since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed a total of 630 Ukrainian warplanes, 278 helicopters, 28,382 unmanned aerial vehicles, 556 surface-to-air missile systems, 16,660 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,383 multiple launch rocket systems, 12,363 field artillery guns and mortars and 24,046 special military motor vehicles.



















Israeli Terrorists snipers ‘shooting anyone who moves’ in Khan Younis

Israeli Terrorists snipers ‘shooting anyone who moves’ in Khan Younis

Israeli Terrorists snipers ‘shooting anyone who moves’ in Khan Younis










Eleven Palestinians are released from Israeli prisons with a 17-year-old boy telling Al Jazeera he was tortured for information on Hamas and the whereabouts of captives held in Gaza.







Israeli trrorists military forces fire live rounds at an ambulance evacuating a wounded person in southern Khan Younis where a deadly ground invasion is expanding.


At least 129 people have been killed in the last five days of Israeli shelling and artillery fire in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where the Israel Defense Forces earlier this week gave people "a couple of minutes only" to evacuate earlier this week, according to Al Jazeera reporter Hind Khoudary, before the bombardment began.


The snipers "are shooting anyone who is moving," wrote Tareq Abu Azzoum in a dispatch, reporting that the eastern part of Khan Younis is the main target of Israel's current assault.


The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) noted that the latest evacuation order reduced the area that Israel has claimed is a "humanitarian zone," as the order covered about 15% of al-Mawasi, where people from cities including Rafah and Gaza City have fled in recent months as the IDF has launched assaults in those cities.


The group told Al Jazeera that "there is no more space, even for a single tent, in the so-called 'humanitarian area' of al-Mawasi because of the overwhelming number of people displaced there."


Terrorists Israel's reported indiscriminate assault on the city has included medical workers, said PRCS, which posted a video on social media Thursday of an ambulance that had been hit by live bullets fired by the IDF while medics were transporting an injured person.





The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor noted on Monday that the true death toll in Khan Younis—as with the rest of Gaza—may not be known for months, "with many victims remaining trapped under the rubble and in the streets, where rescue workers have not been able to retrieve their bodies."


The group also said the IDF had perpetrated "a kind of deception of the residents" of Khan Younis and villages in the area, including Bali Suhaila, where soldiers entered "amid very violent bombardment, even though the Israeli army had said in its orders that the displacement was going to be temporary."


The forced evacuation, false information about the order, and shrinking of the humanitarian zone were "all part of Israel's media disinformation campaign and psychological warfare tactics, since military assaults on forcibly displaced people and their tents have occurred continually in this area for several weeks now, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries," the Euro-Med Monitor.


The reports of indiscriminate shooting by snipers also bolster an account given by Dr. Mark Perlmutter, who volunteered at European Hospital in Khan Younis in April, to CBS News earlier this week.


"I had sniper bullets," said Perlmutter. "I have children that were shot twice... I have two children that I have photographs of, that were shot so perfectly in the chest... and directly on the side of the head on the same child. No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by the world's best sniper. And they're dead-center shots."





Perlmutter is among nearly four dozen doctors and nurses who wrote to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden on Thursday, describing what they saw while volunteering at hospitals across Gaza since Israel began bombarding the enclave and blocking nearly all humanitarian aid, including medications and medical supplies, nearly 10 months ago.


"Children are universally considered innocents in armed conflict," wrote the medical workers. "However, every single signatory to this letter treated children in Gaza who suffered violence that must have been deliberately directed at them. Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest."


"We wish you could hear the cries and screams our consciences will not let us forget," they added. "We cannot believe that anyone would continue arming the country that is deliberately killing these children after seeing what we have seen."



At least 30 people Are Reported Killed in Khan Younis in 24 hours



At least 30 people were killed and dozens more injured over a 24-hour period on Wednesday and Thursday in the Gaza Strip, local health officials said, as the Israeli military pushed deeper into parts of Khan Younis that it had previously designated as humanitarian zones for civilians fleeing the fighting.


A Palestinian woman being carried into Nasser Hospital after strikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Thursday. Credit... Bashar Taleb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images



The Israeli military, which began a renewed offensive in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis earlier this week, said it was targeting Hamas forces whom it accused of embedding fighters among civilians.


Many of the victims were taken to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where photos taken by a photographer for Agence France-Presse showed bloodied children being rushed in for care.


A Palestinian boy weeps outside the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Thursday. Credit... Bashar Taleb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images



Mohammad Saqer, the director of nursing at Nasser Hospital, said he had treated three children for severe blast wounds, which he said were most likely from bombardment. Dr. Saqer, who has worked at the medical center for 18 years, said few shipments of medicine and fuel were arriving at the hospital, making treatment difficult.





“So many dead, so many wounded, not enough beds,” Dr. Saqer said. “The situation’s disastrous. We’re rationing electricity, turning off air conditioning, trying to save what we can.”

























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Democrats are ‘openly anti-Semitic’ – Musk

Democrats are ‘openly anti-Semitic’ – Musk

Democrats are ‘openly anti-Semitic’ – Musk




Rashida Tlaib holds a protest sign as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, July 24, 2024 br /> ©AFP/Anna Moneymaker






The US Democratic Party has become “openly anti-Semitic,” SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed, after Democrat lawmaker Rashida Tlaib called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” during his address to Congress.







Speaking to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu vowed – to thunderous applause from Republicans and a more muted response from Democrats – to win a “total victory in Gaza” and “fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities.”


Around half of the Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate skipped the speech. Among those who attended was Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, who held up a small sign reading “Guilty of Genocide” and “War criminal” as the Israeli prime minister spoke.





Tlaib’s protest drew condemnation from Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats. In a post on X, tech billionaire Mark Pincus wondered, “How is this part of the Dem party? Are Dem leadrs denouncing?”


US Democrats snub Netanyahu – AxiosREAD MORE US Democrats snub Netanyahu – Axios “People who have been lifelong Democrats refuse to accept the clear reality that the Democratic Party is rapidly becom[ing] openly anti-Semitic,” Musk replied, claiming that “This trend is accelerating, not slowing down.”


Support for Israel is typically an issue of bipartisan agreement in the US. Back in April, a bill providing $26.3 billion in assistance to the Jewish state passed the House by 366 votes to 58, after which it was sent to the Senate and combined with bills gifting tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine and Taiwan, which also passed with bipartisan support.


However, Israel’s war on Hamas has widened the rift between the Democratic Party’s establishment and progressive wings, with the latter pressing President Joe Biden to force Netanyahu into declaring an immediate ceasefire. In an apparent gesture to the progressives, Biden froze the delivery of around 1,800 2,000-pound bombs to Israel earlier this summer. However, his administration has given Israel more than 14,000 of the same bombs, as well as drone-launched missiles and $6.5 billion in other military aid, since October 7, Reuters reported last week.


Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,100 people and taking around 250 hostages to Gaza. Israel immediately declared war on the Palestinian militant group, and has since killed nearly 40,000 people in the enclave, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.


Musk himself was accused of anti-Semitism back in January, when he claimed that Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League push “dialectical hatred against whites.” The tech mogul apologized for the statement shortly afterwards, before embarking on a trip to Israel to meet Netanyahu, followed by a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.


In a press conference after meeting Netanyahu, Musk declared that Israel had “no choice” but to destroy Hamas, calling the Palestinian militant group a “poisonous regime.” In a similar briefing at Auschwitz, he declared that he had been “frankly naive” about the alleged rise of anti-Semitism in the West.



Ocasio-Cortez to Musk: ‘Sometimes being quiet’ is ‘good for you



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and tech billionaire Elon Musk clashed on social media Wednesday over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress after Musk called the Democratic Party “openly and boldly antisemitic.”


The back-and-forth began after Musk responded to a post from Ocasio-Cortez on his social platform X about the decision by her and several other Democrats to boycott Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress.


“Just so we’re clear, Netanyahu has lost so many people that he is addressing just a fraction of Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “When this happens, they fill the seats with non-members, like what they do at award ceremonies, in order to project the appearance of full attendance and support.”


Musk, who attended the Israeli leader’s address at the Capitol, replied, “The Democratic Party has become openly & boldly antisemitic.”


“Hmm,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, “sometimes being quiet is free and good for you,” adding a screenshot of a Wall Street Journal article about when Musk appeared to agree with an antisemitic post last year.


Musk came under fire last November after engaging with a post about an antisemitic conspiracy theory that suggested antisemitism was carried out by minorities and that Jewish people were to blame. This claim echoes false conspiracy theories claiming Jewish people want to flood Western countries with minorities.


The Hill has reached out to Musk’s team for comment.


Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress this week highlighted the bitter divide among lawmakers over the U.S.’s policy toward Israel in its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas. The war, sparked by Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks against southern Israel, has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials.


The address was boycotted by a number of Democrats in protest of Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war and his inability to secure the release of all hostages being held by Hamas since its Oct. 7 attack.


A coalition of advocacy groups gathered around Capitol Hill to protest the speech and demand the arrest of Netanyahu, who has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.


Musk and Ocasio-Cortez have butted heads various times on social media, including last summer, when the New York progressive criticized X’s safety measures.


Ocasio-Cortez has publicly criticized the platform on multiple occasions since Musk’s takeover, from blasting the billionaire for suspending several journalists from the social media platform to accusing Musk of boosting a fake Twitter account impersonating

























Thursday, 25 July 2024

Russian Iskander-M Hits Foreign Mercenary Temporary Deployment Site in Kharkov - MoD

Russian Iskander-M Hits Foreign Mercenary Temporary Deployment Site in Kharkov - MoD

Russian Iskander-M Hits Foreign Mercenary Temporary Deployment Site in Kharkov - MoD




©Sputnik/Pavel Lisitsyn/Go to the mediabank Subscribe






Russia's Iskander-M missile defense system struck a temporary deployment site for foreign mercenaries in the industrial zone of the city of Kharkov, killing up to 100 military personnel, including 40 foreign instructors, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Thursday.







"The crew of the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system carried out a missile strike on the temporary deployment site of foreign mercenaries in ... the industrial zone of the city of Kharkov. As a result of the strike, up to 100 militants were killed, of which 40 were foreign instructors, as well as about 60 servicemen of the 151st mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces," the ministry said in a statement.


The Russian Ministry of Defense has previously reported the elimination of mercenaries from the United States, the United Kingdom, Georgia, and other countries, and regularly reports on the destruction of locations where foreigners fighting for Kiev are concentrated.


According to the Ministry, over 13,000 foreign mercenaries have arrived in Ukraine to fight for the Kiev regime since the start of the special operation. During this period, about 6,000 fighters have been eliminated.






The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday shared a video on its official Telegram channel purporting to show the attack on the facility, which reportedly belongs to a construction company, using the Iskander-M. The missile system launches hypersonic missiles carrying a 700kg payload and is capable of hitting targets up to 500km away. It’s stated that the strike took out some 100 fighters, 40 of whom were foreign instructors and 60 were Ukrainian servicemen.


Video shared by the ministry several hours later also supposedly shows an Iskander-M group missile strike on the Kharkov Armored Plant. Two workshops for repairing armored vehicles were destroyed in the attack, halting the facility’s operations, the report claimed.






Earlier this week, the ministry reported another attack on a deployment point for foreign instructors located in the town of Dergachi in Kharkov Region. The facility was also destroyed using the Iskander-M system and some 50 foreigners were said to have been eliminated in the strike.


The targeted attacks against foreign instructors operating in Ukraine come after repeated warnings by Moscow that any military personnel or weapons sent from abroad to aid Kiev are considered legitimate targets for Russian forces.


“The fact is that any instructors involved in training the military of the Ukrainian regime do not have any immunity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed last month in response to discussions in the EU, particularly in France, about sending Western military instructors to Ukraine.


It’s unclear how many foreign instructors are currently operating in Ukraine. However, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported earlier this month that the French army was growing “concerned” about the increased number of Frenchmen who have been killed during the Ukraine conflict.


Russian President Vladimir Putin has also recently stated that Western military trainers have “long been present” in Ukraine “under the guise of mercenaries” and have continued to suffer casualties.



Three Foreign Officers Taken to Romania After Strike in Odessa Region - Underground Network



Three foreign officers were airlifted to Romania after a strike on the Ukrainian-held city of Izmail in the Odessa region, the coordinator of the pro-Russian underground network in Nikolayev, told Sputnik on Thursday.


"Yesterday, a series of strikes hit Izmail. Today, when Romanian neighbors came to retrieve their dead, another strike was launched. And again the ambulances came 'flying,' three foreign officers were evacuated towards Romania by helicopters," Sergei Lebedev said.


Air defense, electronic warfare systems and warehouses storing missiles in the Kiev region were targeted overnight, Lebedev said. A strike on the city of Belaya Tserkov, near Kiev, hit warehouses that are believed to have stored long-range missiles and depleted-uranium munitions.


Another strike hit a rail station in the Smila city of Cherkassy region, destroying a train loaded with military equipment.


There have also been reports of a powerful explosion on the outskirts of Kharkov, with two hits registered. Four strikes hit the suburbs of the Zhitomir, Lebedev said.

























Protesters hoist Palestinian flags in Washington during Netanyahu speech

Protesters hoist Palestinian flags in Washington during Netanyahu speech

Protesters hoist Palestinian flags in Washington during Netanyahu speech




Protestors attempt to block streets in Washington, DC on July 24, 2024. © Michael A. McCoy / Getty Images






Israeli Terrorists Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been greeted by crows of pro-Palestinian protesters on the streets of Washington DC, as he arrived to ask for more support from the US Congress.







Wednesday’s address is Netanyahu’s fourth before the US lawmakers, surpassing the previous historic record of three speeches by British leader Winston Churchill.


Capitol Hill was fortified ahead of the event, with dozens of Washington streets closed and patrolled by heavily armed police, some brought in from other jurisdictions.


‘Free Palestine,’ ‘Stop War Crimes in Gaza,’ ‘End All Aid to Israel’ and ‘War Criminal’ were just some of the signs carried by protesters, who picketed the Capitol, the White House, and the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu was reportedly staying.





“Netanyahu come outside, we’re arresting you for genocide!” chanted one group of demonstrators.





Overnight, groups of activists poured red dye into fountains outside the congressional complex and projected signs on nearby buildings calling the Israeli leader a war criminal.





Crowds of protesters also picketed the Watergate Hotel, making noise so Netanyahu – or any other guests or residents – could not sleep.





“BIBI WAR CRIMINAL” was also projected on the hotel facade.





According to one report, pro-Palestinian activists also pulled fire alarms inside the hotel and released worms and crickets inside





Addressing Congress on Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu claimed that “for all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now, outside this building.”


Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), who heads the foreign relations committee, presided over the joint session of Congress, as Vice President Kamala Harris was at a campaign event in Indiana and the next most senior senator, Patty Murray (D-Washington), chose not to attend.


Dozens of Democrats from both the House and the Senate decided to snub the event, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Dick Durbin, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among the thirty House members who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech.


The sole Republican to snub Netanyahu, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, called the speech “political theater” and said he didn’t “feel like being a prop” for the Israeli leader.