Protestor disrupts Washington mayor's speech, calls for ceasefire in Gaza

WASHINGTON

A protestor calling for a ceasefire in Gaza disrupted Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's speech on Friday morning during a ceremony for an arts festival.

Running towards the podium as Bowser was delivering remarks at the event for the start of Artomatic arts festival in the US capital, the protestor chanted "D.C. artists are against apartheid".

"Here we go," Bowser said when she saw the protestor running towards her. Security stopped the protestor from reaching the mayor.

"We demand that D.C. calls for ceasefire," the protestor continued chanting, calling for an end to the "genocide" in Gaza.

The identity of the protestor is unknown, according to local reports.

Israel has launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. The offensive has killed more than 30,800 victims and injured nearly 73,000 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli onslaught amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.