°®Âþµº

Thousands of demonstrators, led by a coalition of progressive Jewish groups, marched to the US Capitol on Wednesday to demand the US pressure Israel for an immediate ceasefire in its war on Gaza.

As planned, a break-away group of demonstrators entered the Capitol building to practice civil disobedience, resulting in the arrests of around 500 Jewish activists.

Prominent speakers at the event were author Naomi Klein and congress members Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush who addressed a growing crowd of more than 5,000. Klein estimated that this was the largest Jewish protest in solidarity with Palestinians in US history.

The demonstration built on the momentum of a similar one that took place on Sunday, when the progressive Jewish groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace led a march to the White House. Wednesday's demonstration, which began at noon, continued until after sunset, long after the arrests were made, as protesters continued to wave their signs in the air, chanting and singing, accompanied by a local marching band.

Produced by Reem Khabbazy