The Biden administration is defending the pace of its arms shipments to Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the U.S. of slow-rolling military assistance. This week, the White House boasted that it had supplied Israel with $6.5 billion in military aid since last October. The disclosure came as senior U.S. officials held talks with an Israeli delegation headed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who on Wednesday told reporters in Washington, D.C., that Israel was prepared to bomb Lebanon “back to the Stone Age” unless Hezbollah halts cross-border attacks. On Wednesday, Gallant was confronted by a peace activist with CodePink after meeting with key members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

CodePink activist: “Gallant, you are a war criminal! How dare you enter our city and our country? You’re a war criminal! You have literally killed thousands of Palestinians, carrying out the genocide in Palestine! Shame on you! And shame on you for letting them in here! Shame on all of you for protecting a war criminal!”