Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Trump dinner in D.C.

U.S. President Donald Trump was heckled by protesters with pro-Palestinian slogans after he arrived at a restaurant in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, 9 September.

Before walking into the restaurant, one of the demonstrators Olivia Dinucci filmed herself saying, "We're outside the restaurant where Trump, Vance, Hegseth, Rubio, all of them, and you can see all of the security that's here, and yet we were able to get in and call it what it was. That they are not welcome in D.C., that they have the blood of all the Palestinian people on their hands, that they committed a genocide to. And for them to stop terrorising communities in D.C.."

They chanted "Free Palestine. Trump is the Hitler of our time" before they were escorted out of the restaurant. 

Strike on Doha

The protest follows the Israeli military strike on Doha on Tuesday in an attempt to kill political leaders of Hamas, after Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting on Monday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack in Doha was "entirely justified" and was ordered after the Jerusalem attack and the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

"The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind," Netanyahu said in a televised address.

"I won't allow that kind of immunity to exist."

International reaction

Meanwhile, Trump said on Tuesday that Israel's decision to strike Qatar was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and not by the United States, adding that a unilateral attack on Qatar does not serve American or Israeli interests.

He has expressed he is "very unhappy" about the strike. 

Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, however nearly eight months into his second term, negotiations on a ceasefire have stalled. 

The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and Trump's push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict.

Gaza

The attack comes as Israeli military dropped leaflets on Tuesday ordering Gaza City residents to evacuate from the area to move to the south as it begins to intensify military operations.

Israel's assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people, internally displaced Gaza's entire population, and set off a starvation crisis. Multiple rights experts and scholars say Israel's military assault on Gaza amounts to genocide.

Israel says its actions amount to self-defence after an October 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of the Gaza conflict.

Hamas is holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive with demonstrations in Tel Aviv demanding their release. 

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