Washington DC - Protesters with hands covered in red paint repeatedly interrupted a congressional hearing on US military aid Tuesday, demanding Washington stop funding Israel's war on Gaza.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were appealing to the Senate Appropriations Committee for billions of dollars in military assistance to support Israel, Ukraine, and other security costs.

Some two dozen spectators raised hands covered in paint in a symbol of the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its bombardment of the Palestinian territory after Hamas's attack earlier this month.

Several wore messages of "Free Gaza" written on their arms and held signs demanding "No more $$$ 4 Israel," while some cried out "Ceasefire now," "Palestinians are not animals" and "Shame on you all."

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One man wore a shirt reading "Stop backing genocide."

Blinken was forced to stop speaking at least five times as some demonstrators were escorted out by police.

President Joe Biden has asked Congress for more than $105 billion in security spending, including $14.3 billion for Israel, whose bombing campaign in response to the deadly Hamas attack that killed an estimated 1,400 people on October 7 has devastated Gaza.

Israeli airstrikes and raids have killed more than 8,500 people, according to the latest count given by the strip's health authorities, over 3,000 of them children.

The population has been starved of water, power, and other basic necessities for over three weeks, leading to accusations of war crimes and by human rights organizations and warnings of a potential genocide.