This morning, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the FY26 State Department Budget, three elderly peace activists disrupted Secretary of State Marco Rubio over his failure to act on the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Among them were 79-year-old Episcopal Reverend David Funkhouser, 75-year-old Quaker grandmother Jean Warrington, and 74-year-old Puerto Rico resident and peace activist Kathy Gannett. All three were arrested and removed from the hearing.

“There is no military solution to the crisis in Israel-Palestine,” said Warrington. “Stop arms sales! Only diplomacy can bring hostages home and achieve peace.”

Rev. Funkhouser added, “You have had an audience with his holiness, Pope Leo.  I challenge you to honor Pope Leo’s deep compassion for the people of Gaza. Stop the genocide! No more weapons to Israel!"

Their action followed Israel’s deadly escalation in Gaza over the weekend. In “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” more than 140 Palestinians—mostly women and children—were killed in indiscriminate airstrikes. Hospitals are under siege, aid is severely restricted, and civilians are being forced into so-called “safe zones” that are then bombed, proving Israel’s campaign of forced displacement and mass killing. A UN Report released this week warns that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die within the next 48 hours without sufficient aid. 

The activists assert that rather than using his role to stop this violence, Secretary Rubio is enabling it while removing those calling for peace.