Israel-hating protesters dubbed Secretary of State Antony Blinken “the butcher of Gaza” in repeated outbursts Tuesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, at which the top US diplomat pushed for the State Department’s planned $60 billion budget for fiscal year 2025.

Just after Blinken began his opening statement, an unidentified man stood up and shouted about a 6-year-old he claimed was killed in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing assault on Hamas terrorists.

“Blinken, you will be remembered as the butcher of Gaza,” the man yelled as officers yanked him from the hearing room. “You will be remembered for murdering innocent Palestinians.” 

The statement was an apparent reference to the nickname of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Dubbed “the Butcher of Tehran” for his brutality, he was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran.

A flood of other protesters – some from the far-left “Code Pink” advocacy group – then began shouting at security officers before committee Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) asked one to remove a screaming woman.

“Blinken is a war criminal! He is a war criminal,” the woman shouted as she was removed from the room. “The blood of 40,000 Palestinians is on your hands!”

As Blinken resumed his opening statement, another female protester was ejected while shouting that Blinken is “funding a genocide in Gaza.”

“There have been seven mass graves outside of hospitals,” she said. “This is sick. This is deranged. You are a war criminal. Shame on you.”

Once the protesters were cleared, Blinken went on to advocate for his department and the Agency for International Development, asking for more funding as the nation faces a world embroiled in conflict.

“Last year’s enacted budget level represented a 5% cut from the year before. That challenges our efforts to deliver results that Congress and the American people want to see,” he said. “So I urge you to support this budget, which helps us address the most pressing foreign policy priorities.”

On Wednesday, Blinken will try his luck with the Republican-controlled House, testifying before its Foreign Affairs Committee and an appropriations subcommittee. 

“The budget will ensure the United States continues to be the partner of choice that countries turn to when they need to solve big problems,” the secretary said. “In an era of renewed great power competition, we must present the strongest possible offer one that’s relevant (and) responsive to countries’ needs.”

Senators later questioned Blinken on plans to tackle challenges in the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine and the Western Pacific, as well as current events. 

Asked for his take on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision Monday to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister for war crimes, Blinken said it was an “extremely wrongheaded decision by the ICC prosecutor.”

“The shameful equivalence implied between Hamas and the leadership of Israel … only complicates the prospects for getting (a peace) agreement.”

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan also accused three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

During Blinken’s testimony, Cardin and a bipartisan group of senators including Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Fetterman, (D-Pa.), Katie Britt, (R-Ala.) and John Thune, (R-SD), released a statement condemning the ICC.

“The application for arrest warrants also draws a false equivalence between Israel with its longstanding commitment to the rule of law, and Hamas’ theocratic, autocratic, and unaccountable rule over Gaza,” the group wrote. “To state the obvious: Israel is a functioning democracy, while Hamas is a terrorist organization.” 

“These actions by the ICC jeopardize efforts to bring about sustainable peace in the Middle East,” they added. “It puts at risk sensitive negotiations to bring home hostages, including Americans, and surge humanitarian assistance.”