Washington DC - Around 150 Mennonites were arrested by Capitol Police on Tuesday after staging a peaceful protest in support of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Mennonite Action reported the arrests about two hours after they launched a demonstration in the Cannon House Office Building in defense of Palestinian lives.

Holding signs reading "Mennonites for Ceasefire" and "Let Gaza Live," members of the faith group sang hymns and songs calling for peace in the Middle East.

"Our strategy is to do our part to help build public pressure on our elected representatives to support a ceasefire," the group's website says.

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"We must take responsibility for the power that we have by virtue of being Anabaptist citizens of western nations. It’s not right – but it is reality – that westerners have significantly more political power than most people living in Palestine."

"That means we also have a responsibility to use our voice and our influence as effectively as possible, especially as our government plays such a large role in this situation."

The same day, a group of around 200 more Mennonites braved the cold weather to hold a "hymn sing and worship service" in support of a ceasefire outside the US Capitol.

The Mennonite Church USA passed a resolution in 2017 opposing Israel's occupation of Palestine, as well as opposing antisemitism.

Israel has killed more than 24,000 people in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed just over 1,100 people. Over 132 hostages are believed to be still held in the strip.