An current member of the US Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on Sunday, officials claimed, claiming he was protesting the war in Gaza.
Emergency personnel rushed to the site just before 1:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) in response to a “call for person on fire outside the Israeli Embassy,” according to a tweet posted by the capital’s fire department on X (previously Twitter).
When they arrived, they discovered that personnel from the Secret Service — the US law enforcement agency in charge of protecting US political leaders, visiting heads of state, and others — had already put out the fire.
The man was taken to the hospital with “critical life-threatening injuries,” according to the fire department.
An Air Force spokeswoman acknowledged to AFP that he was an active member of the Air Force, but provided no other information.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli embassy stated that no workers were wounded in the event and that the individual was “unknown” to them.
According to US media, the man seemed to video himself on Twitch, dressed in fatigues and proclaiming that he will “not be complicit in genocide” before dousing himself in liquid.
He then set himself on fire while chanting “Free Palestine!” till he slumped to the ground.
AFP was unable to authenticate the film immediately, and the New York Times reported that it had been taken from Twitch.
The terrible deed occurred as protests in the United States grew against Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where it is fighting a retaliatory operation in response to a Hamas militant strike on October 7.
With the death toll in Gaza approaching 30,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, worldwide pressure has mounted on the US to rein in its partner Israel and call for a truce.
AFP