The Washington Fire Department reported the incident on the X social network. Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before 1 p.m., according to the release. local time (20:00 Lithuanian time) following receiving a report that a person was on fire near the Israeli embassy.
At the scene, officers saw that the fire had already been extinguished by US Secret Service personnel.
Firefighters said the man was taken to hospital with “critical life-threatening injuries”.
On Monday, the BBC news service reported that the soldier who attempted his own life did not survive.
An Air Force spokesman confirmed to AFP that the man was an active member of the Air Force, but did not provide further details.
A spokesman for the Israeli embassy said no staff were injured in the incident and the man who set himself on fire was not known to them.
According to US media, the man is believed to have live-streamed the incident on the streaming platform Twitch, declaring that he would “not contribute to genocide” before dousing himself with the liquid.
Then, shouting “Free Palestinian state!”, he burst into flames and screamed until he collapsed.
AFP might not immediately verify the footage, and the New York Times reported that it had been removed from Twitch.
The move comes amid growing protests in the United States once morest Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, where Israel retaliated once morest an October 7 attack by the Islamist group Hamas.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the death toll in the Gaza Strip is approaching 30,000, increasing international pressure on the US to rein in its ally Israel and call for a ceasefire.
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2024-04-25 07:28:19
