US Air Force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in Washington

2024-02-26 14:03:45
Police are deployed outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington following a member of the US Air Force was seriously injured following setting himself on fire outside the diplomatic complex. (WJLA via AP)

An active member of the United States Air Force died following immolating himself this weekend in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington in protest of the conflict in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, the Pentagon reported Monday.

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A spokeswoman for the institution said that the man, whose name was not released, “succumbed to his injuries and died last night” Sunday. “We will provide additional details 24 hours following notifications to next of kin are completed,” she added.

Emergency teams responded to the Israeli embassy in Washington on Sunday shortly before 1:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT) in response to a “call for a person on fire” at that location, according to a message on the force’s social network Fire Department of the American capital.

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When they arrived at the scene, they found that the fire had already been extinguished by agents of the Secret Service, the agency in charge of protecting the embassies in Washington.

Local media reported that the subject, who was wearing a uniform, apparently broadcast live on the social network Twitch, assuring that “he will not be complicit in genocide” before dousing himself with liquid, in reference to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

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He then blew himself up while shouting “Free Palestine!” until she fell to the ground, according to reports

In the video of the incident, the details of which were revealed by CNN, the man identified himself as Aaron Bushnell.

The video was later removed from Twitch, but a copy has been obtained and reviewed by law enforcement.

An explosives unit was deployed to examine a suspicious car, which ultimately posed no threat. (WJLA via AP)

The incident came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks cabinet approval for a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah while a temporary ceasefire deal is negotiated with the Hamas terror group.

Israel has strongly denied accusations of genocide and says it is carrying out operations in accordance with international law in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The event occurred at a time when protests are increasing in the United States once morest Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which it subjects to intense bombings and where it carries out continuous ground operations in a war in retaliation for the unprecedented attack perpetrated on its territory on September 7. October by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

In December, a person committed self-immolation outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta using gasoline as an accelerant, according to Atlanta fire authorities. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene, and it is believed that the event was an “extreme political protest.”

(With information from AP and EFE)

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