A US military member ignited himself outside the Israeli embassy in Washington to protest the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old active duty airman, was declared dead later after being transported to the hospital.
Officials managed to put out the flames, and Tal Naim, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy, confirmed that no personnel were injured. In his uniform, Bushnell streamed the incident live on Twitch, introducing himself as he neared the embassy gates.
The video has since been extensively circulated on various social media platforms.
Before setting himself alight in what he called an “extreme act of protest”, he said “I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” he declares, stating his intention to undertake an “extreme act of protest.” “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now,” he wrote, along with the Twitch live stream link, as reported by the New York Post. However, the post was subsequently removed for breaching the platform’s community guidelines.
The Washington police stated that they were collaborating with the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to investigate the incident.
The incident came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought the cabinet’s approval for a military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, as reported by the Associated Press, while negotiations for a temporary cease-fire were underway.
Earlier, American veterans burn their military uniforms in honor of Bushnell in DC and denouncing the Israeli genocide in Gaza. In addition, American pilots held a rally in front of the Israeli Embassy to mourn Bushnell. Protesters burnt an Israeli flag in a vigil outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC last night remembering Aaron Bushnell.
