After some time, an American airman called Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Aaron Bushnell was from San Antonio, Texas, and he was 25 years old. People in charge said that on Sunday, the US Secret Service put out the man’s fire and took him to the hospital. He is said to have said before he burned himself that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide.”
On the video site Twitch, Aaron filmed himself live and said that he was in the Air Force and that he was going to do a “extreme act of protest.” Putting himself on fire, he yelled “Free Palestine” while he was on fire.
They also said that no Embassy staff members were hurt and that they weren’t confirming that the video was real. A bomb disposal unit was sent to the area because of a possibly suspicious vehicle, but it turned out to be safe and there were no threats.
DC police say they are looking into what happened with the help of the US Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (2ATF). Mr. Brushness was in very bad shape when he was taken to the hospital.
The war between Israel and Gaza has caused a lot of worry, and a lot of people are having a hard time dealing with their feelings because of it. A bombing on October 7 killed 1,200 people and started the war. This led Israel to start a war that has killed more than 29,000 people since October 7.
More than 1.9 million people from Gaza have been forced to leave their homes since January. That’s about 85% of the population of the area. Because of how tense the war is, this isn’t the first time someone has done something extreme to protest, and it’s also not the first time someone has set themselves on fire to protest Israel’s actions.