A soldier, Aaron Bushnell, 25, who according to media reports is a member of the US Air Force, died after setting himself on fire in protest outside the Israeli embassy in Washington.
When firefighters arrived, the flames had already been put out by members of the US Security Services. The man was hospitalized in serious condition, but a few hours later he died.
The episode occurred at number 3500 International Drive Northwest, the heart of the “diplomatic” district of the capital, when a person approached the entrance to the embassy. The security guards asked him if he needed anything, but at a certain point the man set himself on fire.
The images of the protester engulfed in flames were published on Twitch.
Aaron Bushnell, 25 years old, dressed in combat clothes, had declared: “I no longer want to be an accomplice to the genocide”, referring to the massacre of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli military forces, in response to the massacre of 7 October, when more than 1,200 Israelis were killed, and many women and girls raped, by Hamas militants. According to local media reports, the man is in critical condition but no one else was injured in the accident.
In the meantime, the secret services and the men of the metropolitan police department continue to investigate on site, closed to traffic.