Active-duty airman set himself on fire in front of Israeli embassy

An active-duty airman set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. today while wearing his uniform.

Emergency services received a report of a man on fire outside the embassy just before 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The fire was extinguished by uniformed members of the Secret Service, and the man was taken to an area hospital with critical life-threatening injuries, according to the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

The incident appears to be in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. Independent journalist Talia Jane obtained a video of the self-immolation, which has not been widely circulated online. In the video, the man, identified as Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty airman, expressed his opposition to what he described as genocide in Palestine before setting himself on fire and shouting “Free Palestine.”

Law enforcement responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. The man was then transported to the hospital. Authorities searched the area around the embassy, but no suspicious items were found.

Bushnell’s LinkedIn profile indicates that he has been in the Air Force since 2020 and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in software engineering. The United States Secret Service and the Department of Defense are aware of the incident but have not provided further information.

The Israeli war in Gaza, which began following a terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, has resulted in numerous casualties and continues to escalate. In December, a similar incident occurred when a person set themselves on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta in protest of the conflict.