Feb. 26 (UPI) — An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday and has died.
D.C. authorities said the police and fire departments received a call shortly before 1 p.m. for a person on fire outside the embassy in the 3500 block of International Drive.
U.S. Secret Service extinguished the fire, and the man was rushed to a local hospital with “critical life-threatening injuries,” D.C. Fire and EMS said in a statement. On Monday morning, it was announced the man had died.
The man appears to have filmed his self-immolates, according to CNN and The New York Times. In the video, seen by both news organizations, the man identifies himself as a member of the U.S. Air Force and proclaims that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.” He then sets himself on fire.
Sunday night, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that the man was an active-duty airman.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement to The Times of Israel that the man was unknown to the embassy before the self-immolation incident. No one at the embassy staff was harmed, officials said.
The Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that it also investigated a suspicious vehicle at the scene, which was thought may have been connected, but was cleared as no hazardous materials were found.
The MPD said it was investigating the incident along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Protesters have been demonstrating regularly at the embassy since Israel launched its military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in early October. The war came in response to the Oct. 7 surprise attack in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and hundreds more kidnapped by Hamas.
The Gaza campaign has resulted in the deaths of more than 29,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, according to Palestinian health officials.
