A US Air Force soldier set himself on fire in protest outside the Israeli embassy in Washington and died of severe burns. 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell organized his extreme protest by broadcasting the entire video live on Twitch. The dramatic scene was removed from the platform, but then reposted by thousands of users with the gesture “it's nothing compared to the suffering of the Palestinians.”
The incident occurred at 3500 International Drive Northwest, the heart of the US capital's “diplomatic” district. In the video, Bushnell can be seen approaching the entrance to the US Embassy, managing not to arouse suspicion as he is wearing a combat uniform. The security officers asked if he needed anything, but at one point the soldier spilled gasoline on himself with a canteen and set himself on fire with a lighter. In the first part of the video, Bushnell had warned that he was about to stage a high-profile protest, mentioning the “massacre” of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces in response to the October 7 massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis have been killed by Hamas militants and many women and girls have been raped. CNN recalls that a similar incident occurred last December, when a man set himself on fire in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, in what local police described as an “extreme act of political protest.”