U.S. soldier dies after self-immolation in protest against Israeli raids on Gaza

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy here "in an apparent protest" against the Israeli raids on Gaza died in a hospital late Sunday.

The airman was identified by police as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell from San Antonio, Texas, and confirmed on active duty by an Air Force spokesperson Monday.

People gathered Monday evening for his vigil in front of the embassy gate with candles and posters.

According to ABC News, an account on Amazon-owned platform Twitch started a livestream around 1 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) Sunday, showing Bushnell dressed in camouflage fatigues and walking up to the embassy gate before pouring flammable liquid from a bottle and setting himself on fire.

During the livestream, Bushnell described his motivation as "an extreme act of protest." He was heard saying "I will no longer be complicit in genocide" and repeatedly screaming "Free Palestine" before he collapsed.

The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Department responded to a call for fire outside the Israeli embassy in Northwestern Washington just before 1 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) Sunday, and arrived at the scene after Secret Force had put out the flame, according to statements from the city's Metropolitan Police Department and Fire and EMS Department.

The Israeli embassy released a statement saying the man was "unknown" to embassy staff and no embassy workers were injured in the incident.

According to the New York Times, the video was deleted from Twitch on Sunday afternoon, replaced by a message saying that the channel violated the platform's guidelines. It is yet still available on other social media platforms including X, Facebook, and Instagram.

NBC reported a similar incident on Dec. 1, 2023, when a woman wrapped in Palestinian flag set herself on fire in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, in what police said was "likely an extreme act of political protest."

An Al Jazeera Monday opinion piece criticized U.S. corporate media for a "diluted and decontextualized" report over Bushnell's self-immolation, including framing his protest as violating U.S. military regulation.

Such titles include New York Times' "Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy in Washington, Air Force Says" (updated Monday evening EST), Politico's "Air Force member dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy" (updated Monday 10:55 a.m. EST,1555 GMT), CNN's "US airman sets himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in Washington" (updated Sunday 9:12 p.m. EST, 0212 GMT Monday).

Washington Post has changed their Bushnell story title from "Who was Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. airman who set himself on fire?" in the update Monday 8:16 p.m. EST (0116 GMT Tuesday) to "Airman who set self on fire grew up on religious compound, had anarchist past" two hours later.