Air Force member who set himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy has died: Police

An Air Force member has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., over the weekend in protest of the war in Gaza, police said. 

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the death of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old airman from San Antonio, Texas, according to The Associated Press.

An Air Force official confirmed to The Hill that “the individual involved in yesterday’s incident succumbed to his injuries and passed away last night.” The service is not releasing further information pending the U.S. military’s 24-hour policy of notifying next of kin. 

Bushnell reportedly declared Sunday that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide” before setting himself ablaze.  

The service member, who approached the embassy shortly before 1 p.m., livestreamed his self-immolation on the video streaming platform Twitch. The footage was later removed, the AP reported. 

Police later said they believe Bushnell poured an accelerant over himself and lit the fire. 

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza — which began after a deadly Hamas attack Oct. 7 and has included a devastating air and ground campaign killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians — has drawn international criticism, including genocide claims.

Israel has repeatedly denied the genocide allegations, claiming its actions are in accordance with international law.

The incident at the embassy comes as a temporary cease-fire deal is being negotiated for the Gaza Strip, even as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks Cabinet approval for further military operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have fled to over the course of the fighting.

Bushnell is not the first person believed to self-immolate in protest of the Israel-Hamas war. In December, a man set himself aflame outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta using gasoline as an accelerant in an act thought to be one of “extreme political protest.” 

Updated at 9:34 a.m. ET