A man, thought to be a serving member of the US armed forces, has set himself on fire outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC., according to authorities. “I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” He shouted.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital after the fire was extinguished by US Secret Service officers, DC Fire, and EMS, according to online reports. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the man is in critical condition.
Officials also requested the Metropolitan Police Department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) services due to a “suspicious vehicle that may be connected to the individual,” according to a department statement. However, officials cleared the suspicious vehicle and discovered no hazardous materials, as they later stated.
The local police and the Secret Service are investigating the incident. The Israeli embassy has been the target of ongoing protests against the war in Gaza. The war in Gaza has sparked pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests in the United States. The protests began after Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that rules Gaza, killed 1,200 Israelis and took 253 hostages in a cross-border attack on October 7.