A US Air Force member, 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell from San Antonio, Texas, tragically died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, February 25. The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed his passing on Monday.According to reports, Bushnell approached the embassy shortly before 1:00 PM and began a livestreamed protest on the platform Twitch. Law enforcement believes he used his phone to set up the stream, doused himself with flammable liquid, and ignited himself while chanting Free Palestine.The video was later removed from the platform, but authorities recovered and reviewed a copy. While passersby attempted to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived, Bushnell sustained life-threatening injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to them.Aaron Bushnell questions historical injustices Just hours before the self-immolation, Bushnell, who served in the Air Force for nearly four years, shared a final post on Facebook. He questioned individuals about their actions in the face of historical injustices and concluded by stating, Youre doing it. Right now, with a link to his deleted Twitch stream. This post was also removed for violating Facebooks community guidelines.They are friends or allies of NO ONE but THEMSELVESWhile people are trying to save Aaron Bushnells life, a guard of Israeli embassy points a gun at Bushnell after his self-immolation, rather than grabbing a fire extinguisher🤔Look at the Mossad comment before they deleted it🙄 pic.twitter.com/pGdz4x3g2c— Passerby (@samanello) February 26, 2024The incident occurred as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly seeking cabinet approval for a military operation in Gaza, despite ongoing cease-fire negotiations. This event has sparked controversy and raised questions about the motivations behind Bushnells drastic action.
