Airman dies after self-immolating in protest against attacks on Gaza
WASHINGTON/GAZA — An active-duty member of the US Air Force, who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in an apparent act of protest against Israeli raids on Gaza, has died, the military and local police said on Monday.
Senior airman Aaron Bushnell, 25, a cyber defense operations specialist with the 531st Intelligence Support Squadron, died from injuries sustained in the incident, the Air Force said in a statement.
“When a tragedy like this occurs, every member of the Air Force feels it,” US Air Force Colonel Celina Noyes said in the statement.
Lee Lepe, a spokesman for the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed the death.
The Pentagon said the death was a “tragic event” and that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was following the situation.
Bushnell was initially hospitalized in critical condition after US Secret Service officers put out the flames on Sunday. Bushnell, wearing military fatigues, broadcast the incident live over the internet.
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” the man said before dousing himself in a clear liquid and setting himself on fire, screaming “Free Palestine”, according to a video seen by Reuters.
“We express our heartfelt condolences and full solidarity with the family and friends of the pilot Aaron Bushnell, who immortalized his name as a defender of human values and the plight of the Palestinian people, who are oppressed by the American administration and its unjust policies,” Hamas said in a post on Telegram.
The incident comes amid ongoing pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests in the United States following the Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis and seized 253 hostages in a crossborder attack.
Israeli forces then launched a military campaign against the group that rules Gaza, destroying much of the coastal enclave, with nearly 30,000 people confirmed killed, according to Palestinian health officials.
Negotiations underway
Negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar are working on a framework deal under which Hamas would free some of the dozens of hostages it holds, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a six-week halt in fighting. During the temporary pause, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday that Israel would be willing to halt its fighting against Hamas in Gaza during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan if a deal is reached to release some of the hostages held by the militants.
Biden said on Monday that he hopes a cease-fire deal could take effect by next week. However, at the same time, Biden did not call for an end to the conflict.
Hamas has said it received a draft proposal from Gaza truce talks in Paris, which includes a 40-day pause in all military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages at a ratio of 10 to one, a senior source close to the talks told Reuters on Tuesday.
Under the proposed cease-fire, hospitals and bakeries in Gaza would be repaired, 500 aid trucks would enter into the strip each day and thousands of tents and caravans would be delivered to house the displaced, the source said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said earlier that the army had presented to its cabinet its operational plan for a ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town along the border with Egypt, where 1.4 million Palestinians have sought safety.
In response to the resignation of the Palestinian government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, a UN spokesman said the world body wants to see a strengthened and empowered Palestinian government.
The United Nations stands ready to continue supporting efforts aimed at overcoming the humanitarian, political, financial as well as security challenges facing the Palestinian people, the spokesman said.