Man sets himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Aman is in critical condition after setting fire to himself outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, according to the D.C. Fire Department.
D.C. Fire and EMS said units responded shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday to assist the US Secret Service and discovered an adult man with burn injuries in front of the embassy, which is located in the 3500 block of International Drive in northwest D.C.
According to fire officials, the man was taken to a nearby hospital with critical and potentially fatal injuries.
The U.S. Secret Service extinguished the fire before firefighting workers arrived, according to fire and EMS officials. The Secret Service informed The Hill that it had reacted to an individual who “was experiencing a possible medical/mental health emergency.”
The D.C. Metro Police Department also acknowledged the event and stated that it is cooperating with the US Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in the investigation.
The police’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit was also dispatched to the location to investigate a suspicious car that “may have been connected to the individual,” but the vehicle was subsequently cleared and no hazardous items were discovered, according to police.
The Hill has contacted the Israeli Embassy for comment.
The event occurred just months after a protester lit themselves on fire in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. Police at the time stated that the incident was most likely a “extreme act of political protest.”
Protests have erupted outside Israeli embassies throughout the world in response to Israel’s battle with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which has killed over 29,000 people since early October, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. Israel declared war after Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country on October 7, killing over 1,200 people and holding approximately 250 hostages.
