A US service member self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The man was taken to an area hospital after the fire was extinguished by personnel from the U.S. Secret Service and D.C. Fire and Emergency Services posted online. A Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said Sunday afternoon that the man's condition remained in critical condition. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed that the incident involved an active-duty airman.
Local police and intelligence agencies 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-Israel protests in the United States. The protests began on October 7, when Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic extremist group that controls Gaza, killed 1,200 Israelis and took 253 hostages in a cross-border attack.
Since then, Israeli forces have waged military operations against the coastal enclave, destroying much of it and killing nearly 30,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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