A man is in a critical condition after setting himself on fire in front of the gates to the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC, authorities said.
Officers with the US Secret Service extinguished the fire outside the embassy on International Drive in northwestern Washington at around 1pm local time.
‘One adult male transported critical life-threatening injuries to an area hospital,’ the city’s sire and emergency services said on X.
He had suffered serious burn injuries.
The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington said an explosive ordinance disposal unit, the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated a suspicious vehicle nearby for explosives.
The force later cleared the scene at 4pm ‘with no hazardous materials found’.
No one else was injured.
Video shared online appeared to show the man saying, ‘Free Palestine,’ after setting himself on fire on the 3400 block.
Photographs showed the man wearing a US Air Force uniform. Though military officials told The Washington Post they have yet to identify him.
In the video, which is around three minutes long, a person can be heard asking the man if he needs any assistance as he walks towards the gate.
The man burned for a minute before police began to put out the fire.
An investigation is ongoing.
The embassy has been the site of protests since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October when the militant group which controls the Gaza Strip killed some 1,200 people.
Israeli forces have killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and injured nearly 70,000, according to Gazan health officials.
The IDF estimates 240 soldiers have died since the start of its military operation in the enclave.
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