WASHINGTON: An active member of the US Air Force has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington over the weekend in protest of the war in Gaza, the Pentagon said Monday.
Emergency responders on Sunday had rushed to the scene just before 1:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) in response to a “call for person on fire outside the Israeli Embassy,” according to a message on X, formerly Twitter, by the capital city’s fire department.
They arrived to find that officers from the Secret Service — the US law enforcement agency tasked with protecting embassies in Washington — had already extinguished the fire.
The man had filmed himself shouting “Free Palestine” as he lit himself on fire, according to footage shared on social media.
He was initially transported to hospital with “critical life-threatening injuries,” the fire department said.
An Air Force spokeswoman told AFP Monday morning that the unnamed “individual involved in yesterday’s incident succumbed to his injuries and passed away last night.”
“We will provide additional details 24 hours after next-of-kin notifications are complete.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said no staff were injured in the incident, and that the man was “unknown” to them.
In the video shared on social media, the man is seen wearing military fatigues and declaring he will “not be complicit in genocide” before dousing himself in liquid.
He then lights himself on fire while yelling “Free Palestine!” until he falls on the ground.
The video was reportedly first shared in a livestream on the social platform Twitch.
The shocking act came as protests are increasing across the United States against Israel’s actions in Gaza, where it is waging a retaliatory war for an attack on October 7 by Hamas militants.
With the death toll in Gaza nearing 30,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there, international pressure has been increasing on the United States to rein in its ally Israel and call for a ceasefire.
US airman sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington
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US airman sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington
- The man had filmed himself shouting “Free Palestine” as he lit himself on fire, according to footage shared on social media
- In the video, the man is seen wearing military fatigues and declaring he will “not be complicit in genocide” before dousing himself in liquid
Jordan reopens airspace to civilian aircraft
DUBAI: Jordan has reopened its airspace to civilian aircraft on Saturday, signaling belief there was no longer an immediate danger of further attacks after crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Middle East.
But the country “is continuing to assess risks to civil aviation and monitor developments after Jordan’s airspace was reopened this morning,” a statement from the civil aviation authority said, and reported by state-run Petra news.
The Kingdom on Friday closed its airspace to all flights due to the barrage of missiles and rockets from Iran.
The statement also said airlines would be provided with the “necessary” information to notify passengers and stakeholders of the latest data on air traffic.
Lebanon’s government also temporarily reopened its airspace on Saturday.
Lebanon reopened its airspace on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT).
The airspace will be shut again starting from 10:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) until 6:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Sunday, NNA reported, citing the Lebanese civil aviation authority.
Al-Qadsiah to face Sevilla in Antonio Puerta Trophy memorial match
- Encounter with Spanish La Liga team on Aug. 4 will form key part of Saudi club’s preparations for 2025-26 season
ALKHOBAR: Al-Qadsiah Football Club will take part in the annual Antonio Puerta Trophy memorial match hosted by Spanish club Sevilla FC in tribute to the late Antonio Puerta.
The memorial match is one of Spanish football’s most heartfelt fixtures, held annually to honor the memory of a player who had a lasting impact on Sevilla FC and its supporters.
Puerta died on Aug. 18, 2007, three days after suffering a series of cardiac arrests during a La Liga match against Getafe.
The memorial match will take place at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Monday, Aug. 4, at 9 p.m. local time.
This fixture forms part of Al-Qadsiah’s pre-season training camp, which will be held across the Netherlands and Spain, ahead of the 2025–2026 season. The team is scheduled to play four friendly matches during the camp, including the high-profile encounter against Sevilla.
The memorial match reflects a broader collaboration between the two clubs, highlighting the symbolic importance of the event and Al-Qadsiah’s growing international profile.
Al-Qadsiah views the match as a milestone in its long-term strategy to foster relationships with leading football institutions and to strengthen its brand across the region and worldwide.
Pope Leo appeals for ‘reason’ amid Israel-Iran airstrikes, calls for dialogue
- Pontiff tells audience in St. Peter’s Basilica he is following the situation with “great concern”
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo appealed on Saturday for authorities in Iran and Israel to act with “reason” after airstrikes between the two countries killed dozens and sent civilians into shelters, and called on the nations to pursue dialogue.
Leo, in one of the strongest peace appeals yet of his five-week papacy, told an audience in St. Peter’s Basilica he was following the situation with “great concern.”
“In such a delicate moment, I strongly wish to renew an appeal to responsibility and to reason,” said the pope.
“The commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue to build a lasting peace, founded on justice, fraternity, and the common good,” he said.
“No one should ever threaten the existence of another,” said Leo. “It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace, initiating paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that guarantee security and dignity for all.”
Leo was elected on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis and is the first pope from the United States. Unlike Francis, who often spoke off the cuff at public events, Leo is more cautious with words and almost always speaks from a prepared text.
The pope read aloud his appeal on Saturday in Italian from a piece of paper.
Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran early on Friday, targeting commanders, military targets and nuclear sites in what it called a “preemptive strike” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program.
Iran, which denies that its uranium enrichment activities are part of a secret weapons program, retaliated by launching waves of missiles at Israel, killing at least two people and injuring dozens.
King Charles III to mark Air India tragedy with moment of silence during annual birthday parade
LONDON: King Charles III and other members of the royal family will wear black armbands and there will be a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade Saturday as the monarch commemorates those who died in this week’s Air India plane crash.
Charles requested the symbolic moves “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,” Buckingham Palace said.
An Air India flight from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. The plane was carrying 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. One man survived.
In addition to being Britain’s head of state, Charles is the head of the Commonwealth, an organization of independent states that includes India and Canada.
The monarch’s annual birthday parade, known as Trooping the Color, is a historic ceremony filled with pageantry and military bands in which the king reviews his troops on Horse Guards Parade adjacent to St. James’ Park in central London.
All members of the royal family taking part in the parade will wear black armbands. The moment of silence will occur when the king is on the dais after reviewing the troops.
Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, held a similar moment of silence in 2017 when Trooping the Color took place three days after a fire ripped through the Grenfell Tower apartment bloc in west London, killing 72 people.
Iran warns US, UK and France against helping stop strikes on Israel
- Tehran warns their bases and ships in the region will be targeted
SUMMARY
Tehran has warned the US, UK and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Iranian strikes on Israel.
Around 60 people, including 20 children, were killed in an Israeli attack on a housing complex in Iranian capital Tehran.
Israel’s defense chief warns that ‘Tehran will burn’ if it keeps firing missiles at Israeli civilians.
Iran’s civil aviation authority has declared the country’s airspace closed “until further notice.”
CAIRO: Iran has warned the United States, United Kingdom and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Tehran’s strikes on Israel, Iran state media reported on Saturday.
Iran’s state TV also reported that around 60 people, including 20 children, were killed in an Israeli attack on a housing complex in Iranian capital Tehran. Two people were also killed in an Israeli attack on a missile site in Assadabad in western Iran.
Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported an Israeli strike near the northwestern Tabriz refinery, saying smoke was rising from the facility.
Iran’s strikes against Israel will continue, with targets set to expand to include US bases in the region in the coming days, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Saturday, citing senior Iranian military officials.
READ: Iran strikes back at Israel as flights across the region are cancelled
“This confrontation will not end with last night’s limited actions and Iran’s strikes will continue, and this action will be very painful and regrettable for the aggressors,” Fars reported, citing senior military officials.
They were quoted saying that the war would “spread in the coming days to all areas occupied by this (Israeli) regime and American bases in the region”.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that “Tehran will burn” if it keeps firing missiles at Israeli civilians.
“The Iranian dictator is taking the citizens of Iran hostage, bringing about a reality in which they, and especially Teheran’s residents, will pay a heavy price for the flagrant harm inflicted upon Israel’s citizens. If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Katz said in a statement.
READ: How Israeli strikes have pushed Iran’s leadership into a corner
The threat of a wider war comes as Iran and Israel continue targeting each other on Saturday after Israel launched its biggest-ever air offensive against its longtime foe in a bid to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s civil aviation authority has declared the country’s airspace closed “until further notice,” state media reported Saturday, as Israel and Iran continued to trade fire for a second day.
“No flights will be operated at any airports in the country in order to protect the safety of passengers... until further notice,” the official IRNA news agency said.
