As the Israel–Hamas war completes a year, the demand for a ceasefire in Gaza is rising. On Saturday, thousands of agitators staged a protest in US cities. During the protest march from Washington to Los Angeles, a man who claimed to be a journalist attempted to self-immolate in protest on October 6.
After lighting his left arm ablaze, he said, “I’m a journalist and we neglect it, we spread the misinformation,” reported AFP. This incident happened two hours after the protest began. Meanwhile, bystanders and police rushed to aid the burning man and douse the fire with water. In addition to this keffiyehs–traditional Palestinian scarves–were also used to extinguish the flames.
According to police officials, the man is being treated for “non-life threatening injuries.” Notably, the protest marches were part of a worldwide day of action against the devastating war that began on October 7 following militant group Hamas‘ attack on Israel. The attack by Palestinian armed group resulted in 1,205 deaths, mostly civilians, AFP reported.
In retaliation, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a series of attacks on the Gaza strip which has recently intensified into Hezbollah war and engulfed Iran and Lebanon apart from Palestine. Since the war began, over 41,825 Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israel’s military campaign, majority of them being civilians, according to Gaza health ministry data.
Massive demonstrations expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause were held outside the White House in Washington on October 5 as many demanded a halt to all US military aid to its strategic ally, Israel. “The US government has really shown what side of history it is on,” AFP quoted an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, Zaid Khatib, as saying. He added, “The US government has performed and co-signed the most evil atrocities that we’ve seen of this century.”
