AARON BUSHNELL'S 1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY

WARNING: Graphic images

This week marks the first anniversary of US airman Aaron Bushnell dying after setting himself ablaze outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on 25 February 2024 as a protest against the US Air Force providing targeting intelligence to Israel in its military onslaught against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The 25-year-old recorded himself approaching the embassy, stating his refusal to be ‘complicit in g*nocide.’ He then doused himself in a flammable substance and shouted, ‘Free Palestine!’ as he ignited the flames. Bushnell succumbed to his injuries on the same day. One individual named Xylem, who had collaborated with Bushnell in efforts to assist the homeless in San Antonio, Texas, described him as ‘one of the most principled comrades I've ever known.’

The US has been the largest provider of military, financial and political support to Israel since World War II. On 1 March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked emergency powers to circumvent Congress and deliver $4 billion worth of weapons to Israel. Shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington in early February, the Trump administration notified Congress of a more than $7 billion arms sale to Israel, bypassing the usual review process. 

The Biden administration had also bypassed Congress in reinforcing Israel’s onslaught. Plus, it vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions that called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Since 2019, the US has allocated $3.8 billion annually in aid to Israel. 

Israel's military onslaught against the Palestinian people in Gaza has k*lled over 46,000, including around 18,000 children, by the time the ceasefire deal was agreed upon in January, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. In July 2024, the Lancet, a British medical journal, mentioned that the death toll could be more than 186,000. A peer-reviewed study published in January 2025 in The Lancet indicated that the death toll had been undercounted by 40 per cent during the first nine months of the conflict.

Sources

https://il.usembassy.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/

https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/israel-munitions-and-munitions-support

https://archive.ph/AXxZT

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/us/politics/rubio-arms-israel.html

https://www.state.gov/military-assistance-to-israel

https://apnews.com/article/israel-weapons-us-sale-netanyahu-trump-gaza-c53a61873314be2336c3733b97d89ff3

https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-many-palestinians-has-israels-gaza-offensive-killed-2025-01-15/

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-war-toll-likely-significantly-undercounts-deaths-says-study-2025-01-09/