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 pm (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 to the ground.

The video was reportedly first shared in a live stream 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 count 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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Three seats in two Congress-ruled states and one in Uttar Pradesh are in for a tough fight during Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha polls. Sources have indicated that cross-voting by Opposition MLAs are very likely, for which the Congress and the Samajwadi Party are keeping strict watch.

In Karnataka, the ruling Congress has shipped off its MLAs to a “safe house” to prevent undue influences — a frequently occurring situation in the chequered politics of the state.

For Himachal Pradesh, the measures were not so drastic. The ruling Congress there has issued a whip to its MLAs for election on its sole Rajya Sabha seat — a move that has drawn sneers from the BJP.

The Samajwadi Party — the main Opposition in Uttar Pradesh — meanwhile says all is well, even though sources say at least 10 of the party’s MLAs are ready to cross-vote.

The ruling BJP and the SP have the numbers to send seven and three members unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. But the BJP upped stakes by fielding Sanjay Seth — a former SP member and industrialist — as its eighth candidate.

To get elected, a candidate from the state needs nearly 37 first preference votes. Leaders of the BJP have claimed that at least 10 MLAs of the SP are in touch with them.

The SP has fielded actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman. The decision has apparently alienated its ally Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pallavi Patel, who earlier said she would not vote as she did not agree with the decision to field Ms Bachchan and Mr Ranjan.

While numbers had ensured smooth sailing for the Congress in four of Karnataka’s three seats, the BJP-Janata Dal Secular alliance queered the pitch by fielding a second candidate. In case there were four candidates, each needed 45 votes to win, but in case of more candidates, preference votes kick in.

The Congress has 134 MLAs, the BJP has 66 and the JD(S) 19, while others account for four. Of the four, the Congress claims the support of two Independents and Darshan Puttanaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha, and is confident of winning three seats.

On Monday, the Congress shifted all its MLAs to a hotel, marking the beginning of the state’s trademark resort politics. All parties have issued whips to their MLAs ahead of tomorrow’s election.

In Himachal, the candidate for whom the Congress would be battling is the party’s senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, against whom the BJP has fielded its core committee member Harsh Mahajan. While the Congress has a clear majority with 40 MLAs, the BJP has 25 members. Three MLAs are Independents of whom two are BJP rebels. The BJP, sources said, is now eyeing dissatisfied Congress MLAs to win over.

The election is expected to be prestige battle for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who took over the reins of the state after last year’s assembly polls.

Election will be held on 56 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states tomorrow from 9 am to 4 pm. Counting will begin at 5 pm and the results are expected late in the evening.

The ruling BJP holds 28 of the 56 seats –including the one left vacant by party lawmaker Kirodi Lal Meena, who has become a minister in Rajasthan. After elections, it will have at least 29 seats. In Uttar Pradesh, INDIA bloc will gain two seats as the SP is expected to improve its tally from one to three seats.

Paytm said on Monday that Vijay Shekhar Sharma would step down as non-executive chairman and board member of its payments bank’s unit, as the embattled digital payments company overhauls its board after a central bank clampdown.

The action against Paytm Payments Bank followed “serious supervisory concerns”, including inadequate customer identify and a lack of arms-length distance with Paytm, sources had told Reuters.

The Reserve Bank of India has asked the banking unit to wind down its operations by March 15 due to persistent non-compliance and continued material supervisory concerns, triggering a meltdown in Paytm’s stock.

Srinivasan Sridhar, former chairman of state-owned Central Bank of India, former Bank of Baroda Executive Director Ashok Kumar Garg and two retired Indian Administrative Service officers will join the board, Paytm said in an exchange filing.

The new board members’ expertise will be “pivotal in guiding us toward enhancing our governance structures and operational standards, further solidifying our dedication to compliance and best practices”, Paytm Payments Bank CEO Surinder Chawla said.

Paytm supports its banking unit’s move of opting for a board with only independent and executive directors by removing its nominee, it said, adding Sharma was also stepping down from the board to “enable the transition”.

Mr Sharma owns a 51 per cent stake in Paytm Payments Bank, while One 97 Communications, as Paytm is formally known, owns the rest.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)