Molotov Attack Injures Several at Gaza Protest in US

Several people sustained burns and other injuries on Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI has described as a “targeted terror attack” on demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Police confirmed that a suspect was taken into custody shortly after the incident. While officials urged caution in identifying a motive, multiple sources said the attack appeared to target members of the Jewish community participating in a peaceful rally.

Eyewitnesses told local media that a man threw what resembled a homemade Molotov cocktail at the group. Video footage circulating online shows a shirtless man pacing near flames, holding what appear to be clear bottles. In the video, he shouts, “End Zionists!”, “Palestine is free!”, and “They are killers!” at demonstrators wearing red T-shirts as they assist an injured person.

Thick black smoke was seen billowing above a park where the gathering took place.

“We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on X.

The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.

Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn, however, said it was “way too early to speculate on motive.” He told reporters that emergency calls reported “a man with a weapon and people being set on fire.”

“Officers arrived to find several victims with injuries consistent with burns, and the suspect was apprehended at the scene without incident,” Redfearn added.

‘Antisemitic attack’

The Anti-Defamation League stated the attack occurred during the “Boulder Run for Their Lives” event – a weekly walk organised by members of the Jewish community to raise awareness for the hostages taken during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on Israel, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, condemned the attack: “Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border — it is already burning the streets of America,” he said, describing how peaceful marchers were attacked with Molotov cocktails.

“This is not a political protest, this is terrorism,” he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the incident, echoing the FBI in calling it a “targeted terror attack.”

“Terror has no place in our great country,” Rubio stated.

The Israeli-American Council said the peaceful walk was “targeted in a violent, antisemitic attack,” adding: “This is an attack on all of us — and we will not stay silent.”

Sunday’s incident comes less than two weeks after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead outside a Jewish museum in Washington. The suspect in that case was heard shouting “Free Palestine” before being arrested.