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6-year-old Palestinian American boy stabbed to death in hate crime related to Israel-Hamas conflict, authorities say
An Illinois man stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death and critically wounded his mother in an anti-Muslim hate crime, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said today.
“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on social media.
The boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, was stabbed 26 times at his Plainfield home by his landlord, Joseph Czuba, 71, investigators said. Czuba is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and two counts of committing a hate crime.
It was not clear whether he has legal counsel. The county public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wadea loved soccer and basketball, and he had just celebrated his sixth birthday, Ahmed Rehab, the president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a news conference today.
“And he paid the price for the atmosphere of hate and authorization and dehumanization that, frankly, I think we are seeing here in the United States,” Rehab said, “as a result of the irresponsible leadership and lopsided one-sided statements and coverage that we’re seeing in the media, elected officials, all across.”
State Department: 30 Americans dead, 13 missing
The death toll for Americans from Hamas’ attack on Israel and the subsequent war now stands at 30, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State said today
An additional 13 Americans are missing following the incursion into Israel by the militant group Oct. 7, the spokesperson said. “State Department personnel have been in contact with their families,” the spokesperson said.
Some of those 13 missing are believed to be held by Hamas militants as hostages, though the exact number of Americans held captive was not available.
“The U.S. government is working around the clock to determine their whereabouts and is working with the Israeli government on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to advise the Israeli government on hostage recovery efforts,” they said.
Foreign national Palestinians can cross from Gaza to Egypt starting tomorrow, Palestinian Embassy says
Foreign national Palestinians will be able to cross the border into Egypt starting at 9 a.m. local time, when humanitarian aid will also begin crossing into Gaza, said Kamel Khatib, a representative for the Palestinian Embassy.
Family member of American hostages says she ‘cannot relax’ until loved ones are home
A relative of Avava and Keith Siegel, who were kidnapped by Hamas militants, said she met with a group of U.S. senators today to discuss the situation.
“We all told them that we want our families back in Israel and now,” said the family member, who asked not to be named because of fear of being targeted and harassed. “We really feel that we are getting great support from from America. But until we don’t have them home with us, we cannot relax.”
She added that she was frustrated with with the Israeli government’s response to help families of the hostages.
“I need to support my country, I need to support my government, because this is my country,” she said. “But at the moment we are getting very little support.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who was among the bipartisan coalition of senators meeting with families of hostages, announced today that he would direct senators to work with the White House to create an aid package for Israel.
Israel says it reopened water supply to southern Gaza; people there say it’s not flowing
Israel said it is reopening the water supply to southern parts of Gaza after it shut it off in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on X today that the decision to reopen the water supply to the south of the Gaza Strip was agreed upon between Netanyahu and Biden. He said it would help push civilians to move south and make it possible to tighten Israel’s siege on Gaza.
The Palestinian Water Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and NBC News was not immediately able to confirm the water supply had been restarted.
Aid workers in Gaza told The Associated Press they had not yet seen evidence the water was back, and a Gaza government spokesperson said it was not flowing, the AP reported a few hours ago.
In south Gaza, Maha Elbanna, 48, said more than 40 people are crammed into one house. They are unable to flush the toilets, shower or brush their teeth.
Elbanna, a U.S. citizen who lived in New Jersey for 12 years, has been back living in Gaza for 15 years working at an aid organization. She said the group has bought water and is eating pita bread and spreadable cheese as it awaits news about when people can cross the Rafah border.
Arabic-English translator Jason Shawa, who fled his Gaza City home with his wife and two daughters last week, said his family is “almost out of water.”
“We had a water crisis, drinking water crisis, today,” Shawa said, adding that they have enough to survive only a few days.
His family is staying in a shelter in the center of the Gaza Strip with about 45 to 50 other people. They fled northern Gaza after Israel’s military directed civilians to evacuate Friday.
“We are really concerned. We have no idea what the future holds,” he said. “By future, I mean the next 24 hours. In the 24 hours after that, nothing is clear.”
U.N. official: Relief agency can’t handle scale of humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza as it continues to be out of water and electricity, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said today.
“An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding under our eyes,” Lazzarini said at a news conference, adding that the agency gets “more and more desperate calls for help from people across” the Gaza Strip every hour.
The UNRWA has run out of capacity to receive the “absolutely overwhelming” number of people seeking shelter in its facilities.
Most of its 13,000 staff members in Gaza are displaced from their homes, Lazzarini said, and 14 of its members have been killed.
Dutch military says it’s sending a team to Lebanon amid tension
A Dutch defense team is being sent to Lebanon to provide support for its embassy in Beirut. The move is a precaution due to the escalating conflict between southern Lebanon and northern Israel, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
The team left this morning from Eindhoven aboard a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, the ministry said in a news release.
Loud booms ring out over Ashdod after red alert
ASHDOD, Israel — Loud booms could be heard ringing out over Ashdod just now after a red-alert warning of a possible air attack was sent out.
The red alert was for a location about five minutes away. At least two booms were heard shortly after.
Rocket hits U.N. peacekeeping base in Lebanon
A U.N. peacekeeping base in Lebanon was hit by a rocket today, the organization said.
“Our headquarters in Naqoura was hit with a rocket, and we are working to verify from where,” the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon wrote on X. “Our peacekeepers were not in shelters at the time. Fortunately, no one was hurt.”
UNIFIL said it is engaging with “authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to de-escalate the situation, but regrettably despite our efforts military escalation continues.”
It called for a cease-fire, writing, “No one wants to see more people hurt or killed.”
Netanyahu meets with hostages’ families
Netanyahu met with families of those Hamas is believed to have taken hostage today, just over a week after the Oct. 7 attack, his office said, sharing video of the meeting.
Netanyahu sat around a table with a number of families, who had photos of their missing loved ones in front of them. In photos and video, he could be seen hugging and speaking individually with a number of people. The audio appeared to be omitted.
It was not clear exactly how many families Netanyahu met with. The meeting came after some relatives of those taken hostage expressed frustration with a lack of communication from Israeli government officials.
IDF says it has been in contact with the families of 155 hostages
The IDF has been in contact with the families of 155 hostages, spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
More than 200 wanted members of Hamas have been arrested in the West Bank, he said.
“We are making tremendous effort regarding the abductees issue,” he said. “It is a top priority for us.”
Graham issues warning to Iran
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned Iran against escalating the war, which that has killed thousands of Israelis and Palestinians.
“Here’s my message: If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the state of Israel existential in nature,” Graham said in an interview today on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Graham said he will introduce a resolution in the Senate to “allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business.”
“Iran, if you escalate this war, we’re coming for you,” he said.
He also announced a trip with a bipartisan group of senators to Saudi Arabia and Israel in the coming days.
Read the full story here.
Biden says he reiterated ‘unwavering’ support for Israel in conversation with Netanyahu
Biden said he reiterated the “unwavering U.S. support for Israel” and provided “an update on our military support and efforts to protect civilians” in a recent conversation with Netanyahu.
“It’s time all countries unequivocally condemned Hamas as a terrorist organization that does not represent the aspirations of the Palestinian people,” Biden wrote on X.
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