Israeli Forces Kill 10 Relatives Of Franklin School Board Member

FRANKLIN, NJ — The death toll in the Israel-Hamas war continues to rise with thousands killed, including 10 related to Franklin Township Board of Education member Sami Shaban.

"Sunday was my birthday and my father called me that morning to tell me, 'Happy Birthday and I am sorry to let you know that 9 people in our family have passed away'. They were killed with a bomb that dropped on them in their house," said Shaban in a press conference on Wednesday.

Shaban shared that his cousin had invited his uncle over to their home because they though it was safer.

"It was in that house that they faced their end. In that one bomb four generations were lost," said Shaban.

The only survivors were his uncle who burned head to toe and his cousin's wife - whom he heard died as of Wednesday morning.

The total list of the Shaban family members killed are:

1. Farah (3 months)
2. Abdalla (2 years)
3. Motaz (13 years)
4. Eman (15)
5. Muhammad (26)
6. Muhaned (25)
7. Haneen (24, Muhaned's wife)
8. Fakhria Mohamed Shaban (44)
9. Abdalla (47)
10. Salwa (72)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations of New Jersey (CAIR-NJ) held the conference to discuss Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

"Israel has killed of upward of 8,000 Palestinians over the last four weeks since launching its war in the Gaza strip. Just yesterday Israel bombed a refugee camp killing at least 400 Palestinians. A staggering 40 percent of Palestinians that Israel has killed just over the last few weeks alone are children. To put that into perspective Israel kills at least one Palestinian child every 10 minutes. So at the end of this press conference, Israel will have killed at least 6 Palestinian children," said Dina Sayedahmed, communications manager at CAIR-NJ.

Sayedahmed said since the war CAIR-NJ has seen an influx of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry.

"Over the last few weeks, we have received over 100 calls for help or reports of bigotry. To put that number into perspective that is more than 3 times the number we normally receive," said Sayedahmed. "Mosques have been calling the office reporting threats on a near daily basis."

CAIR-NJ said they will continue to urge elected officials to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and across the West Bank as Israeli aggressions mount. And they are also mourning the loss of life in Palestine and stand firmly in unwavering solidarity with Palestinians and their right to freedom.

"Right now there is no safe place. Our plea is for all of this to end. For there to be a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid allowed in and for people like my family to stop suffering," said Shaban.

For more information visit cair-nj.org.

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