Sami Shaban said his relatives were among the 11 people killed when their minibus was attacked by Israeli tanks a week after the US-brokered ceasefire took effect.
Relatives of New Jersey resident Sami Shaban killed in Gaza despite ceasefire
Sami Shaban said his relatives were among the 11 people killed when their minibus was attacked by Israeli tanks a week after the US-brokered ceasefire took effect.
- Sporadic attacks and deaths continue despite the suspension of large-scale military operations.
- Aid supplies to Gaza are increasing, but remain far below what is needed to address severe shortages.
- Palestinian Americans have expressed skepticism about the deal’s long-term success and are calling for accountability.
Sami Shaban, like many Palestinian Americans, was skeptical that the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas would hold or whether it would end the suffering in Gaza.
He hoped he was wrong. Then I got a call from my father.
“I have some really bad news,” he told Shaban. “Sufjan was killed.”
Shaban’s cousin, Sufyan, was one of 11 people killed on October 17, along with Sufyan’s wife and three children, when their minibus came under fire from an Israeli tank while returning to their neighborhood in Gaza City. The strike took place a week after the ceasefire took effect.
“Days later, they were still finding and picking up pieces of children at the scene,” said Shaban, a former school board member and attorney for Franklin Township, New Jersey. “This bombing was terrible.”
“I’m so happy to think this is coming to an end,” Shaban said. “And then it falls apart.”
The incident highlighted the deep fear and anxiety many Palestinian Americans feel after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The agreement, announced on October 8, called for an end to the war in Gaza, the release of hostages and increased humanitarian aid.
Although large-scale military operations have ceased, sporadic attacks continue, destabilizing the already fragile situation. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel has killed at least 87 Palestinians since the start of the ceasefire, and two Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza.
Aid agencies say aid supplies to Gaza have increased but remain far below what was promised in the cease-fire agreement to address severe shortages of food, medicine and supplies.
Despite the apparent ceasefire violations, US Vice President J.D. Vance visited Israel this week and called for patience and optimism, saying the plan was “going better than expected.”
There is relief, but “there is no real peace.”
The ceasefire took effect on October 10, two years after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel that sparked the latest war. According to Israeli authorities, about 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the attack.
More than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past two years, and thousands more are missing under rubble or held without charge, Gaza officials said.
Israeli-Americans celebrated the return of 20 living hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire, and were saddened to see the bodies of dead hostages handed over.
The ceasefire also brought some relief to New Jersey’s large Palestinian-American community, many of whom are mourning loved ones killed in the conflict.
Still, many are watching cautiously as the agreement is tested and the suffering continues.
“We are holding on with cautious hope,” the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey, said in a statement. “The attacks continue. Israeli forces still occupy large parts of Gaza and aid remains cut off. Families are still trapped in rubble and starvation. There is relief, but no real peace yet.”
Although some celebrations were held immediately after the ceasefire, Palestinians are still searching for their loved ones under the rubble without proper equipment. They have received the bodies of Palestinian detainees, which human rights groups say show signs of torture and execution.
In the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel, which controls the Gaza Strip border, agreed to accept 600 aid trucks per day. But on average, fewer than 100 trucks enter Gaza per day, according to UN data.
Fares Abu Fares, aid manager for the charity HEAL Palestine, called it a “drop in the ocean” compared to what is needed.
Abu Fares, a resident of Paterson, New Jersey, who was working at the site in Gaza, said, “From yesterday to today, we received about 20,000 units each of powdered milk and diapers.” “It’ll be gone in a few days. There’s a lot of stuff we need. The tent — we’ve had it for a year, but they wouldn’t let us bring it in. For a year, we’ve been fighting to bring it in. We finally got permission.”
According to the United Nations, 90% of homes have been damaged or destroyed, making tents, as well as food and medicine, a critical need. Many people are living in improvised shelters made of nylon and sheets, or in damaged tents.
Lack of assistance proved fatal. Last winter, the United Nations reported that at least seven infants died from cold-related hypothermia. More than 460 people died from hunger and malnutrition, the agency reported.
“To be honest, the only thing that has gotten better is fewer murders, thank God,” Abu Fares said. “This is not a normal life, and it will not be a normal life for many years to come.”
“yellow line”
When the Shaban family was killed, Israeli authorities said it was because their car crossed the so-called “yellow line.”
Under the ceasefire, families were allowed to return to just under half of the territory in the Gaza Strip. The rest of the area, inside the “yellow line”, remains off-limits. Critics say the border has no clear boundaries and is a source of confusion and danger. Palestinians who cross or approach it are exposed to shelling.
Shaban said he could not rest after hearing that his relatives had been killed. Born in the United States, he frequently visited his family in Gaza. He and Sufjan are two years apart, and when they were kids they liked to play soccer and eat sweets together. He said his cousin was “a very kind, patient and funny person.”
The strike that killed his 44-year-old cousin also killed Sufyan’s wife, Samar Mohamed Nasser, 35, and their children Nesma, 12, Karam, 10, and Anas, eight. The others killed in the vehicle were Sufyan’s in-laws.
Harrowing photos from the murder scene showed the boy lying face down on the ground, his torso severed from his lower body.
“I was so upset and heartbroken that this is human nature. This is happening and there is no anger,” Shaban said.
children with dreams
The Trump administration expressed optimism about the ceasefire, which is currently in its first phase. But it’s unclear how that will play out. The 20-point plan calls for the disarmament of Hamas, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and a path to a Palestinian state. Hamas says it will not disarm, while Israeli leaders say it will not recognize a Palestinian state.
Abu Fares didn’t have a good feeling.
“To be honest, I’m skeptical,” Abu Fares said. “I fear it will all start over again at any moment. The nightmare will continue.”
He said action and accountability are needed, including ending unconditional aid to Israel.
“There can be no peace without pressure from MPs. This madness must end. We are not numbers. We are human beings. We are family. We are children. Children with dreams,” Abu Fares said.
Shaban is also worried about the fate of Gaza. Most homes, schools and hospitals are in ruins. Many water facilities and power plants were destroyed. Farmland is contaminated with chemicals from bombing. Many Palestinians suffer from war-related physical and mental health problems.
“Peace is not only possible, it is necessary,” Shaban said. “Our government has fostered hunger and fear. A ceasefire is a great first step, but it means nothing if we don’t enforce it.”
Shaban said peace also requires addressing problems that existed before the war. Israel bans Gaza residents from traveling outside the congested 141-square-mile territory, with narrow exceptions. Israel and Egypt also imposed a land, sea, and air blockade, disrupting the flow of goods and the economy.
“This is a tipping point,” he said. “People need to live the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. We should help them live the way we want to live.”
