CAIR urges Biden to act after US citizen's family killed in Gaza strikes

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged the Biden administration on Tuesday to demand Israel halt attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp after an American's family was killed in repeated air strikes in Gaza.

A Palestinian American man from the state of Virginia, who was not identified, informed CAIR that his family's home was bombed Monday in an Israeli attack in Gaza, according to a statement from the civil rights group.

The house in the camp reportedly housed 15 people at the time, including seven children. Among them was the man's mother, a permanent resident of the US.

After an initial strike, the mother and several family members were injured and alive, but trapped beneath the rubble. The family reportedly contacted Israeli authorities with the location and GPS coordinates of the house to facilitate the safe passage of an ambulance, said CAIR.

Only a 7-year-old boy survived

Despite the information, however, the Israeli military allegedly bombed the home a second time.

The ambulance that arrived to help the survivors was also reportedly targeted, resulting in the deaths of a responding doctor and several children. Only a 7-year-old boy survived the attack, according to CAIR.

CAIR said it reached out to the White House and the State Department to share details of the attack, emphasising that the mother of an American was among those killed. It has not received a response.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for a response.

Local sources, meanwhile, reported Tuesday that Israeli forces targeted several areas including Khan Younis, the Nuseirat refugee camp and the Jabalia camp in Gaza.