New Delhi: A six-year-old Muslim boy and his 32-year-old mother were attacked with a knife by their 71-year-old landlord in Illinois, US, in a hate crime reportedly triggered by the conflict in Israel and Palestine. The boy, Wadea al-Fayoume, lost his life. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, a Palestinian who moved from the West Bank to the US 12 years ago, has multiple stab wounds and is in the hospital, BBC reported.The accused, Joseph Czuba, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes and aggravated battery.The attack reportedly took place on Saturday (October 14). In a statement on Sunday, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said they had received an emergency call from Shahin (though the statement did not name her), who said she was being attacked by her landlord in Plainfield, near Chicago.“The knife used in this attack is a 12-inch (31cm) serrated military style knife that has a seven-inch blade,” the Sheriff’s office said.“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 statement said.Wadea was reportedly stabbed 26 times. He was declared dead when he was taken to the hospital, AP reported.US President Joe Biden “sickened” by the attack, and that Islamophobhia in all forms must be rejected. “This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are,” he stated.Biden had earlier expressed clear support for Israel also supported its right to “defend itself”.“To take a six-year-old child’s life in the name of bigotry is nothing short of evil,” Illinois Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker said. “Wadea should be heading to school in the morning. Instead, his parents will wake up without their son. This wasn’t just a murder — it was a hate crime. And every single Illinoisan — including our Muslim, Jewish, and Palestinian neighbors — deserves to live free from the threat of such evil.”The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) held a press briefing on the attack on Sunday. “Palestinians basically, again, with their hearts broken over what’s happening to their people,” said Ahmed Rehab of CAIR, “have to also worry about the immediate safety of life and limb living here in this most free of democracies in the world.”