WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A man from Illinois was sentenced on Friday to 53 years in prison after a jury convicted him of the murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and the severe wounding of his mother in an October 2023 hate crime stabbing, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Joseph Czuba, 73, stabbed and killed Wadee Alfayoumi and knifed Hanan Shaheen days after U.S. ally Israel began its war on Gaza following Palestinian Hamas militants’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

Prosecutors said the stabbing – one of the earliest and worst hate crime incidents in the U.S. since the start of the war – was sparked by anti-Muslim hatred. U.S. rights advocates have noted rising Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate and antisemitism.

Czuba, who was the landlord for Shaheen and her son, stabbed the boy 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade, authorities said. Shaheen suffered multiple stab wounds in the attack that occurred in Plainfield Township, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Chicago.

Czuba was found guilty in late February. Shaheen testified during the trial that Czuba told her “you, as a Muslim, must die.”

Other recent incidents raising alarm in the U.S. about anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian prejudice include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl and the stabbing of a Palestinian American man, both in Texas.

Incidents raising alarm over antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes include an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York Jewish center and an arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence.

Hate incidents have also been reported during protests and counter-protests related to the war.

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(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry)