DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — U.S. citizen and Dearborn businessman Kamel Jawad was killed in Lebanon this week while helping civilians evacuate.
On Wednesday evening, the Dearborn community rallied together to honor his life and the other lives lost in the conflict in the Middle East.
The rally took place in front of the Dearborn Police Department, and the outrage and heartbreak over the violence in Lebanon was echoed by speakers who took the stage.
Those at the rally say they are frustrated by the federal government's response to the growing conflict.
"This has to stop. And the way we can stop this is by coming together, by staying united, by pulling our resources together and doing this by peaceful means at the ballot box," 19th District Court Chief Judge Sam Salamey said to the audience full of Lebanese flags.
Those in attendance prayed for the lives lost, including Jawad, who was known as a community leader.
Family says Kamel was killed while trying to help civilians seek shelter.
“He was helping people locate shelter. He would take them down to Beirut or to the north, He was helping transport people down," Kamel's cousin Wessam Jawad said.
At the rally, Dearborn resident Hayatt Jaafar held a photo of her daughter who also was killed in Lebanon.
"She had actually left the village to go to somewhere else to find safety. She came back to get some clothes and when she got back to her village, she was a victim and killed by a strike,” Jaafar said through a translator.
Despite the pleas locally, the conflict only seems to be escalating. Israel has begun its targeted ground invasion into Lebanon against Hezbollah, and Iran launched nearly 200 missiles into Israel Tuesday.
Most of the missiles were intercepted and no deaths were reported.
Benjamin Levin owns a travel company that hosts Americans in Israel, with many of them from Michigan. He says he had to hide in a bomb shelter and like many, he hopes for peace in the region.
"I have good Muslim friends. I just don't understand why we need to have that type of a battle. We need to reach out and look for peace," Levin said.
Meanwhile, the local Arab American community says they will continue to rally for as long as they need to until peace and a ceasefire is spread throughout the region.
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“It’s really sad that us as Americans have to put up with this and we have to see innocent lives being taken and we have no voice," Dearborn resident Amer Jaafer said.
