As Israel massed its soldiers along the Gaza border before an apparent ground invasion, New Jersey families with relatives on both sides of this brutal war worried about loved ones, and braced for the worst. At a Hoboken vigil on Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy memorialized the dead, more than 2,000 total, including Paramus-born Itay Glisko.

“It has touched New Jersey. There is reported one loss of life,” Murphy said. “We know there is at least one missing. Edan Alexander of Bergen County. I’ve got no updates on his whereabouts — a member of the IDF.”

Edan Alexander serves with the Israeli Defense Forces near the Gaza border. He graduated from Tenafly High School three years ago, and his school noted, “We know that many in our community are suffering. Our thoughts are with all of our families and their loved ones.”

Wyckoff resident Nancy Dubin’s son, Ari, is also serving in the Israel Defense Forces. She hadn’t heard from him since Sunday and feared for his life. “I started to see all the pictures and all of the videos — they’re horrible,” she said.

Finally, late Tuesday night, a recording arrived from Israel. And she listened with joy to her son’s voice: “Please let my mom know I’m alive and I have ten toes and ten fingers. And everything’s okay.” She said with relief, “I know I’m one of the lucky people. I can’t imagine what other people are going through right now.”

Among New Jersey’s Palestinian population, several families have gotten reports of loved ones killed. Duaa Abufares’ family is in Gaza, so far they’ve escaped harm, but she says, “Many children and women are being killed around them. So it’s getting worse every day. They’ve been bombing more than before.”