Close X
Monday, September 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Global Affairs Canada 'aware of reports' of missing Canadian in Gaza Strip

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Feb, 2024 12:08 PM
  • Global Affairs Canada 'aware of reports' of missing Canadian in Gaza Strip

Ottawa says it is aware of reports that another Canadian citizen has gone missing in the Gaza Strip.

Global Affairs Canada says it is providing consular assistance to the family but can't share more because of privacy considerations. 

The Associated Press reports that Israeli forces detained two young adult American brothers and their Canadian father in Gaza in an overnight raid.

Relatives of the men say they were taken from their home.

A U.S. Embassy official in Jerusalem reached by telephone from Washington said American officials were aware of the situation and were following up with Israeli authorities.

The embassy official gave no details and ended the call without giving her name, while the Israeli foreign ministry and military had no immediate comment.

Borak Alagha, 18, and Hashem Alagha, 20, two brothers born in the Chicago area, are among fewer than 50 U.S. citizens known to still be trying to leave sealed-off Gaza, as the Israel-Hamas war entered its fifth month.

Cousin Yasmeen Elagha, a law student at Northwestern University, said Israeli forces entered the family home in the community of al-Muwasi, near the southern city of Khan Younis, around 5 a.m. Gaza time Thursday.

The soldiers tied up and blindfolded the women and children in the family, and placed them outside the home, the cousin said.

The two American brothers, their Canadian citizen father, a mentally disabled uncle and two other adult male relatives were taken away by the Israelis, and remain missing, Elagha said.

Men of a neighboring household were also taken away. So were other adult male relatives of another Alagha household, for a total of about 20 detained, the U.S. cousin said.

A family social media account from Gaza also described the detentions.

State Department spokespeople in Washington had no immediate comment on the reported detention of the American brothers.

The brothers would be among three American citizens taken into custody by Israeli forces this week, during the same time Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region to try to mediate a ceasefire and hostage release deal with ally Israel and regional Arab leaders.

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing

B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing
Premier David Eby says the number of short-term rentals has ballooned in recent years and the government is taking action to reduce “profit-driven mini-hotel operators” by bringing in new enforcement tools. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon introduced the bill in the legislature today, saying there has been "an explosion" of short-term rental units and this legislation will target areas with high housing needs.

B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing

Man charged with murdering B.C. woman who went missing in 2022

Man charged with murdering B.C. woman who went missing in 2022
Police say that after an almost yearlong investigation, homicide investigators have determined that 57-year-old Jodine Millar was murdered. Millar was reported missing on Nov. 28, the same day police found her empty car after a crash on Highway 1.

Man charged with murdering B.C. woman who went missing in 2022

Suspicious fire guts B.C. elementary school, plans underway for students and teachers

Suspicious fire guts B.C. elementary school, plans underway for students and teachers
Coquitlam School District 43 says in a statement to families on its website that plans are in the works to support continued learning for the school community at Hazel Trembath Elementary School in Port Coquitlam. Coquitlam RCMP say they are investigating a suspicious fire at the school, which was fully engulfed when first responders arrived at the scene early Saturday.

Suspicious fire guts B.C. elementary school, plans underway for students and teachers

New Westminster's Balvir Singh charged with stabbing

New Westminster's Balvir Singh charged with stabbing
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says 57-year-old Balvir Singh of New Westminster was charged Saturday with second-degree murder. I-H-I-T is identifying the victim as 46-year old Kulwant Kaur of New Westminster.

New Westminster's Balvir Singh charged with stabbing

Surrey to ask court to review provincial order to stay with municipal police

Surrey to ask court to review provincial order to stay with municipal police
The city issued a statement on Friday saying it was asking for a judicial review by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, challenging the province's "lawful authority" to impose its choice of police force without providing the funding to support such a move.

Surrey to ask court to review provincial order to stay with municipal police

No charges for Prince George cop

No charges for Prince George cop
Prosecutors in British Columbia say they won't be charging an RCMP officer in connection with the death of an Indigenous man in Prince George in 2020. A statement from the prosecution service says that although the province's independent watchdog said there were reasonable grounds to believe the officer may have committed an offence, the evidence available isn't enough for charges.

No charges for Prince George cop