Close X
Sunday, November 24, 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

Cap on student visas could wreak financial havoc on Ontario universities, says rep

Cap on student visas could wreak financial havoc on Ontario universities, says rep
Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced new limits to the international student program Monday, including a 35 per cent reduction in the number of study permits it issues this year. The cap comes in response to a recent surge in international students and concerns that some institutions are relying on international enrolments to boost revenues, without offering necessary housing or a quality education.

Cap on student visas could wreak financial havoc on Ontario universities, says rep

Metro Vancouver says stench from Burnaby refinery didn't breach air quality limits

Metro Vancouver says stench from Burnaby refinery didn't breach air quality limits
Metro Vancouver says an acrid odour that blanketed parts of the region on Sunday contained elevated contaminant levels, but didn't breach pollution standards. The regional federation of municipalities says it monitors emissions of particulates, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide from Burnaby's Parkland fuel refinery, and air quality objectives for the contaminants weren't exceeded.

Metro Vancouver says stench from Burnaby refinery didn't breach air quality limits

3 dead after helicopter crashes near Terrace

3 dead after helicopter crashes near Terrace
A heli-skiing company says three people have died after one of its helicopters crashed in west-central British Columbia. Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, which is based in Terrace, B.C., confirmed the deaths in a news release but did not say how many people were involved in the crash near the city.

3 dead after helicopter crashes near Terrace

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2
Hundreds of thousands of Metro Vancouver residents are without a bus ride again today as striking transit supervisors carry on with their 48-hour strike. The dispute between more than 180 members of CUPE Local 4500 and Coast Mountain Bus Company has stopped 96 per cent of the region's buses as well as the SeaBus across Burrard Inlet.   

Metro Vancouver residents scramble for another ride as bus strike drags into Day 2

Winters Hotel fire: B.C. inquest told of chained door, 'no way out' from deadly blaze

Winters Hotel fire: B.C. inquest told of chained door, 'no way out' from deadly blaze
A coroner's inquest has been told that a Vancouver rooming house where a fire killed two people in 2022 had a chained door, as relatives testified about the devastating impact of the blaze. The inquest into the deaths of Mary Ann Garlow and Dennis Guay began Monday with family members describing their loss in the fire that gutted the Winters Hotel in Vancouver.   

Winters Hotel fire: B.C. inquest told of chained door, 'no way out' from deadly blaze

West Fraser Timber permanently closing Fraser Lake, B.C., sawmill

West Fraser Timber permanently closing Fraser Lake, B.C., sawmill
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. says it's permanently closing its sawmill in Fraser Lake, B.C., after an orderly wind-down. The Vancouver-based company says it's unable to access economically viable fibre in the region. 

West Fraser Timber permanently closing Fraser Lake, B.C., sawmill