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

Mayor of Delta, B.C., condemns lack of notification from FortisBC on odorous gas leak

Mayor of Delta, B.C., condemns lack of notification from FortisBC on odorous gas leak
The mayor of Delta, B.C., is calling the lack of communication from FortisBC "an egregious oversight" after the utility didn't notify the public for more than four hours after a leak at a renewable gas plant. George Harvie says on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that it was unacceptable for Delta residents and businesses to be "left in the dark" after a leak at a plant in Ladner.

Mayor of Delta, B.C., condemns lack of notification from FortisBC on odorous gas leak

Snow shuts Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley schools as alerts blanket southern B.C.

Snow shuts Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley schools as alerts blanket southern B.C.
All public schools in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been closed today, as heavy snow falls across a wide swath of southern British Columbia. Some universities and colleges in the Lower Mainland have also cancelled in-person classes, including the University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and the B.C. Institute of Technology.    

Snow shuts Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley schools as alerts blanket southern B.C.

Funding for mental health facility

Funding for mental health facility
The provincial government is providing 675-thousand-dollars toward a proposed centre in northern B-C that would provide mental-health and addictions services for children for children and youth. Premier David Eby says on a visit to Prince George that young people in northern B-C, especially Indigenous youth, should be able to get the care they need close to home.  

Funding for mental health facility

Woman found dead in apparent domestic attack in front of a Calgary elementary school

Woman found dead in apparent domestic attack in front of a Calgary elementary school
Police say they are investigating after a woman was found dead in front of a Calgary elementary school this morning. Officers were called to the school in the southwestern community of Strathcona around 7:40 a.m. 

Woman found dead in apparent domestic attack in front of a Calgary elementary school

Man convicted over hit-and-run crash that injured two B.C. police dog handlers

Man convicted over hit-and-run crash that injured two B.C. police dog handlers
Mounties say a 34-year-old man has been found guilty of four charges after a hit-and-run crash that injured two police dog service officers in 2019. Police say Jason Kirupakaran was convicted of two counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failing to stop after an accident causing bodily harm. 

Man convicted over hit-and-run crash that injured two B.C. police dog handlers

Crash southeast of Kamloops, B.C., claims 4 lives, 1 person injured

Crash southeast of Kamloops, B.C., claims 4 lives, 1 person injured
Police say four people are dead and one person is in hospital after a head-on crash on Highway 97 southeast of Kamloops, B.C., on Tuesday.  Vernon North Okanagan RCMP spokesman Chris Terleski says the collision occurred near the Monte Lake RV park around 9 a.m.  Police say the drivers of the vehicles were found dead at the scene along with two others, and one person was airlifted to hospital.   

Crash southeast of Kamloops, B.C., claims 4 lives, 1 person injured