Close X
Sunday, November 17, 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

2 people found dead in Kelowna home

2 people found dead in Kelowna home
They say officers responded to a 9-1-1 call last night from a home on Swan Drive. The bodies of two people were found inside the home. Police say they believe the incident was isolated and that there is no threat to public safety.  

2 people found dead in Kelowna home

David Johnston quits as special rapporteur on foreign interference

David Johnston quits as special rapporteur on foreign interference
Johnston's appointment has been contentious, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre repeatedly accusing him of being too close to Trudeau's family to provide an unbiased review of government actions.

David Johnston quits as special rapporteur on foreign interference

B.C. to require licence for asbestos abatement contractors by 2024

B.C. to require licence for asbestos abatement contractors by 2024
The Labour Ministry says workers must be licensed by Jan. 1. This comes following changes to the Workers Compensation Act last year, requiring that contractors who remove the cancer-causing material use only trained and certified workers.   

B.C. to require licence for asbestos abatement contractors by 2024

Shots fired in Port Coquitlam

Shots fired in Port Coquitlam
On Tuesday, at 1:44 am, Coquitlam RCMP received multiple reports of shots being fired in the 2000-block of Shaughnessy Place, Port Coquitlam. Officers immediately responded and located the victim residence. No one was physically injured during the incident. 

Shots fired in Port Coquitlam

BC port strike vote

BC port strike vote
Both the union and the Maritime Employers Association -- which represents 49 private-sector employers at more than 30 B-C ports -- have agreed that June 24th is the earliest any job action could occur.

BC port strike vote

Eyes on the weather as fierce wildfire rages, forces evacuations in northeastern B.C.

Eyes on the weather as fierce wildfire rages, forces evacuations in northeastern B.C.
The extreme fire activity prompted the District of Tumbler Ridge to skip an evacuation alert Thursday and jump right to an order requiring all 2,400 residents to get out immediately and seek refuge in Dawson Creek or Fort St. John.  

Eyes on the weather as fierce wildfire rages, forces evacuations in northeastern B.C.