Close X
Monday, November 18, 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

Senior assaulted in Richmond

Senior assaulted in Richmond
Richmond R-C-M-P are investigating after a 67-year-old woman was assaulted by two suspects. Police say her home was also ransacked in last month's attack.

Senior assaulted in Richmond

Abbotsford police release video of vandalism involving axes, swords, and baseball bats

Abbotsford police release video of vandalism involving axes, swords, and baseball bats
Abbotsford police have released video showing more than 10 people using axes, swords and baseball bats to destroy multiple cars at a home in the city. Video released by the department depicts the incident, which happened around 1 A-M on Saturday.

Abbotsford police release video of vandalism involving axes, swords, and baseball bats

Charges laid in New Westminster kidnapping case

Charges laid in New Westminster kidnapping case
A 40-year-old man from Kamloops has been charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and use of an imitation firearm, while a 42-year-old man from Vernon faces the same charges, except assault.  

Charges laid in New Westminster kidnapping case

Bear Creek park morning shooting lands one in hospital

Bear Creek park morning shooting lands one in hospital
On Friday, at 8:06 a.m., police responded to the report of a shooting in a residential driveway located in the 8100-block of 144A Street. Police found an adult male suffering from apparent gun shot wounds and provided medical assistance until Emergency Health Services arrived on scene.

Bear Creek park morning shooting lands one in hospital

B.C. communities brace for weekend rain as floods forecast in southern Interior

B.C. communities brace for weekend rain as floods forecast in southern Interior
Grand Forks, not far from the Canada-U.S. border, is one of many communities under threat in B.C.'s southern and central Interior. A week of record temperatures followed by rain have combined to create conditions ripe for flooding.

B.C. communities brace for weekend rain as floods forecast in southern Interior

Break and enter in Nanaimo hair salon

Break and enter in Nanaimo hair salon
Mounties in Nanaimo are asking for the public's help in identifying two people accused of breaking into a local hair salon. They say police responded to a glass break alarm at Cosmo Prof on April 25th and found its door had been "smashed out."

Break and enter in Nanaimo hair salon