Close X
Friday, September 20, 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

Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane

Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join mourners in Richmond Hill, Ont., this afternoon to mark four years since the Iranian military shot down Flight PS752. Everyone aboard was killed when Iranian officials shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jetliner in January 2020 shortly after its take-off from Tehran.

Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane

One dead in BC helicopter crash

One dead in BC helicopter crash
The RCMP says one person has died in a helicopter crash near Revelstoke, B.C. They say the helicopter, which was first reported missing Friday, was found in Glacier National Park.

One dead in BC helicopter crash

Third shooting in three days in Coquitlam, B.C., sends man to hospital

Third shooting in three days in Coquitlam, B.C., sends man to hospital
Mounties in Coquitlam, B.C., say a third shooting in as many days has left a man with life-threatening injuries. They say officers responded to a call around 4:15 p.m. Saturday and found the man, who was then taken to hospital.  

Third shooting in three days in Coquitlam, B.C., sends man to hospital

B.C. braces for winter storm, with 50 cm of snow forecast for inland

B.C. braces for winter storm, with 50 cm of snow forecast for inland
Environment Canada has issued heavy snowfall warnings for a number of key highways in British Columbia with accumulation of up to 50 centimetres possible in some inland stretches. The highway warnings come as British Columbia's south and central coast are getting their first taste of winter weather this year, with snow falling over parts of Metro Vancouver. 

B.C. braces for winter storm, with 50 cm of snow forecast for inland

Floating Hotel to house LNG workers

Floating Hotel to house LNG workers
A ship that will house more than 600 workers at a natural gas construction project north of Vancouver arrived in British Columbia waters this week after a 40-day journey from Estonia, where it had been in use by Ukrainian refugees. The ship is equipped with sewage and water treatment systems as well as industrial-sized heat pumps, and it will connect to the BC Hydro electricity grid.  

Floating Hotel to house LNG workers

Search for suspect vehicle on after Surrey shooting

Search for suspect vehicle on after Surrey shooting
Police in Surrey are looking for a suspect vehicle after shots were fired at an area home. R-C-M-P say it happened on the morning of December 27th, noting no one was injured in the incident.

Search for suspect vehicle on after Surrey shooting