The son of a Canadian couple killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon last week says Ottawa should do more to help nationals leave that country as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies.
Kamal Tabaja said his father, Hussein Tabaja, 75, and his mother, Daad Tabaja, 70, were trying to flee their village in southern Lebanon last Monday when an Israeli bomb hit their car .
He said their bodies were officially identified on Saturday at a hospital through DNA testing and were buried later that day in Lebanon.
Kamal Tabaja said his brother, also Canadian, and other members of his family are currently struggling to find a safe way to leave Lebanon as the conflict intensifies.
Mr. Tabaja argued that Canada should take other measures to evacuate the thousands of citizens still in the country, such as sending its own military planes or boats to the region.
Some European countries began withdrawing their diplomats and citizens from Lebanon on Monday, with Germany using military aircraft. But Global Affairs Canada has so far focused on securing seats for Canadians on the few commercial flights that are still available.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said last week that about 45,000 Canadians are believed to be in Lebanon, even though only half of them have officially registered with the embassy in Beirut.
Read the article “Nearly 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon”
with information from the Associated Press