Three Canadians kidnapped in Gaza, family says

(Ottawa) The family of three Canadians say they were taken from their home in the Gaza Strip during a nighttime raid by Israeli forces.

Ottawa confirms that it is aware of information that a citizen is missing.

Yasmeen Elagha told The Canadian Press from Chicago that her uncle and two cousins, born in the United States, were missing.

Ahmed Alagha was born in Canada, said M^me Elagha, and lived in Toronto with her US-born sons Borak, 18, and Hashem, 20, before moving to Gaza in the mid-2000s.

She said the three men had Canadian citizenship and were kidnapped by Israeli forces early Thursday.

“There are so many people asking about them in Canada. They left a very big impression on their community there, when they lived in Toronto,” said Mr.^me Elagha.

She added that three younger children, who are also Canadian citizens, and their mother Samar, who has permanent residency in Canada, were not captured.

In an interview Thursday, she criticized Canada’s response to the incident, denouncing a lack of urgency and poor communication.

In response to a question about an Associated Press article published earlier Thursday that a Canadian and his two American sons were missing, Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of reports that a Canadian citizen had disappeared.

Global Affairs Canada said it is providing consular assistance to the family, but cannot say more for privacy reasons.

Global Affairs did not immediately respond to further questions about the number of Canadian citizens believed to be missing and to criticism of Mr.^me Elagha.

The latter said that, around 5 a.m. Thursday morning, Israeli soldiers entered the family home, located in the village of Al-Mawasi, near the town of Khan Younes.

According to the cousin, the soldiers tied up and blindfolded the women and children of the family and placed them outside the house.

The trio, along with a mentally disabled uncle and two other adult male relatives, were taken by the Israelis and remain missing, Ms.^me Elagha.

Men from a neighboring house were also taken away. So did other adult male relatives from another household in Alagha, for a total of about 20 people, the American cousin said.

She described them as hostages rather than detainees, citing the family’s lack of information about why they were taken or where Israeli forces are holding them.

“Vague responses” from Canada

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration would “talk to our Israeli counterparts” about the reported detentions.

The State Department said Thursday it was seeking more information about the detentions. He cited confidentiality issues for the brothers by not commenting further.

More than 27,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory.

The war began when Hamas militants stormed Israel four months ago, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 others hostage.

Nearly 85% of the Gaza Strip’s population was displaced during the conflict, and large numbers of people now congregate in the area just outside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Foreign nationals, including Canadians, have been able to leave the besieged territory through the tightly controlled border crossing, but only on certain dates and after an opaque vetting process involving multiple governments.

M^me Elagha said she managed to get her grandparents out of Gaza because they are Canadian citizens, but she criticized Canadian authorities for being difficult to reach at the time.

She said the same problem arose this week, alleging that Global Affairs Canada was not taking the situation seriously.

“Canada gave very vague answers. We have not received anything substantial, lamented Mr.^me Elagha. This does not seem to address the urgency of the issue of Canadian lives at stake.”

This news comes as a Canadian of Palestinian origin, reported missing in the Gaza Strip, reappeared Monday after losing contact with his loved ones for two weeks.

Mansour Shouman chose not to follow his wife and children when they left Gaza, preferring to stay to document the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Mr. Shouman was reportedly captured by Israeli forces, although he said in a video posted online that he had forgotten his phone while going to check on a project, and had to take shelter in several locations during a series of attacks.

M^me Elagha said she hoped her loved ones would return safely. For now, she is furious at Ottawa’s “hypocritical” statements that the safety of citizens abroad is the priority.

“The Canadian government has a duty to protect citizens abroad, and it is completely failing in this duty,” she argued. This feels like a betrayal. »