Global Affairs Canada says it is aware of reports that one Canadian has died and two others are missing in the wake of an attack on Israel by Hamas forces, marking the latest escalation in the decades-long conflict.
In an update shared Sunday afternoon, the agency said Canadian officials in Israel are in contact with local authorities in an effort to confirm those reports and gather more information.
Global Affairs Canada says there are currently 1,419 registered Canadians in Israel and 492 in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but cautioned that such registration is voluntary and provides an incomplete picture of Canadians abroad.
The agency did not specify whether the reported death and the two Canadians believed to be missing had been registered in Israel or the Palestinian territories.
On Saturday morning, Hamas fighters launched an unexpected attack in Israel(opens in a new tab) that has left at least 700 people dead including 44 soldiers, officials say. The attack has also included the abduction of soldiers and civilians.
Israel retaliated by intensifying its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, striking more than 800 targets including residential buildings.
More than 400 people have been killed in Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry said, including 78 children and 41 women. Thousands have been injured on both sides.
Israeli officials said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.
Hamas says the attack is in response to Palestinian suffering under Israel’s occupation and aggression against those living in the Gaza Strip.
As of Sunday, Global Affairs Canada said it has responded to 429 inquiries since the beginning of the conflict related to travel advice and advisories for Israel and Gaza, the status of the airport and flights, the overall security situation and options for leaving the country.
Canadian officials have decried the attack by Hamas, with Prime Minister Trudeau saying in a statement(opens in a new tab) Sunday that, “Canada unequivocally condemns these terrible attacks in the strongest possible terms and reaffirms its support for Israel’s right to defend itself, in accordance with international law.
“We call for the immediate release of those being held hostage and demand they be treated in accordance with international law. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and we are in touch with our international partners to restore peace and security in the region. We must all work to protect civilian life.”
Clips posted on social media in the wake of the attack showed unidentified hostages being paraded through Gaza in pickup trucks and cars.
Among the hostages, identified by friends and colleagues, is believed to be Vivian Silver, a Canadian Israeli peace activist.
She was reportedly taken as Hamas militants entered the community Be’eri on Israel’s border with Gaza. Silver, who is originally from Winnipeg, has worked closely with Palestinians and Israelis for years. She helped create an organization called Women Wage Peace, which aims to bring together Palestinian and Israeli women to advocate for a mutually binding non-violent agreement to end the conflict.
“I hope that both sides realize that nothing will come out of war, other than continued destruction,” Silver was quoted as saying in a 2021 Forbes article(opens in a new tab). “And that if our leaders care about their people, then they’re going to have to change the paradigm.”
Hamas leaders claim that they have taken hostage more than 130 people from inside Israel, and that these hostages are intended to be traded for the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, The Associated Press reports. The Israeli military has not confirmed this exact number, but said the number of captives is “significant.”
There are reports of several international captives from Brazil and Mexico. American and British authorities are also investigating claims.
One former Canadian government hostage negotiator says the prisoners of war will become a sensitive and high-risk issue in this conflict going forward.
“Because of the human element and the emotions that it brings to it, in terms of fear of torture, the fear of uncertainty, family engagement and how they can be used and manipulated in the course of negotiation processes. So I think the hostage situation is one of the main concerns we have right now,” Calvin Chrustie told CTV National News.
In a series of posts on X, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly stated that she had spoken with counterparts in Israel, Jordan and Egypt, as well as with the Palestinian Authority, with the goal of co-ordinating de-escalation.
“Spoke with Dr. Riad Malki of the Palestinian Authority. I expressed condolences for the death of Palestinian civilians and reiterated our condemnation of Hamas’ terror attack on Israel,” Joly wrote in one post(opens in a new tab). “The violence must stop and the protection of civilians is paramount.”
On Sunday, funerals were held in Gaza for children killed in an Israeli airstrike.
As the conflict escalates, and children are added to the list of victims, aid groups are demanding both sides must follow the rules of war.
“We cannot stress this point enough – civilians are not part of this fight,” Sarah Davies, with the International Committee of the Red Cross, told CTV News Channel(opens in a new tab).
Global Affairs is urging Canadians on the ground in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to shelter in place and limit their movements, and to monitor local media for the latest information.
Due to the crisis in Israel, the government also warned that operations at land borders with Jordan could be affected.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
