OTTAWA (Reuters) – The number of Canadians killed in last week’s attack by Hamas on Israel is now five, an official from the foreign ministry said on Sunday, while three are still missing.
The official did not provide the name or any details about the fifth confirmed death.
On Saturday, the family of 22-year-old Shir Georgy, who went missing after Hamas militants attacked a music festival near Kibbutz Re’im last Saturday, confirmed her death on Instagram. She was the fourth Israeli-Canadian victim of the attacks.
Like other countries, Canada is trying to evacuate its citizens, permanent residents and their families from Gaza. There are about 300 people in Gaza that Canada is seeking to bring out through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, which remained closed on Saturday.
A Canadian official, speaking to reporters in Ottawa, said the government was “extremely hopeful” the Rafah border crossing would open to allow for evacuations.
The U.S. government on Saturday advised its citizens in Gaza to move toward the Rafah border crossing to be ready for a possible reopening after the Hamas attack in Israel drew Israeli military retaliation in the densely populated coastal enclave.
The U.S. government estimates the number of dual-citizen Palestinian-Americans in Gaza at 500 to 600 among the population of 2.3 million.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
