5th Canadian killed in Israel, government confirms

A fifth Canadian has died in Israel, according to the government on Sunday, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Global Affairs Canada's assistant deputy minister for consular security and emergency management Julie Sunday made the announcement on Oct. 15, raising the previously reported death toll from four on Saturday.

"It has always been a possibility that missing persons would be confirmed deceased. ... It is an extremely tragic outcome," Sunday said during a briefing in Ottawa. "Our thoughts are with the families in all of these cases.

"We are very focused on addressing the cases of the three missing persons, who we continue to try to locate and bring back to safety in Canada."

Escape plans

The government is still working to get up to 300 Canadians and their relatives out of the Gaza Strip, ahead of Israel's expected ground invasion. Sunday had announced that number sat at 150 on Friday.

Sunday said that another 250 Canadians may be able to leave the West Bank territory by bus next week, in a new deal following Saturday's cancellation of a plan to help people flee through a border crossing into Egypt.

The deal between Canada, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority would allow dozens of Canadians trapped in the West Bank to escape by bus from Jordan.

However, Sunday said during the briefing that this plan is "complicated." Despite Canada being ready to start that transportation as early as Monday, the Jordanian government is currently preventing those plans from going ahead by keeping a border crossing closed.

"We have been informed that the Allenby gate into Jordan will be closed tomorrow," Sunday said. "And so that is something that we are working to see if we can resolve, but that is a blanket closure that is not specific to Canadians."

Officials said the situation is unsteady and continues to change, meaning it's still possible the Jordanian government could open the gate on Monday.

"We are relentless in our efforts to make sure that it opens to potential Canadians wanting to go across, so it is not a definitive answer at this point," Global Affairs Canada assistant deputy minister Alexandre Lévêque said.

"We are deploying all efforts, calls at all levels, to ensure that Jordanian authorities continue to cooperate and facilitate the evacuation."

New warnings

In the briefing, officials also shared a warning about Lebanon, noting the country is becoming increasingly unstable and that people should avoid all travel to its border with Israel. The Israeli government has declared its northern border with Lebanon a "closed military zone."

"This is simply not the time to go there. ... The situation is volatile, and if you don't need to be there you should consider leaving, while commercial means are still available," Sunday said.

The government also warned Canadians in Jordan, advising people to avoid demonstrations and gatherings that could turn dangerous.

On Saturday, the family of 22-year-old Canadian-Israeli Shir Georgy, who went missing after attending a music festival in Israel, confirmed she had died. That made her the fourth Canadian to have been killed amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Since the conflict began on Oct. 7, the other Canadians who have died include Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, Ben Mizrachi, 22 and Alexandre Look, 33.

"We're extremely concerned about the situation in Gaza," Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Saturday at a news conference from Jordan. "Gaza is one of the worst places on Earth to be right now."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared that Canada is "deeply concerned by the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip" in a statement released on Saturday.

"We are working closely with allies and partners in the region to do everything we can to support affected Canadian citizens, including assistance departing from Gaza, the West Bank and Israel as quickly and safely as possible," Trudeau added in his statement.