By Canadian Press

Missing Israeli with ties to Canada dead, Joly calls for Canadians to leave Lebanon

Oct 17, 2023 | 9:53 AM

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says an Israeli with ties to Canada who had been missing is now confirmed dead, amid the continued fallout from Hamas’s recent surprise attacks on Israel. 

Joly is offering condolences to the family of Tiferet Lapidot, who she said was one of three Canadians reported missing after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and setting off a war that has left more than 4,000 dead on both sides. 

The minister says that during her recent trip to Israel, she met with Lapidot’s Canadian father in Tel Aviv, as well as Lapidot’s uncle, who described her as a “brilliant, beautiful young woman.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs described Lapidot as an Israeli woman with Canadian parents, saying in a statement that her family asked that news of her death be shared with media. 

Joly says two Canadians remain missing, and two more flights arranged by Canada’s military are leaving Tel Aviv today to help citizens, permanent residents and their families leave the country. 

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She says that so far, 1,300 Canadians have been airlifted out of Israel, and she is encouraging people to leave Lebanon, too, where Hezbollah fighters have begun clashing with the Israeli military across their shared border. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct.17, 2023. 

— With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press