7th Canadian confirmed dead in Israel-Gaza war, 2 missing

Government officials have confirmed the death of a seventh Canadian in the Israel-Hamas war.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said in a statement that it is "providing support" for seven families, and confirmed the seventh death to CTVNews.ca on Thursday.

Canadian officials have not publicly identified the latest person confirmed to have died in the war that broke out following an attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7.

Those who have been identified as having been killed are Shir Georgy and Ben Mizrachi, both 22, as well as 21-year-old Netta Epstein, Tiferet Lapidot, who was turning 23 the week of her death, and Alexandre Look and Adi Vital-Kaploun, both 33.

GAC said two Canadians remain missing.

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The government has also not said when or where the seventh Canadian died.

GAC said there are currently 5,765 Canadians known to be living in Israel, with another 451 in the West Bank and Gaza, and 17,135 in Lebanon. These totals are based on those who have registered with the Registration of Canadians Abroad, which is a voluntary process.

• Complete coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

As of Thursday, the department said, the government has helped more than 1,600 Canadians, permanent residents, their family members and foreign nationals flee the area by air. Dozens more have left by bus, and more of these transfers are expected "in the coming days."

"The safety of Canadians, at home and abroad, is our top priority," GAC said in its statement.

The updated total of families being supported by the government in connection with deaths came a day after the federal government issued a call for "humanitarian pauses on hostilities" to allow aid to enter Gaza and for Canadians and other civilians to leave. 

A demonstration by aid groups is planned on Parliament Hill Thursday, meant to echo these calls, The Canadian Press reported.

It was unclear how exactly these pauses would work, however. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that humanitarian pauses would allow aid to flow and hostages and foreign nationals to escape, but that it would differ from a ceasefire.

Defence Minister Bill Blair told reporters on Parliament Hill he would not speculate as to how it would work, saying in part: "We support that there should be a pause. How that would actually be effective is to be determined." 

On Tuesday, the federal government announced how the initial $10 million in funding to aid this humanitarian crisis was to be allocated. 

Since the initial Hamas attack earlier this month, Canada has promised a total of $60 million in aid to the region. 

“Canada unequivocally condemns Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel. We support Israel’s right to defend itself, in accordance with international law. Canada calls for the immediate release of all hostages,” Global Affairs said. “Canada is deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza.”

The war is now in its 20th day. The Israeli military said its troops were in Gaza overnight striking militant targets as a wider ground incursion looms.

With files from CTV News' Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello, The Canadian Press and The Associated Press