Winnipeg-born woman believed to be among Hamas hostages

Winnipeg-born woman among Israelis kidnapped Vivian Smith, 74, is a peace activist who was living in the Gaza strip. Her brother believes she's been kidnapped by Hamas.

A Winnipeg-born woman is believed to be among the hostages taken in Israel over the weekend.

Vivian Silver, 74, is a peace activist living on the edge of the Gaza strip. Her cousin Les Silver believes Vivian has been kidnapped by militant Hamas forces.

"We know it was very, very close to Gaza and so we were immediately concerned," said Les.

Les tells CTV News they thought Vivian might be able to use her safe room to hide from the conflict, but then heard she was part of a large number of hostages taken.

Vivian Silver left Winnipeg more than 50 years ago to live in Israel. Les said much of her work is dedicated to fostering peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Her cousin said she has family living in Winnipeg and Calgary, desperately waiting on news of her wellbeing.

"You hope that somebody with the kind of great intentions that she has will be able to deal with the situation and come back safe and sound," said Les.