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

Oct 17, 2023 | 8:53 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.