Canadian woman says her parents are among Hamas hostages, urges government to help

A Canadian family is asking the federal government to help their loved ones allegedly being held hostage by Hamas.

According to Iris Haggai Liniado, Judih Weinstein Haggai, a retired Toronto teacher, and her husband Gad were taken by Hamas during the surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7.

Haggai Liniado, Weinstein Haggai’s daughter, said the Israeli military contacted her Tuesday with the news her parents had been kidnapped.

Now, she told CTV National News, she wants the Canadian government to do more to help.

“At the end of the day it’s Israeli soil,” Haggai Liniado said. “But pressure is the only thing that can be done especially if there is Canadian citizens involved, especially when my mom is 70 years old. Why would they kidnap a 70-year-old?”

She said U.S. President Joe Biden has called her to say the American government is prioritizing her mother’s safety.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for Hamas to immediately free Israeli hostages and permit unimpeded humanitarian access into Gaza, where a dire crisis is unfolding.

Global Affairs Canada, meanwhile, has not confirmed the names of any Canadians who may be hostages during the ongoing war, which is now in its 12th day.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has previously said the government would not name or confirm any hostages, saying she didn’t want to “increase the value and put their lives in danger.”

Haggai Liniado, who lives in Singapore, said her parents were living at the Nir-Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border. Hamas has taken a reported 199 hostages, including dozens from where her parents were living.

Haggai Liniado said the last news she had before she was recently contacted was that her parents had both been shot and an ambulance that had been dispatched was destroyed by a rocket.

According to Haggai Liniado, cell phones belonging to her parents were tracked to Gaza.

Global Affairs Canada says two Canadians are missing and six are confirmed dead. Canada has sent a team of hostage negotiators to Israel.

With files from CTV National News Ottawa Correspondent Judy Trinh