Canada confirms citizen killed in Lebanon, urges Israel to halt attacks

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed Monday that a Canadian citizen had been killed in southern Lebanon, urging Israel to stop its military strikes. “Today, I was made aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in southern Lebanon,” Anand said, extending condolences to the victim’s family. She added that Canadian officials are providing consular assistance. The victim was identified as Mohamad Hassan Haidar, a 38‑year‑old Ontario resident and father of five, who was killed last week while trying to help someone during a drone strike, according to CBC. The National Council of Canadian Muslims said Haidar was killed in an Israeli strike.

Call for Diplomacy and Disarmament

“Canada firmly supports the Lebanese government’s efforts to restore and exercise full state authority, including through the disarmament of Hezbollah,” Anand said. “We call on Israel to cease its attacks and encourage Israel and Lebanon to reach a durable, diplomatic solution to end the conflict.” She did not attribute responsibility for the killing, but the NCCM identified Israel as responsible.

Rising Toll in Lebanon

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported Monday that 34 more people had been killed and 174 wounded in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll since 2 March to 2,089, with 6,762 injured. The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground offensive across Lebanon since a cross‑border attack by Hezbollah on 2 March, amid regional tensions following the US‑Israeli war on Iran that began on 28 February.