A third Canadian has died in Israel following a weekend attack by the militant group Hamas, her family said in a statement shared Wednesday at a press conference by an Ottawa Jewish group.
Adi Vital-Kaploun, who is Israeli-Canadian, was killed in the coordinated and deadly assault in Israel over the weekend, the statement from her family said.
The statement said she was “murdered by terrorists in her home, just for being Jewish.”
The family did not speak with reporters, but Andrea Freedman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa shared the statement at a press conference on the family’s behalf.
“Adi brought love, laughter and a sense of purpose to her parents and siblings, the one always leading the way in a very close family,” Freedman said. “Her love was like rays of sunshine, warming the world around her with her smile, her warmth and compassion.”
The family said that while her children were “miraculously home and safe, she is not.”
Her family went on to say that she had recently finished her master’s degree after completing a degree in chemical engineering and had a career in cybersecurity.
Freedman told reporters that Vital-Kaploun has family in Ottawa, but lived in Israel and was killed on her kibbutz — what is considered an intentional community in the country traditionally based on agriculture. She added her burial would also take place in Israel.
“We are standing with the people of Israel in their fight against the terrorists that undertook this heinous act,” the family wrote in the statement. “Adi will be greatly missed by her family and many friends; we are in mourning trying to process this unconscionable act of terrorism in her kibbutz and across the country.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, speaking at a news conference Wednesday, said the government remains in touch with the families of those still missing.
The two other Canadians confirmed dead by Global News since Hamas launched a multifront attack on Israel are Ben Mizrachi from Vancouver and Alexander Look from Montreal.
Both Mizrachi and Look were attending a dance festival in an Israeli town near Gaza when the festival-goers were attacked, leaving at least 260 people dead.
Ottawa announced on Tuesday that it is planning to evacuate Canadians from Israel “in the coming days.” Joly said Wednesday that evacuation flights will help Canadians, their families and permanent residents depart Tel Aviv by the end of the week.
Joly said Canada unequivocally condemned the Hamas assault, in which at least 1,200 people died. Retaliatory strikes on blockaded Gaza have killed 1,055 people and wounded 5,184, Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was dire before this weekend, and this will deteriorate the situation further,” Joly told reporters in Ottawa Wednesday.
Due to safety concerns, Joly said she would not confirm if there were any Canadian hostages.
“I will not confirm whether Canada has any hostages because I don’t want to increase the value and put their lives in danger,” she said.
“What I can say is we’ve been in contact with the chief negotiator in Israel and Canada will be sending a team of experts to assist him in his work.”
— with files from Reuters.
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