7 Canadians killed in Lebanon
Seven Canadians, including several members of the same Montreal family, were killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday as the Canadian government stepped up plans to evacuate the estimated 40,000 Canadians stranded in the war-torn region.
Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Ambra Dickie confirmed the seven deaths and said three other Canadians were injured in the attack, but declined to provide names or hometowns of the victims, citing privacy laws.
Earlier reports had said that eight Canadians died and six were injured.
Media reports out of Montreal indicated that six family members — an elderly man, his nephew’s wife and her four young children, — were killed while vacationing in the village of Aitarun, about 50 kilometres south of Beirut.
During a protest by hundreds of Lebanese-Canadians in Montreal, an unidentified woman said she had just learned that two of her family members were killed in the Israeli bombardment.
“My father, my uncle — they’re dead!” she screamed. “What’s happening?”
Hussein El-Akhras, who lost his father in the bombing, told all-news channel LCN in Montreal that Canadian Embassy officials in Lebanon did little to help his relatives evacuate.
“My cousin even tried through the Internet to contact the Canadian Embassy,” said El-Akhras. “But no response.”
He said his father and mother moved to Canada 15 years ago but returned to Lebanon every year for a visit. His mother was wounded in the bombing.
The elderly couple were joined on the trip this year by El-Akhras’s cousin’s wife and her four young children aged one, four, six and eight. All were killed.
El-Akhras pleaded with the Canadian government to intervene.
“It is not just us, there are a lot of civilians who have been killed,” he told the CBC. “Two hundred people are dead, 500 to 600 are wounded, the streets are closed. I am asking the international community to help, put pressure on Israel to stop the bombing.”
The deaths occurred as the federal government began organizing evacuation plans for Canadian citizens in Lebanon while the violence in the region continues to escalate.
Officials believe there are 40,000 Canadians in the country, but only 21,000 have registered with the Canadian Embassy in Beirut.
Still, the number of Canadians in Lebanon who have registered has more than doubled from 10,000 since the crisis began.
Commercial ships are being secured and will be positioned off the coast of the country to evacuate Canadians, said Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
“We’re putting in place a plan that will assist all Canadians who express the interest to leave Lebanon,” he said, adding that staff at the embassy are working around the clock.
With so many potential evacuees, it’s a logistical challenge to even answer all of the calls coming into the embassy, MacKay said.
He said the government is working to ensure safe passage of the evacuation vessels, and that he has spoken personally to the foreign affairs ministers from Israel and Lebanon.
MacKay declined to say where evacuated Canadians may be sent because of security concerns, but Dickie later indicated that Cyprus, an island nation about 200 kilometres to the west in the Mediterranean Sea, is a possible destination.
“The quickest option seems to be to bring Canadians to Cyprus, where onward transportation will be available,” she said.
Dickie would not discuss specifics of a potential rescue operation.
“We’re working on it, and if there’s any information, Canadians who are registered will be notified as soon as information is available,” she said.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Dan McTeague criticized the Conservative government for waiting until Sunday to announce evacuation plans.
“It’s a question of being slow in response and short on specifics,” he said. “We’re still a long shot away from what deployment will look like if (MacKay) does indeed have an evacuation plan.”
McTeague said all sides must work together to ensure Canadians being evacuated don’t become unwitting targets.
“Something at this level requires knowing who is most affected, ensuring that they receive the priority, and that the priority doesn’t just mean how to get them out of Lebanon, but out of harm’s way immediately,” he said.
Since the conflict erupted last week, the Foreign Affairs Department has advised Canadians in Lebanon to avoid open spaces, secure documents such as passports, and to wait for word from the government.
MacKay said Canada is working closely with British, American and French authorities to ensure the safety of their citizens.
“We really want to focus on emphasizing the protection of civilians ... the need to avoid further loss of life or harm to everyone in the region,” MacKay said.
Leaders of the G8 countries meeting in Russia issued a statement Sunday calling for the return of the Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah that incited the conflict.
The leaders also called for Israel to cease its attacks against Lebanon.
“Obviously, our concern right now is with the security of the thousands of Canadian citizens who are caught in this, particularly in Lebanon,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said from St. Petersburg.
Seven Canadians were killed, and six others were in critical condition, after an Israeli raid in Lebanon on Sunday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay announced. The deaths were believed to be the first recent casualties in Lebanon from any G8 country. 

Associated Press reports anonymous Lebanese officials saying the family of Canadians were killed at their home in the town of Aitaroun. Many Lebanese citizens have emigrated to Canada and often return to spend their summers in the south of Lebanon. 

Sixteen thousand Canadians have registered with the embassy in Beirut, but MacKay said the number of those present could be as high as 40,000.  "We're calling for restraint in all sectors right now and hope to be able to have those ships in place and citizens moving out of Lebanon as quickly as possible." MacKay said. 

Parliament Hill demonstrators in Ottawa on Sunday protested the Harper government's position regarding the ongoing strikes.  One placard declared, "Killing children is not a 'measured response'," referring to the G8 statement released earlier.

During a protest in Montréal on Sunday, one woman said she had just been informed that two of her family members were killed in the Israeli air strike. The unnamed woman screamed "My father, my uncle — they're dead. What's happening?" She said her family members were in the Middle East for a summer vacation.

The deaths occurred on the fifth day of Israel's military attacks in Lebanon, instigated by the capture of 2 Israeli soldiers and killing of 8 others by the Shiite Hezbollah in a cross-border attack. The fighting has caused at least 148 fatalities in Lebanon and 23 in Israel.