A man whose grandparents were killed in the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon says now is the time for Canada to begin evacuating its citizens from the country.
Ali Hreich said he found out Tuesday from his uncle that his grandparents, Hussein and Daad Tabaja, were dead after the car they were travelling in was struck, and he had to break the news to his distraught parents.
READ MORE: Trudeau urges de-escalation after Israeli attacks in Lebanon
The two were travelling from Kfartibneet to Beirut to seek out safety as the Israeli air assault began. They had been reported missing for the previous 12 hours, and cell phone reception in the country is spotty.
With the family unable to reach them, Hreich said his uncle had ventured out on foot to find his grandparents after being told they were travelling.
“I wake my sister to take her to school. I had two missed calls from my other uncle that lives in Bahrain. I called him back and he told me that they passed away due to Israeli airstrike. And so I was the one that had to break the news to my dad, my mom, which was alone very hard,” he said in an interview.
Global Affairs Canada on Wednesday confirmed the deaths of two Canadian citizens in Lebanon, while three others are injured.
Hreich said his grandparents, who had to be identified by DNA testing, already survived three separate bombings by Israel. Both were Canadian citizens who had returned to Lebanon after their eldest children left home, he said.
The most recent attacks by Israel have killed at least 558 people in Lebanon. Israel says it’s targeting Hezbollah sites, claiming the terror group is hiding weapons in residential areas. But many Lebanese supporters say the attacks are disproportionately killing civilians unaffiliated with Hezbollah, including the elderly and children.
Lebanon’s health minister said the attacks are causing “carnage,” with hospitals struggling to keep up with the number of casualties.
Hreich said now is the time for Canada to start evacuations.
“I think definitely right now is the time before things escalate. And things have already escalated, because Hezbollah… declared war yesterday. So now things are already worse,” he said, adding that no one from the Canadian government has reached out to his family.
“Right now… especially, is the time for the Canadian government to step up and help the people there that need help.”
However, no such plans for evacuations have been announced, with the Canadian government telling those in Lebanon to leave while they can.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly on Wednesday said Canada has been preparing for months for an evacuation, securing agreements with key countries to facilitate such an effort.
But she said nothing has been ordered yet and urged Canadians in Lebanon to leave the country now, saying Canada has upped the number of staff to help process documents needed to return.
“That’s why we are ready… if things escalate.”
But Hreich said that’s easier said than done. Many commercial flights out of the country have been cancelled owing to the uncertain security situation.
He said his uncle, who’s also a Canadian citizen, is looking to leave to join other family in Bahrain, but his flights out of Lebanon have been cancelled three separate times. He’s booked a flight to Bahrain for Monday though Hreich said he’s not sure the flight will leave.
READ MORE: Two Canadians dead in Lebanon, as Liberal MP urges more action for de-escalation
Back in Ottawa, one Liberal MP pressed the Trudeau government to urge others to end the conflict.
Prior to his party’s caucus meeting on Wednesday, Liberal MP Fayçal El-Khoury, who was born in Lebanon, said Canada needs to push its peer countries more to stop a cycle of violence in the Middle East, or it could lead to a world war.
He says his cousin who works as an ophthalmologist in Beirut saw shocking amounts of bodily trauma in a recent explosion, with numerous people requiring their eyes to be removed.
The Montreal-area MP says the Port of Beirut must be protected from attacks, as it might be the only means of evacuating thousands of Canadians if that is required.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for de-escalation by Israel and Hezbollah and an end to the violence.
“We are devastated by the loss of two Canadians, but the entire Lebanese people are suffering right now. Women, children, innocents suffering terrible violence [and] fear. ”
with files from the Canadian Press
