"He died a hero": Montreal man among those killed in Israel amid Hamas attacks
Montreal parents say their son was killed amid attacks from Hamas militants in Israel on Saturday.
In an emotional post on Facebook, Alain Look confirmed that his son Alexandre Look was among the hundreds of people killed at an electronic music festival near the Gaza-Israel border.
“He died today in Israel following a terrorist attack,” reads the post, which Daily Hive translated from French to English. “Like a real warrior, he died a hero, protecting the people he was with.”
The father went on to say how Look was a “force of nature” and that the world won’t be the same without him.
Mother Raquel Ohnona told French-Canadian news network Noovo Info that she was on a video call with her son on Saturday while they were being attacked by Hamas.
“We thought there were rockets, so we advised him to find shelter quickly, because he was in a car and we heard that they were shooting at cars and anything that moved,” Ohnona recounted in an interview on Monday.
She says the sounds on the other end of the call were like “a horror movie” with gunshots in the distance until she heard nothing at all.
“Then I understood very well,” said Ohnona.
According to an obituary posted on Sunday, Look was from CĂ´te Saint-Luc in Montreal.
The tribute says he was a beloved figure in the community.
“Many of us have known him since he was a young boy, and even then, he exhibited a unique charisma and unparalleled generosity that left a lasting impression,” it reads.
“His smile could light up a room, and his kind-hearted nature made him a friend to everyone he met.”
Another Canadian from Vancouver was confirmed to have been killed by Hamas in Israel.
On Sunday, Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of a Canadian who died and two others who are missing. Daily Hive has reached out to the agency for an update on the death toll in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
According to Global Affairs, 1,419 Canadians are registered with the Registration of Canadians Abroad in the state of Israel as of Sunday afternoon, and 492 Canadians are registered in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, more Canadians outside the country may not have registered with the service.
On Saturday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country is at war after militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip fired thousands of rockets and Hamas fighters infiltrated the border in several locations.
This escalation is a culmination of hundreds of years of conflict between the Israeli government and Palestinian militant groups.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israel’s land, air and sea blockade since 2007, confining over two million people in what has been deemed the world’s largest open-air prison by human rights groups.
With files from Nikitha Martins