Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Lebanese Albertans are desperately trying to get their loved ones to safety as Israel ramps up offensive air and ground strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Noor Kanafani’s parents and siblings live in a Beirut suburb that was bombed by Israeli forces this week.
“They are now displaced, they are hiding in the mountains, and they are just like predicting every day there are strikes and nobody knows what the next step is,” she said from her home in Calgary.
“They only live a second later.”
Kanafani has been trying to get them to Canada, but said it’s challenging to keep a flight and gather proper documentation in a war zone.
“We hope the Canadian government can help we are also asking for a ceasefire, to do something, innocent people are being killed every day,” he said.
Calgary Skyview Member of Parliament George Chahal said his constituency office has received a number of calls from Albertans who are worried about their family members still in Lebanon.
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He said he is encouraging everyone to try to get out while the airport is still open.
“The important thing is to get any documentation that is ready in, so we can help Canada get out as quickly as possible,” said the Liberal MP.
“We’ve already, while the airport is open, helped a lot of Canadians, we’re hoping to get so many more to safety and hopefully we can get a ceasefire and end the war,” Chahal said.
He would not say if there were any plans for the federal government to send chartered flights to help with the evacuation.
Calgary’s Jewish community is also feeling the grip of anxiety and trying to maintain close contact with loved ones, following Tuesday’s massive ballistic missile attack by Iran.
Israel said it intercepted the majority of the weapons.
“I’m online with my dad, my cousins, friends, making sure everyone is okay everyone is in the shelters my husband’s parents don’t have a bomb shelter so they’re hiding under their stairs,” said Ortal Luzon, Calgarian from Israel.
“It doesn’t leave you. It happens and even though we are here and they are there, it is a big part of our lives,” he said.
This week communities around the world mark Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year. But Luzon said they were being told to be vigilant.
“We’re not doing less but we’re definitely doing it more carefully, with more fear – we don’t feel like we can do it freely, but it’s still going to be done and that’s the strength of who we are as people. ,” she said.
Luzon said her greatest hope is peace. It is something that many who have been caused by this conflict agree on, but no one knows when or how that might happen.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10793787/middle-east-conflict-alberta-families/
