Seven Canadians Killed In Lebanon

The five-day conflict, sparked by the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers during a cross border raid by the militant group Hezbollah, has claimed at least 148 lives in Lebanon – mostly civilians. Twenty-three people have died in Israel, including 15 civilians.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay confirmed the seven Canadians were killed and three others were critically wounded in Sunday’s air strike in the town of Aitaroun near the Israeli border.

The Canadians that were killed were from the same family and were reportedly visiting the town for summer holidays.

The Canadian government is working to get citizens out of Lebanon and is sending in commercial ships to evacuate them. There are an estimated 40,000 Canadians in Lebanon.

There are 16,000 Canadians currently registered in the country, but officials say there is likely two to three times that amount there.

For more information on what the Canadian government is doing to help citizens in Lebanon, click here.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague, the former parliamentary secretary for Canadians abroad, criticized the government’s limited reaction to the crisis and the government’s response to the military action.

“Canada can play an extremely important role as a broker between the two rather than simply playing catch-up as they are today regrettably with the lives of Canadians at stake,” he said.

“Our foreign affairs department is one of the best in the world. They have the capability but it seems they have a lack of political direction and it takes the lives of eight or nine Canadians for them to act. That is unacceptable. It’s time for Mr. Harper and Mr. MacKay to stand up for Canadians.”

Italy has brought in military planes to evacuate some 350 people, including Spaniards, Italians, Australians, Czechs, and Irish, to Cyprus and other Western countries are stepping up efforts to get their citizens out of the region as the situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate.

The United States is currently trying to figure out how it can get 25,000 Americans out of Lebanon.

Sunday’s air strikes knocked out power across Beirut and demolished buildings in the capital. Israel increased the bombardment in retaliation for deadly rocket attacks that killed eight people in the northern Israeli city of Haifa Saturday night.

There is concern more countries could become involved in the conflict as Israel has accused Iran and Syria – known for their support of Hezbollah – of providing guerrilla fighters with rockets.

The Syrian government has warned of an “unlimited” response if Israel attacks it.

• If you’re trying to find out the status of loved ones in Lebanon, you can call Canadian Foreign Affairs at 1-800-267-6788.