A Canadian-Israeli peace activist believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas was actually killed in the bloody attack on Israeli soil on October 7th.
Vivian Silver, 74, grew up in Winnipeg but left the Manitoba capital half a century ago to live in Israel near the Gaza border, where she advocated and worked to provide humanitarian aid to residents of the Palestinian enclave.
Her son, Yonatan Show, confirmed to CTV and CBC that his mother’s body was identified Monday at Kibbutz Be’eri, where she lived. This small village was one of the main targets of Hamas, which killed around 120 people and took dozens of residents hostage.
The Israeli consulate in Toronto also confirmed the Canadian’s death, as did Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.
“Vivian Silver was a proud Israeli-Canadian and lifelong peace activist. I met her son in Tel Aviv and he described her as a kind, generous and selfless person,” the minister wrote on the social network X.
Vivian Silver was a proud Israeli-Canadian and lifelong peace activist. I met her son in Tel Aviv and he described her as a kind, generous and selfless person. Canada mourns his loss with him and his loved ones.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) November 14, 2023
Because Ms. Silver was not among the first victims of the attack in the days after October 7, her relatives feared that she was among the terrorist group’s hostages.
Her son said that during the attack, Ms. Silver took refuge in a closet, where she stayed in touch with him via text message.
The Hamas attack in Israel left around 1,200 people dead, while around 200 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip, according to a recently revised Israeli government tally.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a ground offensive against the enclave, alongside increasing bombing raids. According to Hamas, this offensive has so far killed at least 11,000 people, including thousands of children.