A 22-year-old Vancouver man was among hundreds killed in a terrorist attack at a music festival in Israel.
Ben Mizrachi attended the Tribe of Nova music festival in Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7, which coincided with the Jewish festival of Sukkot. Thousands of people from around the world came together to celebrate and dance in a large field in the southern part of Israel near the border of the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip is one of the Palestinian territories in Israel; the others include the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestinian militant group Hamas opened fire at the festival and other places in the southern part of Israel for hours, gunning down civilians and snatching people in towns. The rescue service Zaka said it removed about 260 bodies from the festival, and that number was expected to rise. Hostages were also taken during the attack, but the number of people who were taken is unknown.
The event is believed to be the worst civilian massacre in Israeli history.
On Sunday, Israel declared war on Palestine.
Vancouver remembers Ben Mizrachi
King David High School, a Jewish high school in Vancouver, mourned the loss of Mizrachi over the weekend. He was an alumnus of the community school and took a trip with classmates to Israel in Grade Eight.
In a Facebook post, the school wrote that the young man was "larger than life" with a "big big personality that matched his size," adding that he was joyful and always smiling.
"Ben was a friend to everyone and was so proud of his service in the IDF," they wrote. "May Ben's memory be for a blessing."
Mizrachi is survived by his parents, Dikla and Itzik, and his siblings, Neeve, Maya, and Dan. His funeral will take place on Wednesday at Kvutzat Yavneh.
Vancouver Granville MP Taleeb Noormohammed called Mizrachi "a wonderful young man" from his riding and offered "heartfelt condolences and prayers" to his family, friends, loved ones, and the community.
"May his memory be a blessing," he added in a post on X.
A man from Montreal is also believed to be among the victims of an attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend, according to his family.
Alain Haim Look said in a social media post that his son Alexandre Look was killed in Israel on Saturday while trying to save those around them.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the attacks, saying "these acts of violence are completely unacceptable. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to defend itself."
The attack by Hamas over the weekend, and Israel's response, had left nearly 1,600 dead and thousands wounded on both sides by late Monday, with that number climbing rapidly.
With files from Maria Diment and the Canadian Press.
