Knife-wielding Canadian shot dead near Israel-Gaza border

Israel’s Interior Ministry said the 22-year-old man entered the country on a tourist visa. Police described the Canadian as a terrorist

Reading Time:1 minute

Israeli Police investigate an attempted stabbing attack at the entrance to Netiv Haasara, north of the Gaza border in southern Israel on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 1:59am, 23 Jul 2024

A knife-wielding Canadian citizen was shot dead by Israeli guards near the boundary with Gaza, the Israeli army and police said, in a rare incident that may have been linked to international protests against the war in the Palestinian territory.

An official with Israel’s Interior Ministry said on Monday that the 22-year-old man, who has not been identified, entered the country on a tourist visa. The Canadian embassy had no immediate comment, saying it would refer Bloomberg’s queries to Ottawa.

CCTV footage circulated on social media and unverified by Bloomberg appeared to show three security guards with guns shooting a man who approached them at the gate of the Israeli village of Netiv HaAsara. The community is a quarter of a mile from Gaza, and was one of those targeted by Hamas-led militants during the October 7 attack that left about 1,200 people dead and triggered the continuing conflict.

Israeli first responders investigate an attempted stabbing attack at the entrance to Netiv Haasara, north of the Gaza border in southern Israel on Monday. Photo: AP

A police spokesman described the Canadian as a terrorist and said he was killed in the incident. There were no other casualties, the spokesman said.

Israel’s war against Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 invasion has triggered protests around the world, including in the US, in part because of the toll on Palestinian civilians. About 38,000 people have died in the near nine-month air and ground campaign, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.