Vancouver man missing in Southern Israel amid ongoing conflict

A Vancouver man is missing in Southern Israel as fighting between Hamas and Israel forces continues.

Ben Mizrachi was reported missing by his former school King David High School in Vancouver.

“Please say extra prayers for King David alumnus, Ben Mizrachi, class of 2018, who was attending an event in the South and is missing,” the school wrote in a Facebook post Saturday.

The Centre for Israeli Jewish Affairs confirmed Mizrachi’s disappearance to CityNews, saying it had few details to share as Mizrachi’s family is asking for privacy.

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Meantime, Nico Slobinksy, vice president of the Centre for Israeli Jewish Affairs, says his family in Tel Aviv was forced to flee for their lives as fighting broke out.

Slobinksy says his father is currently staying in a bomb shelter as rockets continue to fall, and his sister was lucky to make it out alive after being in a conflict zone when the fighting broke out.

“She was attending a music festival, a festival for peace, that was being celebrated in the south of Israel,” he said. “She had to run for her life.”

Slobinsky says he’s one of the lucky ones, knowing his family is now safe. But he says he fears the conflict will only get worse in the days to come.

“Every day Israelis and Palestinians want peace, to provide for their families and carry on with their lives,” he said.