Eyewitnesses report that Mansour Shouman, a Palestinian-Canadian aid worker, has allegedly been disappeared by Israeli occupation forces. Shouman went missing last week while attempting to flee to Rafah after Israeli forces surrounded the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza’s Khan Yunis.
Activists managing Shouman’s social media channels have been updating followers on his situation, indicating that he may have been abducted by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) based on multiple eyewitness accounts. According to reports, Shouman was taken away while traversing a safe passage between Khan Yunis and Rafah on January 23, 2024.
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Urgent calls for action have been made for Shouman’s safety and swift return to his family. Protests demanding his release have erupted in Canada, with his mother attending an event in Calgary and urging attendees not to forget her son, emphasizing his civilian status and humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
Shouman’s wife and five children were among the first Canadians evacuated from Gaza in November. In a previous interview with the BBC, Shouman expressed his commitment to remaining in Gaza to document the plight of its people. He stated, “As long as 2.3 million people are suffering, I believe that it is my religious obligation, my humanitarian obligation to stay and tell the story about what is happening.“