The family of three Canadian men said they were taken from their home in the Gaza Strip during a nighttime raid carried out by Israeli forces, while Ottawa confirmed it is aware of reports that citizens may be missing.

Yasmin Al-Agha told the Canadian press from Chicago that her uncle and two of her cousins born in the United States are among the missing.

Al-Agha added that Ahmed Al-Agha was born in Canada and lived in Toronto with his two sons born in the United States, Burak (18 years old) and Hashem (20 years old), before they moved to Gaza in the mid-2000s, and that the three men hold Canadian citizenship and were kidnapped by Israeli forces early Thursday.

Al-Agha explained: “They have many people asking about them in Canada. They left a great impression on their community there when they lived in Toronto.”

She added that the three younger children, who are also Canadian citizens, and their mother Samar, who has permanent residence in Canada, were not taken, and criticized Canada’s response to the incident in an interview on Thursday, condemning the lack of urgency and poor communication.

The Canadian Global Affairs Ministry said it is aware of reports indicating Canadian citizens have disappeared, and it is providing consular assistance to the family but cannot share more due to privacy considerations.

Global Affairs did not immediately respond to further questions about the number of Canadian citizens believed to be missing and Al-Agha’s criticisms.

Al-Agha pointed out that Israeli forces entered the family’s home in the Al-Mawasi area, near the southern city of Khan Younis, around 5 a.m. Gaza time on Thursday, and soldiers restrained the women and children in the family, blindfolded them, and put them outside the house.

Al-Agha said that the three, along with their mentally disabled uncle and two other male relatives, were kidnapped by the Israelis and are still missing, and men from a neighboring family were also taken, as were other adult male relatives from another family, totaling about 20 people, according to the American cousin.

She described them as hostages, not detainees, noting the family’s lack of information about why they are being held or their whereabouts by Israeli forces.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration “will talk to our Israeli counterparts” regarding the reported arrests.

In the same context, the State Department said on Thursday it is seeking more information about the reported arrests, citing privacy concerns regarding the brothers for not commenting further.

Foreign nationals, including Canadians, had been able to leave the besieged area via the heavily controlled border crossing, but only on certain dates and after a vague vetting process involving multiple governments.

Al-Agha said she managed to get her grandparents out of Gaza because they are Canadian citizens, but criticized Canadian officials for being difficult to reach at that time, and said the same problem appeared this week, claiming that Global Affairs Canada is not taking the situation seriously.

This news comes as a Canadian Palestinian who had disappeared in the Gaza Strip after two weeks of losing contact with his relatives appeared on Monday; Mansour Shoman chose not to follow his wife and children in leaving Gaza, instead staying to document the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian area amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

It was said that Israeli forces kidnapped Shoman, although he said in a video posted online that instead he left his phone behind while heading to inspect a project, then had to take shelter in several locations during a series of attacks.

Al-Agha said she hopes her relatives arrive safely, and for now, she is angry at Ottawa’s “hypocritical” statements about prioritizing the safety of citizens abroad.

She added: “The Canadian government has a duty to protect citizens abroad, and it completely fails in this duty; it feels like a betrayal.