A 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 Alaga told the Canadian press from Chicago that her uncle and two of her cousins born in the United States are among the missing.

Alaga said that Ahmad Alaga was born in Canada, lived in Toronto with his two sons born in the United States, Burak (18 years old) and Hashim (20 years old), before they moved to Gaza in the mid-2000s.

She confirmed that the three men hold Canadian citizenship and were kidnapped by Israeli forces early Thursday.

She added, "They have many people asking about them in Canada; they left a great impression on their community there when they lived in Toronto."

She pointed out that the three younger children, who are also Canadian citizens, and their mother Samar, who has permanent residence in Canada, were not taken.

In an interview conducted on Thursday, she criticized Canada's response to the incident, condemning the lack of urgency and poor communication.

The Canadian Global Affairs Ministry said it is aware of reports of missing Canadian citizens.

The ministry confirmed that 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 Alaga's criticisms.

Alaga said 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.

She added that soldiers restrained the women and children in the family, blindfolded them, and placed them outside the house.

Alaga continued that the three men, along with their mentally disabled uncle and two other male relatives, were kidnapped by the Israelis and are still missing.

Men from a neighboring family were also taken. The same applies to other adult male relatives from another family in Alaga, bringing the total to 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 were held or where they are being held by Israeli forces.

John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said the administration "will talk with our Israeli counterparts" about the reported arrests.

The State Department said on Thursday it is seeking more information about the reported arrests. It cited privacy concerns for the brothers for not commenting further.

More than 27,000 Palestinians, the majority civilians, have been killed in the ongoing Israeli military assault on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials in Hamas-controlled territories.

The latest war began when Hamas militants overran Israel four months ago, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages.

Nearly 85 percent of Gaza's population has been displaced during the conflict, with large numbers now gathered in the area outside the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

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

Alaga said she succeeded in getting her grandparents out of Gaza because they are Canadian citizens, but she criticized Canadian officials for being hard to reach at the time.

She said the same problem appeared this week, claiming that Global Affairs Canada is not taking the situation seriously.

"Canada has been giving very typical responses," Alaga said. "We haven’t received anything substantial."

"It doesn’t seem to respond to how urgent the issue is for the lives of these endangered Canadians."

This news comes as a Canadian-Palestinian who had disappeared in the Gaza Strip appeared on Monday after two weeks of losing contact with his relatives.

Mansour Shoman chose not to follow his wife and children in leaving Gaza, instead staying to document the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli forces are said to have kidnapped Shoman, although he said in a video posted online that he had instead left his phone behind as he went to check on a project, then had to take shelter in multiple locations during a series of attacks.

Alaga said she hopes her relatives arrive safely. For now, she is angry with Ottawa’s "hypocritical" statements about prioritizing the safety of citizens abroad.

She said, "The Canadian government has a duty to protect citizens abroad, and it is totally failing in this duty—it feels like a betrayal."