Canadian peace activist Vivian Silver was murdered by Hamas, son says

The son of a Canadian peace activist who went missing after Hamas’ attack in Israel last month has confirmed his mother’s death, saying she was murdered by Hamas during the militant group’s deadly attack on Oct. 7.

Winnipeg-born Vivian Silver, 74, was believed to have been one of the 239 hostages from Israel taken by Hamas that day.

One of her two sons, Yonatan Zeigen, told CTV News Silver was killed by Hamas during Hamas’ initial surprise attack.

Heather McPherson, NDP’s foreign affairs critic, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying she is “devastated” to learn about the activist’s murder.

Silver was living in Kibbutz Be’eri, on the edge of the Gaza Strip. She had left her home in Winnipeg more than 50 years ago to live in Israel and work on peace initiatives.

Zeigen, who resides in Tel Aviv, said it was his mother’s mission to bring peace to the region.

After retiring as CEO of an organization that promoted peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Silver was involved in another organization of women with a similar goal, he said in an interview with CTV National News’ Adrian Ghobrial last month, shortly after his mother was kidnapped.

At one point, Silver volunteered with a group that drove Palestinian patients from Gaza to Israeli hospitals for medical care, he said.

Hamas militants stormed Israel on Oct. 7 and commenced the deadliest attack the country has seen in decades, killing more than 1,200 people and taking upwards of 200 people hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Following the attack, the Israeli government declared war in a campaign to crush Hamas.

In the six weeks since, more than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has pegged the Palestinian death toll beyond 11,000 people, two-thirds of them women and minors.

This is a breaking news story, more to come.

With files from the Canadian Press and CTV National News’ Adrian Ghobrial