At least 22 Americans have been killed, the State Department said Wednesday. White House spokesman John Kirby said 17 Americans remain unaccounted for, but he added that officials believe most of them were not taken by Hamas.
The number of Americans killed could rise along with the overall death toll in Israel, a testament to the close ties and history of immigration that link the two countries.
Canadian officials said Wednesday that two Canadians have been killed, one is presumed dead, and three are missing.
A Mexican man and woman are believed to be among those held captive in Gaza, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena tweeted Sunday morning. The newspaper El Universal reported that the pair had been vacationing in Israel.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that 20 Thai nationals were killed. The ministry said it also believes that 14 Thais are among the hostages, judging by reports from its citizens in Israel.
Seven Argentines were killed and 15 were missing as of Monday evening, according to the Argentine Embassy in Israel.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that France’s Foreign Ministry said a French woman had died in Israel and that the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens were injured, one critically, during shelling in the coastal city of Ashkelon.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who traveled to Israel on Wednesday, told journalists on Tuesday that “a significant number of British-Israeli dual nationals have been involved,” without providing specific numbers.
The BBC, citing an unnamed official source, reported Wednesday that 17 British nationals may have been killed or abducted.
One Irish national with dual Israeli citizenship is missing in Israel, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs told the Irish Times, adding that the Irish government was in touch with her family.
It isn’t clear if all of the foreign nationals were simply vacationing or whether any were studying or working in Israel or had dual citizenship. Some may have been serving in the Israel Defense Forces. A foreign national serving in the IDF is referred to as a “chayal boded,” which translates to “lone soldier.”
According to the Lone Soldier Center, there are over 7,000 lone soldiers serving in the IDF, with about 45 percent of these soldiers being new immigrants coming from all over the world. Tour groups of Jewish youths are taken to see the gravesite of IDF Sgt. Michael Levin, a Philadelphian who died in 2006 and has since become the symbol of the lone soldier.
There are multiple reasons foreign nationals would be in Israel beyond serving in its military.
Israel was conceived of as the Jewish state after the Holocaust, but the country has received massive international assistance to grow into a world-class hub for technology and scientific innovation, as seen through its universities and private sectors. The nation draws researchers and the tech-minded to the Middle East, even those who aren’t Jewish.
The country is also a tourism draw. Israel is the cradle of all three Abrahamic religions but also has many sites of historical cultural significance for those who don’t practice those faiths.
Mary Beth Sheridan, Andrea Salcedo, Amanda Coletta, Annabelle Timsit, Joanna Slater and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux contributed to this report.
