Palestinian Canadians
A man walk nears rubble of a destroyed medical clinic and other civilian structures near Khan Younis, Gaza. (Photo credit: Dreamstime)

Zahir Zeid, a Canadian of Palestinian descent, was in Winnipeg for business when the war began. His wife and four children — ages nine, seven, four, and two — were living in the West Bank at the time. 

Zeid met his wife, who wishes to remain anonymous, in Winnipeg 13 years ago. They had decided this summer that they would spend a year living in the West Bank to meet Zeid’s family and immerse themselves in Palestinian culture. 

They had been there only 65 days when Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, October 7. 

“I saw what was happening and called my daughter [in the West Bank] right away, who didn’t even know what was going on,” said Jan Currier, Zeid’s mother in law. “She turned on the TV and found out. From that moment on, it was nonstop communication to make sure the family was safe.” 

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Fin DePencier is a journalist, photographer and filmmaker based in Toronto. Over the past few years, he has reported on the ground from Ukraine, Armenia, Lebanon and Kazakhstan as a correspondent for Palladium...