Canadian Palestinian citizen journalist missing in Gaza for 2 weeks turns up alive
Mansour Shouman posted a new video in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
A Canadian Palestinian citizen journalist who has been missing for more than two weeks and had been feared dead has turned up alive in Gaza.
Mansour Shouman, who has reached millions of English speakers through his daily social media updates on the conflict, posted a new video in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
"Over two weeks ago, on one early morning, I had gone out with a team of volunteers … West to check on the progress of our tent project there," Shouman said in the video filmed outside Nasser Hospital.
He said that his team left all of their electronic devices behind in order to make it difficult for them to be tracked by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), cutting them off from friends and family.
During the trek, Shouman said his team came under sniper fire and were hemmed in by tanks, requiring them to go on the run to stay alive.
"We had to run for cover and for the last two weeks we have been going from house to house," he said in the video posted to Instagram.
"I want to thank ... the team at large, thank my family for all the support that you have shown us over the last four months and the support for the work that has continued over the last two weeks, which needs to continue," he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she has spoken with Israel Katz, Israel's foreign affairs minister, and with Canada's diplomats in Ramallah in the West Bank about the plight of Shouman and said she is hoping to speak with Mansour's mother later Tuesday.
Watch: 'Good news,' Joly says after missing Canadian Palestinian journalist posts video:
Shadi Sakr, a member of the volunteer team in Canada that helps Shouman post videos online, told CBC News last month that the last time Shouman was heard from was Jan. 21 at 3:02 p.m. ET, when he sent back a video from Khan Younis.
Sakr and Zaheera Soomar, another member of the Canadian team supporting Shouman, previously told media outlets that witnesses reported seeing Shouman being taken into custody by the IDF, but Tuesday's video makes no mention of that, saying instead that he and his team spent the two weeks on the move.
Soomar told CBC News Tuesday that his team initially made contact with Mansour on Feb. 5 and informed the federal government and National Council of Canadian Muslims before posting Mansour's video. He said his team will be working with the federal government to ensure Mansour's safety.
Deciding to stay behind
Shouman has been a Canadian citizen since 2006. Two of his five children were born in Canada, but the family went back to the Palestinian territory last year after seven years in Calgary to be closer to family.
In November, Shouman's wife and their children fled the besieged Palestinian territory for the United Arab Emirates. Shouman decided to stay.
Shouman's decision to remain behind during the ongoing war was based on a number of factors. Having lived in the West and being able to communicate in English, he said he felt a need to remain in Gaza and communicate with the outside world about what's going on.
Since then, he has reached millions of English speakers through his daily social media updates on the conflict. He has also spoken to a number of Western media outlets, including CBC News.
Watch: Canadian citizen journalist missing in Gaza:
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With files from the CBC's Jim Brown, Darren Major