Prominent Canadian peace advocate, Vivian Silver, tragically loses her life in Hamas assault

The death of Vivian Silver, an Israeli-Canadian peace advocate, has been confirmed. She lived in kibbutz Be'eri, near the border with Gaza, which was attacked by Hamas during the October 7th attacks. Remains were found at her house, but it took five weeks to formally identify them as hers. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly described Silver as a lifelong advocate for peace, and expressed Canada's mourning for her loss. Silver was known for her work with the movement Women Wage Peace, which aimed to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for a peace agreement in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Her family initially believed she had been kidnapped by Hamas and held captive in Gaza. However, evidence of a struggle or bullets was not found, leading them to believe she had been kidnapped. In her final communications with her son, Silver hid in a cupboard while armed men were moving through the kibbutz. She expressed her love for him and said her goodbyes before communication ceased. Silver's son believes that her death is a consequence of the ongoing war and a failure to strive for peace. Over 100 members of her kibbutz were killed in the attack. Calls for a humanitarian pause to allow aid into Gaza and the release of the hostages taken by Hamas have been increasing. Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that all the hostages must be released before considering a temporary truce. The attack by Hamas had resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, while the Hamas-run health ministry claims over 11,000 people have died in Gaza since.