Children among 17 Britons feared dead or missing after Hamas attack in Israel, UK official reveals

Up to 17 British citizens, including several children, are missing and may have been killed in Israel amid Hamas’ surprise attack at the weekend, an unnamed government official has revealed.

The shocking revelation, made to the BBC, comes after Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Tuesday that a ‘significant number’ of British-Israeli dual nationals had been caught up in the fighting.

Two British men were previously confirmed to be among the hundreds of civilians killed by Hamas terrorists, one of whom – 20-year-old Nathanel Young – served in the Israeli army.

And British-born woman Savion Kiper (30) was also confirmed dead after the Palestinian militant group opened fire on crowds in the Negev desert on Saturday. Her fiancé, Dor Shafir, is still missing.

Among the Britons killed by the terrorists is also Glaswegian Bernard Cowen (57), who lived in Israel with his wife and two children. On Sunday, he was identified by family members as ‘killed in cow’s blood’ by Hamas terrorists.

Although more than 1,000 Israelis were killed or taken hostage, a variety of foreign nationals were caught up in the brutal attacks.

Many of the missing foreigners were at an electronic music festival in the southern Israeli desert, where scores of revelers died.

Briton Jake Marlowe (26) was one of the 260 civilians killed at the Nova festival. Marlowe, who went to the same London school as Young, left desperate messages to friends while providing security at the festival near the Gaza border.

His mother told the Jewish News on Sunday that the last message she got from her son was one saying he loved her.

She said: ‘He was doing security at this rave yesterday and called me at 4.30am to say all these rockets were flying over.

‘Then at around 5.30am he sent a text to say, “very bad signal, all right, will keep you posted, I promise you”, and that he loved me.’

Marlowe’s devastated family said they had not heard from him since Saturday morning.

He moved to Israel two years ago and lived in the city of Ma’alot, which is in the north of Israel.

He was reportedly working as a security guard at a music festival in Kibbutz Re’im, a suburb in the city of Okafim, about three miles from the Gaza border.

Another British victim, photographer Dan Darlington, is also believed to have died after a relative of his German girlfriend Carolin Bohl – also missing – received information from a man working in the kibbutz that the bodies of the two had been identified.

The couple was last heard from hiding in a bunker in Nir Or, a kibbutz in southern Israel, according to Carolin Bohl’s brother-in-law Sam Pasquesi.

Heartbreaking photos on Instagram show the couple laughing together shortly before they disappeared during the deadly attack on Israel.

The first British victim to be identified was 20-year-old Corporal Nathanel Young from London, who died on Saturday while serving in the 13th battalion of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The former pupil at the JFS Jewish school in Kenton, North London, lived in the Bayit Shel Benji solitary confinement home in Raanana, according to the Jewish News.

Mr Young’s family said in a statement that he was ‘full of life and the life of the party’.

They added: ‘He loved his family and friends and was loved by all. He loved music and was a talented DJ.

‘Always willing to go to any lengths for his loved ones – a wonderful uncle and brother. He was so happy and thriving in Israel. He loved the country.’

Eliot Young, his brother, told Sky News: ‘Nathanel always had strong Jewish pride. From an early age he always wanted to play an important role in defending his country – it’s something he talked about a lot.’

Thailand suffered one of the heaviest losses, with 20 citizens confirmed dead, 13 wounded and 14 estimated to have been kidnapped, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

There are about 30,000 Thais in Israel, most of whom work in the agricultural sector, according to government figures.

More than 5,000 have asked to be repatriated, according to the foreign ministry.

President Joe Biden of the United States said at the White House that “at least 14 American citizens have been killed” and “we now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas.”

Ten citizens of Nepal were killed in Kibbutz Alumim, one of the flashpoints of the Hamas attack, the Himalayan republic’s embassy in Tel Aviv said on Sunday.

Four others were treated in hospital while a search was underway for a fifth person, the embassy added.

Kibbutz Alumim was housing 17 students at the time of the attack.

Eight French citizens were killed, the French government said on Tuesday, warning that the death toll was likely to rise.

Twenty people remain missing and some of them are likely to have been kidnapped, the statement said.

Argentina’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that seven of the country’s citizens had been killed and 15 others were missing.

At least four Russian-Israelis were killed, the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv said.

It said it had no information about any hostages, but that six Russian citizens were missing.

Three Israelis of Chilean origin were killed, with one missing.

Germany, Ireland, Ukraine, Canada, Cambodia, Mexico, Colombia, Austria, Italy, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and Tanzania also announced citizens dead or missing.

Several dual German-Israeli citizens were kidnapped at the Nova festival on Saturday, a German foreign ministry source said on Sunday.

The mother of 22-year-old Shani Louk – a tattoo artist whose disappearance has received significant media exposure – told news channel Der Spiegel that she recognized her daughter in videos circulating online showing a woman in the back of a van in Gaza show. filled with armed men.

Ricarda Louk told Spiegel that her daughter was at a music festival near Gaza.