British man ‘missing near Gaza’ following Hamas attack on festival

Embassy spokesperson: ‘We don’t know for sure that he is taken hostage or dead or in a hospital’. (AFP Filephoto)
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Updated 08 October 2023
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British man ‘missing near Gaza’ following Hamas attack on festival

  • Jack Marlowe, 26, was working as security at event near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel
  • Embassy spokesperson: ‘We don’t know for sure that he is taken hostage or dead or in a hospital’ 

LONDON: A British man who was working as a bouncer at a music festival in Israel is missing following the attack by Hamas on Saturday.

The Israeli Embassy in London said Jake Marlowe, 26, is “missing near Gaza” and has not been heard from since Saturday morning, when the Palestinian militant group launched a series of raids across the south of the country.

An embassy spokesperson said: “He is missing, we don’t know for sure that he is taken hostage or dead or in a hospital.”

The festival near the village of Kibbutz Re’im was abandoned by thousands of people after gunmen attacked, with several people dead and numerous others abducted and reportedly taken to Gaza.

Marlowe’s mother Lisa told Jewish News: “He was doing security at this rave and called me at 4.30 a.m. to say all these rockets were flying over.

“Then, at about 5.30 a.m., he texted to say, ‘signal very bad, everything OK, will keep you updated I promise you,’ and that he loves me.”

Marlowe has lived in Israel for two years, residing in the city of Ma’alot.

The Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely told Sky News that a British citizen is among those to have been taken to Gaza, but this has not been officially confirmed.

“I know that Israel is doing everything to make sure all the people being kept hostage at the moment in the hands of Hamas will be released,” she said.


China’s foreign minister pledges deeper Ethiopia cooperation

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China’s foreign minister pledges deeper Ethiopia cooperation

  • Wang Yi met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as part of his Africa tour
BEIJING: China’s Foreign Minister ​Wang Yi met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday ‌and called for ‌greater ‌cooperation ⁠in ​infrastructure, ‌green industry, the digital economy and other fields, the Chinese foreign ⁠ministry said.
Wang, who ‌is on ‍an ‍annual New ‍Year tour of Africa, said China is willing ​to enhance alignment of ⁠development strategies with Ethiopia to promote their “all-weather strategic partnership” to new heights. (Reporting by Shi Bu, Xiuhao Chen ‌and Ryan Woo; Editing by Andrew ‌Heavens)