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A Canadian man who lived in Windsor, Ont., was killed last week by Israeli forces outside the family’s home in southern Lebanon, his family says.
Mohamad Hussain Haidar says his 38-year-old brother Hassan Haidar went to Lebanon in November to be with his wife and five children and care for the horses he raised on family property.
Haidar moved his wife and kids to a safer place in Lebanon and stayed behind to tend to his horses amid Israeli attacks in the region, his brother told a news conference on Monday.
He said Haidar was on the phone with his wife last Thursday when he heard cries for help coming from outside. A man who helped take care of the horses was shot by a drone and when Haidar went out to help, he was shot in the head and also killed, Haidar’s brother said.
Israel intensified attacks on Lebanon last week amid its renewed war with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll has exceeded 1,700 people since the outbreak of the war.
Haidar’s sister Fatima said her parents immigrated with her and six siblings to Canada 20 years ago from Qana in Lebanon, looking to escape the armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah at the time.
“Our brother Hassan (is) the second born in this family, a very social, kind man, educated. He’s a mechanical engineer,” she said Monday. “Myself and Hussein and Hassan were only a year apart in age. We grew up inseparable.”
She said her late brother was an animal lover.
“He loved his horses, and everybody that knows Hassan knows how much love and care he has for his horses,” she said.
“He had a dream of having the biggest horse farm in Lebanon. He risked his life to care for his animals that he loved and not leave them behind because he had no means of moving them to a safe place.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she was made aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in southern Lebanon. She extended her condolences to the family in a social media post and said Global Affairs Canada officials are in touch with them to offer consular assistance as needed.
Haidar’s sister said there are “no words that can describe the pain” his death has caused.
“My brother died in the facility around his home, still on his private property trying to save another human being.”
Haidar finished an automotive technician program at St. Clair College and became a licensed mechanic before he graduated with an engineering degree at the University of Windsor, his brother said.
“He was an extremely devoted man throughout that journey, all he was doing is working super hard (for a) portion of the year,” he said, adding that Haidar spent the other part of the year with his wife and children.
Haidar’s family called on the Canadian government to help put an end to the wars in Lebanon and elsewhere.
In a statement posted on X, Anand said Canada calls on Israel “to cease its attacks” and encourages Israel and Lebanon to reach “a durable, diplomatic solution to end the conflict.”
The statement also says that Canada supports Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press.
Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press
