Funeral held for Alexandre Look, the Montreal man killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack
A funeral was held on Thursday for the Montreal man who was killed in Israel in the attacks led by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
Family, friends and Jewish leaders poured into Paperman and Sons Funeral Home to say goodbye to Alexandre Look, 33, who was among those who died during the Hamas-led attack on the electronic music festival near the Gaza-Israel border.
"[He was a] great, great soul, a great person," said Look's friend Michael Amar. "I'm going to miss him dearly."
Amar said he is still processing the loss.
"It's sad what happened to him," he said. "It was a tragic event in the way he was taken, but he's a hero in our hearts."
An Israeli flag drapes the casket of Alexandre Look following his funeral service in Montreal, Thursday, October 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Look called his family in Montreal in a panic shortly after gunfire rang out at the festival and tried to find shelter. His family said he died fending off the attackers as he tried to save others.
"A wonderful young man who died a hero's death saving other people in the worst moment that we could ever possibly imagine," said Rabbi Reuben Poupko of the Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation. "He stood up as a hero."
The funeral for Alexandre Look, 33, was held on Oct. 26, 2023. He was among those killed in the Hamas-led attack at the music festival near the Gaza-Israel border on Oct. 7. (Angela MacKenzie/CTV News)
The last few weeks have left many in Montreal's Jewish community shaken.
"I never thought in 2023 that we'd be witnessing such a catastrophe that is going on now in the Middle East," said Polly Storozum, who was at the funeral.
It's a tragedy far away that hits close to home.
"I feel horrible for [his father] Alain, [mother] Raquel and their family," said Canadian MP Anthony Housefather. "I feel terrible for everyone who knew Alexandre, and it's just really sad."
People arrive for the funeral service for Alexandre Look in Montreal, Thursday, October 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.