The brother of Fadi Fadel, a Canadian aid worker held hostage in Iraq, says Arab television is erroneously reporting that his brother is an Israeli agent.

CTV.ca News Staff

The brother of Fadi Fadel, a Canadian aid worker held hostage in Iraq, says Arab television is reporting that his brother is an Israeli agent.

Ghayas Fadel says the tape shows his brother giving a different name and saying he's Israeli.

Ghayas says that's not true and Fadi has never even been to Israel. He's concerned that the mistaken identity is delaying his brother's release.

Ghayas says he wants to get out the word Fadi is a Canadian, and that he's in Iraq to help people, not to act as a spy. The Canadian ambassador in Jordan will help to confirm his brother's real identity, he says.

Fadi Fadel, who turned 33 on Friday, is one of a growing number of foreign hostages being held in Iraq. He is in the war-torn country working for the UNICEF-funded humanitarian organization International Rescue Committee.

He was captured by local militia last Wednesday in Najaf, alongside Nabil Razouk, 30, an Arab from East Jerusalem, who works for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Fadel's exact whereabouts are not clear but Foreign Affairs has had contact with his captors through an intermediary -- since Canada has no diplomatic missions in Iraq.

Inside the Fadel family home in Laval Que., his parents and brother have been keeping a close eye on the television, watching news from North American news and al-Jazeera in the hope they may catch a glimpse of Fadi.

So far, unfortunately, he has not been seen on any of the stations, and they have not received any new word on his situation today. Nevertheless, Ghayas Fadel, told CTV's Montreal affiliate CFCF News that his family is trying to remain optimistic.

"We are hopeful, with the release of all the hostages today, we are hopeful that he will be released soon. We heard the reports that clerics in Iraq have been condemning the hostage-taking. We hope it will change the situation and he will be released."

Ghayas says the release of at least a dozen hostages throughout Iraq on Monday offers hope that he will be released soon.

"It seems the hostages are released one by one or in groups and every time we hear the good news, we turn to the TV and find out. We have not heard anything yet."

Liberal MP Dan McTeague told Canada AM earlier in the day that officials know for the moment Fadel is still alive.

"They know he's in good shape. He is being fed and he is being given water," McTeague said. "But we know the situation there changes by the moment."

McTeague says Fadel's purpose in Iraq was a peaceful one and he has called upon Muslim clerics around the world, "including here in Canada, in the name of Islam, to afford him the protection he deserves."