Palestinians, some with foreign passports hoping to cross into Egypt and others waiting for aid wait at the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza strip, on October 16, 2023.MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images
The number of people asking Canada for help to flee Gaza doubled on the weekend, with fighting between Hamas militants and the Israeli armed forces intensifying and as the first opportunity to leave the besieged territory evaporated with no new plan for departures.
Three hundred Canadians, permanent residents and their families have asked the federal government for help leaving Gaza, senior officials told reporters at a press briefing in Ottawa on Sunday. However, they said it remains unclear when they will be allowed to cross at the border between Gaza and Egypt.
In the past week, the Gaza Strip has endured the most intense bombardment it has ever seen from Israel.
“The situation at the Rafah gate is incredibly complex,” said Julie Sunday, an assistant deputy minister for emergency management at Global Affairs Canada.
Some media reported the crossing might be opened on Monday.
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More than a week after the surprise attack by the Hamas militant group on Israel, the number of Canadian victims has also climbed. On the weekend, two more deaths were confirmed, bringing the total to five, Ms. Sunday said. Three Canadians remain missing and are presumed alive, she said.
The government is also planning an evacuation for Canadians, permanent residents and their families stranded in the West Bank. However, Ms. Sunday said Jordan is closing the Allenby gate border crossing on Monday and it remains unclear when the approximately 250 people who have asked for help can be bused out of the Palestinian territory.
There are also increasing fears of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border. The Department of Global Affairs is urging the approximately 14,500 Canadians and permanent residents in Lebanon to reconsider whether they need to be there and cautioning others against travelling there.
“The situation is volatile,” Ms. Sunday said. “You should consider leaving, while commercial means are still available.”
In Tel Aviv, where commercial air travel is sporadic, the federal government’s airlift of Canadians, permanent residents and their families has already transported more than 1,000 people out of the country. Another 2,300 have asked for help leaving, Ms. Sunday said.
Evacuations from Gaza are much more dangerous as the situation on the ground deteriorates dramatically. About half of the 2.3 million people living in the tiny territory were told by Israel to evacuate from the northern region, as the country prepares a ground offensive to “demolish Hamas.”
Already in Gaza, hospitals are overrun, morgues are overflowing, and the territory is running out of food, water and electricity. The United States is pressing Israel to hold off its offensive to allow for humanitarian relief.
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Canadian officials had hoped that the Rafah gate crossing between Gaza and Egypt would be opened to foreign nationals on Saturday but that deal fell through.
In Ottawa on Sunday, officials did not pinpoint why the plan collapsed. Alexandre Lévêque, an assistant deputy minister who oversees Middle Eastern issues at Global Affairs Canada, detailed the complexity of the crossing.
Opening it requires agreement from both Israel and Egypt and co-operation from Hamas – which Canada has no contact with because the federal government has designated it a terrorist group. Mr. Lévêque said Hamas is likely obstructing movement within Gaza.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Egypt the crossing would reopen but provided no timing.
Ms. Sunday stressed that if the crossing does open, it will only be for a very short window.
For the first time, officials also said that so far the only people who would be allowed to leave Gaza are foreign passport holders. That leaves the prospects for permanent residents of Canada and their families even more uncertain. Ms. Sunday said the government is lobbying to ensure they can also leave.
Among the people hoping Canada can help get their family out is Haneen AbdAlnabi. The 26-year-old refugee claimant came from Gaza with her mother and sister on Oct. 4. She escaped this war but said she has lived through past wars.
“I’m running from wars,” she said in an interview from Hamilton.
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She said her family’s home was destroyed by a bomb but luckily her father, two brothers and three other sisters weren’t home at the time. She said she hopes her refugee lawyer can help bring the rest of her family to Canada.
“We are seeking a home. We are seeking a country to live in,” she said.
“I cry almost every day,” she said. “My beloved people are there. I know what they are feeling because I was there, too.”
The situation for Palestinians in the West Bank is less dangerous but remains uncertain. Ms. Sunday said officials have put in place a two-step plan to evacuate Canadians, permanent residents and their families.
The first requires a bus from Ramallah to the Allenby gate at the border with Jordan. From there, people would board a second bus that would take them into Jordan.
The logistics are in place to start busing people out on Monday, but Ms. Sunday said the plan is being stymied by Jordan, which has decided to close the crossing.
“That is something that we are working to see if we can resolve, but that is a blanket closure,” she said.
With reports from Reuters