The first organization of Canadians seeking to flee Gaza was able to do so on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed, as the government works to evacuate the rest of its citizens from the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Joly did not say how many Canadians were in the first organization to cross the Egyptian border, but another 80 people connected to Canada, totaling 20 citizens, were included in an evacuation document approved by the Gaza Border Crossing General Authority.
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“I know families and loved ones have been waiting impatiently; finally, the first of the Canadians has been evacuated from Gaza,” Joly said in a video posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“They were met by Canadian diplomats at the Egyptian border. “
Joly thanked his counterparts in Israel, Egypt and Qatar for contributing to the good fortune of the operation.
“I look ahead to see all the evacuated Canadians and . . . I’m confident that this is our number one priority,” he said, speaking from Tokyo, where he is attending a G7 foreign ministers’ assembly that is expected to be led by discussing the Israel-Israel Hamas war.
Tuesday marked the first time Canada was on the list of countries whose citizens had been given the green light to leave Gaza since the war began a month ago.
On Tuesday morning in Ottawa, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen promised that Joly would “provide more important points very soon” about how many Canadians crossed and what the next steps would be.
“We are very encouraged by this development,” he said in his speech at the weekly meeting of the Liberal cabinet.
“This is the sample of the paintings we have done in the region with our allies and friends. “
Hussen said the fact that the first organization of Canadians has been liberated from Gaza is “very encouraging,” adding that he hopes this is the beginning.
“I think this will create the momentum to get the rest of them out, now that we’ve worked on the modalities to achieve safe passage. “
Hussen said Canadians who are able to leave Gaza will go to Cairo before going to Canada, and “personal decisions will be made about their next destination. “
Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters he had data on how many Canadians were able to leave the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, but said he could not give percentage details.
Mansour Shouman, a Canadian in Gaza, said his wife and five children were on the list and that overnight he received an email from Global Affairs Canada telling them they would be allowed to leave Gaza on Tuesday through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Shouman, who is also on the list but decided to remain in Gaza, said he hugged his wife and children at a hospital in southern Gaza where he was sheltering. They drove to the border in a taxi, he said.
He said the last time he heard from them was when they sent him a message telling him they had arrived at the Rafah crossing and although he believes they controlled the crossing, he is still waiting for confirmation.
“Any father, any husband, will definitely feel relief,” said Shouman, an engineer who lived in Canada for more than a decade before moving to Gaza with his circle of relatives three years ago.
Shouman said the email sent to his circle of relatives through Global Affairs indicated that they would be allowed to stay in Egypt for up to three days after crossing from Rafah.
The email said the Canadian government would help get the relatives to Cairo by bus, provide them with food, shelter and items needed for their stay, and help them continue the journey to Canada at the relatives’ expense.
But he still doesn’t know where his circle of relatives will go, Shouman said. “We’re working day by day. “
Shouman said he made up his mind to stay put so he could be in the hospital.
“It’s a legal and humanitarian responsibility for me to stay and. . . trying to help other people here as much as possible,” he said. “We have to think about the other 2. 3 million civilians here. “
He said his children told him they wanted to return to him and live together in the Gaza Strip when the time was right.
The Gaza border authority’s evacuation list, as presented in a widely shared Google spreadsheet, shows about 20 more people indexed as Canadian citizens, while the rest are Palestinians or have dual citizenship.
The document also includes the names of other foreign nationals from countries such as France, the Philippines, Ukraine, Moldova, Germany, and the United Kingdom who have been granted permission to leave.
Tuesday’s breakthrough came after Canada told citizens stranded in Gaza they would be allowed to leave over the weekend, but Israeli strikes closed the Rafah crossing until Monday.
Rafah is the outlet for foreigners who want to leave the Palestinian territory, which has been under constant bombardment since the Israeli army introduced attacks in retaliation for Hamas’ brutal incursion on October 7.
Global Affairs Canada said on Monday that the Israeli military had trusted Canada that more than 400 of its citizens would be able to cross the border “in the coming days. “
In addition, the federal firm added that it is in contact with six hundred Canadian citizens, permanent citizens and their family members in the territory.
Global Affairs Canada also said that “Canada does not know when or how many people can cross each day” in Rafah.
– With Stephanie Taylor in Ottawa.
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