Canada Says First Nationals Evacuated From Gaza
Ottawa, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 8th Nov, 2023) Nearly 60 Canadian nationals, residents and their dependents have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, Canadian officials said Tuesday.
“The first group of Canadians have left Gaza. Our team of officials has met them on the Egyptian side of the border, providing them with support and care,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The ministry said 59 Canadians, permanent residents and family members have crossed the Rafah border into Egypt, out of 400 nationals registered with Canada seeking to leave.
They will be taken to Cairo before heading to Canada or another country of their choice.
“As the situation is quite fluid and unpredictable, Canadians should be prepared for significant delays at the Rafah border,” the ministry said.
Around 80 Canadian citizens, residents and family members had been expected to leave Gaza on Tuesday, according to the ministry.
Hundreds of foreign passport holders were waiting at the Rafah crossing Tuesday for evacuation into Egypt, an AFP journalist saw.
People were allowed to leave between Wednesday and Friday last week, including dozens of wounded Palestinians as well as foreign nationals.
Departures resumed Monday after Rafah was closed over the weekend.
Gaza has been under Israeli bombardment since Hamas carried out an attack of unprecedented scale on October 7, killing 1,400 mostly civilian Israelis, according to official tolls.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza says 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the month since then in the Palestinian territory.