Palestinians and foreign aid workers wait to cross into Egypt at Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Canadians looking to flee Gaza continue to await confirmation on when they can cross into Egypt, with no official announcement yet from Global Affairs Canada on a date or time, one month after the latest Israel-Hamas war began. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Fatima Shbair
A first group of 20-25 Canadians looking to flee Gaza was able to leave on Tuesday, Global Affairs Canada has confirmed, as the government works to evacuate the rest of its citizens from the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“We are expecting up to 80 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members to leave Gaza today. Canadian officials are on the Egyptian side of the border welcoming them and ready to bring them to safety to Cairo,” a Tuesday statement from Global Affairs said.
“We will provide further updates later today, as the situation is quite fluid and unpredictable.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had confirmed earlier in the day that some Canadians had successfully departed.
She did not say how many were in the first group, but about 80 people connected to Canada – including 20 citizens – were listed on an approved evacuation document from the General Authority for Border Crossings in Gaza.
“I know families and loved ones have been waiting anxiously – finally the first group of Canadians were evacuated out of Gaza,” Joly said in a video posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“They were met by Canadian diplomats on the Egyptian side of the border.”
Joly thanked her counterparts in Israel, Egypt and Qatar for helping to make the operation successful.
“Looking forward to seeing all Canadians evacuated and “¦ rest assured that this is our number 1 priority,” she said, speaking from Tokyo, where she is attending a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting expected to be dominated by discussion of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Tuesday marked the first time Canada was listed among the countries with citizens given the green light to leave Gaza since the war began a month ago.
In Ottawa on Tuesday morning, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said that the government was “very much encouraged” by the development.
“It is the result of the work that we’ve done in the region with our allies and friends,” he said on his way into the Liberals’ weekly cabinet meeting.
“I believe this will build the momentum to get the rest of them out, now that we’ve worked on the modalities to ensure safe passage.”
Hussen said Canadians able to leave Gaza will go to Cairo before making their way to Canada, and “there’s personal decisions that will be made in terms of their next destination.”
Mansour Shouman, a Canadian in Gaza, said his wife and five children were on the evacuation list and received an email from Global Affairs overnight telling them they would be allowed to leave Gaza on Tuesday via the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Shouman, who was also on the list but is choosing to stay behind in Gaza, said he hugged his wife and children goodbye at a hospital in southern Gaza where he is taking shelter. They left for the border in a taxi, he said.
He said he last heard from them when they sent him a message saying they had arrived at the Rafah crossing, and while he believes they’ve made it across, he is still awaiting confirmation.
“Any father, any husband will definitely feel relief,” said Shouman, an engineer who lived in Canada for more than a decade before he relocated to Gaza with his family three years ago.
Shouman said the email to his family from Global Affairs said they would be allowed to stay in Egypt for a maximum of three days after crossing at Rafah. The email said the Canadian government would help take the family to Cairo by bus, provide food, accommodation and basic necessities while there, and help with onward travel to Canada at the family’s expense.
Shouman said he doesn’t know yet where his family will go next, saying they were “taking it day by day.”
He said he made the decision to stay behind so he could help at the hospital.
“I believe it’s a religious and humanitarian obligation for me to stay and “¦ try to help out as much as I can the people here,” he said. “We need to think about the 2.3 million other civilians here.”
He said his kids told him they want to return to him and live together in the Gaza Strip when the time is right.
The Gaza border authority evacuation list, as presented on a widely shared Google spreadsheet, shows about 20 people listed as Canadian citizens, while the remaining are Palestinian or dual citizens.
The document also contains names of other foreign nationals from countries including France, the Philippines, Ukraine, Moldova, Germany, and the United Kingdom who’ve been granted permission to leave.
The breakthrough on Tuesday came after Canada had told citizens trapped Gaza that they could be allowed out over the weekend, but attacks by Israel closed the Rafah crossing until Monday.
Rafah is the only exit for foreign nationals who wish to leave the Palestinian territory, which has been under constant bombardment since the Israeli army launched retaliatory attacks for the brutal Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement Monday the Israeli military has assured Canada that more than 400 of its citizens will be able to cross “in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, the federal agency added it was in contact with 600 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members in the territory.
Global Affairs Canada has also said “Canada does not determine when or how many persons can cross each day” at Rafah.
– With files from Stephanie Taylor and Laura Osman in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2023.
