Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Oded Balilty
OTTAWA – Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the death of a fifth Canadian in Israel after a series of attacks by Hamas militants near the border with the Gaza Strip.
Three other Canadians who were in Israel when the attacks happened last Saturday are still missing, officials said Sunday.
Global Affairs did not provide details of the fifth person who died or those who are missing, citing privacy reasons.
“We are very focused on addressing the cases of the three missing persons, who we continue to try to locate and bring back to safety in Canada,” Julie Sunday, an assistant deputy minister with Global Affairs Canada, said at a media briefing in Ottawa.
Canada considers Hamas a terrorist group, and Canadian leaders have decried the violence it waged last week near the Palestinian territory.
The government is still working to get up to 300 Canadians and their relatives out of the 365-square-kilometre coastal stretch, Sunday said, as Israel gears up for an expected ground invasion.
A plan to allow foreign nationals to leave the territory via the border crossing with Egypt fell through on Saturday.
“Nobody got through that gate yesterday,” Sunday said, calling the arrangements to allow passage through the crossing at the Palestinian city of Rafah “incredibly complex.”
Alexandre Lévêque, another Global Affairs assistant deputy minister, said reaching Rafah could be a challenge in itself.
“Hamas is probably playing some obstruction inside of Gaza,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israel has blockaded fuel, electricity, food and water from entering the territory, impeding transportation and communication.
Another 250 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives may be able to leave the West Bank territory by bus to Jordan next week, officials said. However, they warned that crossings, as well as Israeli-controlled checkpoints in Jerusalem, are in a state of flux.
“The gate has been opening and closing at different hours, based on what’s going on in the region,” Sunday said, referring to a key Jordanian crossing.
Sunday said Canadians should also avoid travel to Lebanon, where there have been violent clashes along the border with Israel.
More than 1,000 Canadians have already left Israel via military planes bound for Athens, officials said. Two planes departed on Sunday, with two more slated for Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2023.
