Canada’s foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly recently arrived in Tel Aviv for a visit to Israel and Jordan, as escalating tractions have hundreds more Canadians demanding help to leave the region.
The 150 people with a connection to Canada inside the Gaza Strip are of particular concern, which are Canadian citizens, their foreign relatives and permanent residents.
Canada’s top official for consular services has stated there might be a short window of time today for Canadians to cross the border into Egypt but the situation remains volatile.
While talking to reporters during a briefing on Parliament Hill, Julie Sunday, the assistant deputy minister for consular, security and emergency management at Global Affairs Canada, said: “We know this has been a terrible week for Canadians in Gaza. It is an incredibly difficult situation there right now.”
According to Sunday, there are approximately 2,200 Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank that have requested consular help in leaving the region. That includes 600 who requested help on Thursday night alone.
Sunday said Canada is still looking at how best to instruct Canadians in Gaza. She remarked that there is no guarantee a crossing that Egypt intends to open at the southern end of Gaza will be available.
She said: “We are not going to tell Canadians to move until we know that that is a possibility.”
Meanwhile, military flights from Tel Aviv to Athens are still available for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families that want to leave Israel, with the Canadian planes also conveying 28 Israelis from Greece back to their home country.
Sunday said Canadians are still able to find commercial flights out of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and added there were “a number of no-shows at the airport” on Thursday.
She said: “Our assessment is that individuals have found alternate routes out and are trying to get out as quickly as possible.”
Sunday revealed there are 6,500 Canadians registered in Israel and another 485 in Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza.
She stated that Canada’s travel advisories are frequently updated, particularly on how those in these regions can best limit their exposure to danger. She said: “We are trying to the best of our abilities to give the most accurate information to Canadians.”
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