Saïd Khatib Agence France-Presse Palestinians holding foreign passports wait to leave the Gaza crossing point Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Nationals from several countries have been able to travel to Egypt in recent days, but no Canadian was among them.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly once again confirms that Canadians and their families will be able to leave the Gaza Strip in the coming days.
Minister Joly posted an update on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday evening, saying she had discussed the matter with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen. She also wrote that she had received confirmation of cooperation from Egypt.
I spoke with my Israeli counterpart @elicoh1 today and he confirmed to me that Canadians & their families will be able to leave Gaza in the coming days. My Egyptian counterpart confirmed their cooperation to me. AMC will communicate the latest information to Canadians.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) November 3, 2023
While the flow of foreign nationals leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday remains slow, Global Affairs Canada officials say they are working 24 hours a day to evacuate Canadians from the war zone. They are asking Canadians to obtain their documents and “be ready to leave once we are informed they can cross the border.”
However, early Friday morning Eastern Time , Canada had not yet been added to the official list of “foreign passports” approved for travel through the Rafah border crossing, which allows entry into Egypt.
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More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, most of them civilians, during the initial Hamas attack on October 7. In addition, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel to Gaza by the militant group.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli military response has killed more than 9,000 Palestinians.