Photo provided by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. Ms. Joly said on X: “I am elated to announce that the first group of Canadians have now safely crossed from the West Bank into Jordan. Thank-you to our teams in Ramallah, Amman, Tel Aviv and Ottawa, who worked around the clock to make this happen.”Supplied
The federal government began evacuating Canadians and Canadian permanent residents from the Palestinian territories Monday with an initial bus trip from the West Bank to Jordan, but efforts to enable foreign nationals to leave the Gaza Strip, which is under siege by Israel, have yet to succeed.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Monday that the bus trip had taken place.
The evacuation included 21 Canadian citizens, along with about 10 citizens of Australia and New Zealand, according to Isabella Orozco-Madison, press secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minster.
About 300 Canadians living in the West Bank had been seeking Ottawa’s assistance with getting out. But not all of them chose to leave or were able to do so – in some cases because they lacked the documents that are now required for border permissions from Israel and Jordan.
This was believed to have been the first evacuation of foreign citizens from the West Bank to Jordan since the crisis began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israel, killing hundreds. Tensions have also risen in the West Bank, which is not controlled by Hamas.
Getting the Canadians out required complex bureaucratic negotiations between Canada and the Jordanian government, officials said. Those negotiations are expected to pave the way for further evacuations of citizens from other countries who have been stuck in the West Bank.
There could be a second evacuation bus for other Canadians from the West Bank in the next few days. But after the first bus on Monday the Israeli authorities imposed new restrictions on diplomatic movements at the Jordanian border, according to a message sent to several diplomatic missions and seen by The Globe and Mail. One of the new restrictions would prohibit diplomats from accompanying the evacuation buses.
Meanwhile, there was no progress Monday on arranging for the evacuations of the 378 Canadians the Department of Global Affairs says have requested help in Gaza. Officials had been hoping that the Rafah border crossing with Egypt would open, allowing the Canadians to travel south, but that did not happen. There is still a chance it could happen Tuesday.
Gaza has remained under a strict blockade since Oct. 7. In remarks Monday in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other Western leaders in calling for “unimpeded humanitarian access and a humanitarian corridor so that essential aid like food, fuel and water, can be delivered to civilians.” He said it is imperative that this happen.
Mediators were trying to arrange a ceasefire that would let aid into Gaza and let out trapped foreigners. Israeli air strikes forced the Rafah crossing to shut down last week, and local media reported that Israel struck the crossing again Monday.
Department of Global Affairs spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said in a statement that the Canadian government is still trying to evacuate Canadians from Gaza through Rafah.
But she cautioned that it’s possible only Canadian citizens, and not permanent residents, will be allowed out through the crossing.
“We will continue to advocate for the safe passage of Canadian citizens, Permanent residents and their families,” Ms. MacLeod said.
Two more Canadian military evacuation flights left Israel Monday, carrying a total of about 170 passengers. This brings the total number of flights since Thursday to 10. Defence Minister Bill Blair told reporters these planes have now shuttled 1,200 people to Athens. Another two flights are expected Tuesday.
Ms. Joly also warned Canadians to leave neighbouring Lebanon, as tensions mount. About 14,500 Canadians and Canadian permanent residents are registered as being in the country.
“As the crisis in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel continues to unfold, the security situation in the region is becoming increasingly volatile. Canadians in Lebanon should consider leaving while commercial flights remain available,” Ms. Joly said in a social-media post.
Mr. Trudeau noted in House of Commons that Canada has given $10-million in aid to help Palestinians and Israel since the onset of the crisis.
“I want to be clear: none of this aid is going to Hamas,” he said, calling the militant group a terrorist organization that slaughters innocent people. “They are not freedom fighters. They are not the resistance. They are terrorists.”
With a report from Associated Press
Steven Chase
Geoffrey York