Canadians in Gaza may be able to leave Saturday through Rafah border crossing: Global Affairs

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Canadians stuck in the Gaza Strip may be able to leave through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Saturday, government officials said Friday, as Israel launched its first raids into the Palestinian territory ahead of an expected ground invasion.

At a press briefing in Ottawa, federal officials stressed that plans for foreign nationals to leave Gaza were not yet confirmed. And they warned that exiting the territory will be logistically difficult, because communications are unreliable and there will be little advance notice if the border opens.

“This is a very volatile, very dangerous situation. It is a very dangerous border crossing point,” said Alexandre Lévêque, an assistant deputy minister who oversees Middle Eastern issues at Global Affairs Canada. He added that there are “no hard guarantees about this.”

Those who would be allowed to leave Gaza include Canadians, permanent residents of Canada and their families. The officials also said plans for Canadians wanting to leave the West Bank, another Palestinian enclave where fears of violence are rising, will be finalized in the next few days.

Julie Sunday, an assistant deputy minister for emergency management at Global Affairs, said about 150 people in Gaza have asked the government for help leaving. She said Ottawa is adding their names to a list of people who will be allowed to leave, if the border crossing opens.

“We know this has been a terrible week for Canadians in Gaza,” she said. “We’re working really closely with our allies and with the UN to be able to ensure that all of the right documentation is in place to be able to leave.”

She said the people on that list may be able to leave Gaza through its southern border crossing between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The officials said the plan is being co-ordinated with Egypt and Israel.

But it’s unclear whether Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, has agreed.

This glimmer of hope for foreigners caught in Gaza was announced just hours after Israel issued an evacuation order for residents of northern Gaza. The warning affects more than one million people, and it heightened expectations that Israel will begin a ground assault in the territory.

Hamas told residents in northern Gaza to stay home and ignore evacuation leaflets dropped by Israel. Humanitarian organizations have warned the evacuation will cause chaos and be calamitous for the civilians caught in the middle.

The Israeli bombardment of Gaza is in response to Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel last week, which Israel says has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 Israelis. Three Canadians were killed in the assault, and four remain unaccounted for and may be among hostages taken by Hamas.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that about 1,900 people have been killed in the territory since the war began.

Mr. Lévêque told reporters Canada doesn’t talk to Hamas, because the group is a designated terrorist organization. He said Ottawa has not seen any reports that Hamas would physically prevent people from leaving.

Ms. Sunday said most of the people in Gaza who are asking Ottawa for help leaving are Canadian citizens, but that there are also some families with mixed nationalities that Canada is also helping. She said Canada is working to get the “green light” from both Israel and Egypt for those people to leave Gaza.

Ms. Sunday said Canada’s embassy in Egypt is organizing transportation to Cairo so that people can then fly back to Canada.

Israel’s siege of Gaza is complicating evacuation efforts. With fuel shipments blocked, electricity has been cut off, which is affecting telecommunications, Ms. Sunday said. There are also reports of internet interruptions.

“We are not going to tell Canadians to move until we know that that is a possibility and we have confirmation that these individuals can get across that border,” she said.

“That information will likely be very short notice and we will be reaching out to people who are fully approved to cross that border.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly visited Israel and Jordan on Friday. She met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and will also meet with her Jordanian counterpart. She did not speak with reporters Friday, but Mr. Lévêque said she raised concerns with Israel about its siege of Gaza.

The protection of civilians “should be paramount” during the military operation, he said.

“That’s why in the government’s communication with the government of Israel, we have conveyed this and conveyed our expectations that civilian populations be protected.”

Separately on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, whose secular Fatah movement is a rival of Hamas. Mr. Trudeau’s office said the two discussed the conflict, the risk of escalating violence and the need to protect civilians and humanitarian access in the affected areas.

Mr. Lévêque said the possible opening of the Rafah gate is not being described as a humanitarian corridor. It would be specifically for foreign nationals looking to leave Gaza, he said.

In total, about 2,200 Canadians and permanent residents have asked the government for assistance as a result of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, Ms. Sunday said. The majority of them are looking for help getting out of the region.

In addition to the 150 in Gaza, she said, about 1,300 are in Israel and 190 in the West Bank. She said the government does not have precise locations for about 600 other people who have asked for help.

Ms. Sunday said the government is organizing buses for Canadians, permanent residents and their families in the West Bank to safely cross into Jordan. Officials said more information on West Bank evacuation plans will be shared in the next few days.

A Canadian Forces airlift is shuttling between Tel Aviv and Athens to get people stranded in Israel out.

The government also issued warnings to Canadians travelling in other areas of the Middle East. Ms. Sunday urged people in Jordan to avoid any protests and said they should expect heightened security.

For the large number of Canadians and permanent residents in Lebanon, she said, the situation is “volatile and unpredictable.” She added that the government is urging people to avoid all non-essential travel to Lebanon and is advising against all travel south of the Litani River, because of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants.