London, Ont., family among many turned away from leaving Gaza Wednesday
CBC
Londoner Hussam Alaloul lined up at the Rafah border crossing early Wednesday morning, excited and relieved to finally leave Gaza to cross into Egypt with his loved ones.
With the fluid situation at the crossing, however, things change quickly, and it's now unclear when Alaloul, his brother, and his pregnant niece will be able to escape war-torn Gaza.
"I thought that I would never have the chance to meet with [my family] again, so I feel very happy that I have this chance," Alaloul said Wednesday morning.
The Palestinian-Canadian and his family members were visiting his 82-year-old mother to take care of her when the war with Israel broke out. He has a wife, brother, children and nephew waiting for him in Canada.
"At the same time, I feel sad for those who we love, our relatives, friends, and neighbours, that still there are under danger and under this situation. We don't know if we'll have the chance to meet with them again or not," Alaloul said.
The first cohort of Canadian citizens and family members eligible to leave the Gaza Strip gathered at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday morning after receiving a notice from Global Affairs Canada (GAC). So far, 75 Canadians and family members have crossed the border, according to GAC.
After receiving word that they were to move south and their names were on the list of those eligible to cross the border, Alaloul and his family members lined up at 8 a.m., local time, only to be told almost eight hours later the border had been closed for the day, according to Mohammed Alaloul, Hussam's nephew.
Mohammed lives in London and has been doing most of the talking with GAC, keeping tabs on the status of his family and relaying messages as they wait to hear if they can cross the border.
"They said there's a curfew at 5:00 p.m., and if they don't get to a safe place it might put their lives at risk to leave afterwards," Mohammed said. "The transportation from home to the border is not easy. It's not safe. The border is on the south side of Gaza and there are airstrikes across the city anywhere and anytime."
Even if his immediate family members are able to leave through the crossing, Mohammed worries for the rest of his family that live in Gaza and have nowhere to go, he said.
He also expressed disappointment in the overall government response to calls for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Still, he remains hopeful that come Thursday, his family will be able to cross into Egypt.
"It's a mix of this feeling of joy that you are going to be out of this hell and meet your family, and at the same time leaving people that you love here," Hussam Alaloul said.
"I feel very sorry for my country, my homeland, my Gaza."
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