Ottawa has been told Canadians trapped in Gaza will be allowed to leave starting Sunday: source
CBC
The Canadian government has received assurances there will be windows to evacuate Canadian nationals from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, a government source told Radio-Canada.
The source, who is directly involved in efforts to evacuate Canadians, cautioned that the situation is fluid and unforeseen events could affect timelines for getting Canadians out of Gaza.
CBC News is not naming the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Global Affairs Canada says it is in contact with at least 499 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members who have been trapped in the besieged enclave for nearly a month.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly tweeted Thursday evening that she received assurances from Israel's foreign minister that Canadians and their families will be able to leave Gaza in the coming days. She also added that Egypt's foreign minister has confirmed his country's cooperation in efforts to evacuate Canadians stuck in Gaza.
"Obviously, it's a very complex situation," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in French to reporters in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
"We are working with our allies, with the Egyptians, with the Americans and with everyone to try and get people out as quickly as possible."
Trudeau said the government is hoping Canadians will be allowed to cross into Egypt "in the coming days."
The news of Canadians possibly being allowed to leave Gaza starting Sunday comes as frustration grows about the Canadian government's lack of success to date on this issue.
For the first time since the onset of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, hundreds of foreign nationals received approval to leave Gaza this week as a result of ongoing negotiations involving Egypt, Israel and Hamas. Qatar is mediating these negotiations.
The Hamas-run Gaza border authority released lists on Thursday and Friday of foreign nationals from more than a dozen countries who have been approved to depart through the Rafah border crossing.
Nationals from G7 allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, have all made those lists, but no Canadians have received approval to date.
Defence Minister Bill Blair insisted Friday the evacuation of Canadians from Gaza is a priority for the Canadian government.
"Our foreign affairs minister has been in the region twice and she's worked very extensively with all of the countries," Blair told reporters Friday. "She and I were on the phone very late last night talking to a number of people that we believe can facilitate the safe evacuation of Canadians from the Gaza region."
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Israel's war with Iran has temporarily delayed a reckoning with some of its main Western allies, but seems unlikely to close what has become a yawning gap between them over its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
As the G7 summit concludes in the popular wilderness destination of Kananaskis, Alta., officials say provincial teams managed frequent animal encounters without serious incident.
Toronto police say a 21-year-old man has been charged in an armed carjacking, after he fell from the Gardiner Expressway on Monday night while allegedly fleeing from officers.
Tenants of buildings owned by a wanted fugitive could be safe from eviction if the bank or a new landlord take over, a legal expert says.
Residents of Badger, N.L. are fleeing the community as smoke from a nearby wildfire clouds the air, and waterbombers pass overhead every few minutes.
A Nova Scotia jury has found a 34-year-old man guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of battle rapper Pat Stay, a 36-year-old father of two who was fatally stabbed 2½ years ago at a downtown Halifax nightclub.
Some property owners in Saint Andrews are speaking out against a plan to refurbish the Market Wharf, although the design was chosen by the public in a community vote.
The lone survivor of a mass shooting in a West Broadway rooming house is being mourned by his family after he died in a Winnipeg hospital earlier this month, more than a year and a half after the shooting that left four others dead.
The mayor of Creighton says residents will have to remain patient, as the northeastern Saskatchewan town waits for health-care services to restart in the neighbouring city of Flin Flon, Man.
A rural municipality in southwest Saskatchewan is sounding the alarm as the worst dry conditions in almost a decade push crops and livestock to the brink.
Warning: This story contains details some may find disturbing.
A commercial food processing company has pleaded guilty to a workplace safety charge after an Edmonton worker became trapped in a smokehouse and died.
The will of a deceased B.C. woman will be contested by an old friend, her closest living relatives and a male escort approximately 54 years her junior following a decision by a provincial Supreme Court judge.