Rafah border crossing between Gaza, Egypt closed Saturday: Joly's office
CTV
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly's office says, as hundreds of Canadians and their families seek to leave the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed Saturday, a federal government spokesperson says, as hundreds of Canadians and their families seek to leave the besieged Palestinian territory.
A spokesperson for Joly confirmed to CTV News that the Rafah border crossing did not open to foreign or dual nationals on Saturday.
The latest development comes after Global Affairs Canada sent an email to Canadians in the Palestinian territory on Friday saying "more than 400 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members will be able to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing in the coming days, and possibly as early as Sunday."
A Saturday afternoon update from Global Affairs Canada did not include details about the reported closure of the Rafah border crossing.
The update did say, though, that Global Affairs is now aware of reports that two Canadians have crossed through Rafah with a third-party. On Wednesday, the department confirmed that one Canadian had crossed.
Global Affairs has previously said it provided regional partners with a list of close to 450 eligible Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members who want to leave Gaza.
Many other foreign nationals and seriously injured Palestinians have already left through Rafah, including British, American, Australian, French and Bulgarian citizens.
