Israel and Hamas conflict continues
The general director of Gaza City's main hospital says scores of wounded people are being treated at the Al-Shifa Hospital following overnight Israeli strikes and shelling.
Dr. Mohammad Abu Selmia told the Associated Press by phone that at least one shell landed very close to the hospital at around dawn Thursday, resulting in only a few people sustaining minor injuries. He said it would've been a “catastrophe” had the shell landed any closer, adding that conditions at the hospital are “disastrous in every sense of the word.”
Abu Selmia said the hospital is in short supply of medicine and other medical equipment, while doctors and nurses are exhausted and “unable to do much for the patients.”
Meantime, negotiations are underway to reach a three-day humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of about a dozen hostages held by Hamas. That’s according to two officials from Egypt, one from the United Nations and a Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic efforts.
Supports for Gaza evacuees to be based on need
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says the immigration status and supports available for evacuees who escape from Gaza Strip will have to be determined based on individual circumstances once people make their way to Canada.
The federal government has been working to secure the safe passage of more than 400 people with connections to Canada as part of ongoing negotiations between Israel and Egypt that are being mediated by Qatar.
The slow trickle of people allowed through the highly controlled Rafah border crossing has so far included 75 people on Canada's list of anticipated evacuees, and they are only allowed to remain in Egypt for 72 hours.
The list includes Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as eligible family members who don't have immigration status in Canada.
