Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

No Canadians on Rafah crossing list as Israel raids Gaza hospital

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Nov, 2023 10:47 AM
  • No Canadians on Rafah crossing list as Israel raids Gaza hospital

No more Canadians have been approved to leave the Gaza Strip on Wednesday via the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, as hundreds of people connected to Canada continue to wait for help to leave.

A total of 356 Canadians, permanent residents and family members have been able to leave the besieged Palestinian territory so far.

No one connected to Canada had been cleared to leave on Tuesday, and the last group of 10 people made it across on Monday. 

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement to media late Tuesday afternoon that the Canadian government is in touch with 390 people who are still in Gaza.

People who cross over are allowed to stay in Egypt for a maximum of three days, and Canadian officials are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border to help with travel, accommodation, food and basic necessities. 

Global Affairs said the Canadian government is helping with onward travel at travellers' own expense, and it is connecting people with organizations who may be able to provide financial help. 

"Canada does not determine when or how many persons can cross each day. As the situation is quite fluid and unpredictable, Canadians should be prepared for significant delays and unexpected closures at the Rafah border," the department said. 

"Canada continues to engage all relevant parties to ensure that Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and their eligible family members presently in Gaza can exit safely and promptly. We continue to communicate directly with Canadians, asking them to have their travel documents at hand and be ready to travel on short notice."

Israel declared war against Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7, including hundreds of civilians, and took about 240 people hostage.

Health officials in the Hamas-controlled territory say weeks of retaliatory airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip have now killed more than 11,200 people.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged on Tuesday that Israel must use "maximum restraint" to protect civilian life in the brutal war it is waging on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"I have been clear that the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have rules," Trudeau said at an event in Vancouver.

He said the violence urgently needs to stop, "so that Palestinians can get access to life-saving medical services, food, fuel and water, so that all hostages can be released, so that all Canadians and other nationals can leave Gaza."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Trudeau on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying "while Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm's way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm's way."

Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its fighters, alleging that Hamas has set up its main command centre in and beneath Shifa hospital, without providing visual evidence. Both Hamas and Hospital staff deny the Israeli allegations.

Israel has refused to allow fuel shipments into Gaza since Hamas's cross-border attack on Oct. 7. Israel says Hamas will divert any fuel shipments for military use.

Palestinians trapped in Gaza are struggling to survive without electricity or running water and are rationing food as Israel's siege of the territory extends into its second month.

The Canadian government has faced increased pressure domestically from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, refugee settlement agencies, opposition members and municipal politicians to call for a ceasefire, in a bid to safely evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian aid.

Trudeau has instead called for "a sustained humanitarian pause" in the bombardments.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Royal Canadian Mint to start replacing image of late queen with King Charles

Royal Canadian Mint to start replacing image of late queen with King Charles
The Royal Canadian Mint will soon begin producing Canadian coins bearing the face of King Charles. On the King's 75th birthday, the Winnipeg-based facility is set to showcase its design of the new British monarch that will appear on one side of all its coins, replacing the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

Royal Canadian Mint to start replacing image of late queen with King Charles

Friends and family mourn the loss of Canadians killed by Hamas in Israel

Friends and family mourn the loss of Canadians killed by Hamas in Israel
Friends, family and government officials have confirmed that at least seven Canadians were killed when Hamas militants conducted a series of attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. Global Affairs Canada has said an eighth person with deep ties to Canada, who was not a citizen, also died.  

Friends and family mourn the loss of Canadians killed by Hamas in Israel

Biden, Xi early headliners as leaders gather in California for Asia-Pacific summit

Biden, Xi early headliners as leaders gather in California for Asia-Pacific summit
Its 21 member economies represent nearly three billion people and 62 per cent of the world's GDP, generating US$30 trillion in global trade last year alone.  But as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders gather in San Francisco, the focus — for now, at least — will be on just two of them.

Biden, Xi early headliners as leaders gather in California for Asia-Pacific summit

Drowning victim's body found on Island

Drowning victim's body found on Island
Mounties on Vancouver Island say they have recovered the body of a drowning victim in Sproat Lake – 13 kilometres northwest of Port Alberni. The update comes two days after R-C-M-P were called to the lake for reports of a missing 17-year-old after a canoe he and two others were on capsized and sank.  

Drowning victim's body found on Island

PM Justin Trudeau visits Maple Ridge

PM Justin Trudeau visits Maple Ridge
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting Maple Ridge this afternoon. The prime minister and B-C Premier David Eby are scheduled to make an announcement at a clean-energy plant.

PM Justin Trudeau visits Maple Ridge

Food insecurity worsened last year, more pronounced in racialized families: StatCan

Food insecurity worsened last year, more pronounced in racialized families: StatCan
A Statistics Canada study says nearly seven million Canadians struggled with hunger last year. The study says that in 2022, 18 per cent of families reported experiencing food insecurity within the previous 12 months, up from 16 per cent in 2021.  

Food insecurity worsened last year, more pronounced in racialized families: StatCan