“The death of a missing Canadian has been confirmed. And we have confirmation of another death. Therefore, Global Affairs Canada is aware of the deaths of five Canadians,” said Julie Sunday, of the Consular Services, Security and Emergency Management Sector at Global Affairs Canada, during a technical briefing on Sunday.
Ms Sunday did not give further details about the victim for confidentiality reasons.
The federal agency is still looking into the case of three other missing Canadians.
Evacuation of Canadians from Gaza
Global Affairs Canada now reports double the number of Canadians, permanent residents and their family members who have requested help to leave the Gaza Strip, increasing from 150 to 300.
After the possibility of Canadians in Gaza leaving the region through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt was canceled on Saturday, Sunday says discussions are still underway so that Canadians can be evacuated by Rafah during a “short window”.
“We are hopeful that the border will open,” said Ms. Sunday, adding that she does not know when this will be possible.
However, she indicated that crossing the border will be more difficult for people who do not have a Canadian passport.
“We continue to try to create opportunities for everyone, but we know that it will perhaps be a little easier for people who have Canadian passports,” said Ms. Sunday, asking people to gather all their “relevant documents”.
Departures from Israel and the West Bank
Flights supervised by the Canadian Armed Forces between Tel Aviv, Israel, and Athens, Greece, continue on Sunday, with two flights taking place.
“By the end of the day, more than 1,000 passengers will have left Israel on Canadian flights to Athens,” said Ms. Sunday.
She said 250 Canadians could also leave the West Bank territory by bus over the next week.
Ms. Sunday reiterated that Canadians should avoid traveling to Lebanon, where violent clashes have taken place along the border with Israel.
A deadly conflict
The Gaza Health Ministry announced that 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 injured since fighting began on October 7, more than during the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted more than six weeks. . This makes it the deadliest of the five wars in Gaza for both sides.
More than 1,400 Israelis were killed, the vast majority civilians, during the Hamas assault on October 7. An estimated 150 other people, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza. It is also the deadliest war for Israel since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.
Fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border, which has erupted since the start of the Gaza war, intensified on Sunday, with Hezbollah militants firing rockets and an anti-tank missile, and Israel responding with airstrikes and bombings. The Israeli army also reported firing on one of its border crossings. The fighting killed at least one person on the Israeli side and left several injured on both sides of the border.
With information from the Associated Press.
2023-10-15 16:50:21
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