Canadian man in Gaza says Ottawa has asked him to be prepared to leave with family
A Canadian man trying to get out of Gaza with his family said Global Affairs Canada asked him Thursday to gather his documents and be prepared to leave at any moment through the enclave's border crossing with Egypt.
Mahmoud Nasser said his wife, who has a Brazilian passport, answered the call from the federal agency in the morning and an official confirmed that the couple, Nasser's Canadian father and brother, as well as his Palestinian sister-in-law were all registered with Ottawa to evacuate.
Nasser, who is sheltering at a refugee camp that's a 20-minute drive away from the Rafah border crossing, said the official told them to be prepared and that a bus would be waiting for Canadians and their families on the Egyptian side once they were allowed to cross.
- Complete coverage of the Israel-Hamas war
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from ۴ý, right at your fingertips
- In Pictures: Rafah border crossing opens
"They were inquiring about our documentation and ensuring everyone is ready," Nasser, 30, said in a WhatsApp call from southern Gaza.
"We each have a bag... with just two changes of clothes, I have my laptop, documents, but everything else, all my belongings, I'm leaving behind."
Nasser said the call from Global Affairs came a day after an apparent agreement allowed hundreds of foreign passport holders and dozens of wounded Palestinians to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing for the first time since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began on Oct. 7.
Lists of those allowed out that were published Wednesday and Thursday did not include Canada among several other countries.
Global Affairs Canada said Wednesday night that it was aware of reports that one Canadian citizen was able to leave the Palestinian territory at the Rafah border crossing with the help of a third party, but offered no further information.
Nasser was born in Gaza, immigrated to Canada in 2008 and returned to Gaza City from Mississauga, Ont., with his younger brother and wife in 2021 to be closer to his aging father.
He said Global Affairs did not provide a date or time for a potential evacuation, but told his family to watch for updated versions of the list posted online by the General Authority for Border Crossings in Gaza.
While the possibility of an evacuation is positive news, Nasser said he's worried about being able to get his wife, who is pregnant, and sister-in law across once Canadians are allowed to leave Gaza.
"It's kind of a dilemma for all of us," he said. "We're not sure what to do with this situation."
In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not say Thursday why Canadians remain off the border crossing lists, calling it an "extremely complicated" situation.
"We're pushing on our friends in Israel, our friends in Egypt, working with the Americans and others to make sure that Canadian families get on the list. We're not going to stop until we get them out," Trudeau said.
"We are engaged in every way we possibly can be."
The Palestinian delegation in Ottawa said it couldn't share any information about how the lists are assembled, and referred queries to Global Affairs Canada.
"Israel has been working since (Wednesday) to facilitate the departure of the thousands of foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip, and in this context has been also working closely with Canadian authorities," Israel's embassy in Ottawa said in a written statement.
The Egyptian and Qatari embassies did not have an immediate response to questions about the lists.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the Canadian embassy in Egypt said Thursday that a team of consular officials was ready to help Canadians, permanent residents and their family members "as soon as they cross" at Rafah.
"We are in direct contact with the government of Egypt to help Canadians leave," it said.
Those officials "are ready to move to the border as quickly as possible, once we receive the final approval from the local authorities to do so," Global Affairs Canada said in a Thursday afternoon media statement.
"As of now, the government of Egypt is only allowing foreign embassies to be on site at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing once their residents are confirmed to be evacuated from the Gaza Strip," the department said.
Global Affairs added it is telling Canadians "to be ready to depart once we are informed that they can cross the border."
Dalia Salim, a resident of London, Ont., who is trying to get her 66-year-old Canadian father out of Gaza, said she was trying to reach her father to tell him to head toward the Rafah crossing ahead of a possible evacuation.
"I'm very worried he'll miss that border opening," she said in a phone interview Thursday. "Some of them are using radios (to get news) so might hear this on the radio there. I don't know. I'm just so overwhelmed and so tired right now."
Salim, who has been communicating with the government on her father's behalf, said she got an email from Global Affairs late Wednesday night saying Canadians "will be assigned specific departure dates," that have not yet been set, to be allowed to cross at Rafah.
The email told Canadians and their eligible family members to have their travel documents prepared and to be "ready to travel at short notice" when contacted, she said.
Salim said her father retired last year and was spending time in Gaza with his aging mother. Her family was hoping her father would be able to evacuate with his mother but was worried she could be barred from leaving because she is Palestinian, Salim said.
"And if he comes back here, he won't be in a good state of mind just thinking about the rest of his family, everyone he left behind," she said. "He just wanted to go back to his land and back to his roots and just enjoy his retirement."
Global Affairs Canada said it's working around the clock to evacuate Canadians. "Canada has one of the largest contingents of nationals in Gaza," the department wrote.
"We have provided to regional partners a list of close to 450 eligible Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members who want to leave Gaza."
Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, is in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis amid the siege imposed since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. Since 2007, Gaza has been controlled by Hamas, which Canada considers a terrorist organization. Over half the territory's population has fled their homes, and supplies of food, medicine, water and fuel are running low.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that the Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas conflict has reached more than 9,000.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. In addition, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Heists, arson and a baseball bat brawl: the violent side of clothing donation bins
In part three of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5's Jon Woodward and Joseph Loiero look into allegations that the industry is rife with organized crime activity.
Canada will cut its permanent immigration levels by at least 20 per cent
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, ۴ý confirmed Wednesday.
Montreal's mayor is leaving politics, and she's not alone. Is it the toxic climate for women?
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante announced Wednesday she would not seek a third mandate. Her decision has many talking about the demands of municipal leadership, particularly for women.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
Trudeau says Liberals 'strong and united' despite caucus dissent
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
'Canadians can breathe a sigh of relief': Bank of Canada governor on interest rate cut
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
Local Spotlight
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that – and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.