Some 266 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members had their names added to the list of foreign passport holders allowed to exit the Gaza Strip on Friday.
Officials at the Rafah border crossing into Egypt were expected to start processing the latest batch of people looking to flee the latest Israel−Hamas conflict around 7 a.m. local time.
Another 32 people connected to Canada were able to leave the Gaza Strip on Thursday, after an initial 75 citizens, permanent residents and family members made the trip on Tuesday.
No Canadians were able to cross via official means on Wednesday because of what a U.S. State Department spokesperson described as a "security circumstance."
Global Affairs Canada has not yet issued a statement on the latest update, but said, as of late Thursday, 550 more people were still hoping to leave the territory.
The White House announced on Thursday that Israel agreed to put in place a daily four−hour "humanitarian pause" on its airstrikes in Gaza. Canadian officials said they hope the breaks in fighting will allow more departures of foreign nationals, the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid and the negotiation of an eventual end to the month−old war.
U.S. President Joe Biden said the promise of daily pauses came after he called on Israel to withhold bombardment for three or more days in the hopes that Hamas would release hostages, though he said there was "no possibility" of a ceasefire.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Israel to ensure that temporary pauses in fighting would last long enough for people to leave the area and for aid to arrive.
And Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the Gaza Strip has become the hardest place to live on Earth.
Foreign nationals in the territory are fleeing a worsening humanitarian situation and constant Israeli airstrikes. The bombardment is in retaliation for brazen Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants, who killed 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped 239 people.
The Health Ministry in the Hamas−run territory has said the bombardment has killed more than 10,800 Palestinians, and another 2,300 others are believed to be buried under rubble, with strikes in some cases demolishing entire city blocks.
American officials say the recent resumption of some water supplies and food shipments has yet to meet a huge demand for essentials.
The Canadian government says that people connected to Canada who manage to leave Gaza will be allowed to stay in Egypt for up to three days.
Canadian officials are providing them with accommodation and basic essentials during that time.
"We’re ready on the other side of the Egyptian border to assist and support Canadians that are evacuated," Joly said.
She added that Canada cannot control whether the border crossing is open or not, or "who crosses and when."
banner image: The Canadian Press
