Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says nearly 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, months after warning there was no guarantee Ottawa could evacuate them if the situation deteriorated further.
She is also concerned that attacks such as pager explosions only make the situation worse.
“My message to Canadians who are even considering going to Lebanon is don’t go, and I’ve been saying that for months,” she reminded reporters in Toronto on Friday.
Since Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel last October prompted Israel to bombard Gaza, Hezbollah militants have been firing rockets into northern Israel, prompting the evacuation of communities near the border and Israel striking civilian and Hezbollah infrastructure.
At the end of last October, Mr.me Joly began urging Canadians to leave Lebanon, saying the military was assessing how to proceed with a possible evacuation of citizens if necessary.
The government has never been clear about how many people might need to be evacuated, only stating how many had proactively registered with Global Affairs Canada. By the end of July, that number stood at about 21,400, with Ottawa warning that many had not registered.
At the time, the minister warned that “the situation on the ground may not allow us to help you” if things got worse. On Friday, she specified how many people could be left stranded.
“We know that we have about 45,000 Canadians in Lebanon,” she said. “We have to make sure that the message is clear, that it is also well followed by Canadians. And we also have to make sure that we are well prepared.”
Mélanie Joly stressed that the suffering in all parts of the region must end.
“We are very concerned about what is happening in Lebanon and, of course, in the broader Middle East,” she said.
She said she was “very concerned” by the escalation of violence in Lebanon, including deadly attacks, widely attributed to Israel, involving explosive pagers and walkie-talkies.
The Associated Press reported that the pager attack killed at least 12 people, including two young children, and injured thousands more.
“Regardless of any different tactics or strategies, ultimately we need this war to end,” the foreign minister said on Friday.
His statement follows a social media statement from Global Affairs Canada Wednesday evening that drew criticism from Israel advocates.
“We are gravely concerned by reports that civilians, including children, have been killed or injured,” the department wrote after the pager explosions. “Canada calls on all parties to avoid any further escalation of violence and to protect civilians.”