Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announces that Ottawa plans to evacuate by plane Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their spouses and children from Tel Aviv, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensifies.
“We plan to begin the assisted departure of Canadians from Tel Aviv in the coming days, with the help of Canadian Armed Forces aircraft,” says Mr.me Joly in a statement shared on the social network X, Tuesday evening.
She adds that Canada is also working on other options for those who cannot get to Tel Aviv airport.
The message did not mention the Gaza Strip, where some Canadians are reportedly stranded due to Israel’s closure of territory controlled by Hamas.
Individuals wishing to benefit from this assistance are encouraged to register with Global Affairs Canada. In a statement sent by email, Global Affairs Canada specifies that more information on assisted departure will be available on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport remains open, but travelers are advised to contact airlines or travel agencies due to limited space, the ministry said.
A total of 3,234 Canadians are registered with the registration service for Canadians abroad in Israel and 478 Canadians in the Palestinian territories, according to Global Affairs Canada.
The ministry has also responded to more than 1,200 requests for information since the start of the conflict on Saturday.
Two deaths and three missing
Global Affairs Canada says it is informed that three Canadians are missing.
Two deaths are also mentioned by the ministry, one confirmed and one reported, but no identity is revealed.
Relatives of two men reported their deaths while attending a music festival in southern Israel. One of them is Quebecer Alexandre Look, aged 33, his parents announced on Sunday.
On Monday, the principal of a Vancouver school confirmed that his former student Ben Mizrachi, 22, had been shot and killed.
Saturday’s attack on the Tribe of Nova outdoor music festival is considered the worst massacre of civilians in Israeli history, with at least 260 dead and an as yet undetermined number of people taken hostage.
The war, which has already left at least 1,900 dead on both sides since Saturday, is expected to intensify.