Some 266 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members were added to the list of foreign passport holders authorized to leave the Gaza Strip on Friday.
Authorities at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt are expected to begin processing the latest group of people seeking to flee the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas around 7 a.m. local time.
Thirty-two more people linked to Canada were able to leave the Gaza Strip on Thursday, after the first 75 citizens, permanent residents and members of their families made the trip on Tuesday.
No Canadians were able to cross the border by official means Wednesday due to what a U.S. State Department spokesperson described as “security circumstances.”
Global Affairs Canada has yet to release a recent update, but the department said that as of Thursday evening, an additional 550 people were still hoping to leave the territory.
The White House announced Thursday that Israel had agreed to implement a four-hour daily “humanitarian pause” in its airstrikes in Gaza. Canadian officials say they hope the pause in fighting will allow more departures of foreign nationals, the delivery of needed humanitarian aid, as well as the negotiation of a possible end to the month-long war.
US President Joe Biden said the promise of daily breaks came after he called on Israel to suspend bombing for three days or more in the hope that Hamas would release the hostages. However, he said there was “no possibility” of a ceasefire.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Israel to ensure that temporary pauses in fighting last long enough to allow people to leave the area and aid to arrive.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stressed that the Gaza Strip had become the most difficult place to live on Earth.
Foreign nationals in the territory are fleeing a worsening humanitarian situation and constant Israeli airstrikes. The bombing is in retaliation for the brutal October 7 attacks by Hamas militants, which killed 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped 239 people.
The Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory said the bombings had killed more than 10,800 Palestinians and that another 2,300 were buried under rubble, with the strikes in some cases destroying entire neighborhoods.
U.S. officials say the recent resumption of some water and food supplies has yet to meet huge demand for basic necessities.
The Canadian government says people linked to Canada who manage to leave Gaza will be allowed to stay in Egypt for up to three days. Canadian authorities provide them with housing and basic necessities during this period.