Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Sunday evening that 84 other Canadians were able to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing towards Egypt.
Mme Joly made the announcement via a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Another 84 Canadians and members of their families crossed the Rafah crossing.
I would like to thank all of our staff, including those working at the Monitoring and Response Center, for ensuring their safe passage to Cairo.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) November 20, 2023
“Another 84 Canadians and members of their families crossed the Rafah crossing. I would like to thank all of our staff, including those working at the Monitoring and Response Center, for ensuring their safe passage to Cairo,” the minister wrote.
A group of 135 people with ties to Canada desperate to flee escalating violence in Gaza were officially allowed to leave the besieged territory on Sunday.
Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest efforts to move Canadians through the Rafah land crossing, but the names of 135 Canadians were on a list of foreign passport holders authorized to travel, Sunday. This list is updated daily by the Gaza Crossings and Borders General Authority.
Among those allowed to leave was Palestinian-Canadian Khalil Manaa, 71, who left Gaza for Egypt on Sunday.
After fleeing to southern Gaza, he and his relatives shared a crowded house of 40 people.
“And there too, we were subjected to intense strikes. A rocket hit our house,” he said.
The latest update from Global Affairs, provided Friday, indicates that 376 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have so far been able to leave the Palestinian territory through the Rafah crossing. This number rises to 460 when adding the additional 84 Canadians who were able to leave Gaza.