Global Affairs Canada said Sunday it was aware that a Canadian was among those killed in Israel during the Hamas assault launched the day before.
Two nationals are also missing and others say they are stuck in the middle of the deadly fighting, while airlines cancel their flights and it proves difficult to reach the Canadian embassy over the weekend of Thanksgiving.
No details were given on the identity of the missing Canadians.
“Canadian government officials in Israel are in contact with civilian authorities to confirm and gather additional information,” the agency’s statement read. The Government of Canada’s first priority is the safety and security of its citizens. For this reason, we will not make any comments or disclose information that could compromise ongoing efforts or put Canadians at risk. »
Robbie Segall, a 22-year-old Montrealer on an internship in Israel, said he felt safe in the West Bank village of Efrat, where he is staying with friends for the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, but that he was frustrated by “the lack of care or assistance from the Canadian government.”
Mr. Segall said he was at a synagogue when air raid sirens began to sound, prompting multiple trips to bomb shelters and the cancellation of church services for the holiday.
He said he contacted the emergency contact line set up for Canadians in Israel, but was redirected to the Canadian embassy. Mr. Segall said he was told the embassy was closed for Thanksgiving, and requests for information about travel and emergencies would not be answered until after the long weekend.
“Luckily I’m in a place where I feel safer, but if I felt like I really, really needed to get out, I wouldn’t be able to get any help from the Canadian government, from the embassy, until Tuesday “, he declared in an interview.
Kendall and Marie Fullerton of Toronto were at the Megiddo archaeological site on Saturday when Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters to infiltrate Israel’s heavily fortified border by air, land and sea.
The unprecedented attack has been called the deadliest against Israel in years, with the incursion and counter-offensive having already killed more than a thousand people from both sides, and injured thousands more.
“For now, the situation is OK, but I think Israel will probably intensify some offensive operations, and that will probably put pressure on other entities in the region,” Kendall Fullerton told The Canadian Press. from Tel Aviv, where he has been on vacation with members of his family since the end of September.
“It might get hotter and hotter as time goes on, so we’re pretty anxious to get out of this place.” »
The Israeli government officially declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military measures” to retaliate against Hamas, as the army attempted to crush remaining fighters in southern cities and intensified its bombings on the Gaza Strip.
The Fullerton couple said Tel Aviv was mostly quiet on Sunday, but they saw fighter jets and smoke coming from distant cities. The group also heard multiple air raid sirens, leading to stays in their hotel’s bomb shelter, since the Hamas incursion.
After their return flight was canceled, they spent Sunday trying to book another one, to no avail, as most airlines continued to cancel their flights. Air Canada announced it was temporarily canceling its flights to and from Tel Aviv starting Sunday, and would adjust its plans as things evolve.
Marie Fullerton said she had tried to contact the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv since news of the attack broke, but was referred to emergency hotlines, and that she was unable to obtain direct information due to the embassy’s opening hours over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
“What I would like is to have a flight that we can guarantee, bank on, put money down and go,” Kendall Fullerton said, noting that they planned to drive to Jordan and to fly from there, but were unsure if it would be safe.
Limit travel
Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, but advised the more than 1,400 Canadians registered in Israel and 492 in the Palestinian territories to limit their movements and shelter in place where they are. find until they can safely leave.
Global Affairs Canada urged Canadians traveling in the region to exercise “great caution” in Israel and avoid travel to the Gaza Strip and the country’s borders with Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Non-essential travel to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip border has also been discouraged.
The agency said the Canadian government’s ability to provide consular services to Canadians in the Gaza Strip is “limited” and that in the event of an expulsion, local authorities are not required to notify the embassy of the Canada in Tel Aviv nor the Canadian liaison office in Ramallah.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. He took the opportunity to “unequivocally condemn” the Hamas attack. He also expressed Canada’s “great concern” about the atrocities committed.
“Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated that Canada stands in solidarity with Israel and fully supports its right to defend itself,” reads the report from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two heads of government agreed “to remain in close contact as the situation evolves”.
The Montreal organization Doctors Without Borders said in a statement Sunday that its team in Gaza was preparing a donation of medicines to hospitals and health establishments, overcrowded with injured patients, as well as short of medicine and fuel for the generators. The agency said there were few safe options for moving patients to health facilities as ambulances were hit by airstrikes.
“These are bullet and shrapnel wounds, distributed randomly on the upper and lower limbs,” said the head of medical activity, Jean Pierre, in a press release.
In Canada, some police forces have increased their presence in mosques and synagogues due to the violence.
Speaking from Edmonton, Mousa Qasgas, spokesperson for the Canada-Palestine Cultural Association, told The Canadian Press that the group would hold a rally on Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinians.
“We know that yesterday’s events are difficult to watch,” Mr. Qasqas said, stressing that his group condemned terrorism.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, a few hundred protesters gathered downtown Sunday afternoon, where they waved Palestinian flags and marched through the streets, chanting slogans such as “Liberate Palestine” and “The Resistance is justified when people are invaded.