(Ottawa) Canadians were still excluded from the list of foreign citizens authorized to leave the Gaza Strip on Friday, as the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs reconfirmed that Canadian citizens and their families will be able to leave the territory in the coming days.
Minister Joly released an update on X on Thursday evening, saying she had discussed the matter with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen. She also wrote that she had received confirmation of Egypt’s cooperation.
“ [Affaires mondiales Canada] will communicate the most recent information to Canadians,” she added.
While the flow of foreign nationals leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday remains slow, Global Affairs Canada officials say they are working around the clock to evacuate Canadians from the war zone. They are asking Canadians to obtain their documents and “be ready to leave once we are informed they can cross the border.”
However, as of early Friday morning Eastern Time, Canada had not yet been added to the official list of “foreign passports” approved for travel through the Rafah border crossing, which allows entry into Egypt.
More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, most of them civilians, during the initial Hamas attack on October 7. Additionally, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel to Gaza by the militant group.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says the Israeli military response has killed more than 9,000 Palestinians.