(Ottawa) The Canadian military said Friday it was preparing for the possibility that it would have to help get Canadian nationals out of Lebanon, as Israel began evacuating a major city near its own northern border with this country.
Global Affairs Canada, for its part, urges Canadian nationals to leave Lebanon now on a commercial flight, while there are still some available.
The Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah, which has a large arsenal of long-range rockets, has exchanged fire with Israel along the border since Israel’s most recent war with Hamas began on October 7.
Hezbollah has also hinted that it might join this war if Israel seeks to wipe out Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Israel is widely expected to launch a ground invasion of Gaza in the part of its war against Hamas, in response to its unprecedented attack on civilians in southern Israel on October 7.
Major-General Darcy Molstad, deputy commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, told reporters Friday that Canadian military officers were already in Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus and Greece to prepare for a possible evacuation of civilians, if necessary.
And on Wednesday evening, Global Affairs Canada began advising Canadians to “avoid all travel” to Lebanon “due to the deteriorating security situation, civil unrest, increased risk of terrorist attacks and ongoing armed conflict with Israel.
At the start of the week, the federal government instead recommended that Canadians avoid “non-essential travel” to Lebanon – a lower level of risk than now.
Julie Sunday, assistant deputy minister for consular affairs at Global Affairs Canada, said Friday that approximately 14,500 Canadians had registered on the list of nationals currently in Lebanon. She said she was happy to see more Canadians registering.
Mme Sunday also urges these Canadians to take commercial flights from Beirut now, while they still can. “These are really difficult decisions to make, and we understand that. But our best advice is that it’s time to come back to Canada,” she told reporters Friday.
On its website, Global Affairs Canada specifies that “if the armed conflict intensifies, commercial means of leaving the country could be affected.”
“The ability of the Government of Canada to provide consular services during an active conflict, including the evacuation of citizens, may be limited,” it warns.
Flights from Tel Aviv
The 16the military flight carrying Canadians and their loved ones from Tel Aviv to Athens left Friday, and others were planned for Saturday and Sunday.
PHOTO COLE BURSTON, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Canadians repatriated from Israel disembark from a flight from Athens on October 13.
Officials have seen a drop in demand for these flights. They urged anyone seeking to leave Israel to join one of these flights as soon as possible.
Likewise, 33 coaches left the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, for Jordan, and preparations are underway for other crossings in the coming days.
In total, the Canadian government and the army helped approximately 1,500 people leave the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Mme Sunday said Ottawa is aware of the presence of 430 people in the Gaza Strip who are either Canadians, permanent residents of Canada or foreign close relatives. She said the situation in Gaza remains “incredibly fluid,” but that Canada is not aware of any Canadian deaths inside the Palestinian territory.
It remains unclear whether Canadians and their relatives in Gaza will be able to reach Egypt, after arrangements for such crossings failed last weekend for all foreigners in that territory. The Rafah crossing point in southern Gaza was damaged by airstrikes.
“We are not going to tell Canadians to head towards this border until we are sure that it will be open, particularly for foreign nationals,” said Mr.me Sunday.
She said Canadian officials in Egypt were ready to welcome Canadians if they crossed the border. “We’re also making sure we’re ready to catch up on the other side, and I can say it’s a big effort,” she said.