Canadians trapped in Gaza as Israeli Rafah invasion appears more likely
CTV
Expectations of an impending ground invasion are mounting in Rafah in the south of Gaza, following a wave of air attacks that provided cover for an Israeli hostage rescue mission.
Expectations of an impending ground invasion are mounting in Rafah in the south of Gaza, following a wave of air attacks that provided cover for an Israeli hostage rescue mission.
The high-risk operation involved soldiers storming a heavily guarded apartment building to free two Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants for more than four months.
The escalating military action by Israel in Rafah propelled more than 100 Palestinian supporters to demonstrate outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa. Hala Alshaer was among the protesters demanding the federal government do more to end the war and bring trapped Canadians out of Gaza.
The Palestinian-Canadian says, between the relatives on her mother’s and father’s side, her family has lost more than 200 extended relatives since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.
“They’re wiping out streets, families – entire family trees,” said Alshaer, who fears her cousin Ahmed Alagha and his family will be among the growing number of victims.
Alagha who used to live in Toronto before moving to Chicago, is among the 1.4 million people, or half the population of Gaza, seeking refuge in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border.
Alagha and his wife and five children have dual Canadian and American citizenship. The family has been displaced several times since the war began and fled to Rafah after their names were placed on a list of foreign nationals approved to cross into Egypt in November. The border closed before they could cross.
