Canadians unlikely to leave Gaza Sunday amid breakdown at Rafah border crossing
CTV
It's unlikely any Canadians will be able to exit Gaza today, as Global Affairs Canada had suggested could be the case, amid an ongoing standstill at the Rafah border crossing.
It's unlikely any Canadians will be able to exit Gaza today, as Global Affairs Canada had suggested could be the case, amid an ongoing standstill at the Rafah border crossing.
Canada’s Ambassador to Egypt Louis Dumas told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview Sunday, "We were hopeful it would open today but it still has not opened."
The Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt has been closed for a second consecutive day after a breakdown in negotiations to keep it open to let foreign nationals out. Dumas said Egypt has dispatched its minister of health and the governor of North Sinai to the Rafah crossing in hopes of pushing negotiations forward to allow civilians to pass through.
"Up to now, you know, there hasn't been a resolution of the matter," Dumas said.
A Canadian whose father is in Gaza told The Canadian Press she received an email from Global Affairs Canada on Saturday saying evacuations for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members is tentatively set to start Monday.
Global Affairs had previously told Canadians that they may have been able to leave the war-torn Gaza Strip “as early as Sunday".
"We were hopeful that, you know, from all the indication that we had received, that we would have 200 Canadians come through on Sunday -- 216 coming through the following day -- but then disagreement happened between Hamas, Egypt and Israel on individuals crossing the border," he said. "So since then, because the border has not been operational, nobody has managed to come through.”