An additional 84 Canadians and their family members left the besieged Gaza Strip Sunday through the Rafah crossing, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says.
In a post on X Sunday, formerly known as Twitter, Joly said the Canadians were heading to Cairo, Egypt.
“An additional 84 Canadians and their family members have made it through the Rafah gate today,” she said.
“I want to thank all of our staff, including those working in the Emergency Watch and Response Center, for ensuring their safe passage to Cairo.”
A daily list from Gaza’s General Authority for Crossings and Borders, which contains the names of foreign passport holders cleared to cross into Egypt via the Rafah land crossing, expanded to include 135 people with ties to Canada on Sunday.
The agency’s last update, provided on Friday, said 376 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have been able to leave the Palestinian territory through the Rafah crossing. The latest list provided by Gaza’s border authorities did not contain any Canadians.
The current conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis in brutal surprise attacks, taking another 240 people hostage.
Israel declared war on Hamas, began an airstrike campaign and cut off food, fuel, water and supplies to Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.
The territory’s health officials say more than 11,500 people have been killed so far, two-thirds of them women and children, and another 2,700 people are reported missing.
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