Many Canadians were taken out of the troubled area known as Gaza on Tuesday as a safety measure.
Over 400 people in Canada have signed up to leave the country.
This is the first time that Canadians have been included on a list published by border authorities in Gaza. This happened after the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt opened last week.
Canada’s government will help them with their journey to Cairo and then onwards to Canada.
On social media, Canadian foreign affairs Melanie Joly said that the first group of Canadians have been brought out of Gaza.
Canadian diplomats met them at the border with Egypt, said Ms Joly. She described the evacuation as a small glimmer of hope during difficult times.
She also mentioned that her team is still trying to help bring back the rest of the Canadians.
“She said you can be sure that this is our top concern. ”
Many Canadians have been eagerly waiting to leave ever since the Rafah crossing was opened. For many days, there were no Canadians allowed to leave.
However, everything changed on Tuesday when the names of the first 80 Canadians who were given permission to enter Egypt were made public.
Canada’s foreign ministry previously stated that the situation is constantly changing and hard to predict. They advised people to be ready for long waits.
Egypt and Israel have made a list of people who are allowed to cross between their borders. The embassies of the countries involved are told about the list in advance so they can get ready to welcome their citizens who will be crossing.
Seham al-Batnejy, a Palestinian-Canadian, said on Sunday that she and her daughter have been going to the Rafah border crossing for five days, hoping to leave.
We are having a lot of difficulties. Without water, electricity, and food. “It’s a really tough situation, more difficult than you can imagine,” she said.
People who go across will be met by embassy workers on the Egyptian side, where they can stay for a maximum of 72 hours.
Global Affairs will help and support registered Canadians with travel, accommodation, food, and basic things they need.
Four people from Canada were able to escape from Gaza, apparently with the help of someone else. The government did not share specific information about this because they want to protect people’s privacy.
The border between Gaza and Egypt opened on Wednesday, allowing some regular people from Gaza and many foreigners to leave. Last week, hundreds of foreign citizens used this crossing to leave Gaza.
This was the first chance for them to do something since the war started on 7 October. During this war, Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel in a way that had never happened before and more than 1,400 people were killed.
After that, the Israeli army started a big bombing attack in Gaza, put the area under a total lockdown, and recently began a ground attack on the northern part of Gaza. The health department in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, has reported that over 10,000 individuals have died.
Foreigners leaving Gaza through the Rafah border crossing were stopped on Saturday and Sunday because of a disagreement about helping injured patients leave.