The military is transporting Canadians to Greece
The evacuation of citizens from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict territory is in full swing.
On Thursday, October 12, the evacuation promised by Melanie Joly finally began. All Canadian citizens and residents and their families stranded in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are being flown on two military planes to Athens. An Air Canada flight leaving Athens tomorrow is expected to take the Canadians to Toronto.
The number of Canadians registered in the area of military operations is growing every day and has now reached 5,000. Of these, 1,600 people, half of whom are in Israel, have told the Canadian Foreign Ministry that they wish to leave the region urgently. At the same time, according to officials, not all of these people want to fly on military planes.
The plan is to have at least 275 Canadians in Greece by Thursday evening. Justin Trudeau said during his speech in the Northwest Territories that the government will consider other options to evacuate people — particularly those who can't get to the airport in Tel Aviv.
According to Canadian Ambassador to Israel Lisa Stadelbauer, there were 116 people on board the first Tel Aviv-Athens flight. About the same number of passengers were expected on the second flight.
Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, says Canada has no access to the Gaza Strip. But the government continues to negotiate humanitarian aid corridors to the area. About 100 people in the Gaza Strip have asked the Foreign Ministry for help in evacuating.
Hostilities continue in the area of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Both sides of the conflict are reporting large numbers of casualties. Israel reported 1,300 dead and 3,300 wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 1,100 dead and 5,300 wounded. Among Canadian citizens, three dead have been identified and confirmed, four are missing.
