On Thursday, immigration minister Marc Miller announced that they had launched new temporary visas for people in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives to Canada.
However, the federal government could not guarantee safe passage out of the besieged Palestinian territory.
Canada Launches New Temporary Visas
Miller announced the program will be up and running by January 9. The Canadian government has been focusing on getting 660 Canadians, permanent residents, and their spouses and children out of Gaza.
According to ABC News, he confirmed that the government will start accepting applications from people with extended family connections to Canada, including parents, grandparents, siblings, and grandchildren.
People will only be offered three-year visas if they meet eligibility and admissibility criteria. Miller was still determining how many people could come to Canada under the program, but he said he was looking forward to hundreds of released Canadians.
Miller shared that getting Canadians out of Gaza has been challenging as they have limited ability.
Furthermore, he also announced that immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents who left Gaza or Israel who now reside in Canada will be allowed temporarily to apply for study or work permits.
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Canadians Trapped in Gaza
Canadian citizens trapped in Gaza have been begging for help to flee the war zone. Mahmoud Kouta of London, Ont, shared that he had been trapped since the war broke out.
Kouta was living in northern Gaza and fled south to Rafah with his wife and 18-month-old daughter after the continuous bombing destroyed his house.
Israeli officials ordered evacuating Palestinian civilians to head for Rafah and to other towns, but the area has been bombarded regularly by Israeli forces. Kouta said that nowhere in Gaza was safe.
He shared that whenever he goes to find food and water, he tells his wife goodbye and kisses his daughter, hoping it is not the last kiss he gave her. He could not even explain how they felt when they heard the sound of the bombing, and all they could do was try to calm down their children.
Last month, hundreds of Canadians and permanent residents were able to escape Gaza through the Rafah crossing at the Egyptian border. Foreign nationals were also able to leave Gaza under an apparent agreement between the United States, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, but the evacuations have since slowed.
Kouta attempted to cross into Egypt with his parents and younger siblings a few weeks ago. However, he was not allowed to leave and asked the Canadian officials why he and the rest of his family could leave Gaza.
He hoped that he could leave Gaza with his wife and daughter safely as he feared that anytime soon, he could lose his family.
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