Some Canadians can start leaving Gaza early Tuesday morning, Global Affairs says

Some Canadians who have been waiting to leave Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas were told they can start entering Egypt at the Rafah crossing early Tuesday morning, according to Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

According to an email shared by a Canadian in Gaza with CBC News, GAC encourages Canadians who received the email to "arrive as early as possible." The email says the crossing is set to open at 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET).

"Please have your travel documents ready (passports, IDs, birth certificates or any important documents) and your personal belongings," the email read. "Our consular officials will be on the Egyptian side of the border to facilitate your transportation to Cairo by bus."

Egypt's government will allow those crossing to stay for a maximum of 72 hours, according to GAC.

"While in Cairo, we will provide food, accommodation and basic necessities. We will also help with onward travel to Canada at your own expense. Financial assistance in the form of emergency loans for travel are available to those in need."

Earlier, Louis Dumas, Canada's ambassador to Egypt, told Power & Politics host David Cochrane that he was "very happy" to see the crossing reopen on Monday.

"As you know, it was closed for a few days, but in the next few days, at the very least, we hope to see a full load of foreign nationals coming from Gaza into Egypt," Dumas said.

"Canada is still in the mix to receive its nationals within the next few days."

WATCH | Canada's ambassador to Egypt on the Rafah situation:

Ambassador hopes Canadians will be allowed to leave Gaza in the coming days

1 year ago

Duration 14:09

'Canada is still in the mix to receive its nationals within the next few days,' Canada's Ambassador to Egypt Louis Dumas tells Power & Politics. Dumas says the closure of the Rafah border crossing over the weekend has created a backlog in the departure of foreign nationals from Gaza.

Previous closures of the Rafah crossing have frustrated Canadians with family in Gaza. Samah Al-Sabbagh, who spoke to CBC's Rosemary Barton Live from London, Ont., on Sunday, said she's worried about her 73-year-old father in Gaza.

"He's not eating, not sleeping. He's in fear," Al-Sabbagh said of her father, who went to northern Gaza on vacation near the end of September, a visit that she says "turned into a huge nightmare."

"It's a very frustrating time," she said.

WATCH | Canadian whose father still in Gaza criticizes federal government: 

Canadian with father stuck in Gaza says government 'has failed us'

1 year ago

Duration 6:25

Samah Al-Sabbagh, speaking Sunday to CBC's Rosemary Barton Live from London, Ont., said her 73-year-old father is on Global Affairs Canada's list to leave Gaza but he remains in the war-torn territory and his health is deteriorating. 'My father is not the only one stuck,' Al-Sabbagh said.