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Two Canadians are dead and a third is presumed dead as a result of the conflict in Israel, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Wednesday.
Joly said military flights to evacuate Canadians in Israel to Athens will begin this week. Meanwhile, the Canadian government is working on a way to get Canadians who can’t make it to Tel Aviv out of Gaza and the West Bank, possibly through Jordan.
Speaking to reporters, Joly said she is also working through diplomatic channels to try to prevent an escalation of the conflict.
Three other Canadians are missing in the region, according to Global Affairs Canada.
Joly said the government is following the reports of the Canadians who are missing, is providing support for their families and is in contact with local authorities.
Joly refused to disclose whether Canadians are among those who have been taken hostage by Hamas.
“I will not confirm whether Canada has any hostages because I don’t want to increase the value and put their lives in danger,” Joly said.
She said Canadian hostage experts are heading to Israel to provide their expertise.
While Global Affairs has been reluctant to name the Canadians who have died, Joly said she has spoken with members of Montrealer Alexandre Look’s family.
“I had the occasion to speak with the family of Alexandre Look yesterday and I have to say it was one of the most difficult calls that I have had to make in my life,” Joly told reporters.
“My heart is with his family and the families of the others. My thoughts are with their loved ones and their community.”
Joly’s comments come after the Palestinian militant group Hamas staged an attack on Israel last weekend, firing rockets, killing civilians and taking hostages.
The attack prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas with attacks of its own. Israel has also ordered what it has described as a complete siege of Gaza, blocking everything from electricity and fuel to food and water from entering.
Questions have been raised about the speed of Ottawa’s response to the crisis and reports that Canadians in the region had difficulty reaching Global Affairs staff and getting answers.
Joly said it took time to assess the situation and make arrangements, which were only finalized Tuesday night.
Arranging flights out
The Canadian Armed Forces are sending two CC-150 Airbus planes to the region to evacuate Canadians from Israel to Athens, where Air Canada has a hub. Global Affairs is sending staff from Europe to Athens and Tel Aviv to help Canadians arriving on those flights.
The evacuation assistance will be open to Canadian citizens, their spouses and children, as well as Canadian permanent residents, their spouses and children. Officials said Canadians will not be charged for the flights.
Joly said it is unusual for the government to provide evacuation flights while commercial flights are still available. However, the government was getting reports of Canadians trying to leave the region whose commercial flights were cancelled, and the backlog of people unable to get out of the region was growing.
Joly urged Canadians in the region to register with Global Affairs, She said they should register if they want to leave the region on one of the Canadian Armed Forces flights.
“We will act and take decisions based on the number of Canadians that have registered,” she said. “But at one point government flights will be over and Canadians will have then to take their decisions on what will happen next.”
As of Tuesday night, 4,249 Canadians were registered in Israel and 476 were registered in the West Bank and Gaza. The federal government says it doesn’t have a breakdown of how many are in Gaza.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said the military began planning for a possible evacuation as soon as the conflict erupted, but only received the formal request for flights Tuesday.
Among the factors the military has to consider are security, the assets the military has available, getting overflight clearance, landing slots and co-ordinating with Canada’s allies in the region.
“No mission is more important than protecting Canadians here at home or overseas,” said Eyre.
Canadians who can’t get to Tel Aviv — such as those in the West Bank and Gaza — likely will require a different route out, Joly said. One option is to get people from the West Bank to Jordan, where they could access commercial flights back to Canada. Canada has been discussing that option with the Jordanian government.
As for Gaza, Joly said Canada normally would work with the United Nations on an evacuation, but Canada does not have any information about a UN evacuation.
Joly said Canada will continue its humanitarian aid to Gaza and urged all of the parties in the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and allow humanitarian access to Gaza.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was dire before this weekend and this will only deteriorate the situation further … This will get worse before it gets better,” she said.
Asked about the prospect of having to evacuate Canadians out of Lebanon, Joly said the higher priority is de-escalating the situation. She said she will be speaking with Lebanese officials later today.
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