Rafah border crossing between Gaza, Egypt closed Saturday: Canadian government

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The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed Saturday, federal government officials confirmed, as hundreds of Canadians and their families seek to leave the besieged Palestinian territory.

A spokesperson for Joly confirmed to CTV News that the Rafah border crossing did not open to foreign or dual nationals on Saturday.

Jean-Pierre J. Godbout, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, later told CTV News, "The Rafah border crossing from Gaza to Egypt has been closed all day Saturday."

The latest development comes after Global Affairs Canada sent an email to Canadians in the Palestinian territory on Friday saying "more than 400 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members will be able to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing in the coming days, and possibly as early as Sunday."

A Saturday afternoon update from Global Affairs Canada did not include details about the reported closure of the Rafah border crossing.

The update did say, though, that Global Affairs is now aware of reports that two Canadians have crossed through Rafah with a third-party. On Wednesday, the department confirmed that one Canadian had crossed.

Global Affairs has previously said it provided regional partners with a list of close to 450 eligible Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members who want to leave Gaza.

Wael Abu Omar, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said authorities in Gaza did not allow foreign passport holders to leave because Israel was preventing Palestinian patients from going to Egypt for treatment.

On Friday, a senior U.S. official in the Biden administration accused Hamas of trying to slip some wounded fighters onto a list of people approved to pass through Rafah.

The official, who spoke to reporters in Washington on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Egyptian authorities found several wounded Palestinians on the list who were suspected Hamas militants.

Hamas eventually withdrew the names but the official said this slowed efforts to bring foreign nationals and seriously injured Palestinians out of Gaza.

Many other foreign nationals and seriously injured Palestinians have already left through Rafah, including British, American, Australian, French and Bulgarian citizens.

Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.

A spokesperson for the U.K. government's Foreign Office expressed disappointment at the border closure, calling for the continuation of humanitarian aid and the "safe passage of people, including all foreign nationals."

"We are disappointed that the Rafah crossing has been temporarily closed today. This continues to be a complex and challenging situation and we are using all diplomatic channels to press for its reopening in co-ordination with our international partners," the spokesperson said.

Speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "expressed Canada's support for Israel and its right to defend itself in accordance with international law, in the face of Hamas' brutal attacks," a readout of their conversation provided by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The PMO said Trudeau discussed the need to protect Palestinian civilians and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, his concerns over the "dire humanitarian crisis," the risk of escalation in the region, rising antisemitism and the impact of the Oct. 7 attack on Canada's Jewish community, and the country's support for a two-state solution.

"The two leaders agreed on the need for the immediate release of all hostages held in Gaza. The two leaders also discussed ongoing efforts to get foreign citizens out of Gaza and the Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Netanyahu for Israel's assurances that Canadians in Gaza will be able to leave in the coming days," the readout said.

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press