Hope for Palestinian family arrives with new immigration measures

An Edmonton woman has been offered a glimmer of hope that her family in Gaza will be able to escape the war.

Thursday, the Canadian government announced it would be offering temporary visas to residents of Gaza who have extended family in Canada.

It's good news for Yousra Alkhatib, who has 21 family members in Gaza, including her mother and five sisters. She said it's been hard to live knowing they're fighting to survive so far away.

The bombing is constant, she added, and they're struggling to find enough for the children to eat as they flee the violence.

"It's [a] disaster, the situation is very catastrophic," Alkhatib said. "No food, no electricity."

"Yesterday I didn't sleep, just trying to call them because when I knew about these measures, I need to tell them – I need to just give them hope," she said.

The federal government said it expects the new immigration measures to come into effect on Jan. 9.

They include offering temporary three-year visas for residents of Gaza or Israel who are related to Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

"While the intentions are good, and hopefully this works for people it really needs to work for, it's not going to be necessarily fast or quick or easy as it may appear," said immigration lawyer Megan Dawson.

• Gaza war's staggering toll reaches a grim milestone: 20,000 dead
• 'It doesn't get any worse': UN report says over 570,000 people in Gaza starving due to fallout from war

Dawson said other programs to help people fleeing conflicts in Ukraine and Afghanistan have contributed to delays across the board with immigration.

"And I suspect that it will be similar with Israel and Gaza," Dawson said. "To be quite blunt, they still have to make sure that we don't have people from Hamas masquerading, if you will, as appropriate refugees and family members."

While details have yet to be released, Dawson said families can start preparing for the process now by gathering as many documents as possible to prove their status in Canada and the family relationship.

Anyone applying to come to Canada should also gather as many documents as they can, Dawson said, though it may prove more difficult for people displaced by the war.

• Israel orders evacuations as it widens offensive but Palestinians are running out of places to go
• Desperation grows among Palestinians trapped with little aid as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza

"I would presume that the ability is going to be much different in Israel than with Palestine," she added. "In the past, there have been several kinds of very convoluted ways to try and prove somebody's identity, but that's not easy."

While the process may be difficult and it may take time, Alkhatib said the hope the new measures bring is enough to keep her family fighting for survival.

"One of my sisters, she started crying and she said, 'I can't even imagine that I have this chance,'" Alkhatib said. "She was very thankful, grateful, and me too."

"I said [to] her yesterday, just keep trying to get food, to do anything to stay safe until this happen. That's what I ask them to do," she added. "Fight to stay safe."

For more information on immigration measures for people affected by the Israel-Hamas war, visit the Government of Canada website here.

With files from CTV News' Rachel Aiello and CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb