The Canadian government has announced that it has decided to withdraw the children of its diplomats and their guardians from Israel due to concerns about the escalating Middle East war.
Canada’s foreign ministry says it has approved the temporary relocation of the children and their guardians to a safe third country.
In a statement Wednesday night, Canada’s Foreign Affairs and Trade (GAC) said its embassies in Tel Aviv and Beirut, as well as the Palestinian Authority’s representative office in Ramallah in the West Bank, “are all fully operational and continue to provide essential services to Canadians.”
According to the GAC, diplomats based in Ramallah and Beirut do not have dependents living with them.
Rising tensions
Tensions in the Middle East have raised fears of all-out war following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and a top political leader of Hamas in Iran.
The Ottawa government on Saturday warned Canadians to avoid all travel to Israel, citing the “ongoing regional armed conflict and unpredictable security situation.”
The government also advises against travel to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Lebanon.
The current conflict erupted after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people. The Gaza Strip’s health ministry says the war has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians and left the strip in devastation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II earlier this week and expressed “deep concern” about the risk of escalating conflict between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah and other Iranian-affiliated groups.
“The two leaders stressed the urgent need to avoid further escalation of tensions that endanger civilian lives in the region,” the prime minister’s office said in a summary of Tuesday’s phone call.
