Canadians arrive home on first flight out of Israel
Canadians arriving at Pearson airport Friday night on the first flight after being airlifted out of Israel recounted the fear and devastation they felt following the surprise Hamas assault last weekend.
Kinneret Butterfield-Morrison was in the city of Rehovot, where she had travelled with her brothers and father to mark the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death, when she woke up on Saturday morning to air raid sirens. Her family spent the rest of the day in and out of an apartment stairwell, taking shelter from rocket fire.
“The horror that’s occurred there has affected everyone,” she told reporters at Pearson’s arrivals gate, where she was greeted by her husband and two daughters, aged 2 and 7. She described the attack last Saturday, in which the Hamas militant group fired rockets and launched deadly raids into southern Israel, as a “complete slaughter.”
“Everyone knows someone who knows someone who is missing or who lost their lives,” she said, adding that while she was happy to be home she was worried for Israeli relatives she had left behind.
Butterfield-Morrison and her family members were among about 240 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their relatives who were evacuated Thursday on two Canadian military flights from Tel Aviv to Athens. From there, the evacuees were offered spots on a special flight to Toronto operated by Air Canada, in co-ordination with the Canadian government.
Although the federal government covered the cost of the military transports, passengers had to pay for the Air Canada flights.
Two more military planes left Israel for the Greek capital on Friday, carrying similar numbers to Thursday’s transports, and Air Canada was planning a second flight for evacuees on Saturday. There were about 170 passengers on Friday’s 10-hour flight to Pearson, according to the airline. Air Canada has announced it is suspending all direct flights between Pearson and Tel Aviv until the end of the month as the war rages.
Three Canadians have been confirmed among the dead in last Saturday’s assault.
The federal Liberal government has faced criticism from the Conservative opposition for how long it has taken to get Canadians out of Israel. Yaron Butterfield, Kinneret’s brother, said he was initially frustrated by what he described as a lack of communication from Canadian officials as he tried to register for the evacuation. But he said that once he arrived at the Tel Aviv airport, military personnel there were extremely helpful.
“I was so proud to be a Canadian,” he said.
Butterfield, who was trying to find a connecting flight to his home city of Vancouver on Friday, said he was still processing his experience in Israel. His voice caught as he described singing happy birthday to his cousin’s niece as the family took shelter from the rockets.
“I don’t have the words at the moment,” he said.
Father Khalid Karomi, a pastor who was in Nazareth leading 40 people on a pilgrimage when the fighting broke out, said that once the Canadian government announced the airlift on Tuesday, it “moved very fast” to repatriate his group.
“We are so grateful to the government as well as the military,” he said. “Everything was easy.”
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks greeted evacuees at Pearson. Saks, the MP for York Centre and an Israeli-Canadian, defended her government’s handling of the operation. She said foreign affairs staff were at surge capacities at Canadian embassies in Israel, Egypt and Jordan, and Ottawa was working “full speed ahead on this as quickly as we can in what is an ever-changing situation.”
Meanwhile, with an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza looming, the government’s plans to help Canadians stranded in the besieged Palestinian territory remain uncertain. Federal officials said Friday that Canadians trapped in Gaza may be able to escape on Saturday when a southern border gate into Egypt could open briefly, but stressed there was no guarantee foreign nationals would be allowed to leave.
Roughly 150 Canadians have asked Ottawa for help fleeing the territory, which is under heavy Israeli bombardment. Israel has also shut off access to power and water for the more than 2 million people living in Gaza.
On Friday, in a directive that has alarmed international observers, Israel told some 1 million Palestinians to flee to the southern part of Gaza ahead of the expected invasion.
Federal officials said roughly 2,200 Canadians in the region were asking Ottawa for help, mostly for assistance flying out. That included 1,300 in Israel, 190 in the West Bank, and about 600 whose locations weren’t known.
Canadians in the region who need assistance are asked to contact Global Affairs Canada at sos@international.gc.ca.
This article was reported by The Star
