
Canada changes course, starts busing citizens out of Israel
Ottawa has started offering buses to Canadians looking to leave Israel and the West Bank, along with those who manage to flee Iran — but few have taken up the offer days after Canada told citizens in the region to find their own way to neighbouring countries.
Canada has updated its travel advisory for Qatar, which warns to exercise a “high degree of caution,” after Iran attacked a U.S. base in the country.
In a Monday afternoon media briefing, Global Affairs Canada said 6,000 Canadians have registered in Israel using the department’s database, while slightly more than 400 have registered in the West Bank and around 5,500 have registered in Iran.
The actual number of Canadians in any given region is usually much higher than the numbers registered with Ottawa, said Dennis Horak, a former Canadian ambassador who served in the Middle East.