Report: Canada Preparing to Evacuate 45,000 Citizens from Lebanon As War Fears Grow

Canada is preparing to evacuate 45,000 of its citizens from Lebanon should a full-scale war break out between Israel and Hezbollah, Hebrew media reported on Friday, June 21.

The report quoted what it said was a tense conversation held earlier in the day between Foreign Minister Israel Katz and his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly. The latter was said to have told Katz that Ottawa had already sent military forces to the region in preparation for “the largest evacuation we have ever undertaken,” amid fears of an escalation in violence between Israel and Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon.

It was unclear if similar plans were being made for the roughly 35,000 Canadian citizens living in Israel. Katz reportedly urged Joly to put pressure on Hezbollah’s Iranian backers to reign in the terror group.

“The window of opportunity is closing,” Katz was quoted as saying. “Israel will not put up with… the situation where residents of the north can’t return to their homes.” Israel evacuated communities along its northern border following Hamas’ October 7 terror onslaught, fearing Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack amid daily rocket fire. Some 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain displaced.

Kuwait’s foreign ministry also recently called on its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible, amid concerns of a full-scale war. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we pray for Your protection over all civilians currently residing in our country and Lebanon. We pray that if a war erupts everyone will be evacuated safely and find appropriate temporary accommodation. We pray in Yeshua’s name for everyone who is impacted by the terrorist organizations wreaking havoc in the Middle East, and we ask that this nightmare will soon stop with no further loss of human lives.”