Montreal woman fears for family's safety in Gaza

Palestinians in Montreal are watching neighbourhoods in Gaza being destroyed in Israeli retaliation for this weekend's attacks by Hamas.

As Canada says it's still negotiating evacuations in Gaza, people like Dalya Shaath are worried about her family there being caught in the crossfire from Israel's bombing campaign.

"It's all gone," Shaath says, looking at old photos of her family's home in Gaza that was destroyed.

• Then and now in photos: New satellite imagery from Gaza City shows buildings destroyed

Three of her cousins — Ibrahim, Abdullah, and Haitham — were killed in Israeli airstrikes, she said.

"We are civilians, nothing else. They were sitting in their homes and they're bombed. We want to live in peace, we want to live in dignity and humanity. That's what we want," she said.

Shaath hasn't heard from her family for days.

"I have no connection. I don't know if they're still alive or not alive," she said.

Flights out of Israel and Gaza were suspended, leaving hundreds of Canadians stranded.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says evacuation flights are headed to Tel Aviv by the week's end. As for the Canadians in Gaza, plans are unclear.

"But I want you to know that we are here for you," Joly said Wednesday during a news conference.

Joly says it's on a case-by-case scenario.

"Should the United Nations work on an evacuation, we would be working with them. We've done so in the past. But at this point, there has been no information coming from the UN regarding evacuation," the minister said.

Shaath said there's not much she can do besides standing up for the Palestinian people.

"We demand that the Canadian government not to take sides but to push for negotiations and to push for a ceasefire and to stop the killing of civilians in Gaza," she said, "and as well, we do not want civilians from both sides to be killed."

She also said she wants the blockade lifted to let residents in and out of Gaza.

Shaath has spent time in Gaza as a medical volunteer and said once the violence ends, she plans to return to support her family and neighbours.