The first real hope for this young woman came in escaping the nightmare she lived through in the Gaza Strip, on the same night she was certain that she and her family would be killed.

In late last year, Canada promised it would help get extended family members of citizens out of the besieged area. But by last month, delays had deprived the 20-year-old woman of any belief that the Canadian government would help her family leave.

She added that as weeks passed, she and her relatives lived under almost continuous bombing. On the days when they could not find canned food, the adult family members chose to go hungry so the children could keep eating.

In mid-February, their fortunes changed. Her name and those of her family members appeared on the list of those accepted to cross the border into Egypt.

The Canadian government had nothing to do with it.

In a desperate act, the young woman’s family in Canada paid more than $70,000 to a private company to negotiate the exit with Egyptian and Israeli officials.

The news made her family literally jump for joy that night.

But within hours, fear prevailed as the Rafah area, considered the last relatively safe place in the region, was subjected to intense bombing from Israeli air raids.

Doors and windows of the one-bedroom apartment where the young woman slept alongside 40 women and children flew open.

They survived through the night, and when the sun began to rise, the family gathered what little they had and cautiously made their way to the border.

The idea that she had left her life behind did not feel real until she was on the bus. After that, they would all start over in Canada, which she was certain would grant her family visas after their escape. Or so she thought.

The young woman said in Arabic through a translator: "We thought the only issue was getting out of Gaza, and then it would be easy." Canadian press agreed not to mention her name for fear of retaliation from Egyptian or Canadian authorities.

She pleaded: "Our only hope is to go to Canada."

But that hope has almost shattered.

She and the rest of her family have not heard from the Canadian government regarding the visas, although their legal status in Egypt is about to expire in a few days.

Meanwhile, the family members cannot work or get medical care. They receive full support from their relatives abroad, who have already paid large sums to get them out of danger.

The uncertainty has left those in Canada feeling betrayed.

The woman’s aunt, living in Canada and working to get her relatives to safety since the war broke out on October 7, said: "They have betrayed us." The Canadian press agreed not to mention the aunt’s name fearing identification of the family.

She said that Immigration imposed fees to apply to the program announced by Ottawa in December but has seen little evidence of anything Canada has actually done to help her family.

She added: "There is a big question mark about the level of effort Canada is making in this program," "They are just making up excuses."

The government launched a program in January to provide temporary visas for up to 1000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who have extended families in Canada, provided their families support them upon arrival.

Immigration Minister Mark Miller was frank about his frustration with Canada’s inability to facilitate approved family members' crossing to Egypt.

He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the delays suffered by people who managed to escape on their own.

The government did not specify how many people applied to the program, which offers temporary asylum to parents, grandparents, siblings, and grandchildren of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Spouses and children of extended family members are also eligible.

As of March 4, 986 applications were accepted and under processing. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stated that only 12 of those people managed to leave Gaza, completed screening, and were approved to come to Canada.

The war began after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages.

Israel responded quickly with airstrikes and eventually a ground invasion in a conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The war has displaced 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes, and United Nations officials say a quarter of the population is suffering from famine.

Debbie Rashlis, an immigration lawyer based in Toronto, said she represents at least 50 Palestinians in Egypt who fled without Canadian assistance and are waiting for Canadian visas. She said she is aware of about 100 similar cases handled by other lawyers.

Rashlis explained: "The heartbreaking part is the people who will not be able to get out because their families do not have this kind of resources or do not have these kinds of connections."

She said those who left before completing the Canadian application process worry they might no longer be eligible.

Rani Hamid paid thousands of dollars to a private company for what he described as bribes to move his parents, brother, nieces, and nephews from Gaza to Cairo in December, where their money is now running out and they hope to get any word from the Canadian government.

He said that since their arrival before the Canadian visa program opened, it is unclear whether they are still eligible or not.

In Gaza City, his sister, her husband, and their five children are also waiting, facing ongoing risk from military strikes and famine, according to Hamid.

He said his 10-year-old nephew, Yamen, has a broken leg that cannot be treated due to the lack of functioning hospitals.

His uncle said Yamen recently apologized to his mother for being picky about food, adding, “I will eat any food you give me now,” quoting Hamid, his voice full of emotion as he spoke from his home in Hamilton, Ontario.

Hamid was one of many Palestinian Canadians advocating for a special immigration program to bring extended Canadian families to safety.

He said that when the visa program first opened, people called him to thank him for his support, saying their families would finally be safe.

Now they call him to say they wish it had never opened — and that the false hope has crushed them.

He said: "We look at it, as Palestinian Canadians, as we were betrayed by the Canadian government and deceived." "They do not care about us."

He noted that he worries Palestinians will remain in Gaza, risking famine and death because there is so much uncertainty about the Canadian visa program.

It is unclear who will be accepted or how long it will take. Many do not have money to live day to day in uncertainty in Cairo, without income, staying in hotels or renting rooms from Airbnb.

He said, "I am very desperate. I am very desperate."

Yaman Marwah, an immigration lawyer based in Ottawa, said the rules state that extended family members applying to the program must be in Gaza at the time of application.

Marwah said Canada does not provide income support or settlement for family members who obtained a visa, and the government has not waived the application fees totaling about $185 per person.

Applicants had to sign a form on behalf of their families, pledging that they do not receive social assistance and will cover all costs.

Marwah said he is unsure what is better: "Giving people hope that there might be a way out and making them fight for it, as Canada did — or not giving them hope from the start and telling them: ‘You know what? We cannot help you.’"

The young Egyptian woman said she feels luckier than those still in Gaza.

She said small things like running water and a bag of potato chips seem like a dream, adding she wants nothing more than to resume a normal life.

She added, "This hope lies with the Canadian government."