The federal government officially launched yesterday its special immigration program for extended family members in the Gaza Strip for Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada so that those stranded in the Palestinian war-torn sector can come to Canada under a temporary visa if their relatives are willing to financially support them during this period.

The program offers up to 1,000 visas for Palestinians located in the sector witnessing fierce war between Israel on one side and Hamas and other Palestinian factions on the other.

The program's website was launched yesterday afternoon, stating that applicants must hold valid passports and DNA test results and must show that they will receive financial support for one year from a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident in Canada.

Applicants who meet the conditions will receive temporary visas valid for three years.

The Justin Trudeau Liberal government justified setting the maximum number of successful applicants at 1,000 due to the unstable situation on the ground in the Gaza Strip and the obstacles it faced in evacuating Canadians from it through the Rafah crossing.

In an interview yesterday with CBC Television (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English service), Federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, said the government will show some flexibility.

"It would be illogical to close the matter as soon as a thousand applications of varying quality are received," Miller said.

"We want to get an idea of the size (of the applications) and we will be flexible. As you know, we have no idea of the numbers we are dealing with. We are currently guessing," added Miller.

The "Canadian National Muslim Council" (CNMC / NCCM), which had called for such a program, said it is in contact with more than 1,000 people who want to get their families out of Gaza.

The council, which is a non-governmental organization, had also previously called on the federal government to remove the maximum limit set at 1,000 accepted persons.

It is noteworthy that the Trudeau government launched a similar program for Ukrainians fleeing the large-scale Russian military invasion of their country in 2022 and set a much higher cap of 200,000 applicants.

Miller said the Canadian government does not decide who has the right to leave the Gaza Strip.

When the program was announced on December 21, he referred to the authority exercised by both Egypt and Israel at the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Miller also said that Canada must obtain guarantees from the two countries, Israel and Egypt, that the individuals it chooses under this new program will be able to cross the border from the Gaza Strip into Egypt.

"In addition to these two players, Hamas, which is a terrorist organization that has committed unspeakable atrocities, has a say and has sometimes played games at the border crossing itself," added Miller, "so the concern is very serious and the commitments are often fragile at best."