The federal government announced today, Sunday, that the deaths of five Canadians have been confirmed amidst the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, and advised Canadians in Lebanon to consider leaving.

The Canadian government has now confirmed the death toll has risen from four deaths as of Saturday, and officials continue to track the cases of three other missing Canadians.

This was announced by Julie Sunday, Assistant Deputy Minister of Canada’s Global Affairs for Consular Security and Emergency Management, during a press conference in Ottawa, where a protest against the crisis was taking place at Parliament Hill.

The latest confirmed victim was previously included in the government's tally of missing Canadians.

She said, "There has always been the possibility of confirming the death of missing persons... It is an extremely tragic outcome. Our thoughts are with the families in all these cases."

"We are very focused on addressing the issues of the three missing persons, whom we continue to try to locate and bring back to safety in Canada."

Over the past weekend, Hamas attacked Israel and took hostages, leading to a series of retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza. Thousands have been killed, injured, and displaced as a result of this conflict.

A update was provided about the team of experts that Canada sent to assist in negotiating for the hostages, while it has not yet commented on whether any Canadians are among the hundreds of hostages, the Assistant Deputy Minister stated that the team is currently working from Tel Aviv to communicate with their counterparts.

"There is a wide range of missing persons in Israel at the moment, and thus there are many partners on the ground. I know our team - along with their counterparts in Israel - has also been in discussions with American officials there who are working on these issues," she said Sunday.

"We are gaining a lot from broader discussions, and we are able to get information in real-time, you know, face-to-face, which is really important to be able to act and try to resolve these cases."

As of the end of Sunday, about 1,000 Canadians and their families will be evacuated from Israel to Athens via a military airlift operation by the Canadian Armed Forces, which has seen two flights daily transporting those looking to exit the conflict zone.

Global Affairs Canada responded to over 800 inquiries in the past 24 hours, and about 4,200 inquiries since the start of the crisis.

Currently, there are over 6,800 Canadians registered in Israel, with more than 450 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Among these, the government is currently assisting more than 3,300 Canadians and permanent residents and their families, it was reported on Sunday.

As the Israeli defense forces' ground attack in Gaza approaches implementation, civilians are being urged to find a way to exit the area.

While about 300 Canadians and their families continue to seek assistance in leaving Gaza, the federal government says it is still trying to find a safe window to facilitate their departure after plans on Saturday to exit through Egypt failed.

Sunday stated, "No one crossed that gate yesterday," noting that Canada still "strongly hopes" that work being done by allied nations and relief organizations will lead to the opening of a humanitarian corridor.

Sunday noted that "the situation remains fluid and extremely unsafe," pointing to the challenge of trying to obtain guarantees from Hamas, as well as communication challenges with those in Gaza due to the impact of power outages on communications.

On Friday, consular staff contacted nearly 50 families to inform them that although it is still unclear who may be allowed to pass should a corridor open, it may only be open for a very short window.

She added, "We emphasized that people need to ensure their safety and security when traveling, and that they need to be prepared... and that if an opportunity arises, being close to those borders would be advantageous."

"But again, individuals really have to make very tough decisions... we are not asking people to head directly to those borders until we understand that there will be an opportunity."

Plans for overland transport through Jordan are still underway for West Bank residents, who the government says will receive further information "in the coming days."

"We are prepared to start the overland transport option as early as tomorrow. But it's complex," she said Sunday, continuing to describe a preliminary plan for two buses that would see one bus taking Canadians from Ramallah through the West Bank, across the Allenby Gate. From there, passengers would switch buses to be taken to Jordan.

New Travel Warning for Lebanon
In the briefing – which is now updated daily – officials from Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department, and the National Defence Ministry discussed the latest developments.

This included a new warning for about 14,500 Canadian citizens and permanent residents registered in Lebanon: that Lebanon has become increasingly unstable and they should avoid travel to the area along the Israeli border, and consider leaving if they do not need to be there.

Furthermore, officials strongly advise anyone considering travel to avoid all non-essential travel to Lebanon due to "security risks." This concern is based on reported activity in the media at the border, and military assessments of the impact of potential conflict.

Sunday stated that "government planning is actively underway to prepare for all potential scenarios." "Simply put, this is not the time to go there... the situation is volatile, and if you do not need to be there, you should consider leaving while commercial means are still available."

The government also advises Canadians in Jordan regarding the possibility of widespread protests in the area, and to avoid demonstrations and gatherings.

During her visit to the region, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly "engaged" with the foreign ministers of Israel, the Palestinians, Jordan, and Qatar, as well as the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.