Medical worker fleeing Gaza asked by Canada if he treated Hamas fighters

Lawyers are questioning Canada's approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.

The Canadian Press obtained a redacted letter sent to the applicant by a Canadian immigration officer, which asks if he has «ever provided medical care to injured Hamas members.» If he has not, the letter asks him to say how he was able to refuse «without consequences.»

Kelly O'Connor, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, said she gasped out loud when she saw the text. Any medical worker who denies care to someone hurt in a war zone is committing a «serious breach of the Geneva Convention,» she said in an interview.

«It's completely outrageous that the government would ask these kinds of questions because it's trying to promote that someone would violate the Geneva Conventions in wartime, which is really not something that the Canadian military stands for,» O'Connor said.

Visa applicants are already being asked «very invasive questions» in the process, she added. «And then seeing this letter? It's just really shocking.»

The Canadian visa program has been mired in setbacks and controversy since it opened on Jan. 9. It is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents hoping to get extended family members out of the Gaza Strip, where the war between Israel and Hamas has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

The war began after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Israeli government.

Applicants to Canada's special temporary visa program must complete several steps. First, a relative