His daughter was born in Gaza during the war. In Toronto, they finally met

Over the past few weeks, Ahmad Abualjedian has been in Brantford, Ont., bracing for news that his wife and daughter, who was born in the waiting room of an overflowing hospital in Gaza, had died. 

After communications in the besieged territory were cut off, he couldn't get in touch with them for days at a time. His wife, Yara, gave birth in the city of Jabalia on Oct. 23, in a hospital with no electricity and without anesthetic. Now, he said, both she and the whole family are finally getting some relief. 

On Friday morning, Ahmad, a Canadian permanent resident who is visually impaired, stood in the Pearson International Airport arrivals area with a bouquet of flowers clutched to his chest, a Canadian flag poking out of the foliage, and for the first time, touched his baby daughter. 

"I don't know what to say, but finally, I got my dream," said Ahmad. 

After initially being told Global Affairs Canada couldn't help the family, Ahmad's wife and baby, named Sila, were eventually taken to the Canadian Embassy in Cairo before flying to Toronto. Yara and Sila are among the Canadians and family members who have been able to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7. 

Amid the pain the fighting has brought to thousands of families, including Ahmad's — he lost a sister and cousins — he said on Friday he wanted to focus on happiness. 

"We have to be positive, we have to be looking, not to the past, [looking] into the future now," he said. "We will start [to] build our future in Canada." 

Yara is on a temporary resident visa in Canada; the family says the status of baby Sila is yet to be determined.  To help build their life here, Ahmad is looking for work so he can support them, but that has proven difficult because of his impaired vision, according to friends with him at the airport. 

Speaking through Ahmad, who acted as a translator, Yara said the feeling of being in Canada was indescribable. 

"I was dreaming to be with my husband," Ahmad said, translating for Yara. "To be with him and help him as a blind person."

'Running from place to place'

Yara described the terror of living in Gaza during Israel's bombardment. She was worried for her life, worried about giving birth, and then worried for her daughter. 

"We were just running, running from place to place to get safe," Ahmad said, translating for Yara. 

WATCH | What it's like to reach the Rafah border crossing:

Canadian describes the 'terrifying' journey from north to south in Gaza

1 year ago

Duration 0:58

Wafa Shurrab, a Canadian who passed through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Tuesday, says the trip from Gaza City to the border was harrowing, with 'destroyed houses all the way.'

While in Gaza, she said she stayed in the Jabalia refugee camp, which a spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed was hit by an airstrike on Oct. 31. The director of a hospital near the site of the strike told Al Jazeera that more than 50 Palestinians were killed and 150 wounded. The IDF says it was targeting a senior Hamas leader. 

One of the first orders of business now that Yara and Sila have landed is to see a doctor, Ahmad said. 

Sana Qasem is one of Ahmad's friends who has helped to ensure the family had everything a newborn needs before Yara and Sila arrived. She said Yara was forced to give birth in an unsanitary environment without clean water. 

Qasem arrived at the airport with bags full of supplies: swaddles, winter coats, diapers, wipes and a fuzzy white teddy bear. At Ahmad and Yara's home, she set up a crib and piled up baby clothes. 

"I even cleaned her house just to make sure that when she goes in, she doesn't have to worry about a single thing," she said.

'Canada is my country'

Last week, Ahmad told CBC News that Global Affairs had told him they couldn't help get Yara and Sila out of Gaza. But a few days later, he was told they'd be reopening the file. 

Despite those difficulties, Ahmad said the experience has filled him with gratitude for the country he's lived in since 2018. 

"I would say Canada is my country," he said. 

He credits the successful evacuation in part to his local member of Parliament, Larry Brock, who held Sila in his arms on Friday as Yara and Ahmad embraced. 

"What turned out initially to be a nightmare has been a dream come true," Brock said. 

Though Ahmad and Yara's story has ended in celebration, Brock stressed that for the many Canadians still hoping that they or their family members will be able to make it out of Gaza, escape will come on a case-by-case basis. 

"I know that there are efforts being made to ensure that all foreign nationals are able to leave Gaza safely and securely and be able to get back to their home countries," he said. "I hope that continues."