A 43-year-old Ontario woman is feeling grateful now that she is out of Gaza and back home.
Rana Nassrawi was trapped in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war and narrowly dodged airstrikes with her two young sons.
She says nobody can go through what she's been through and not be changed -- adding, you will be very grateful for things you took for granted, like easy access to clean drinking water.
Nassrawi and her five and seven-year-old sons were among the first cohort of Canadians who were able to evacuate from the besieged Palestinian territory since the war began on October 7th.
Since getting back to her quiet Toronto-area neighbourhood last week, Nassrawi says just being able to fall asleep in relative quiet, without the sound of airstrikes nearby, has her feeling grateful.
She says the bombing never stopped.
Global Affairs Canada has said that 367 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members have been able to get out of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, including nine people who left without the government's help since then.
The government has said that it is in touch with 386 people who remain in the besieged territory.
Nassrawi had returned to Gaza for the first time in two decades on October 4th to visit her relatives and then the war broke out just days later.