Ottawa man reunites with family after fleeing Gaza

It's been weeks of frustration and anxiety for Hany Elbatnigi and his family, as he tried desperately to get out of Gaza.

Finally, after two months apart, they are reunited as a family in their Kanata home. For his daughter Nour, the timing could not be better.

"Just to hold his arm, to feel something and his voice next to me and not through a screen was ugh…I can’t even," Nour said. Her father’s return comes just days before her 21st birthday.

"I’m elated. I can’t even imagine, I thought I would never see him again," she said. 

The 71-year-old had been in Gaza since mid-September dealing with family property.

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After the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, the bombing began and he was trapped in Gaza alongside hundreds of other Canadians.

"I saw the dead for myself every minute there," Hany said, describing the horrors he witnessed for weeks. "The bombings were around us so we moved from place to place. Within this period we moved to seven places."

There were some close calls as he tried to get to the Rafah border. 

"The building in front of me, 100 metres, gets bombed and my body shakes and blood comes out from my ear," he said. 

Here in Ottawa, his daughter was constantly on the phone with Global Affairs trying to get him out. 

"There were moments I doubted our government in bringing him back soon enough," she said. 

On Wednesday, there was relief. He managed to evacuate to Egypt, landing in Montreal Friday night.

Waiting at the airport was his loved ones.

"I was so happy to go home and meet my family again and have my life back," he said.

His 12-year-old son Adbullah stayed up late to greet his father at home. He hadn’t seen him in person in two months.

"Really excited, I was hugging him and jumping up and down," he said. 

That same sentiment also felt by wife, Kholoud Rabah.

"I thank God because my husband come back," she said.

"He is the strongest man that I have ever met. I don’t think anybody could go and live that and come out with a smile, we’re happy to see him," added Nour.

While there is relief and celebration for this family, their thoughts are still with those left in Gaza.