Mark Carney urges Israel to give up control of Gaza aid flow
Carney's remarks came just hours after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September, as Europe toughens its rhetorical stance against Israel.
Macron's move triggered a sharp backlash from Israel and the U.S.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned it as a 'reward for terror,' while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a 'reckless decision' and 'a slap in the face' to the victims of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks.
Israel has been waging war in the Gaza Strip for almost two years, following a violent attack by Hamas militants on Israeli territory in October 2023 that killed more than 1,000 people. Retaliation by the Israel Defense Forces has killed tens of thousands of people in the starving coastal enclave.
Carney also reiterated Canada's call for an immediate ceasefire and urged Hamas to release all the hostages it took in the initial attack on Israel.
He pressed Israel to 'respect the territorial integrity of the West Bank and Gaza,' and reaffirmed Canada's support for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
'Canada will work intensively in all fora to further that end, including through the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the UN High-Level Conference on a Two-State Solution in New York next week,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
41 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland to talk trade, Gaza
President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 27. The pair are to meet Monday at Trump's Scotland golf course where they are expected to talk trade and the war in Gaza. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo July 28 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday when the Western leaders are expected to discuss cease-fire plans for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Starmer is to travel to Trump's golf course in Turnberry where the American president on Sunday announced a new trade deal with the European Union. According to a statement from 10 Downing Street, Trump and Starmer are to have "wide-ranging" one-on-one talks, including on the implementation of the Economic Prosperity Deal that the pair signed on May 8 and which came into effect last month. Starmer is also expected to discuss with Trump "what more can be done to secure the cease-fire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought a cease-fire and hostage-release deal in the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza between Iran-poxy militia Hamas and Israel, but has repeatedly been met with obstacles. On Thursday, Israel and the United States recalled their negotiators, ending talks with Hamas that had initially sparked optimism that a deal could be reached. The Trump administration has blamed Hamas for the breakdown, with Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, stating the Iran-backed militia's latest response "clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza." "It's a shame Hamas has acted in this selfish way," he said in a statement. The Trump-Starmer meeting comes amid a deteriorating situation in Gaza where aid agencies are warning of starvation. Israel has announced a so-called tactical pause to fighting in specific areas to allow the delivery of aid between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., local time, on Sunday. The announcement came as the Middle Eastern country is coming under mounting international pressure over its war in Gaza and its restrictions on aid entering the territory. According to the Save the Children charity, 133 people, including 87 children, have already died from malnutrition and starvation. Britain is among 30 nations that are calling for the war in Gaza to end, describing Israel's aid delivery model as "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity." "We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," the nations said in the joint statement, which calls on Israel to lift the restrictions on the flow of aid. "The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law." Britain, France and Germany separately over the weekend issued a statement calling for Israel and Hamas to end the conflict "by reaching an immediate cease-fire." Trump and Starmer are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine. After the meeting, they will have a private engagement in Aberdeen, 10 Downing Street said. The meeting also comes ahead of Trump being received for a State Visit hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle from Sept. 17 to 19. It will be Trump's second State Visit after a previous trip in 2019 where he was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
News24
an hour ago
- News24
Israel, US boycott UN conference on Palestinian state
Ministers will hold a UN conference on the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. France will recognise a Palestinian state in September. The US and Israel are boycotting the conference. Dozens of ministers will gather at the United Nations on Monday for a delayed conference to work toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but the US and Israel are boycotting the event. The 193-member UN General Assembly decided in September 2024 that such a conference would be held in 2025. Hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, the conference was postponed in June after Israel attacked Iran. The conference aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel's security. READ | Netanyahu slams French proposal to recognise Palestinian state as 'launch pad to annihilate Israel' French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told newspaper La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published on Sunday that he will also use the conference this week to push other countries to join France in recognising a Palestinian state. France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said last week. 'We will launch an appeal in New York so that other countries join us to initiate an even more ambitious and demanding dynamic that will culminate on September 21,' Barrot said, adding that he expected Arab countries by then to condemn Palestinian militants Hamas and call for their disarmament. The conference comes as a 22-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza still rages. The war was triggered on 7 October 2023 when Hamas killed 1 200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed nearly 60 000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images The US will not attend the conference at the UN, said a State Department spokesperson, describing it as 'a gift to Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals accepted by Israel that would lead to the release of hostages and bring calm in Gaza'. The State Department spokesperson added that Washington voted against the General Assembly last year calling for the conference and would 'not support actions that jeopardise the prospect for a long-term, peaceful resolution to the conflict'. Israel is also not taking part in the conference, 'which doesn't first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages', said Jonathan Harounoff, international spokesperson at Israel's UN mission. The UN has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war with neighbouring Arab states. Saeed MMT Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images The UN General Assembly in May last year overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council 'reconsider the matter favourably'. The resolution garnered 143 votes in favour and nine against. The General Assembly vote was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member - a move that would effectively recognise a Palestinian state - after the US vetoed it in the UN Security Council several weeks earlier.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Released Israeli-Argentinian hostage fights for brother still held by Hamas
KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — As Israel has announced steps to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza, a former Israeli-Argentinian hostage knows first-hand what that could mean for captives of the Hamas militant group. Iair Horn, who spent a year and a half in captivity, said hostages could tell when more aid was available because they would receive more food. 'When there's less food, then there's also less for the hostages. When there's aid, there's a possibility you might get a cucumber,' said Horn, 46. Hamas militants kidnapped Horn from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with 250 other people, during the group's cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He was released Feb. 15 after 498 days in captivity. For most of that time, he was held in an underground cell in a tunnel with several other hostages, including his younger brother Eitan Horn, 38. Since his release, Iair Horn has deferred his own recovery to fight for the release of his brother and the other 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are still believed to be alive. Negotiations collapse again Hearing that negotiations between Israel and Hamas were once again frozen over the weekend was devastating for his family, Horn said. Since his release, he has made four trips to the U.S., where he has met with President Donald Trump and other American leaders to plead for the hostages. He wasn't sure what to make of a comment Thursday by Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said the U.S. would consider 'alternative options' after recalling its negotiating team from Qatar. 'I'm not a politician, and I'm not getting into those things because I don't understand them. What I understand is very simple: I want my brother back,' Horn said. 'My life is frozen right now. I live in a nightmare that every day they are kidnapping me anew,' he said. Horn, who is single, is currently living with family in Kfar Saba, a city near Tel Aviv. Previously, he worked a variety of jobs in Kibbutz Nir Oz, including in education, maintenance and the kitchen. He also ran the kibbutz pub. Every morning when he opens his eyes, he must think for a few moments to remember where he is, to remember he is no longer a hostage, Horn said. He's gained back some of the weight he lost in captivity, but his list of physical and psychological ailments is long. He does not know where he will live, what he will do in the future, or if he will go back to Nir Oz. The only thing he concentrates on is advocating for his brother's release. 'I never imagined that another half year would pass without seeing my little brother,' he said. Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 59,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The agency's count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see the ministry, which operates under the Hamas government, as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Brothers were held together Iair Horn is the oldest of three brothers who grew up in Argentina. He moved to Israel at age 20, followed by his middle brother, Amos. Eitan and their parents, long divorced, joined later. On Oct. 7, 2023, Eitan was visiting Iair at his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz when the sirens started, warning of incoming missiles. Soon they received text messages alerting them to the fact that militants had infiltrated the kibbutz. Militants entered Iair's home, where he was hiding in the reinforced safe room with Eitan. Iair attempted to hold the door shut until they began shooting through the door. Then he decided to surrender, worried they might use grenades or stronger weapons. Iair, who was immediately taken into Gaza, didn't know what had happened to his brother until around the 50th day of his captivity, when the militants placed the two brothers together, and Iair realized Eitan had also been kidnapped. Being together, even in their small, barred room, was a stroke of luck, Iair said. 'There's a lot of time with nothing to do, and we talked a lot about our childhoods, about elementary school, about the youth movement, about soccer,' he said. 'We tried to keep our sense of humor. He would ask me, did you brush your teeth? And I'd ask him, did you wash your bellybutton?' 'It was silly things, silly things between siblings that I don't have right now. Many times it happens now that something happens to me on the street that I have to tell him. And I can't, and I'm so sorry,' he said, starting to cry. Captors tell hostages that two will be released For most of the time, the Horn brothers were held with three other hostages. In early February, their captors came to the group of five and said that two would be released. 'For four days, we're looking at each other and wondering if we can decide or influence the decision,' he said. After four days, the captors arrived with a small plate of snacks and a video camera. They announced that Iair and another hostage would be leaving and filmed the emotional interaction between Iair and Eitan. Hamas later released the video on its social media channels, as it has with other videos of the hostages filmed under duress. Their last night together, Eitan and Iair laid side by side in silence. 'There was no conversation because in your head you don't want to have a conversation as if it's your last conversation,' Iair Horn said. When their mother, Ruty Chmiel Strum, learned that Iair was coming out but not Eitan, she said to anyone who would listen, 'Why are you doing this to my sons? They are together and you're separating them?' No one gave her an answer, but Strum clung to hope that Eitan would be released soon. Now she mostly ignores news about the negotiations, tuning out the information to protect herself. She said she raised her three boys 'as a single body,' and their support for each other is unshakable. She clasps Iair's hand as they sit together on the couch in her home and looks forward to the day Eitan returns. 'I will feel the hug of my three sons, enjoying life, each supporting each other,' she said. 'It will happen.'
