TRENTON - Canada has airdropped 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid into Gaza and condemned the Israeli government’s obstruction of assistance as a violation of international law, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported according to a joint statement issued Monday.
"Canada is taking these exceptional measures with our international partners as access to humanitarian aid in Gaza is severely restricted and humanitarian needs have reached an unprecedented level," said Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Defence Minister David McGuinty in the joint release.
"Despite the scale of need, humanitarian partners face severe challenges in delivering life-saving food and medical assistance by land due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli government.
This obstruction of aid is a violation of international humanitarian law and must end immediately," it read.
Five other countries also delivered aid during the same mission, namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, Egypt, Germany and Belgium, the Israeli army said in a post on X.
In the news release, Canada called for immediate changes to facilitate aid delivery to Gaza, including safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian groups, the opening of all border crossings, swift customs clearance approvals and long-term visas for aid workers.
The ministers described conditions in Gaza as "deplorable", stressing that a "dramatic scale-up" in humanitarian assistance was imperative.
Despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire, the Israeli forces has continued its attacks on Gaza since Oct 7, 2023, killing nearly 61,000 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children.
The sustained bombardment has devastated the enclave and pushed it to the brink of famine. - BERNAMA