Canada is considering playing a role in possible airlift assistance to Gaza, said International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.
In an interview with CBC Radio the house In Saturday’s broadcast, Hussen said countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are already cooperating with the Jordanian Air Force on similar actions, and Canada is also considering the “possibility and feasibility” of a similar action. .
He told host Katherine Cullen: “This is something we are seriously considering and looking at the feasibility of… because we want to avoid mass starvation in northern Gaza and surrounding areas. We must do everything we can to achieve this.”
Hussen recently visited Egypt’s borders with Jordan and Gaza. He described the conditions he saw near Gaza as “truly dire.”
the house9:43Canada in talks to send food and medicine to Gaza
Aid groups in Gaza have warned of “absolutely horrifying” conditions, with people running out of food and medicine. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen discussed earlier this week what Canada could do to help on the Egyptian border. He joins Katherine Cullen to discuss the options on the table.
“People are in a very desperate situation and are doing desperate things to survive,” he said.
The Israelis say the violence has been ongoing for months since October 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Since then, Israeli airstrikes have killed around 29,000 people, according to Hamas-led Gaza health authorities.
Humanitarian organizations are calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza to address the serious and worsening crisis there. The World Food Program recently suspended aid shipments to northern Gaza, citing “complete chaos and violence due to the breakdown of civil order” and renewed warnings of the risk of famine in the region.
Hussen said a significant amount of aid was waiting for delivery in Egypt and Jordan, but there was a limit to how much could be transported through the land border to Gaza.
Canada’s Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen, said of the decision to suspend funding to the United Nations agency assisting people in the Gaza Strip: “We will await the results of the investigation to see if we are satisfied with its findings.” “
“There is a huge disproportionality between the amount of aid earmarked for the region and the tiny amount actually delivered, as well as the huge demand and despair on the other side of Gaza.” he said.
Hussen said the federal government was in “active discussions” with Jordanian officials about the possibility of airlifting aid.
“We need to consider a larger amount.” [of aid] “We are negotiating and insisting on additional points of entry through existing border crossings, and then considering other options to provide aid, including airdrops. And that is exactly what I am talking about with Jordanian officials. “This is something we have been discussing,” he said.
British-funded aid recently airdropped While being transported to a hospital in northern Gaza, he was transferred to a hospital in the Netherlands. France He also participates in Operation Airdrop. Jordan has repeatedly dropped aid to field hospitals it operates in Gaza since the conflict began. Israel approved and adjusted Jordan’s cuts in November, according to Reuters.
Canada awaits UNRWA findings
In January, the federal government cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the Gaza Strip’s main aid agency, after its members were linked to the October riots. This was in response to Israel’s claims. 7 attacks. Ottawa announced at the time that it would send an additional $40 million in aid to other humanitarian organizations in the region.
CBC News reported earlier this month that Canada had not seen Israeli evidence to support its claims regarding UNRWA at the time it made its decision. The United Nations says it is investigating the allegations.
talk to the houseMr Hussen said he understood UNRWA’s role, but the investigation must proceed.
“We will of course await the outcome of that investigation, hoping that a comprehensive and transparent investigation will yield results and give us confidence to continue working with UNRWA in the future,” he said. Stated.