ottawa –
The Liberal government has announced $50 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and is urging Israel not to undermine the United Nations agency dedicated to Palestinians.
“The risk of starvation looms across Gaza,” International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen told a news conference in Toronto on Friday.
“The death toll continues to rise, while the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, community centers and roads has made life in Gaza intolerable and uninhabitable.”
The announcement was made ahead of a conference on the Gaza humanitarian response to be held in Cairo on Monday. Some of the funds will also go to the West Bank, and Hussen’s office said it is still confirming how the funds will be distributed.
“The situation in the West Bank is also increasingly dire, with high civilian casualties, extremist settler violence, forced displacement, and limited access to basic services,” Hussen said. Ta.
He said the funds would provide life-saving support such as medical aid, food, water and protection services. Hussen is particularly concerned about northern Gaza because “much of the population endures life-threatening levels of food insecurity and malnutrition.”
Two children and a woman were crushed to death on Friday when a crowd of Palestinians rushed to buy bread at a Gaza bakery amid food shortages.
The Israeli government says projections published by the United Nations-cooperated World Hunger Observatory “have been found to be biased, inaccurate and inconsistent with the situation on the ground,” raising the risk of famine in the Gaza Strip. denied the allegations.
Fewer trucks of aid entered Gaza in November and October than in any other month since the Israeli-Hamas war began more than a year ago, according to data recorded by the United Nations.
“Aid amounts have actually declined and we are very concerned about that,” Hussen said. “We have repeatedly advocated for more access, more entry points, and different ways to get help.”
He said the funding would be provided through partners such as the United Nations and the Red Cross, adding that he was concerned that Israel would sever ties with UNRWA, the United Nations’ main agency supporting Palestinians.
Earlier this year, Mr. Hussen suspended Canadian funding for the agency after Israel claimed that hundreds of Palestinian militants were working for UNRWA. Israel has not released any evidence but claims that more than a dozen of its employees took part in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
UNRWA investigated 19 employees suspected of participating in the attack and fired an unspecified number. The agency has approximately 30,000 employees.
Last month, Israel passed a law suspending cooperation with UNRWA, saying the militants were allowing Hamas to infiltrate by siphoning aid and using the agency’s facilities as shields. UNRWA denies the allegations and says it remains neutral and will swiftly address any wrongdoing by its staff.
“My government is deeply concerned by Israel’s decision to block UNRWA’s vital humanitarian operations in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” Hussen said on Friday.
He also said Canada still wants Israel to investigate the destruction of a large water facility known as Canada Well in the Gaza Strip by Canadian forces last July.
“We have been promised by the Israeli government that we will provide the results of the investigation as soon as it is completed,” he said. “We hope to see that result sooner rather than later.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2024.
— With files from The Associated Press
