As soon as Israeli forces took control of the Rafah border crossing Gaza and Egypt, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Jolie is warning that aggression could Serious Results Already in “disastrous” condition.
“The attack on Rafah, which will put the lives of women and children and innocent civilians at risk, is completely unacceptable,” Jolie said on her way to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“We need a ceasefire now. We have to ensure that the hostages are released. We must ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza. Violence must stop. “Hamas will have to lay down its arms.”
Rafa is the main entrance humanitarian aid in southern Gaza.
More than a million people are stranded in the city, most of whom have been displaced by the conflict, which reached the seven-month mark this week.
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“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” Jolie said.
Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, announced on Monday that it had agreed to an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.
“We are following the negotiations, which are very fluid. We are in touch with many officials from the Israeli side, the Qatari side, the Egyptian side. We hope that the talks will be fruitful,” Jolie said.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against incursions into Rafah.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, “The President does not want to see any action in Rafah that would put the more than one million people seeking refuge there at greater risk.”
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 while taking another 250 hostage.
While violence continues to escalate, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening day by day. The head of the UN World Food Program warned on Sunday that northern Gaza was facing “complete famine”.
Canada’s International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said the Israeli attack on the southern city would only cause more suffering.
“There are more than 15 lakh people there who have nowhere else to go. They are stuck there. No access to humanitarian aid. This will lead to large numbers of civilian casualties,” he said.
Hussain said the Canadian government had advised against the operation and he was “very disappointed” by the latest developments.
“We were hoping that the operation would not take place,” Hussain said.
– With files from The Associated Press
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