Trudeau Liberals announce $65 million in aid to Gaza

Canada is pledging an additional $65 million in support to Gaza, bringing its total support to Palestinians to $165 million.

The funding is intended to go toward the "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Gaza, said a statement from Global Affairs Canada.

"Canada is gravely concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and by reports of a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah will have disastrous consequences. About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area. There is nowhere for them to go and limited access to aid," the statement reads.

Minister Ahmed Hussen announced that $25 million "in part of recurring payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), previously announced in June 2023, as well as an additional $40 million distributed to UNWRA and to experienced and trusted partners in the region including the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) and other Canadian non-governmental organizations."

This funding will support the provision of food, water, emergency medical assistance, protection services and other life-saving assistance in the region, the statement reads. Approximately $5 million will be given to the CRC.

In the early morning hours of May 7, the IDF announced that its troops had taken control of the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah, following intelligence reports indicating the crossing was being used for terrorist activities.

The IDF also reported that it had initiated “a precise counterterrorism operation to eliminate Hamas terrorists and infrastructure within specific areas of eastern Rafah.”

This operation came after mortars were fired from the Rafah Crossing area toward the Kerem Shalom Crossing, resulting in the deaths of four IDF soldiers and injuring several others, according to the IDF.

Before the October 7 Hamas attack, Kerem Shalom was the primary route for commercial goods from Israel into Gaza.

On January 26, Canada, alongside the United States, temporarily halted funding to UNRWA following allegations that a dozen employees of the U.N. agency directly participated in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel last October.

Ottawa resumed funding to UNRWA after reviewing an interim report from the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services. Investigations into the alleged staff involvement in the Hamas attack were ongoing at the time.

In April, several Canadian families with ties to victims of Hamas took legal action against the federal government for reinstating funding to UNRWA, arguing that funding such an organization violates Canada’s own anti-terrorism legislation.

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