Israeli PM criticizes Carney for Gaza war comments

In this file photo, Mark Carney speaks with media on Parliament Hill on Thursday, March 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is criticizing Liberal Leader Mark Carney for his recent comments on the war in Gaza.

At a Tuesday campaign rally in Calgary, Carney responded to an attendee who shouted: “Mister Carney, there is a genocide happening in Palestine!”

“I am aware, which is why we have an arms embargo,” Carney is heard saying at the April 8 event.

Thursday afternoon, Netanyahu shared a clip of the exchange to his X account, demanding the Liberal leader walk back his comments.

“Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney,” reads his post shared Thursday afternoon, eastern time. “But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state. Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!”

Asked about the exchange at a campaign stop Wednesday, Carney said he did not hear the word “genocide” at the rally.

“It’s noisy … if you’re up there, you hear snippets of what people say, and I heard ‘Gaza,‘” Carney told reporters.

“My point was I’m aware of the situation in Gaza, and Canada does as you know, and it’s a matter of public record, we do have restrictions since probably January of 2024 on arms exports, or permits for arms exports to Israel, with the sole exception of the Iron Dome, which protects it more broadly.”

In a separate campaign event Thursday afternoon, the Liberal leader was asked to clarify whether he believed the situation in Gaza amounted to a genocide.

“This question is in front of the International Court of Justice, the situation is a horrible situation. I will not and I will never politicize that word or this situation,” Carney said.

The present conflict in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when militant groups led by Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel and took hundreds more captive. In the ensuing war between Hamas and Israel, more than 50,000 Palestinian people have been killed, as shown in data compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

With files from CTV News’ Joshua Freeman