Canada condemns Israel over deaths of journalists, new restrictions on aid

Protesters chant anti-Israel slogans and carry posters with pictures of slain Palestinian journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qreiqeh during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says a “famine is unfolding” in Gaza which will be made even worse by new restrictions by Israel on international aid groups.

Anand signed a joint statement along with two dozen foreign ministers from Europe, Asia and Australia today which says the humanitarian suffering in Gaza is already at “unimaginable levels.”

Israel denies widespread claims that starvation is taking place in Gaza amid strict controls on what aid enters the territory and how food is allowed to be distributed.

The statement comes a day after Ottawa condemned the Israeli military’s killing of an Al Jazeera journalist, rejecting Israel’s claim that he led a cell of Hamas.

Anas Al-Sharif was a prominent journalist for the broadcaster, and Canada says Israel killing him as well as five other journalists in Gaza is unacceptable.

Israel bars foreign journalists from entering Gaza if they aren’t embedded with Israel’s military, a practice that the Committee to Protect Journalists says is unheard of during modern times.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press