Canada rebukes Israel over Gaza conflict, threatening ‘concrete actions’—even sanctions

While many Canadians were enjoying a long weekend for Victoria Day, Canada’s new Liberal government issued what many observers feel is this country’s strongest criticism since Oct. 7, 2023, of how the Israeli government is carrying out its military operations in Gaza. Canada joined the leaders of the United Kingdom and France in issuing a joint statement on May 19 demanding Israel immediately stop its renewed assaults on Gaza and allow in significantly more humanitarian aid. If Israel fails to comply, the three Western allies say they will take “concrete action”, possibly imposing targeted sanctions, although they were not specific in the threat. The communique deplores Israel’s “unacceptable” denial of aid to Palestinians in Gaza since March, when the Netanyahu government stopped allowing trucks in as a way to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, living and dead. The leaders also slammed some Israeli politicians who have been encouraging Palestinians to relocate from Gaza. Israel says it allowed nine trucks to cross into Gaza on May 19, and 93 others went in the following day, carrying baby food, flour and medical supplies. But the United Nations says that amount is merely a drop in the bucket for what’s needed to help nearly two million Palestinians in the war-ravaged zone. On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we analyze what’s behind Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government’s first major diplomatic moves on the Middle East crisis. Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, and Maytal Kowalski, executive director of JSpace Canada—an organization that is welcoming the strongly worded Canadian move—both weigh in with their perspectives.

What we talked about:

• Read Canada’s joint statement with France and the U.K. on May 19 rebuking Israel’s “egregious” military escalation in Gaza.
• Read what Prime Minister Mark Carney told Israel's president Isaac Herzog about releasing the hostages, Hamas having no role in Gaza, and boosting humanitarian aid when the two men met while at the Vatican on May 18, 2025.
• Why the JSpace Canada organization launched a letter writing campaign to thank Prime Minister Mark Carney for his “principled leadership” after the rebuke of Israel.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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