Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand at a July, 2025, press conference where Mr. Carney says Canada intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney added Canada’s voice Friday to international condemnation of Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City, saying that would be wrong and would not improve the humanitarian situation on the ground or help the remaining hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government will intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by pushing into the territory’s largest urban area.
Mr. Netanyahu said more military pressure is needed to achieve Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas, a decision he took over the reported objections of at least one senior military leader.
But Mr. Carney, along with leaders of European and Arab states, said the move would undermine efforts for peace.
“We join others, many others, in viewing that this is wrong, that this action is not going to contribute to an improvement in the humanitarian situation on the ground, it is going to put the lives of the hostages at greater risk rather than lessening it,” Mr. Carney said after an unrelated announcement in Trenton, Ont.
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“We reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire. We reiterate our call for Hamas to immediately return all of the hostages and their remains. We reiterate that Hamas has no role going forward, and we’ll continue to work with our allies to contribute what we can to achieving those outcomes.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said his country would not export military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice,” a significant step and a break with the country’s postwar past of support for Israel.
Mr. Merz emphasized that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas’s terror” and said that the release of Israeli hostages and “purposeful” negotiations toward a ceasefire “are our top priority.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged the Israeli government to reconsider.
“This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed,” he said.
Hamas-led militants triggered the war when they stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.
Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 of them are alive.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals.
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press
Israel already controls around 75 per cent of Gaza, with most of the population of some two million Palestinians now sheltering in Gaza City.
The military “will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement after a Security Cabinet meeting Friday.
An official familiar with the plans to take over Gaza City told the Associated Press the operation would be “gradual” and that there is no start date. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Hamas rejected Israel’s plans. “Expanding of aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park,” the group said in a statement.
Ruby Chen, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen whose son, Itay, is a hostage held in Gaza, told the Associated Press that the decision puts the remaining hostages in danger.
“What is the plan now that is different from the last 22 months?” he said.
Palestinian militants have released videos in recent days showing emaciated hostages, saying they are suffering the same starvation as the Palestinian population.
Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in tunnels and other secret locations and has hinted it will kill them if Israeli forces draw near.
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Israel’s military chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, reportedly argued during a Security Cabinet meeting that a more sweeping plan to retake all of Gaza would endanger the hostages and put added strain on the army after two years of regional wars.
Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working on a new framework that will include the release of all hostages – dead and alive – in one go in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, two Arab officials told the Associated Press.
The efforts have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, the officials said, as they are concerned about further regional destabilization if Israel’s government proceeds with a full reoccupation of Gaza, two decades after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the strip.
The yet-to-be finalized framework aims to address the contentious issue of what to do with Hamas’s weapons, with Israel seeking full disarmament and Hamas refusing. The official directly involved in the efforts said discussions are under way about “freezing arms,” which may involve Hamas retaining but not using its weapons. It also calls for the group to relinquish power in the strip.
A Palestinian-Arab committee would run Gaza and oversee the reconstruction efforts until the establishment of a Palestinian administration with a new police force, trained by two U.S. allies in the Middle East, to take over the strip, he said. It is unclear what role the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would play.
Last week, Mr. Carney announced Canada intends to recognize a Palestinian state at September’s United Nations General Assembly, predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to reforms.
He cited actions by both Hamas and the Israeli government, including the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
His announcement followed similar ones by France and Britain.
With a report from the Associated Press