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Canada condemned Israel’s new ground offensive in Gaza City, launched on Tuesday, as “horrific.”
The offensive “worsens the humanitarian crisis and jeopardizes the release of the hostages,” Global Affairs Canada said in a post on X. “The Government of Israel must adhere to international law.”
“Canada stands with international partners in urging an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages.”
The comments came after the Israeli military began its expected ground offensive in Gaza City during the night.
Troops have been operating on the outskirts of the city for weeks and began moving towards the city centre on Monday evening, a spokesman said. Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the takeover of Gaza City in August.
International aid organizations have repeatedly warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Palestinian territory, which is home to around 2 million people.
Also on Tuesday, an independent commission of inquiry of the UN Human Rights Council said that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Four of the five genocidal acts listed in the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide have been carried out, the three-member commission determined.
“Israel categorically rejects the libellous rant” of the report, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, said, arguing that the report made no mention of the terrorist acts of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and accusing the commission members of anti-Semitic bias.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 abducted. Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 of them believed to be alive.
The Hamas-run health authority in Gaza says more than 64,800 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The tally does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but the figures are regarded as broadly credible by the United Nations.
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