On Sunday, July 20, Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed posted:
“People are falling in the streets like tree leaves in the autumn. Children are bones and [skulls], weeping for food and water. Journalists report on starvation while tears filling their eyes. What more atrocities does this world have to see to act? This is the darkest time ever.”
Since then, the situation has only gotten worse. One third of the 2.1 million people in Gaza aren’t eating for days at a time, and 90,000 women and children need urgent malnutrition treatment, according to the World Food Program on July 23.
Starting on May 27, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) displaced other aid agencies to become the main provider of food aid in Gaza. It has delivered inadequate aid and around 900 Palestinians have been killed trying to access food from GHF, many of them shot by GHF security or the Israeli military.
Other aid agencies and media outlets have put out statements this week saying their staff in Gaza are also facing starvation. Agence France-Presse (AFP) says its journalists will soon die if aid is not let in or they are not evacuated.
Canada and 24 other nations put out a statement on Monday, July 21, calling “on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life-saving work safely and effectively.”
Canada issued another similar statement on X (formerly Twitter) on July 23 saying “Israeli military operations against WHO [World Health Organization] staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable.”
However, Canada has not imposed any new measures to pressure the Israeli government to stop starving Gaza.
“Canada has failed to put these words into action and impose measures that can bring an end to Israel’s forced starvation of two million people,” write Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) in the intro to a petition to the Canadian government.
On May 19, Canada, the U.K. and France issued a joint statement warning that “If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.” They also say “We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions.”
But Canada has not sanctioned any leaders of the Israeli government for their actions in Gaza. Only Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich were sanctioned by Canada in June 2025 for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Canada also maintains the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), continues to allow the export of weapons to Israel and allows Canadians to serve in the Israeli military.
Upholding CIFTA likely already violates the terms of the 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel’s continued presence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza is illegal. Nations, including Canada, must “abstain from treaty relations with Israel in all cases in which it purports to act on behalf of the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” as per the ruling.
In 2014, Canada imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia. Those were expanded in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine to include all 170 members of the Russian Federation Council and ban Canadians from engaging in business dealings with a number of Russian companies, among other penalties.
When asked by The Grind whether Canada was taking additional actions, Global Affairs Canada reiterated past statements in an email and said “Canada continues to engage with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to convey our positions.” They added that “We are considering a range of options for further action if Israel does not cease its escalation and lift restrictions on humanitarian aid,” but gave no specifics as to what would trigger this action and when.
On Saturday, July 19, a protest was held in downtown Toronto opposing Canada’s ongoing support for Israel, including the lack of action in the face of the forced starvation campaign. Eleven people were arrested by police at the peaceful demonstration. On Tuesday, July 22, civil society leaders held a press conference outside Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s office in Oakville.
Despite the pressure, the government of Canada still refuses to act while Israel starves Palestinians to death and ample food sits nearby.