The Carney government is promising greater than $37 million in humanitarian aid for civilians in Lebanon caught within the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We call on all actors to instantly de-escalate the situation and interact in constructive dialogue to stop further suffering,” said Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development.
He made the announcement Thursday on Parliament Hill alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
The federal government says the funding will undergo United Nations agencies and the Red Cross to supply food, medical services, shelter and clean water. Sarai said the funding also might be channelled through the Canadian branches of International Medical Corps and Humanity and Inclusion, and Oxfam Quebec.
“This conflict has placed enormous strain on the Lebanese people, who’ve unwillingly been drawn into the violence,” Anand said.
The UN says nearly 700,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by the hostilities that began in late February when the U.S. launched its war alongside Israel against Iran. Lebanese authorities estimate that number at 800,000 people.
In a news release, Global Affairs Canada said the recent hostilities have disrupted medical care, “with attacks affecting medical examiners and ambulances, damaging medical facilities and forcing the closure of hospitals and first care centres as a result of evacuation orders and the safety situation.”
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Israel and Hezbollah blame one another for the renewed hostilities and Ottawa has said each side must wind down the violence while respecting Lebanon’s territorial integrity.
“Canada supports Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Diab said. “This partnership is unshakable and can proceed.”
Those statements come following comments from Israeli and American officials about Israel taking control of a wider swath of the Middle East.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Thursday the country will expand its military operations in Lebanon following the most important attack yet by Hezbollah within the Iran war. He said that Israel “will take the territory and do it ourselves.”
Before the recent surge in violence and the Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, Lebanon was already grappling with an economic crisis and waves of missile exchanges between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Anand said she is going to visit Turkey this weekend as a part of Canada’s push to de-escalate conflict within the Middle East.
— With files from The Associated Press
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