(Ottawa) Regarding the war between Israel and Hamas, Defense Minister Bill Blair said Monday that Canada has deployed military resources and personnel from the Department of Immigration and Global Affairs Canada to Lebanon and Cyprus in case further evacuation becomes necessary.
For several days, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has been telling Canadians in Lebanon that they must leave while commercial flights are still available, a message she reiterated on Monday.
Canada airlifted 1,600 people from Israel and the last military flight left Tel Aviv on Monday.
“I can tell you that in being proactive and out of an abundance of caution, we remember well our previous experience in 2006,” Mr Blair said.
He’s referring to the difficulty of getting Canadians out during the month-long fighting between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon 17 years ago.
Approximately 15,000 Canadians have told Global Affairs that they are currently in Lebanon.
The risk of escalation has increased even in the past 24 hours, with renewed clashes between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border, as well as Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank, Syria and Lebanon.
Hezbollah is a radical militant group supported by Iran. Canada placed it on its list of terrorist entities in December 2002, just weeks after Canada also placed Hamas on its list of terrorist groups.
Furthermore, Mr. Blair did not provide new information on the evidence collected by Canada allowing him to declare that a rocket attack on a hospital in Gaza City probably did not come from Israel.
Mr Blair made the statement last Saturday evening, five days after the explosion at al-Ahli hospital.
The explosion came nine days after a resumption of conflict in the region following a surprise attack by Hamas militants in Israel and Israel’s retaliation in the Gaza Strip.
Mr. Blair said Canadian Forces Intelligence Command conducted its own analysis of the evidence and came to the conclusion that matches those of the United States and France.
Israel said satellite images and intercepted communications show the rocket was fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In Paris, French authorities say the size of the rocket itself indicates Palestinian, not Israeli, sources.
The Canadian Department of National Defense says it is basing its determination on an analysis of the damage caused by the explosion to the hospital, including adjacent buildings, as well as the flight path of the munition.
Following the release of Canada’s findings on the source of the explosion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday.
Mr. Trudeau also spoke on Sunday with leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy.
Both calls focused on the need to release all remaining hostages and protect civilians.