The House of Commons will hold an emergency debate on the Lebanon crisis on Tuesday evening after Israel’s ground incursion intensified fears of a full-scale invasion.
MPs will vote on how Ottawa should respond to the Israeli ground operation that began early this morning and the airstrikes that destroyed apartment buildings in Beirut.
Israel says it is undertaking a limited incursion and that its actions are aimed at ending Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, where its citizens were evacuated months ago.
The Israeli strikes killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and civilians, including two Canadians who their sons said were trying to flee to safety on a congested highway.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said there are about 45,000 Canadians in Lebanon and she has warned for months that evacuating people might not be possible if commercial flights stop.
Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus has accepted NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson’s request for an emergency debate on Canada’s response to the crisis and its measures evacuation.
The debate must take place during the daily adjournment session, which usually takes place at 6:30 p.m.
Regional leaders express concern about a possible invasion of Lebanon by Israel, as in 1978 and 1982.
The Associated Press reports that a senior U.S. administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. intelligence was suggesting Iran was preparing to imminently launch an attack. ballistic missiles against Israel.
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said Canada still calls for an end to the fighting.
“This war serves no one’s interests,” he told reporters Tuesday morning on Parliament Hill. “We hope that the parties will come to their senses and reach a ceasefire. »
Regarding a possible evacuation, Mr. Hussen indicated that Canadian officials had been “preparing for this type of scenario for months.”
With information from the Associated Press