(Ottawa) Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada will impose sanctions against Hamas leaders in response to the brutal attacks in Israel on October 7.
Mme Joly said the sanctions will be announced later Tuesday and will also target people associated with the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.
The sanctions come four months after the start of Israel’s war against Hamas, when militants carried out attacks and assaults in Israel on October 7, brutally killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.
Since then, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip and severely restricted vital humanitarian aid to the besieged territory. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says around 27,500 Palestinians have been killed.
Arriving at Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting in Ottawa, Minister Joly said she was in contact with her Jordanian counterpart to see how more aid could reach the Gaza Strip, calling the situation there disastrous and catastrophic.
Ottawa also said it was considering imposing sanctions against Israeli settlers who commit violent acts in the West Bank. But the government has resisted calls from pro-Palestinian groups to do the same to Israeli government officials who make inflammatory comments.