Canada investigating possibility of aid airdrop into Gaza, minister says
Jordan has collaborated with U.K., Netherlands, France on previous drops
Canada is looking into playing a role in a possible airdrop of aid into Gaza, says International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.
In an interview with CBC Radio's The House airing Saturday, Hussen said countries like the Netherlands and United Kingdom have collaborated already with the Jordanian air force on similar actions, and Canada is looking at the "possibility and feasibility" of doing the same.
"It's something we're seriously considering and looking at the feasibility of doing ... because you know, we have to do everything we can to avert mass starvation in northern Gaza and beyond," he told host Catherine Cullen.
Hussen recently travelled to Jordan and the Egyptian border with Gaza. He described what he saw near Gaza as a "really dire situation."
"People are in a very desperate situation and they're doing desperate things to survive," he said.
Months of violence have followed the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killed approximately 1,200 people and took roughly 250 others hostage, according to Israeli accounts. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed approximately 29,000 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-led health authority.
Humanitarian groups are calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza to help with an intense and worsening crisis there. The World Food Programme recently suspended aid shipments to northern Gaza, citing "complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order" and warning again about the risk of starvation in the region.
Hussen said a significant amount of aid is waiting in Egypt and Jordan for delivery but only a limited amount can be shipped through the land border to Gaza.
"There's a big, disproportionate difference between the amount of aid that is pre-positioned in the region ... and the very little that's going in, plus the huge demand and the desperation on the other side in Gaza," he said.
Hussen said the federal government is in "active discussions" with Jordanian officials about a possible aid airdrop.
"We have to look at more volumes [of aid] through the existing border crossings, negotiating and advocating for additional points of entry and then looking at other options to deliver aid, including airdrops," he said. "And that's precisely the conversations that I've been having with the Jordanian officials."
Aid funded by the United Kingdom was recently airdropped to a hospital in northern Gaza, while the Netherlands and France also have been involved in airdrop operations. Jordan has dropped aid to a field hospital it runs in Gaza several times since the beginning of the conflict. Israel approved and co-ordinated with a Jordanian drop in November, Reuters reported.
Canada awaiting outcome of UNRWA probe
In January, the federal government suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a key aid agency in Gaza, in response to Israeli claims that members of the organization were involved in the Oct. 7 attack. Ottawa announced at the time that it was sending an additional $40 million in aid to other humanitarian groups in the region.
CBC News reported earlier this month that Canada had not seen evidence from Israel supporting its claims about UNRWA at the time it made its decision. The United Nations says it is investigating the allegations.
Speaking to The House, Hussen said he understands the role UNRWA plays but the investigation has to go forward.
"We will obviously wait for the results of that investigation with the hope that a comprehensive, transparent investigation will return with a result that will provide us, hopefully, with the confidence to to continue to work with UNRWA in the future," he said.
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With files from Catherine Cullen and Reuters