By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) -Canada said on Monday it delivered humanitarian assistance through airdrops to Gaza, which has been under a devastating Israeli military assault for almost 22 months, with Ottawa again accusing Israel of violating international law.
“The (Canadian Armed Forces) employed a CC-130J Hercules aircraft to conduct an airdrop of critical humanitarian aid in support of Global Affairs Canada into the Gaza Strip. The air drop consisted of 21,600 pounds of aid,” the Canadian government said in a statement.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that it was Canadian Armed Forces’ first humanitarian airdrop over Gaza using their own aircraft.
The Israeli military said 120 food aid packages for Gaza’s residents were airdropped by six countries, including Canada. The other five were Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Germany and Belgium.
Canada said last week it plans to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September, ratcheting up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in Gaza.
Canada also said on Monday that Israeli restrictions have posed challenges for humanitarian agencies.
“This obstruction of aid is a violation of international humanitarian law and must end immediately,” Canada’s government said.
The Israeli embassy in Ottawa had no immediate comment. Israel denies accusations of violating international law and blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza.
Israel cut off food supplies to Gaza in March and then lifted that blockade in May – but with restrictions that it said were needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups.
President Donald Trump also claimed Hamas militants were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it. However, Reuters reported late last month that an internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies.
Israel says it is taking steps for more aid to reach Gaza’s population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, allowing airdrops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed over 60,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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