Ottawa has a “high degree of confidence” that Israel did not strike the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday after an independent review by the Canadian military, Defence Minister Bill Blair said in a statement late Saturday evening.
Canada believes the more likely scenario is that the strike was caused by an “errant rocket” fired from the Gaza Strip, Blair’s statement said.
The pronouncement from Ottawa came days after the United States said its own review found that Israel was not responsible for the hospital blast, which the Gaza Health Ministry said killed hundreds of people.
President Joe Biden said during a visit to Israel on Wednesday that he was confident the “other team” bore responsibility.
On Thursday, facing pressure to provide Canada’s position on the matter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was taking “all necessary steps” to form its own understanding of what happened.
The Canadian Forces Intelligence Command conducted its own “review and analysis” at the prime minister’s request, Blair’s statement said.
A statement from the Department of National Defence on Saturday evening said that the analysis was based on open source and classified reporting.
“This assessment is informed by an analysis of the blast damage to the hospital complex, including adjacent buildings and the area surrounding the hospital, as well as the flight pattern of the incoming munition,” the statement read.
Reporting from Canada’s allies corroborates the findings, the Defence Department added.
The defence minister promised the government would “continue to provide updates as new information becomes available,” and reiterated Canada’s “sincere condolences” to all who lost loved ones in the explosion.
In the wake of the blast on Oct. 17, Hamas had quickly blamed an Israeli military airstrike for the carnage. But Israel subsequently released images that it said proved it was caused by a misfire from Gaza.
A senior French military official told The Associated Press on Friday that its own review of the intelligence also found Israel was not responsible, while the United Nations called for an independent investigation.
The latest conflict had begun 10 days earlier when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel and conducted a series of brazen attacks on civilians.
Israel retaliated, raining airstrikes down on the Gaza Strip and putting the territory under siege. Its military is said to be preparing for a ground assault.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza in total. More than 1,400 in Israel have been killed, most of them slain in the surprise Oct. 7 attacks.
The Canadian government has deemed Hamas a terrorist entity since 2002.
Earlier on Saturday, the Canadian government announced it would provide an additional $50 million for humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip as the region’s border crossing with Egypt opened to let in a trickle of desperately needed aid.
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen issued a statement from Cairo, Egypt, saying the federal government will ensure none of the money goes to Hamas.
Hussen said the money will be used to provide the Palestinian population with food, water, medical assistance, protection services and other life-saving aid.
“The critical and immediate needs of civilians affected by the crisis become clearer with each day that goes by,” Hussen’s statement said.
“As Canada’s partners make their growing needs known, this new assistance will allow us to provide them funding quickly so they can scale up their efforts to help people in urgent need.”
The pledge, on top of $10 million Canada already committed, is expected to be sent to humanitarian organizations already in the war-ravaged area.
On Saturday, Hussen was attending a peace summit in Cairo with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
The ministers issued a joint statement saying they planned to reiterate Canada’s condemnation of the Hamas attacks on Israel while also highlighting Canada’s concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people.
“We are gravely concerned by the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, which continues to deteriorate,” Joly told the meeting.
“We are encouraged by the news this morning that food, fuel and water being able to enter Gaza, but we need to see more.”
Just 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Saturday. Aid agencies say their loads won’t be enough to address the needs of the population, which is now rationing food and drinking dirty water.
More than 200 trucks carrying aid have been waiting at the border for days.
About half of Gaza’s residents have fled their homes. Hospitals are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators amid widespread blackouts exacerbated by waves of Israeli airstrikes. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets into Israel.
Israel had insisted nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all the captives from its Oct. 7 attack on towns in southern Israel. Hamas freed its first captives, an American woman and her teenage daughter, late Friday.
Joly said both sides in the conflict must respect international humanitarian law.
“Even in times of crisis, there are principles. Even in times of war, there are rules,” she said Saturday. “Palestinians and Israeli civilians are equal and both must be protected.”
As well, she said the 400 Canadians still in Gaza must be able to return home.
“In the fog of war, it is always hard to see the light of day on the horizon, but we need to see it,” Joly said. “We should not be scared about talking about the next steps. Canada will always stand up for human rights.”
Joly said she plans to meet with staff at the Canadian embassy in Cairo to discuss their efforts to support Canadians in the region, including their work to help Canadians leave Gaza.
The peace summit includes dozens of regional leaders and other senior western officials, with a focus on de-escalating the fighting and seeking a ceasefire.
Tensions have been rising as the Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel since the war began, even threatening to join the fight if the Israeli military goes ahead with an expected ground invasion of Gaza.
About 14,500 Canadians are registered with the federal government as being in Lebanon. Global Affairs Canada is urging all of them to get out of the country while they still can. Meanwhile, the Canadian Armed Forces is preparing for possible evacuations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2023.
— With files from The Associated Press and Michael MacDonald in Halifax.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of life caused by the explosion at Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza on Oct. 17.
In order to determine what happened, the Prime Minister asked me to task the @CanadianForces with preparing an independent analysis. Today I am releasing its findings.
KITCHENER, Ont. – Prosecutors are arguing a man who stabbed a professor and two students in a University of Waterloo gender studies class last year should face a lengthy sentence because of the attack’s lasting impact on campus safety and security.
Federal prosecutor Althea Francis says a sentence in the upper range is appropriate not only because Geovanny Villalba-Aleman wanted to send a message about his views but also because he sought to make those with different beliefs feel unsafe.
The Crown has said it is seeking a sentence of 16 years for Villalba-Aleman, who pleaded guilty to four charges in the June 2023 campus attack.
The sentencing hearing for Villalba-Aleman began Monday and is expected to continue all week.
Federal prosecutors argued Tuesday that Villalba-Aleman’s statement to police, and a manifesto that was found on his phone, show his actions were motivated by ideology and meant to intimidate a segment of the population.
Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.
A video of his statement to police was shown in court earlier in the sentencing hearing.
In the video, Villalba-Aleman told police he felt colleges and universities were imposing ideology and restricting academic freedom, and he wanted the attack to serve as a “wake-up call.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to bring it to 3.75 per cent. Here’s what people are saying about the decision:
“High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief.” — Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor.
———
“Activity in Canada’s housing market has been sluggish in many regions due to higher borrowing costs, but today’s more aggressive cut to lending rates could cause the tide to turn quickly. For those with variable rate mortgages – who will benefit from the rate drop immediately – or those with fast-approaching loan renewals, today’s announcement is welcome news indeed.” — Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.
———
“This won’t be the end of rate cuts. Even with the succession of policy cuts since June, rates are still way too high given the state of the economy. To bring rates into better balance, we have another 150 bps in cuts pencilled in through 2025. So while the pace of cuts going forward is now highly uncertain, the direction for rates is firmly downwards.” — James Orlando, director and senior economist at TD Bank.
———
“The size of the December rate cut will depend on upcoming job and inflation data, but a 25 basis point cut remains our baseline.” — Tu Nguyen, economist with assurance, tax and consultancy firm RSM Canada.
———
“Today’s outsized rate cut is mostly a response to the heavy-duty decline in headline inflation in the past few months. However, the underlying forecast and the Bank’s mild tone suggest that the future default moves will be 25 bp steps, unless growth and/or inflation surprise again to the downside.” — Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
