OTTAWA – Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie and her G7 counterparts have issued a joint statement calling for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States issued the statement, along with the High Representative of the European Union.
The statement, which was released Sunday by Global Affairs Canada, says the ministers are expressing their “deep concern at the heightened level of tension in the Middle East, which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region.”
It urges all parties to refrain from retaliatory violence, saying “No country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.”
Fears of an all-out regional war in the Middle East are mounting after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack but suspicion quickly fell on Israel, which vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
On Saturday, Global Affairs Canada upgraded its travel advisory for Israel to its highest risk level, warning Canadians to avoid all travel to the country due to the unpredictable security situation and ongoing regional conflicts.
Canada had previously upgraded its travel advisory in April to warn against all travel to Israel and the West Bank, but soon after downgraded its warning for Israel to “avoid all non-essential travel.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 4, 2024
–With files from The Associated Press
