Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday joined in on the condemnation of Israel’s announced plan to take over part of the Gaza Strip.
"We join many others in viewing that this is wrong," Carney told reporters, according to local media.
"This action will not contribute to an improvement in the humanitarian situation on the ground. It is going to put the lives of the hostages at greater risk rather than lessening it," he added.
He repeated Canada's call for an immediate ceasefire and for Hamas to return all of the hostages and their remains.
"We reiterate that Hamas has no role going forward, and we will continue to work with our allies to contribute what we can to achieving those outcomes," he stated.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday also strongly condemned Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City.
“France strongly condemns the Israeli government’s plan aimed at preparing for the complete occupation of Gaza,” Barrot wrote in a post on social media site X. “Such an operation would worsen an already catastrophic situation without enabling the release of Hamas hostages, its disarmament, or its surrender.”
Earlier in the day, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced an arms embargo on Israel following the Cabinet’s decision.
In a statement, the German Chancellor said he is "very concerned about the suffering of the population in the Strip." He also demanded that Israel "not take any steps toward annexation" of Judea and Samaria.
Carney’s condemnation of Israel follows his announcement last week that his government intends to recognize the “State of Palestine” in September, provided the Palestinian Authority (PA) meets specific conditions tied to governance and security.
Canada was one of 26 countries that issued a joint statement last month demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza, expressing alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation, and accusing Israel of imposing unacceptable restrictions on aid.
Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister, was shown during the recent election campaign at a rally in Calgary, where he responded to a protester in the crowd who yelled, “Mr. Carney, there is a genocide happening in Palestine,” by pausing and saying, “Thank you…I’m aware. Which is why we have an arms embargo.”
Carney was later asked by reporters about the remark and walked it back, claiming that he had not heard the specific term “genocide” and was simply referencing existing arms restrictions imposed by the Canadian government.
“I didn’t hear that word,” Carney said. “It’s noisy. If you’re up there you hear snippets of what people say and I heard Gaza, and my point was I’m aware of the situation in Gaza.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back at Carney, saying, “Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney. But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state. Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)