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Canada Condemns Israeli Strike on Gaza Aid Workers, UK Summons Israeli Ambassador

People stand near a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)
People stand near a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)
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Canada Condemns Israeli Strike on Gaza Aid Workers, UK Summons Israeli Ambassador

People stand near a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)
People stand near a destroyed car of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) along Al Rashid road, between Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 02 April 2024. (EPA)

Canada on Tuesday condemned an Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, one of them a Canadian, and called for a full investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that Monday's strike by the Israeli military (IDF), which hit people working for the World Central Kitchen group, was tragic and unintended.

"I am horrified to hear reports of the IDF strike taking the lives of seven World Central Kitchen employees in Gaza yesterday, including a Canadian citizen," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday.

"We condemn these strikes and call for a full investigation. Canada expects full accountability for these killings and we will convey this to the Israeli government directly. Strikes on humanitarian personnel are absolutely unacceptable," she said on X.

Joly's comments are some of the harshest that Canada has directed against Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while asserting Israel's right to defend itself, has taken an increasingly critical stance over the Israeli campaign as the death toll of Palestinians mounts.

Last month Canada said it had not approved new arms export permits to Israel since Jan. 8 and the freeze would continue until Ottawa could ensure the weapons are used in accordance with Canadian law.

Meanwhile, Britain summoned the Israeli ambassador over the deaths of aid workers in Gaza, the foreign ministry said.

"I set out the Government's unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British Nationals," Britain's Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said.

"I requested a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability."

Separately, Foreign Secretary David Cameron posted on X that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz to underline that the deaths were "completely unacceptable".

"Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground," Cameron said in the post.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.