Canada 'evaluating' ties with Israel following attack on Qatar

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand on Wednesday announced that Ottawa is "evaluating" bilateral relations with Israel following an Israeli airstrike on Qatar's capital Doha.

Noting that the Canadian government is "on a track to recognize Palestine formally" since July 30, Anand said at a news conference in Edmonton that "at the same time, we are evaluating the relationship with Israel."

Anand, who is in Alberta province's capital, Edmonton, for the meeting of the Liberal Party's national caucus, told reporters: "The attack yesterday on Qatar was unacceptable. It was a violation of Qatari airspace."

"There were deaths on the ground at a time when Qatar was trying to facilitate peace," she added.

Emphasizing that "there are many moving pieces in the Middle East," Anand affirmed that Canada is working towards peace in the region and urged the need "to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza."

"That is why Canada is the third highest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid, and we want to see the food trucks being able to pass through on land," she stressed.

On Tuesday, Israel's military said it conducted a "precise strike targeting the senior leadership" of the Palestinian group.

Qatar condemned the "cowardly" attack, saying the strike targeted residential buildings that housed members of Hamas's political bureau.

The Gulf state, along with the US and Egypt, has been playing a central role in efforts to mediate an end to Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 64,600 Palestinians since October 2023.