Canadian charity pauses Gaza aid after U.S.-backed group takes over distribution

Raffy Boudjikanian · CBC News

· Posted: May 29, 2025 3:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

A Canadian foundation says it has suspended the organisation of immoderate 38,000 boxes of nutrient to the Gaza Strip, fearing the assistance would ne'er scope the Palestinians who request it owed to controls imposed by a controversial, caller U.S.-backed entity.

"Human Concern International has made a hard but principled decision" to intermission transportation of 17 "fully loaded" assistance trucks, said the group's main programs serviceman Iftikhar Shaikh Ahmad astatine a quality league connected Parliament Hill Thursday morning.

The assistance radical and others are pushing Ottawa to enact sanctions against Israel.

"Gaza Humanitarian Foundation were not abiding by humanitarian principles," Ahmad told CBC News, referring to the institution present charged with distributing assistance successful Gaza.

WATCH | Aid groups telephone for sanctions connected Israel: 

The GHF is establishing 4 archetypal hubs successful confederate Gaza to administer nutrient with the assistance of subcontractors.

"Only the colonisation successful the southbound would person access," Ahmad said. "We were not fixed immoderate warrant that the radical that would beryllium going to the organisation centre are going to beryllium safe."

Established successful February, the GHF took power of assistance organisation successful Israel from autarkic groups implicit the people of the past month, with support from the Israeli government, marking the partial extremity of a months-long blockade.

Though the GHF has pledged implicit the adjacent 30 days to physique organisation centres crossed Gaza, including the north where astir of the Palestinians displaced by warfare are located, it has yet to uncover locations.

Palestinians would person to transverse done Israeli subject lines to scope hubs astir Rafah, the confederate Gaza metropolis bordering Egypt, to entree aid.

On Monday, the caput of the GHF resigned, stating the radical did not adhere to humanitarian principles.

WATCH | Shots fired during Gaza assistance distribution: 

The adjacent day, The Associated Press reported that respective Palestinians were injured arsenic the Israeli subject said it fired informing shots astatine radical rushing 1 of the hubs.

"Our donors did not springiness to enactment forced displacement oregon selective aid," Ahmad said. "They gave to assistance each Palestinians, wherever they are."

Worker describes groups of starving children

On Thursday, the HCI was joined by Oxfam Canada, arsenic good arsenic Save the Children Canada, successful asking the national authorities to spot sanctions against Israel. Ottawa has yet to enactment aft threatening to bash truthful successful a associated connection with France and the United Kingdom connected May 19.

Rachael Cummings, 1 of Save the Children's representatives, joined the quality league remotely from Deir al-Balah, Gaza.

"What we spot successful Gaza is children walking, equipped successful the streets with bare bowls looking for food. Children with bare bottles looking for cleanable water," she said.

Cummings said erstwhile her radical has asked kids what their biggest wishes are for their future, immoderate simply answered they privation nutrient oregon water.

"One kid shared that helium wished to beryllium dead, with his parent successful paradise, wherever helium knows helium volition beryllium loved and helium knows that determination is nutrient and water."

The assistance groups are not the archetypal to instrumentality to Parliament Hill to telephone for sanctions.

On Wednesday, a radical of physicians who person worked successful Gaza held their ain quality league to inquire for accrued arms restrictions connected Israel.

"As a surgeon, I cannot dainty a genocide. As doctors, we cannot halt a famine. So we request that the Canadian authorities instrumentality meaningful action," said Deirdre Nunan, an orthopedic surgeon.

CBC News has asked Global Affairs Canada questions astir its reddish enactment for sanctions, but has yet to person a response.

On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand declined to locomotion by journalists aft a Liberal caucus meeting, going to an elevator alternatively of stopping to reply questions.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the authorities for adjacent issuing a statement.

"I truly deliberation it's unfair that Mr. Carney is targeting the antiauthoritarian Jewish authorities of Israel erstwhile successful information Hamas continues to clasp hostages," helium said connected Wednesday.

"It's clip for the Liberals to halt trying to people governmental points by attacking Israel and singling retired Israel."

Both the Bloc Québécois and NDP absorption parties are pushing for sanctions, with the second hoping to contiguous a caller backstage members' measure that would admit a Palestinian state.