On her first day as Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Anita Anand declared, “We cannot allow the continued use of food as a political tool … Over 50,000 people have died as a result of the aggression caused against the Palestinians and the Gazan people in Palestine. Using food as a political tool is simply unacceptable.” While Anand’s concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza is understandable, her statement is not only misleading, it fundamentally distorts the reality on the ground and undermines the fight against terrorism and the pursuit of peace.
Israel’s Relentless Commitment to Humanitarian Aid
Since the start of the war, Israel has delivered more than 1.3 million tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including over a million tons of food, tens of thousands of tons of water and medical supplies, and nearly 22,000 tons of cooking gas. Israel has facilitated the entry of over 66,000 aid trucks, working in close coordination with the United States, Egypt, the United Nations, and other international partners. Even during intense fighting and under constant threat from Hamas rockets, Israel has continued to supply food, water, fuel, and medicine to the civilian population of Gaza.
Israel’s commitment goes beyond what international law requires. No country is obligated to supply its enemy with food and resources during active hostilities, especially not after suffering the most brutal massacre in its history on October 7, 2023. Yet, Israel has repeatedly reopened aid corridors, allowed air-drops by the U.S. and other allies, and recently agreed to resume humanitarian deliveries through the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a mechanism designed to ensure aid reaches civilians rather than Hamas.
The Real Obstacle: Hamas’s Theft and Exploitation of Aid
What Minister Anand fails to acknowledge is that the greatest barrier to food reaching Gaza’s civilians is not Israeli policy, but Hamas’s systematic theft and exploitation of humanitarian supplies. Numerous reports and images have documented Hamas operatives hijacking aid trucks, diverting food and medicine to their own storage facilities, and selling it at inflated prices to favored vendors. This criminal behavior has made Hamas millions of dollars and directly deprived ordinary Palestinians of desperately needed relief.
Moreover, Hamas embeds its fighters, weapons, and command centers in civilian areas, deliberately endangering the population and making aid delivery perilous. Every truck entering Gaza is inspected to prevent the smuggling of weapons and dual-use materials that Hamas uses to continue its campaign of terror against Israel.
A Humanitarian Crisis Engineered by Terrorism
The suffering in Gaza is real and heartbreaking, but it is the direct result of Hamas’s actions. The terror group’s refusal to release hostages, surrender its arms, or allow for genuine reconstruction is the root cause of the ongoing crisis. Israel has offered to increase the flow of goods in exchange for the release of hostages and a ceasefire-offers that Hamas has repeatedly rejected.
While international agencies have called for more aid, they also acknowledge that without security and the rule of law, humanitarian operations are nearly impossible. The tragic reality is that Hamas, not Israel, is the primary obstacle to effective aid distribution in Gaza.
Canada’s Responsibility: Facts Over Rhetoric
Minister Anand’s statement, while perhaps well-intentioned, risks emboldening those who seek to delegitimize Israel and whitewash Hamas’s crimes. Canada has long prided itself on principled, balanced diplomacy in the Middle East. To maintain that credibility, Canadian leaders must recognize that Israel is not using food as a weapon, instead, it is doing more than any other country in history to deliver aid to civilians trapped in a war zone created by a terrorist regime.
If Canada truly wants to help Palestinians, it should join the call for Hamas to release all hostages, disarm, and allow humanitarian agencies to operate freely. Only then can Gaza’s civilians receive the aid they need and deserve, and only then can there be hope for peace and stability in the region.