Canada reiterates support for Gaza op

As international pressure on Israel mounts to end Operation Protective Edge, Canada reiterates its full backing for the campaign.

“Canada condemns in the strongest terms Hamas’s shameful decision to continue its cowardly and indiscriminate violence that has today cost the lives of 13 soldiers. Yet another breach of a ceasefire by Hamas in Shejaiya confirms that it has no interest in peace,” Foreign Minister John Baird says in a statement.

“Hamas’s continued aggression, combined with cowardly tactics that endanger civilians, has resulted in the tragic deaths of approximately another 87 Palestinians. Innocent civilians living in Gaza deserve far better than the reckless actions of this terrorist organization.”

Ottawa continues to believe that Egypt is the best-placed country in the region to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Baird says.

— Raphael Ahren