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Canada PM Carney calls on Israel to lift its blockade on food entering Gaza
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called on Israel to allow the World Food Programme (WFP) to operate in Gaza, hours after the UN agency announced it had run out of aid due to Israel’s seven-week blockade.
As we previously reported, the WFP announced on Friday it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens providing hot meals in Gaza and facilities would run out of food imminently.
“The UN World Food Programme just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government’s blockade — food cannot be used as a political tool,” Carney said in a post on X.
“Palestinian civilians must not bear the consequences of Hamas’s terrorist crimes,” Carney said. “The World Food Programme must be allowed to resume its lifesaving work.”
A girl puts a pot on her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on April 24
Spain awarded Israeli defence firms 46 contracts since start of Gaza war: Report
Analysis of data published on a public tender platform, carried out by Barcelona-based think tank Centre Delas, shows that the Spanish government has granted 46 contracts worth about 1.45 billion euros ($1.2bn) to Israeli defence companies since October 2023.
The revelation comes despite a pledge from socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – an outspoken critic of Israel’s war on Gaza – to not trade in arms with Israel.
“It is clearly demonstrated that the government lied, there was no pledge, that was pure propaganda,” the report’s co-author, Eduardo Melero, told the AFP news agency.
The 46 contracts include deals for rocket launchers and missiles, the think tank said in a statement. Ten of the contracts are yet to be formalised.
“If the government had agreed to a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel that included, among other measures, imports and bans on hiring Israeli defence companies or their subsidiaries, none of these contracts would have been signed,” the statement said.
As we previously reported, Spain’s government halted a controversial $7.5m deal to buy ammunition from Israel on Thursday, following criticism from far-left allies within the governing minority coalition.
