OTTAWA — Canada has lodged a fierce diplomatic protest against Israel following the interception of an international humanitarian aid flotilla, accusing Israeli forces of brutally assaulting and degrading Canadian volunteers on board. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand strongly condemned the incident, labeling the actions of the Israeli authorities as an “appalling abuse” and an “egregious violation.” This direct confrontation marks one of the sharpest diplomatic rifts between Ottawa and its close Middle Eastern ally, signaling a severe shift in the federal government’s stance.
The escalating row stems from the interception of the aid fleet, which was attempting to breach Israel’s naval blockade to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Among the international activists were 12 Canadian citizens who were detained by the Israeli military. After being held in custody, the Canadian nationals were formally deported and arrived in Istanbul, Turkey. Minister Anand, who addressed the situation via her X (formerly Twitter) handle while attending a NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Sweden, confirmed that Canadian diplomatic officials had been deployed to Istanbul to secure immediate medical attention for the returning citizens.
Public outrage intensified after highly controversial footage was publicized online, showing detained international volunteers kneeling on the ground with their hands bound tightly behind their backs. The video, which featured Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir openly taunting the bound detainees, sparked immediate international condemnation. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not mince words regarding the footage, describing the treatment of the aid workers as “abominable and unacceptable.” While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to distance his government from Ben-Gvir’s video broadcasts, he defended the military interception itself, claiming the flotilla was a political drama designed to aid Hamas, while Israeli prison authorities dismissed the abuse allegations as baseless.
The incident further strains a relationship that has grown increasingly tense under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration, which has taken a considerably tougher stance toward Tel Aviv, including Canada’s official recognition of Palestine last September. In the wake of this latest violence, several of the arriving volunteers bore visible signs of physical trauma, including leg injuries, and their claims of inhumane prison conditions have been corroborated by accompanying Italian lawmakers and journalists. In Ottawa, pressure is now mounting on the federal government to escalate its response, with Liberal MP Salma Zahid leading internal calls for Canada to move beyond its existing travel bans on extremist Israeli ministers and implement robust economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Netanyahu government.
