The Carney government is pledging more than $37 million in humanitarian aid to civilians in Lebanon caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We call on all actors to immediately de-escalate the situation and engage in constructive dialogue to prevent further suffering,” said Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State for International Development.
He made the announcement on Parliament Hill on Thursday along with External Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Immigration Minister Lina Diab.
The government says it is funded by United Nations agencies and the Red Cross to provide food, medical services, shelter and clean water. Funding will be channeled through the Canadian branches of International Medical Corps and Humanity and Inclusion, and Oxfam Quebec, Sarai said.
“This conflict has put enormous pressure on the Lebanese people, who have been reluctantly drawn into violence,” Anand said.
About 700,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since hostilities began in late February when the US launched its war alongside Israel against Iran, the UN said. Lebanese officials put the number at 800,000.
In a news release, Global Affairs Canada said recent wars have disrupted medical care, with “attacks affecting health workers and ambulances, damaging medical facilities and evacuation orders, and forcing hospitals and primary care centers to close due to the security situation.”
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Israel and Hezbollah blame each other for the renewed hostilities and Ottawa said both sides must end the violence while respecting Lebanon’s territorial integrity.
“Canada supports Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Diab said. “This partnership is unwavering and will continue.”
Those remarks followed comments by Israeli and American officials about Israel’s annexation of large swaths of the Middle East.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that the country will expand its military operations in Lebanon after Hezbollah’s biggest attack of the Iran war. Israel, he said, “will take over the land and we will do it ourselves.”
Before the recent surge in violence and Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon was already struggling with an economic crisis and waves of missile exchanges between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Anand said he will visit Turkey this weekend as part of Canada’s efforts to defuse conflict in the Middle East.
– with files from the Associated Press
© 2026 The Canadian Press
(tags to translate)Lebanon
