On May 28, we joined Oxfam Canada and Save the Children Canada at a joint press conference on Parliament Hill to call on the Government of Canada to take urgent action. We are deeply alarmed by a new mechanism introduced by Israel — the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — that is obstructing life-saving humanitarian relief and putting even more lives at risk, especially those of children.
This new system channels aid through a single, politicized entity while pushing aside experienced and impartial humanitarian organizations — including UN agencies and NGOs like ours. For over two months, these restrictions have made it nearly impossible to get aid to people who desperately need it. Over a million people in Gaza now face catastrophic hunger, and more than 930,000 children are at risk of famine.
In some cases, people have lost their lives trying to access food and medicine under this system. Aid is no longer being used solely to save lives — it is being used to control where Palestinians can live, forcing them to move to areas approved by Israel in order to receive essential supplies.
This is not just a failure of logistics. It is, as many organizations have called it, a deliberate denial of humanitarian access.
“We have 17 trucks of aid, fully funded by Canadians, packed with food and relief supplies, ready to enter Gaza — but we’ve had to put them on hold,”
— Iftikhar Shaikh Ahmad, Chief Program Officer, Human Concercn International
At the press conference and in private meetings with government officials, including Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai, we called on Canada to live up to its humanitarian values and international responsibilities.
Together with other leading humanitarian groups, we are asking Canada to:
Reject the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as a legitimate mechanism for delivering aid, and instead restore coordination with trusted, experienced humanitarian organizations that are committed to impartial, life-saving relief. Canada must also stand with international partners, such as the UK and France, in holding Israel accountable for its obstruction of humanitarian access. Canadian-funded aid must reach all civilians in need, regardless of their location or political status, and that
Canada defends the core principles of humanitarian neutrality by opposing the use of aid as a tool of control. We are also urging the government to call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire to end the violence and prevent further civilian suffering. Finally, Canada must implement and enforce a full, two-way arms embargo with Israel, consistent with its obligations under international law.
Aid must never be weaponized. Canada has the opportunity to uphold the principles of humanitarian neutrality and to ensure that aid, funded by donors like you, reaches those who need it most.
