National

Canada's defence minister says Hamas a threat to world, must be 'eliminated'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Oct, 2023 09:51 AM

Defence Minister Bill Blair says Hamas is a terrorist organization that is a threat to the whole world and must be "eliminated."

Blair also says he has no expectation that Hamas would respect international law, including any agreement on a ceasefire.

His comments are the furthest any Canadian minister has gone in explaining why Canada does not support calls for a ceasefire.

The defence minister also appeared unwilling to back more recent calls for a "humanitarian pause," but says there are talks underway to get more aid into the Gaza Strip.

Since October 12, the @CanadianForces transported approximately 1,600 people out of Israel on 19 flights.

Canada continues to monitor the situation, and we are working tirelessly to help Canadians.

If you need urgent consular assistance, please contact sos@international.gc.ca
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) October 23, 2023

More than one million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and they face shortages of food, water and fuel.

European foreign ministers agreed Monday that a temporary halt to fighting was needed to get aid into Gaza and French President Emmanuel Macron is in Israel pushing for such a pause today.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

8 Sikh men arrested for firearm-related offences in Canada

Police have arrested eight Sikh men between 19 to 26 years of age and charged them in connection with possession of loaded, prohibited or restricted firearms in the Canadian city of Brampton. Officers from the Peel Regional Police responded to reports of shots fired in the area of Donald Stewart Road and Brisdale Drive in Brampton at 10.25 p.m. on Monday.

8 Sikh men arrested for firearm-related offences in Canada

Canada-India dispute likely target for disinformation efforts, State Department warns

A senior State Department official says Canada's dispute with India could make for fertile ground for foreign efforts to sow disinformation. James Rubin, the co-ordinator of the Global Engagement Center, says the diplomatic standoff makes Canada "ripe" for manipulation, and not just from inside India.

Canada-India dispute likely target for disinformation efforts, State Department warns

4 year prison sentence for Kelowna robber

A man who held up a bank in Kelowna and fled with more than 40-thousand-dollars in cash has been sentenced to four years in prison. Alan Stuart Metcalfe was sentenced in August after pleading guilty to one count of robbery, and the decision was released online this week.

4 year prison sentence for Kelowna robber

Series of fires outside Mission

The Mounties say police and firefighters responded Wednesday evening to a report of a structure fire on a vacant property along Gunn Avenue and found several buildings on fire, with indications that the blazes had been set intentionally. They say police responded to flames on a different property along the same road yesterday and again found they appeared to have been sparked intentionally.

Series of fires outside Mission

B.C. COVID-19 hospitalizations up 58% in two weeks, as infections, deaths also spike

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in British Columbia, with the BC Centre for Disease Control reporting hospitalizations have increased 58 per cent in the past two weeks. The centre says in its latest update that deaths due to COVID-19 are also trending upwards, with 24 fatalities in the last week of September, compared to nine in the second week of August.

B.C. COVID-19 hospitalizations up 58% in two weeks, as infections, deaths also spike

Spike in Vancouver's homeless count

The count by the Homelessness Services Association of B-C was done on March 7th and 8th -- and identified just under five thousand people in 11 communities, up from the roughly 36-hundred identified in the March 2020 count.