Canada pauses non-lethal military exports to Israel amid rights concerns: Report

Canada has paused non-lethal military exports to Israel due to mounting concerns over potential human rights violations, a local media report said Thursday.

Senior government officials who spoke to the Toronto Star on the condition of anonymity said the temporary pause, which includes millions of dollars' worth of non-lethal goods and technology, has been in effect since Jan. 8. The officials also emphasized that the decision stems from the challenging task of ensuring that such exports are not utilized in human rights abuses.

Despite the move, the officials said Canada continues to receive and review applications for non-lethal exports to Israel, which are left "pending" until there is some clarity about their use by Israel.

According to recent documents released to the Star by Global Affairs of Canada, the federal government approved over $28.5 million in new export permits for military goods and technology to Israel in the war's initial two months.

On Jan. 31, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refuted claims of weapons exports to Israel, asserting that Canada's arms permitting system is "one of the most stringent globally" as he emphasized that permits have not been issued since Oct. 7.

Israel launched its war on Gaza after a Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas. It has since killed more than 31,300 Palestinians and pushed the territory to the brink of famine.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while most of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.