Britain, Canada, France Threaten Sanctions if Israel Escalates Gaza Offensive

Britain, Canada, and France on Monday issued a stern warning to Israel, vowing to take “concrete actions,” including possible sanctions, if the Netanyahu-led government does not halt its renewed military offensive in Gaza and ease restrictions on humanitarian aid.

“We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza,” the leaders of the three allied nations said in a joint statement, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the restoration of full access to humanitarian relief.

The warning follows Israel’s renewed ground offensive in Gaza, launched late last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a partial lifting of an 11-week aid blockade. Facing backlash from Israel’s far-right over the resumed aid deliveries, Netanyahu on Monday pledged to seize “full control of the entire Strip.”

In response, London, Ottawa, and Paris condemned the military escalation and labeled the current level of humanitarian assistance “wholly inadequate.”

“We will not stand by while the Netanyahu government pursues these egregious actions,” the statement read. The three governments also voiced firm opposition to any expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and signaled readiness to impose targeted sanctions.

Netanyahu rejected the criticism, accusing the Western allies of rewarding Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 kidnapped, with 54 still unaccounted for.

“This is a war of civilization over barbarism,” Netanyahu wrote on X, vowing that Israel would continue its campaign “until total victory is achieved.”

According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its retaliatory offensive. While Britain, Canada, and France reiterated their support for Israel’s right to self-defense, they denounced the latest escalation as “wholly disproportionate.”