A senior Canadian official condemned Israel's military presence in Lebanon as an "unlawful invasion," stressing that Beirut must exercise full sovereignty and authority over its territory.
Randeep Sarai, Canada’s secretary of state for international development, visited Lebanon to announce new humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit country, where the U.N. says some 360,000 people remain displaced as a result of the latest conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
"We have been working actively, I think, through diplomatic channels to do whatever possible to stop that and to allow Lebanese communities that are from those areas to be able to move back," Sarai said in an interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday.
Israel launched a ground invasion and is now occupying dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon, many of which have been almost completely demolished. Israeli officials have said they will not pull out from Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Canada has criticized Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. It lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and has condemned its attacks on Israel.
During his visit, Sarai announced that Canada is launching three new programs in Lebanon to support vulnerable families and women, raising the total of its assistance to the nation so far this year to more than 71 million Canadian dollars ($50.23 million).
Canada, which is home to a large Lebanese diaspora, has given Lebanon about 800 million Canadian dollars ($575 million) in assistance over the past 10 years, including nearly $38 million in funding in March to provide basic necessities such as food, medical and health services, Sarai said.
"Our commitment is long-term, and we’re there for Lebanon,” said Sarai, who visited shelters housing people displaced by the war and Syrian refugees during his visit.
Sarai also met President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who both took their posts last year promising to reinstate state authority over all parts of Lebanon and to implement reforms to fight corruption. The country is still struggling with an economic crisis that began in late 2019 rooted in decades of corruption.
"There’s a lot of optimism and I hope Lebanon will be able to deliver on these,” said Sarai about the pledged reforms. "The world is really watching and supportive of this government, and optimistic that they will achieve those goals."
Sarai said Canada is trying to help create a safe environment in Syria with access to food, drinking water and schools, so that more refugees can return.
"We’ll do whatever we can to make sure that environment is safe when they do decide to go back,” he said.
At one point during Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, Lebanon hosted an estimated 1.5 million refugees.
Some half-million Syrians have returned since former Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024, according to Lebanon’s social affairs minister.
