After 19 months of pounding Gaza, Israel is now under growing pressure from unlikely quarters – some of its closest Western allies.

The UK, France and Canada "strongly oppose" Benjamin Netanyahu's expansion of military operations, a statement from their leaders said.

Leaders of Canada, France and the U.K. issued a joint statement against Israel’s war in Gaza, as the war intensifies and calls for humanitarian aid increase.

Israel launched a new devastating ground offensive in Gaza over the weekend just as US President Donald Trump departed the region without sealing a ceasefire and hostage deal.

The full implications of the trade reconsiderations still aren’t clear. But the countries involved are some of Israel’s most important commercial partners.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu – who the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleges is responsible for war crimes in Gaza – responded angrily. He accused the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris of offering Hamas a “huge prize” for its October 7 attack on Israel.

The leaders of Britain, Canada and France threatened "concrete actions" against Israel if it does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Trudeau government started out in 2015 by continuing the strongly pro-Israel policies it inherited from Stephen Harper. From 2019 on, though, the growing extremism of Israeli politics began to strain ties.