Montreal, August 19, 2026 — On this World Humanitarian Day, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to hold Israel accountable for the killing of Canadian aid worker Jacob Flickinger in April 2024. Just today, the Israeli army announced that there will be no criminal investigation into the incident, in which a series of Israeli airstrikes deliberately targeted a humanitarian convoy in Gaza, killing 33-year-old Flickinger alongside 6 international and Palestinian volunteers with World Central Kitchen.
At the time of the killing, then-Prime Minister Trudeau condemned the incident and called for a "fully open, transparent, independent and rapid investigation." Such an investigation has never taken place. Instead, two years later, an internal review by the Israeli army has decided that the attack "did not cross the criminal threshold" and there will be no criminal investigation or further measures.
“This is a complete failure of accountability,” said Yara Shoufani, President of CJPME. “Will Prime Minister Carney allow Israel to get away with the murder of a Canadian aid worker, with no consequences? We call on the Prime Minister to hold Israel accountable, and end Israel’s cycle of impunity.”
In the absence of an investigation that can meet the standards previously set by Canada, CJPME urges Prime Minister Carney to impose sanctions on Israel and hold officials accountable for their role in this crime. CJPME further believes that Canada should have supported the demands of World Central Kitchen for an independent, third-party investigation, a demand that Trudeau never explicitly endorsed, unlike other countries who lost citizens in the attack. Although then-former Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly had clearly stated that "Israel needs to respect international humanitarian law, and we will make sure that is the case," the outcome of Israel’s internal review makes it clear that this will not happen.
“Once again, Israel has proven that it is either incapable or unwilling to investigate its own crimes. Canada’s calls for accountability mean nothing if they continue to put their trust in Israeli authorities to hold themselves accountable for war crimes and genocide,” added Shoufani.