France became the first G7 country to announce the move last week – while Ireland, Spain and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.
Mr Carney told reporters in Ontario on Wednesday that Canada would do the same on certain conditions – including that the Palestinian Authority commits to fundamentally reforming its governance and to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part.
The Canadian prime minister said he had spoken with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, earlier on Wednesday.
Following the announcement, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement: “The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages.”
A White House official later anonymously told Reuters that US President Donald Trump also believes he would be “rewarding Hamas” if he recognises a Palestinian state and therefore doesn’t plan to do so.
“President Trump’s focus is on getting people fed (in Gaza),” the official added.
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1:02
What do Israelis think of UK’s plan to recognise Palestine?
Canada had long-stated it would only recognise a Palestinian state at the conclusion of peace talks with Israel.
However, Mr Carney said the reality on the ground, including the starvation of citizens in Gaza, means “the prospect of a Palestinian state is literally receding before our eyes”.
He added: “We are working ourselves, with others, to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, to not allow the facts on the ground, deaths on the ground, the settlements on the ground, the expropriations on the ground, to get to such an extent that this is not possible.”
The Canadian prime minister also said he “condemns the fact Israel has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza”.
Image: Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
Pic Reuters
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK could recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday after he had a meeting with Mr Trump the previous day.
Sir Keir said the conditions Israel would have to meet in order to avoid such a move included taking substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza” and agreeing to a ceasefire.
Some 38 members of the House of Lords, including some of the UK’s most eminent lawyers, have since written to the attorney general to say that recognising a Palestinian state could be a breach of international law, The Times has reported.
They have said the territory may not meet the criteria for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933.
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0:48
Aid dropped into Gaza amid international pressure
Meanwhile, a Downing Street spokesperson confirmed Sir Keir had spoken to Mr Carney over the phone on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said: “They discussed the grave situation in the Middle East and last night’s action by the United States to tackle the severe threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Both reiterated their support for a diplomatic solution and agreed that Iran must come back to the negotiating table with the United States as soon as possible.
“They looked forward to continuing their discussions at NATO this week.”
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A global hunger monitor has warned that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition.
Meanwhile, at least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, according to the Shifa Hospital that received the casualties.
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0:15
Footage shows young girl in Gaza mourning family
It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing.
Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group’s militants operate in densely populated areas.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss the next steps to address the situation in Gaza, an American official said.
A hospital in Gaza that was hit in an Israeli strike, killing 20 people including five journalists, has rejected the Israeli military’s claim it struck the facility because it was targeting what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera as well as people identified as militants.
The statement was part of the military’s initial inquiry into the attack on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a “tragic mishap”.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the back-to-back strikes on the largest hospital in southern Gaza were ordered because soldiers believed militants were using the camera to observe Israeli forces.
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1:57
Who were the journalists killed by Israel?
It also said it was because Israel has long believed Hamas and other militant groups are present at hospitals – though Israeli officials have rarely provided evidence to support such claims.
“This conclusion was further supported, among other reasons, by the documented military use of hospitals by the terrorist organisations throughout the war,” the IDF claimed.
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Image: Nasser hospital in Gaza after it was damaged by an Israeli strike. Pic: AP
It said six of those killed in the strike were “terrorists”.
The military chief of general staff acknowledged several “gaps” in the investigation so far, including the kind of ammunition used to take out the camera.
The military also said there is an ongoing investigation into the chain of command that approved the strike.
However, the army added: “The chief of the general staff emphasised that the IDF directs its activities solely toward military targets.”
Image: Pics: Reuters
In a statement, the hospital said: “Nasser hospital categorically reject these claims and any claims made by Israeli authorities to justify attacks on hospital premises.”
Among those killed was 33-year-old Mariam Dagga, a journalist who worked for the Associated Press, Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammed Salama, Reuters contractor Hussam al Masri, Reuters photographer Moaz Abu Taha and Middle East Eye freelancer Ahmed Abu Aziz.
The IDF said journalists working for Reuters and the Associated Press “were not a target of the strike”.
The attack was described as a “double-tap” attack, which sees civilians or medical workers rushing to help those injured hit in a second strike. They have previously been seen in the wars in Ukraine and Syria.
Hospitals have been repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces throughout the 22-month war in Gaza.
The war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
Israel’s military offensive against Hamas has killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its count but says the majority are women and children.
Nadav is tired, frustrated and haunted, yet he smiles when we meet. For 690 days, he has been waiting for the world to change, and he’s still waiting, and hoping.
Back on 7 October 2023, his father Tal was seized by Hamas and taken to Gaza. Tal is now dead – it’s not clear when he died, but the simple, brutal fact of his death is not in doubt.
What is unknown – indeed, what cannot be known – is when Tal’s body will be returned to Israel.
“My dad is still being held captive, although he is not alive. My life is stuck,” Nadav tells me. “In order to continue living and start the healing process, we need them home and we need the war to be over.”
Image: Pic: Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Around him, banners, signs and the sounds of another day of national protest. Motorways were brought to a halt, huge numbers of people went on strike, all in the name of demanding that the Israeli government do more to prioritise the return of all the hostages.
In Nadav’s mind, that means searching for compromise and negotiating a ceasefire that ends the war and allows for the return of all the hostages – believed to number 20 who are still alive, and a further 30 who have died.
“We have seen that just using military strength is not enough,” he says. “We now have to do whatever it takes, even if it’s not perfect.”
“Even if that means negotiating with Hamas?” I ask. He nods. “This war has to come to an end.”
It is a theme we hear again and again. In the crowds that pour into Hostages Square, there is almost unanimity.
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5:54
Protests in Israel ‘lack sufficient backing’
“The prime minister is acting like a tyrant,” declares one man as he marches down the street. “He doesn’t listen to us – his subjects. He just listens to the people in his cabinet who think that war is always the answer.”
Around us, we regularly see people wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Stam Wars”, written in the familiar Star Wars style.
Image: Protesters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Pic: Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
It is a biting comment dressed up as a joke – stam is a derogatory slang word, basically meaning pointless. “Our soldiers are being sacrificed,” says Yoram, as he strolls down the road towards the square.
This, of course, is no random sample. Among the crowd are many who viscerally dislike Benjamin Netanyahu, and the truth is that his supporters would be unlikely to join this crowd.
And yet they all want the same thing. The prime minister insists that the return of the hostages is his driving motivation, just as the people we spoke to told us that getting back the hostages was their ambition.
The difference is that Netanyahu seems unwilling to negotiate, and is convinced that the way to push Hamas into submission is to attack them relentlessly. Those on the protest, including relatives and loved ones of the hostages, are calling for talks to be placed ahead of tanks.
Is Netanyahu worried? Probably not. Just as the protesters were gathering in Hostages Square, Israel’s security cabinet was meeting to discuss the future of the war. Plans to encircle and occupy Gaza City were discussed. Proposals for a ceasefire were, apparently, not even mentioned.
Ukrainians say they are in danger of losing the drone arms race with Russia and need more help.
And that is worrying not just for Ukraine, because the drone is becoming the likely weapon of choice in other future conflicts.
Sky News has been given exclusive access to a Ukrainian drone factory to watch its start up ingenuity at work. Ukrainians have turned the drone into their most effective weapon against the invaders.
But they are now, we are told, losing the upper hand in the skies over Ukraine.
General Cherry Drones was started by volunteers at the beginning of the war, making a 100 a month, but is now producing 1,000 times that. The company’s Andriy Lavrenovych said it is never enough.
Image: Andriy Lavrenovych
“The Russians have a lot of troops, a lot of vehicles and our soldiers every day tell us we need more, we need more weapons, we need better, we need faster, we need higher.”
The comments echo the words of Ukraine’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told reporters this week “the Russians have increased the number of drones, while due to a lack of funding, we have not yet been able to scale up.”
The factory’s location is a closely-guarded secret, moved often. Russia strikes weapons factories when it can.
In a nondescript office building we watched drones being assembled and stacked in their thousands. Put together like toys, they are hand assembled and customised.
The quadcopters vary in size, some carry explosives to attack the enemy. Others fly as high as six kilometres to ambush Russian surveillance drones.
Image: A combat drone is prepared by a Ukrainian soldier in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar. Pic:24th King Danylo Separate Brigade/Reuters
A $1,000 (£743) Ukrainian drone can bring down an enemy aircraft worth 300 times as much.
Downstairs each drone is tested before it’s sent to the front. Nineteen-year-old Dima – not his real name – used to play with drones at home before it was occupied in Kherson Oblast.
Now he works here using his skills to check the drones are fit for battle.
But Russia is catching up. Sinister propaganda released this week filmed at one of its vast new drone factories shows hundreds of Geranium delta wing attack drones lined up ready to be launched at Ukraine.
Russia has refined the technology provided by Iranians to produce faster, more lethal versions of their Shahed drones. They have wreaked havoc and carnage, coming in their hundreds every night and killing scores of civilians. Ukraine expects 1,000 a night in the months ahead.
Russia is using scale and quantity to turn the tables on Ukrainians. And it is mastering drones controlled by fibre optic thread, trailing in their wake, that cannot be jammed.
Image: Oleksandr “Drakar”, head of new product development
Oleksandr “Drakar”, head of new product development, showed us his company’s prototype fibre optic model. It is more effective than the Russians, he told us, but added: “The Russians began using the technology earlier and have scaled up production.
“They’ve had considerable help from the Chinese – entire factories there are under contract to supply fibre exclusively to Russia, producing it in vast quantities.”
Russia’s Chinese allies, who claim to be neutral in this conflict, are also throttling the supply of microchips and other parts vital to drone production. The West is not doing enough, say Ukrainians, to counterbalance the threat.
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16:01
Is NATO ready for drone war?
It is a constant race to beat the other side, innovation met by more innovation. This conflict is revolutionising warfare into a sci-fi battle of machines.
Ukrainians say 80% of battlefield strikes are now carried out by drones.
Whoever has the upper hand with them in this conflict is likely to have the edge in future wars. If the West wants to be on the winning side, it will need to give Zelenskyy and his drone start-up companies more help to maintain their edge.