Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is calling for de-escalation after Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear sites and killed Iranian military leaders with a barrage of airstrikes early on Friday.

The coordinated move against Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich highlights the hardening of several countries’ stance toward Israel amid the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Iran's state news agency reported that Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel as part of its retaliation for Israel's Friday attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites. IRNA said the Iranian military had dubbed its operation Severe Punishment.

Police across the Greater Toronto Area say they are stepping up their presence around consulates and places of worship as tensions rise between Israel and Iran.

The United Kingdom, Canada and other allies announced sanctions Tuesday on two hardline Israeli government ministers for repeatedly “inciting violence against Palestinians,” in a stark joint move that comes amid growing Western condemnation of Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand issued a statement stressing de-escalation after a wave of Israeli strikes on Tehran

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned five nations that imposed sanctions on two controversial Israeli officials and called for a "reversal of the sanctions."

Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway said they were taking measures against far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Speaking before the vote, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon vehemently opposed the resolution. He denied that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war, calling the accusation “blood libel,” and insisted that aid is being delivered.

Israeli officials responded defiantly, likening the sanctions to British policies during the era of Mandatory Palestine.

A group of five countries said the two men incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, highlighting a growing divide between Israel and some of its Western allies.

Today’s attack that saw Gaza aid workers murdered by Palestinian terrorists has Israel’s ambassador to Canada urging this country to show leadership.