The situation in the Gaza Strip is B次元官网网址渉eartbreaking,B次元官网网址� CanadaB次元官网网址檚 deputy prime minister said Wednesday, the day after IsraelB次元官网网址檚 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for urging Israel to stop B次元官网网址渢he killing of women and children, of babiesB次元官网网址� inthe besieged Palestinian territory.
B次元官网网址淚 think everyone would agree that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is heartbreaking. ItB次元官网网址檚 really difficult to see the images of whatB次元官网网址檚 happening,B次元官网网址� Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Wednesday in Mascouche, Que.
Freeland, who is also the federal finance minister, had been asked to respond to Netanyahu calling out Trudeau on Tuesday evening. His comments on social media came hours after Trudeau urged IsraelB次元官网网址檚 government to B次元官网网址渆xercise maximum restraintB次元官网网址� in its war against Hamas, which has included regular airstrikes in Gaza.
B次元官网网址淚 have been clear that the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have rules,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said Tuesday in Vancouver.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents,B次元官网网址� said Trudeau. B次元官网网址淭he world is witnessing this. The killing of women and children, of babies.B次元官网网址�
Israel began its latest war against Hamas, which Canada has listed as a terrorist entity since 2002, after its militants killed 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. That included hundreds of civilians in their homes, in collective farming communities known as kibbutzim and at an outdoor music festival. Another 240 people were taken hostage.
IsraelB次元官网网址檚 retaliation has included airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, as well as cutting off access to supplies in the territory, which had already been under a years-long blockade by both Israel and Egypt.
On Wednesday, two more people with ties to Canada made it out of Gaza. Global Affairs Canada says it has helped 358 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their relatives exit the war-torn territory, while another nine have managed to reach Egypt by other means.
Ottawa says another 386 people connected to Canada are trying to get out of Gaza.
The 2.3 million people who live in the territory are struggling to survive without electricity or running water and are rationing food. The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says the war has now killed more than 11,200 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children.
TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 comments prompted a strong response from Netanyahu on X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter.
B次元官网网址淲hile Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harmB次元官网网址檚 way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harmB次元官网网址檚 way,B次元官网网址� he wrote Tuesday evening.
B次元官网网址淚t is Hamas, not Israel, that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime B次元官网网址� targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians.B次元官网网址�
On Wednesday, Yair Lapid, the opposition leader in Israel, also criticized Trudeau for his remarks.
B次元官网网址淧rime Minister Trudeau, Israel is defending itself in difficult conditions against a brutal terrorist organization while trying to rescue babies, children, women and men who are being held hostage,B次元官网网址� Lapid wrote on X.
B次元官网网址淚f Canada ever found itself under a sustained and brutal attack like the one we face now, you would find Israel by your side,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淲e expect the same support.B次元官网网址�
University of Ottawa professor Costanza Musu said NetanyahuB次元官网网址檚 criticism of Trudeau seemed to echo remarks heB次元官网网址檇 directed to other leaders who have been critical of IsraelB次元官网网址檚 military actions.
For example, French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized Israel for the killing of babies and elderly people in Gaza, which Netanyahu said was factually and morally wrong.
B次元官网网址淎ny kind of criticism that comes his way is rebuked equally,B次元官网网址� said Musu, who specializes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
B次元官网网址淚t would be directed at any leader that were to suggest that Israel is responsible entirely for whatB次元官网网址檚 happening now.B次元官网网址�
Trudeau had referred specifically to the Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, as Israeli troops surrounded the facility and it ran out of fuel.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops stormed into the hospital, searching for traces of Hamas inside and beneath the facility. Israel faced pressure to prove its claim that Hamas had turned the hospital into a command centre and used patients, staff and civilians sheltering there to provide cover for its militants. Israel released video late Wednesday of weapons it said it found in one building, but so far its search showed no signs of tunnels or a sophisticated command centre, and Hamas and Gaza health officials deny that militants operate there.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Trudeau had also said that Hamas needs to stop using Palestinians as human shields and release all hostages B次元官网网址渋mmediately and unconditionally.B次元官网网址�
He pushed for the violence to end B次元官网网址渟o that Palestinians can get access to life-saving medical services, food, fuel and water, so that all hostages can be released, so that all Canadians and other nationals can leave Gaza.B次元官网网址�
Musu said criticism of IsraelB次元官网网址檚 actions around the hospital would be particularly sensitive to NetanyahuB次元官网网址檚 government, given IsraelB次元官网网址檚 assertion that it is important to Hamas.
She said the Israeli government is aware that military operations near a hospital will be controversial, but from its point of view, targeting what it believes is Hamas infrastructure is the only way to prevent terrorist attacks on its own citizens.
B次元官网网址淭he government of Israel is in a situation in which it views the operation in Gaza as something that not only cannot be avoided, but also cannot be stopped,B次元官网网址� Musu said.
She noted that Netanyahu is facing B次元官网网址渁 huge amount of pressureB次元官网网址� because of the security failure of the Hamas attack, particularly from the families of hostages who are still in captivity.
On Wednesday, New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said Trudeau was being fair in what he said about Israel.
B次元官网网址淭here should obviously be a full respect for international law and there are deep concerns about that not being followed, and so thatB次元官网网址檚 a fair criticism,B次元官网网址� he told reporters in Toronto on Wednesday.
Singh also repeated his demands that Trudeau call for a ceasefire, arguing that it would boost CanadaB次元官网网址檚 credibility on the world stage.
Conservative Leader Pierre PoilievreB次元官网网址檚 office has not responded to an interview request. But deputy leader Melissa Lantsman decried SinghB次元官网网址檚 comments as B次元官网网址渄isgustingB次元官网网址� in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Former Liberal MP Michael Levitt, who now leads a Jewish rights group called the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, did not weigh in on NetanyahuB次元官网网址檚 comments.
But he wrote on X that TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 remarks were B次元官网网址渞eckless accusationsB次元官网网址� that didnB次元官网网址檛 accurately portray what Israel is trying to do in the Gaza Strip.
B次元官网网址淛ews like me, reeling from weeks of surging antisemitism, got the message loud and clear, and will worry that they have the potential to further fan the flames of Jew-hatred that we are facing,B次元官网网址� Levitt wrote.
Trudeau has faced increased pressure domestically from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, refugee settlement agencies and MPs B次元官网网址� including some Liberals B次元官网网址� to call for a ceasefire, in a bid to safely evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian aid.
Instead, Trudeau has called for B次元官网网址渁 sustained humanitarian pauseB次元官网网址� in the bombardments. Israeli officials say a ceasefire would only allow Hamas to prepare more attacks.
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