Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced growing pressure Thursday to state CanadaB次元官网网址檚 position on who was responsible for a blast at a hospital in Gaza City, but he would only say Canada must take the B次元官网网址渘ecessary timeB次元官网网址� to examine what happened before drawing any conclusions.
The blast at the al-Ahli Hospital has become a flashpoint in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides.
In Canada, the explosion has led to criticism of Trudeau, as three prominent Jewish groups and the Opposition Conservatives demand he publicly clear Israel of involvement.
On Tuesday, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry announced that a Gaza hospital where hundreds of Palestinians had been sheltering had been hit by an Israeli airstrike, leaving hundreds dead.
In the wake of that news, Trudeau stopped to speak briefly to reporters on his way into question period in the House of Commons. In French, a reporter asked him about the blast, referring to it in the question as an Israeli airstrike on Gaza.
Trudeau said in French that it was B次元官网网址渘ot legal,B次元官网网址� then saying in English that it was B次元官网网址渁bsolutely unacceptableB次元官网网址� to hit a hospital.
Following his remarks, IsraelB次元官网网址檚 military denied involvement and said it was instead the result of a misfire by a group of Palestinian militants. By that evening, Trudeau posted an updated statement on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, saying he was B次元官网网址渉orrifiedB次元官网网址� by the deaths. He added B次元官网网址渢hat we must determine what happenedB次元官网网址� and called for accountability.
By Wednesday, IsraelB次元官网网址檚 military had released a flurry of images that it described as its own intelligence and that it said showed it was not responsible for the strike. That day, during a visit to Israel, United States President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it appeared the hospital blast was perpetrated B次元官网网址渂y the other team, not you.B次元官网网址�
Biden cited data from the U.S. Defense Department that he said showed the blast was not likely a strike by IsraelB次元官网网址檚 military. The White House also said that a U.S. intelligence assessment found Israel was not to blame.
With the U.S. backing IsraelB次元官网网址檚 telling of what happened, Iddo Moed, IsraelB次元官网网址檚 ambassador to Canada, told The Canadian Press in an interview that he hoped Canada would offer a B次元官网网址渟imilar response,B次元官网网址� saying that Israel had provided an B次元官网网址渁bundance of evidence.B次元官网网址�
Trudeau next addressed the issue Thursday afternoon, saying that Canada would be taking the B次元官网网址渘ecessary timeB次元官网网址� to probe the blast. In response to a question about whether he had seen any evidence himself, he told reporters in French that B次元官网网址渃ertain preliminary elementsB次元官网网址� had come to his attention.
B次元官网网址淭he thing with this horrific situation in the Middle East is it is not just happening over there,B次元官网网址� he said at a press conference Thursday wrapping up a summit with Caribbean leaders.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 having an impact, a deep, direct, personal impact, on individuals, on families, on communities here in Canada.B次元官网网址�
The prime minister went on to say that everyone can agree that the deaths of innocent civilians at the hospital in Gaza B次元官网网址渘ever should have happened.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淏ut we are taking the necessary time to look carefully at everything, and rapidly, of course, before we draw any final conclusions about what happened.B次元官网网址�
His comment did nothing to alleviate concerns from three Jewish Canadian groups, who say TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 responses so far are lending credence to what they call a narrative pushed by Hamas-controlled officials.
Though Trudeau did not directly blame Israel for the hospital blast earlier this week, groups are asking that he not only clarify but retract his earlier words.
BB次元官网网址檔ai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said in a statement that what has been provided B次元官网网址渉as already satisfied U.S. President Joe Biden.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淪o where is the holdup?B次元官网网址�
In separate statements, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs both said it was B次元官网网址渄eeply disappointingB次元官网网址� that despite BidenB次元官网网址檚 position, Canada B次元官网网址渃ontinues to give weightB次元官网网址� to HamasB次元官网网址� allegation.
Canada has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity in Canada since 2002.
Over the past two days, the Conservatives have also raised concerns about TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 comments on the hospital explosion. Michael Chong, the partyB次元官网网址檚 foreign affairs critic in Parliament, pressed the government on Thursday about why it had not B次元官网网址渃larified the recordB次元官网网址� as the United States did.
Meanwhile, more backbench members of TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 government are calling for a ceasefire, as is the federal NDP B次元官网网址� something Ottawa has not yet done, or indicated that it might.
Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly pointed to TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 comments when asked about the concerns from Jewish groups, saying that Canada is in close contact with its allies on the issue.
B次元官网网址淲hat happened in Gaza is completely devastating,B次元官网网址� she told reporters Thursday. B次元官网网址淣ot only is it devastating but weB次元官网网址檝e been clear: Israeli lives and Palestinian lives are important. Israeli civilians and Palestinian civilians are equal and must be protected at all times.B次元官网网址�
The latest conflict began when Hamas launched surprise attacks on Oct. 7, with militants killing hundreds in their homes and at an outdoor music festival in southern Israel. The Jewish state declared war in response and has been raining airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 3,800 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, while more than 1,400 people in Israel are dead, most of them civilians killed during the deadly Hamas incursion that began the conflict.
Canadian officials are still working to try and find a way to get upwards of 400 Canadians and their families out of the Gaza Strip, which is blockaded at its two land borders with Israel and Egypt.
B次元官网网址淲e need to make sure Canadians get out of Gaza,B次元官网网址� said Joly.
Israel announced during BidenB次元官网网址檚 visit that it approved a plan that would allow Egypt to deliver some supplies into Gaza, which is home to more than two million people.
Even before the latest war broke out, the Gaza Strip was one of the most densely populated and impoverished regions in the world. International aid organizations have warned that the region is close to collapse as Israel has cut off access to its electricity, fuel and food.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced in IsraelB次元官网网址檚 campaign of retaliation. The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for a million people, telling them to leave their homes in the territoryB次元官网网址檚 north and head south towards the Egyptian border as Israel prepares a ground offensive.
Global Affairs Canada says that so far, around 1,400 Canadians, permanent residents and their families have been taken out of Israel on Canadian-arranged flights from Tel Aviv to Athens.
And Ottawa says that over the past two days, it has arranged for 12 more Canadians in the West Bank to be bused to neighbouring Jordan.
While officials continue to get Canadians out of Israel and the Palestinian territory of the West Bank B次元官网网址� which Israel has occupied since 1967 and where it has established numerous settlements B次元官网网址� the government is warning Canadians to avoid all travel to neighbouring Lebanon. It is asking those in the country to leave while commercials flights remain available.
Canada and its allies remain concerned that the Israel-Hamas war could expand regionally, a fear underscored by clashes happening between Hezbollah and the Israeli military across IsraelB次元官网网址檚 northern border with Lebanon.
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