Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s War Cabinet, to reiterate Canada’s support for Israel and “its right to defend itself in accordance with international law,” Trudeau’s office said Thursday.
In a summary of the call Wednesday evening, the prime minister’s office said Trudeau strongly emphasized the importance of taking all possible measures to protect civilians and minimize casualties in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Mr. Gantz posted his own summary of the call on
“We discussed the development of the war in Gaza, the terrible terrorist attack by Hamas and the efforts to immediately release the hostages held in Gaza,” Gantz said.
Both statements also noted that the two discussed concerns about rising anti-Semitism and spoke about Hamas, which Canada recognizes as a terrorist organization that uses civilians in the Gaza Strip as human shields.
Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s support for the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, dignity and security and reaffirmed Canada’s continued support for a two-state solution, the press release from Mr. Trudeau’s office said.
The conversation with Mr. Gantz came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly responded to Mr. Trudeau’s sharp comments calling on Israel to exercise maximum restraint to protect the lives of civilians.
I have made it clear that the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have rules, Mr. Trudeau said in Vancouver on Tuesday.
The world is witnessing this. The murder of women, children, babies.
In response, Mr. Netanyahu posted a message on
It is Hamas, not Israel, that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime: targeting civilians and hiding behind civilians.
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Injured people are taken to hospital after a strike in Khan Younes, near Gaza, November 15, 2023.
Photo: Portal / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
The current conflict began on October 7, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis in brutal surprise attacks. The attackers also took around 240 people hostage and abducted them to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, then launched a campaign of air strikes and disrupted food, fuel, water and supplies deliveries to Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians.
More than 11,470 people were killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the territory’s health authorities. In addition to this number, there are 2,700 missing people who are believed to be buried under the rubble of the air raids. The official count does not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths. Israel, in turn, claims to have killed thousands of militants.
No departure from the Canadians on Thursday
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Canadians waited several days before they could leave the Gaza Strip into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing. (archive photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Fatima Shbair
Foreign nationals are trying to escape the besieged area through the Rafah border crossing, which allows entry into Egypt.
However, as of Thursday, none of the 386 Canada-linked people who attempted to leave the territory were able to enter Egypt. The General Authority for Crossings and Borders published on its Facebook page this morning the latest list of people allowed to leave the Gaza Strip. This did not include any Canadians.
Global Affairs Canada said Thursday that 367 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members have been able to leave the Gaza Strip so far, including nine who left without government assistance.
Two people were able to leave on Wednesday and ten set off on Monday. The Canadian government said it could not determine how many people could cross the border each day.
Internet and telephone services collapsed across the Gaza Strip on Thursday due to a lack of fuel, the main Palestinian supplier said.
Even in the event of a communication breakdown, we attempt to contact Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their eligible family members through all available channels and also remain in touch with their loved ones in Canada, Global Affairs said in a statement. Thursday.
Fighting in the southern Gaza Strip?
At the same time, Israel has signaled that its offensive against Hamas could next target the territory’s south, where most of the population has sought refuge.
If the attack moves south, it is unclear where the people will go, as Egypt refuses to allow mass relocation into its territory.
The international community – including Israel’s closest ally, the United States – has expressed growing concern over the civilian death toll. The United States did not call on Israel to end the war, but warned Israelis that international criticism would increase the longer the war lasted.
On Thursday, Israeli troops searched the Al-Shifa hospital in the north of the territory for the second day in a row, looking for signs of Hamas.
They showed weapons they said were hidden in a building, but have so far revealed no evidence of a central Hamas command center that Israel said was hidden beneath the hospital complex. Hamas and employees of the hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, deny the allegations.