Trudeau urges Israel to use 'maximum restraint' to protect Gaza civilians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Justin Trudeau on social media late Tuesday, after the Canadian leader urged Israel to protect civilian life in the brutal war it is waging on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Trudeau said the world is witnessing the killing of women, children and babies, and that it must stop.

"The human tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza is heart-wrenching, especially the suffering we see in and around the Al-Shifa Hospital," he said.

Gaza's largest hospital became a focal point of the conflict this week as Israeli ground troops surrounded the campus.

WATCH |Trudeau says killing of innocents in Gaza must stop:

Trudeau says killing of innocents in Gaza must stop

7 months ago

Duration 2:50

Israel must use 'maximum restraint' to protect civilian life as it wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, saying 'the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians.' He also said Hamas must stop using civilians as human shields, and that all hostages taken from Israel must be released immediately and unconditionally.

While Israel said it was willing to allow staff and patients to evacuate, Palestinians said Israeli forces have fired at evacuees and that it was too dangerous to move the most vulnerable patients. Doctors said the facility had run out of fuel and patients were beginning to die.

The Associated Press reported that Israel conducted what it called a "precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area" of the facility early Wednesday local time. It gave no further details but said it was taking steps to avoid harm to civilians.

Netanyahu, in a dramatic move, took aim at Trudeau on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"@JustinTrudeau It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust," Netanyahu wrote.

"While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm's way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm's way. Israel provides civilians in Gaza humanitarian corridors and safe zones, Hamas prevents them from leaving at gunpoint.

"It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians."

'Even wars have rules'

Israel is accusing Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its fighters, alleging that Hamas has set up its main command centre in and beneath the hospital, without providing visual evidence. Both Hamas and Shifa Hospital staff deny the Israeli allegations.

"I have been clear that the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have rules," Trudeau said at an event in Vancouver on Tuesday.

He urged that Israel exercise "maximum restraint" in preventing the loss of civilian life.

Israel declared war against Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7, including hundreds of civilians, and took about 240 people hostage.

Health officials in the Hamas-controlled territory say weeks of retaliatory airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip have now killed more than 11,200 people.

Trudeau said Hamas needs to stop using Palestinians as human shields and release all hostages "immediately and unconditionally." Canada has designated the group as a terrorist organization for more than 20 years.

LISTEN| Why calls for ceasefire are being rejected:

Front Burner28:36The ceasefire debate

Demonstrators around the world are calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as the destruction and death toll in Gaza continues to climb. Meanwhile, some of Israels allies, including the United States and Canada, want humanitarian pauses in the fighting. Jonathan Guyer, senior foreign policy writer at Vox, explains the difference, and why the calls for a ceasefire are being rejected. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

He said the violence urgently needs to stop, "so 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."

The Canadian government has faced increased pressure domestically from refugee settlement agencies, opposition members and municipal politicians to call for a ceasefire, in a bid to safely evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian aid.

Canadians wait at Rafah crossing

Foreign Affairs Minister Mlanie Joly did not mention a ceasefire in a statement Monday, and Trudeau has instead called for "a sustained humanitarian pause" in the bombardments.

When asked why he won't go so far as to call for a ceasefire, the prime minister spoke about the need to keep Canadians safe from a rising tide of antisemitism and hate-motivated incidents.

"If we can't figure out how to stop being mad at our neighbours here in Canada, who in the world will? That's the question we have to be asking ourselves every day," he said.

Scores of people connected to Canada are still hoping to escape the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations says no place is safe.

No Canadians were named on the list of potential evacuees allowed to use the tightly controlled Rafah border crossing into Egypt on Tuesday.

WATCH l Canadians in Egypt have conflicting emotions about leaving Gaza:

More people with ties to Canada exit Gaza

7 months ago

Duration 2:11

Approximately 350 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have now left Gaza. That's from about 600 people who have requested help from Global Affairs Canada. Embassy officials in Cairo are providing assistance to them once they cross into Egypt.

Global Affairs Canada said on Tuesday that it was in touch with 390 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

So far, 356 Canadians and their relatives have made it out of the Gaza Strip, including 10 on Monday.

"We are working day and night to bring the remaining Canadians in Gaza to safety," Joly said.

Trudeau pays tribute to Canadian killed in attack

Canada is also involved in efforts to secure the safe return of hostages taken in last month's attack and brought to Gaza.

Julie Sunday, Canada's new senior official for hostage affairs, is in Qatar engaging in negotiations with partners in the Middle East, Joly said. She has recently been in Israel and Egypt as part of her mission to help facilitate the release of Israeli hostages.

WATCH | Friend remembers Vivian Silver as dedicated to peace and justice:

Former hostage negotiator remembers friend Vivian Silver, killed by Hamas

7 months ago

Duration 8:21

Gershon Baskin, a human rights activist and former hostage negotiator, describes his friend, Vivian Silver, as a "person who lived her life according to her ideals." Silver's family has confirmed she was killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Canadian Vivian Silver, a dual national previously believed to have been taken hostage, is confirmed to have died in the initial attack last month.

Silver, who moved to Israel in the 1970s, was thought to be alive and held in Gaza. But identification of some of the most badly burned remains has gone slowly, and her family was notified of her death Monday.

Trudeau said he met with one of her sons last month, and that her courage, commitment and compassion exemplifies what it means to be a Canadian.

"Vivian dedicated her life to peace, and the bright light was extinguished on Oct. 7," Trudeau said.

Global Affairs says it is aware of one Canadian who is still missing.