(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused three times rather than once on Thursday to explicitly recognize that Israel is violating international humanitarian law with its total siege of the Gaza Strip, having cut off the water supply, electricity , gas and food to the region.
Canada supports Israel’s right to defend itself “in accordance with international law,” he repeated during a press conference in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
“The decision of the terrorist organization Hamas to take innocent (civilians) hostage endangers the lives of everyone in the region,” he added when a journalist asked him when a complete blockade becomes unreasonable.
However, the United Nations is not procrastinating on the issue. “The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential to their survival is prohibited by international humanitarian law,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said earlier this week. man, Volker Türk.
Mr. Trudeau did not flinch when he was reminded of his statement last year regarding Russia’s attacks on Ukraine that “indiscriminate attacks against innocent people are a war crime.”
The Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, is under intense aerial bombardment as Israel responds to Saturday’s Hamas attack.
So far, the death toll is more than 1,400 Palestinians and more than 1,200 Israelis. Hamas, which Canada has designated as a terrorist organization, claims to hold nearly 150 hostages.
While three Canadians are dead, three others are still missing and Ottawa refuses to confirm that they are being held hostage. The Trudeau government, however, indicates that it has discussed with Israel’s chief negotiator and has dispatched a team of experts in the field.
Meanwhile, Israel appears to be preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza in order to “eradicate” Hamas. The operation – a first in nearly a decade – would likely incur a significant human cost.
Asked to comment, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, declared on the sidelines of a conference in Trois-Rivières that civilians in Gaza must have the opportunity to leave the territory via a humanitarian corridor.
Hamas, he said, is “a terrorist group of incredible violence” and “we can only be in solidarity with the State of Israel” if it is a question of “neutralizing” it. […] while sparing civilians.
10 million in humanitarian aid
During Thursday’s press conference, which was to focus on housing, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada would provide an initial $10 million in humanitarian aid to meet urgent needs in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, he said that the first evacuation flight carrying 130 Canadians which had left Tel Aviv earlier in the day landed in Athens.
A second Canadian Armed Forces flight also left Tel Aviv on Thursday, Global Affairs Canada said in a press release. More flights from Tel Aviv to Athens are planned for Friday and Saturday, the government organization said.
As for the nearly 70 Canadians stuck in the Gaza Strip, Mr. Trudeau was unable to say how Ottawa could help them in the absence of a humanitarian corridor.
We are working very hard with all our allies, friends and partners who want to see peace in the region, who want to see civilian lives protected. This is an incredibly difficult situation.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Global Affairs clarified, Thursday afternoon in a press release, that 5,685 Canadians are currently registered on the list of Canadians abroad in Israel, and that 465 Canadians are registered in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The federal government says its military planes can each carry up to 150 passengers.
Canada does not generally offer repatriation flights when commercial flights are still available, but the government decided to waive the rule as airlines canceled or indefinitely delayed their flights.
With information from the Associated Press