(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took advantage of a call with Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to reiterate that “the Lebanese people deserve to live in peace” and call for a ceasefire in Middle East, Sunday.
According to a summary of the conversation provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Trudeau expressed concerns about the “devastating consequences” of recent events on civilians in Lebanon, where more than 1,000 people have been killed in the wake of a escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
“The Lebanese people deserve to live in peace and security and must not have to bear the consequences of the actions of Hezbollah, a terrorist organization,” argued Mr. Trudeau during his call with Mr. Mikati, recalling that the The past few days have been trying for Canadians who have family in Lebanon.
Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah increased almost two weeks ago, when walkie-talkies and pagers used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon. These explosions were the trigger for an intensification of airstrikes between the two camps.
In addition to the hundreds of deaths, tens of thousands of Lebanese had to flee the south of the country, at the request of the Israeli army. The exchanges of fire also forced evacuations in Israel.
According to the Lebanese Minister of Health, Israeli strikes have so far killed more than 1,030 people, including 156 women and 87 children, in less than two weeks.
In response to the intensifying clashes, Canada and several of its allies called last week for a 21-day ceasefire. During his call with Lebanon’s interim prime minister, Mr. Trudeau repeated this request.
“Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed that Canada is committed to continuing its collaboration with the international community to advance peace in the region, as evidenced by his call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on the border between Lebanon and Israel,” we can read in the summary of the discussion between the two leaders.
On Saturday, Canada announced that it will provide 10 million for humanitarian aid to civilians in Lebanon. This funding will be added to the 10 million already allocated to the crisis in Lebanon by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, to which Canada is a donor.
With information from the Associated Press