The situation in the Gaza Strip is 鈥渉eartbreaking,鈥� Canada鈥檚 deputy prime minister said Wednesday, the day after Israel鈥檚 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for urging Israel to stop 鈥渢he killing of women and children, of babies鈥� inthe besieged Palestinian territory.
鈥淚 think everyone would agree that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is heartbreaking. It鈥檚 really difficult to see the images of what鈥檚 happening,鈥� Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Wednesday in Mascouche, Que.
Freeland, who is also the federal finance minister, had been asked to respond to Netanyahu calling out Trudeau on Tuesday evening. His comments on social media came hours after Trudeau urged Israel鈥檚 government to 鈥渆xercise maximum restraint鈥� in its war against Hamas, which has included regular airstrikes in Gaza.
鈥淚 have been clear that the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have rules,鈥� Trudeau said Tuesday in Vancouver.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents,鈥� said Trudeau. 鈥淭he world is witnessing this. The killing of women and children, of babies.鈥�
Israel began its latest war against Hamas, which Canada has listed as a terrorist entity since 2002, after its militants killed 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. That included hundreds of civilians in their homes, in collective farming communities known as kibbutzim and at an outdoor music festival. Another 240 people were taken hostage.
Israel鈥檚 retaliation has included airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, as well as cutting off access to supplies in the territory, which had already been under a years-long blockade by both Israel and Egypt.
On Wednesday, two more people with ties to Canada made it out of Gaza. Global Affairs Canada says it has helped 358 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their relatives exit the war-torn territory, while another nine have managed to reach Egypt by other means.
Ottawa says another 386 people connected to Canada are trying to get out of Gaza.
The 2.3 million people who live in the territory are struggling to survive without electricity or running water and are rationing food. The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says the war has now killed more than 11,200 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children.
Trudeau鈥檚 comments prompted a strong response from Netanyahu on X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter.
鈥淲hile Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm鈥檚 way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm鈥檚 way,鈥� he wrote Tuesday evening.
鈥淚t is Hamas, not Israel, that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime 鈥� targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians.鈥�
On Wednesday, Yair Lapid, the opposition leader in Israel, also criticized Trudeau for his remarks.
鈥淧rime Minister Trudeau, Israel is defending itself in difficult conditions against a brutal terrorist organization while trying to rescue babies, children, women and men who are being held hostage,鈥� Lapid wrote on X.
鈥淚f Canada ever found itself under a sustained and brutal attack like the one we face now, you would find Israel by your side,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e expect the same support.鈥�
University of Ottawa professor Costanza Musu said Netanyahu鈥檚 criticism of Trudeau seemed to echo remarks he鈥檇 directed to other leaders who have been critical of Israel鈥檚 military actions.
For example, French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized Israel for the killing of babies and elderly people in Gaza, which Netanyahu said was factually and morally wrong.
鈥淎ny kind of criticism that comes his way is rebuked equally,鈥� said Musu, who specializes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
鈥淚t would be directed at any leader that were to suggest that Israel is responsible entirely for what鈥檚 happening now.鈥�
Trudeau had referred specifically to the Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, as Israeli troops surrounded the facility and it ran out of fuel.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops stormed into the hospital, searching for traces of Hamas inside and beneath the facility. Israel faced pressure to prove its claim that Hamas had turned the hospital into a command centre and used patients, staff and civilians sheltering there to provide cover for its militants. Israel released video late Wednesday of weapons it said it found in one building, but so far its search showed no signs of tunnels or a sophisticated command centre, and Hamas and Gaza health officials deny that militants operate there.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Trudeau had also said that Hamas needs to stop using Palestinians as human shields and release all hostages 鈥渋mmediately and unconditionally.鈥�
He pushed for the violence to end 鈥渟o 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.鈥�
Musu said criticism of Israel鈥檚 actions around the hospital would be particularly sensitive to Netanyahu鈥檚 government, given Israel鈥檚 assertion that it is important to Hamas.
She said the Israeli government is aware that military operations near a hospital will be controversial, but from its point of view, targeting what it believes is Hamas infrastructure is the only way to prevent terrorist attacks on its own citizens.
鈥淭he government of Israel is in a situation in which it views the operation in Gaza as something that not only cannot be avoided, but also cannot be stopped,鈥� Musu said.
She noted that Netanyahu is facing 鈥渁 huge amount of pressure鈥� because of the security failure of the Hamas attack, particularly from the families of hostages who are still in captivity.
On Wednesday, New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said Trudeau was being fair in what he said about Israel.
鈥淭here should obviously be a full respect for international law and there are deep concerns about that not being followed, and so that鈥檚 a fair criticism,鈥� he told reporters in Toronto on Wednesday.
Singh also repeated his demands that Trudeau call for a ceasefire, arguing that it would boost Canada鈥檚 credibility on the world stage.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre鈥檚 office has not responded to an interview request. But deputy leader Melissa Lantsman decried Singh鈥檚 comments as 鈥渄isgusting鈥� in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Former Liberal MP Michael Levitt, who now leads a Jewish rights group called the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, did not weigh in on Netanyahu鈥檚 comments.
But he wrote on X that Trudeau鈥檚 remarks were 鈥渞eckless accusations鈥� that didn鈥檛 accurately portray what Israel is trying to do in the Gaza Strip.
鈥淛ews like me, reeling from weeks of surging antisemitism, got the message loud and clear, and will worry that they have the potential to further fan the flames of Jew-hatred that we are facing,鈥� Levitt wrote.
Trudeau has faced increased pressure domestically from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, refugee settlement agencies and MPs 鈥� including some Liberals 鈥� to call for a ceasefire, in a bid to safely evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian aid.
Instead, Trudeau has called for 鈥渁 sustained humanitarian pause鈥� in the bombardments. Israeli officials say a ceasefire would only allow Hamas to prepare more attacks.
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