Netanyahu vs Justin Trudeau on 'killing of babies in Gaza': 'Must back Israel'
Justin Trudeau told Israel the killing of babies must end. “The world is watching, on TV, on social media - we're hearing the testimonies,” Canada PM said.
While Canada has stood beside Israel in the ongoing war between Israel Defense Forces and Hamas, PM Justin Trudeau on Tuesday drew a line and said the killing of women, children and babies in Gaza must end. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to Justin Trudeau's remark on X and said forces of civilisation must back Israel in defeating "Hamas barbarism". "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," Netanyahu wrote.
Trudeau's statement on Tuesday came with an appeal to the government of Israel. "I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint. The world is watching, on TV, on social media - we're hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents," Trudeau said.
This was Trudeau's sharpest criticism of Israel since the war broke out over a month ago after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
The statement comes as the Gaza Strip's Al-Shifa hospital -- the biggest hospital complex-- came under attack. Israel's military said the attack was from Hamas which the Hamas denied. Israel too denied any role in bombing the hospital. Gaza health ministry said Israel informed them that Israeli forces would raid the facility because IDF believes Hamas operatives are hiding inside tunnel linked to the hospital.
We do not support striking a hospital: What US said
The White House said it won't speak about any specifics of a ongoing Israeli military operation but US does not support striking a hospital from the air. "We don't want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people trying to get medical care they deserve are caught in the crossfire. Hospitals and patients must be protected," a spokesperson from tthe National Security Council said.
A total of 39 premature babies were admitted to Al-Shifa hospital and three of them died after the hospital ran out of fuel. The rest 36 are also in precarious condition as the medical staff said there was no clear mechanism to move them. Israel has offered to supply incubators for an evacuation.
The White House, however, backed Israel's claim that Hamas was using Gaza's hospitals including Al-Shifa as its base -- command posts and hostages have been kept inside the hospitals. White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on the presidential plane, Air Force One, that intelligence confirmed the militant Hamas group, which rules Gaza, used tunnels underneath Al-Shifa and other hospitals to conceal military operations and to hold hostages, Reuters reported.