Netanyahu slams Trudeau after Canada PM tells Israel ‘killing of babies’ in Gaza must end

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammedhis Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau after the latter said the “killing of women, of children, of babies” in the besieged Gaza Strip must end, on Tuesday (Nov 14), in his sharpest criticism of Israel since the beginning of its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas which broke out over a month ago.

‘Killing of women, of children, of babies’ must end: Canada

“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,” the Canadian PM told a news conference in the western province of British Columbia.

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He added, “The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop.” This comes as Canada, like most of Israel’s allies in the West, has maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas after it attacked southern Israel on October 7 killing around 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

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However,Israel’s Western allies, including the United States, have recently also expressed increasing concern over the mounting death toll in Gaza where the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry has said that more than 11,000 people, mostly children, have been killed since the beginning of the war.

Hamas needed to stop using Palestinians as human shields and should release all its hostages, said the Canadian PM. At least 350 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members had been evacuated from Gaza, Trudeau added.

A report by Reuters citing medical staff said the lives of 36 babies at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital were hanging in the balance, as of Tuesday. This comes after three of the 39 premature babiesdied after the Palestinian enclave’s biggest hospital ran out of fuel over the weekend.

‘Israel is not deliberately targeting civilians’: Netanyahu

“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,” said Netanyahu in his response to Trudeau’s remarks, in a post on X.

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He also went on to say that while Israel is "doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way".

“It is Hamas, not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime – targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians,” the Israeli PM added.

“The forces of civilisation must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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