Canadian PM Trudeau reports 'sharp rise' in antisemitism since start of Israel-Hamas war

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on Tuesday (Oct 17), stated that the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has led to a notable increase in antisemitism in his country.

During a conference on combating antisemitism, Trudeau said there has been a "very scary rise of antisemitism" in Canada.

He said, that even prior to when the war broke out, there had been a "steady rise" in antisemitism.

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"Sadly, since this conflict broke out, there has been a very scary rise of antisemitism here at home, on top of the past years when we saw already a steady rise in antisemitism."

Condemning the militant group Hamas for launching a surprise attack against Israel last week, the Canadian prime minister called for the release of all the hostages and voiced support for Tel Aviv and its right to self-defence.

"We condemn the acts of Hamas unequivocally, and we are calling for the immediate release of all hostages. Canada fully supports Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law, and in Gaza, as elsewhere, international law, including humanitarian law, must be upheld by all, even wars have rules. Canada will always be a friend of Israel and defend its rights, including its right to exist," he said.

"Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, nor their legitimate aspirations. They do not speak for Muslim or Arab communities, and they do not represent the better futures that Palestinians or their children deserve," he added.

Trudeau also said that the news of a strike at a hospital in Gaza was "horrific and absolutely unacceptable." He told reporters that "it's not acceptable to hit a hospital".

"The news coming out of Gaza is horrific and absolutely unacceptable. International humanitarian and international law needs to be respected in this and in all cases. There are rules around wars and it's not acceptable," he said.

Health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave said that hundreds of people died in the strike which they blamed Israel for.

Israel not responsible for Gaza hospital strike, says US

The White House, on Wednesday (Oct 18), said that Israel was not involved in the strike on the hospital that reportedly claimed the lives of nearly 500 people.

"While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts, and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on social media.

(With inputs from agencies)

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