Palestinians look for survivors following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Scores of Canadians are still hoping to leave the Gaza Strip, as Canadians and Israelis mourn the loss of dual national Vivian Silver in last month's attack by Hamas.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Fatima Shbair
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging Israel to use maximum restraint to protect civilian life in the brutal war it is waging on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Trudeau says the world is witnessing the killing of women, children and babies, and that this must stop.
Israel declared war against Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7, including hundreds of civilians, and took about 240 people hostage.
Health officials in the Hamas-controlled territory say weeks of retaliatory airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip have now killed more than 11,200 people.
Trudeau says the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of Palestinian civilians.
He says the violence must stop, urgently, so Palestinians can get access to life-saving medical services, food, fuel and water, so hostages can be released and so Canadians and other foreign nationals can escape.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2023.
– With files from The Associated Press.
