Families and friends of about 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring them home during a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. Israel’s Cabinet has approved a ceasefire agreement with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to a devastating war that has continued for more than six weeks. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in its Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas is an important first step toward a lasting peace.
Trudeau isn’t using the word ceasefire, but he says Canada is hoping that the deal for a four-day pause in hostilities will help eventually bring about a complete end to the fighting.
He also says that he hopes the agreement will allow for more Canadians to leave the Gaza Strip, where six weeks of Israeli airstrikes have destroyed large parts of the Palestinian territory.
Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, helped mediate the deal between Israel and Hamas, in which 50 hostages of Hamas are to be released in stages, in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinians prisoners held by Israel.
The Israeli government said it would extend the truce by an additional day for every 10 hostages released, while Hamas is promising that hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including fuel, will be allowed to enter Gaza.
Global Affairs Canada has said one Canadian is missing, but won’t confirm if that person is being held hostage, though the United States referred to the group of about 240 hostages including American and Canadian citizens in a statement on the weekend.
“This is an important bit of progress, but we have to redouble our efforts now to get toward a lasting peace,” Trudeau told reporters Wednesday morning on Parliament Hill.
“This humanitarian pause is what Canada and others have been calling for, for weeks now. It is going to allow for hostages to finally be liberated; it’s going to allow for significant amounts of humanitarian aid to get in to the civilians and the innocent people in Gaza who desperately need it,” he said.
“It’s going to allow for protecting of civilian life, including hopefully getting even more Canadians and foreign nationals out.”
Trudeau added that the deal loomed large during a call with G20 leaders held Wednesday morning.
Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said in a post on X, formally known as Twitter, that he was “very pleased that a deal has been reached” during his visit to Israel this week alongside other Canadian MPs.
He said he has met with many hostage families in Israel, and he is happy that the deal between Israel and Hamas will lead to the release of 50 hostages and the delivery of significant humanitarian aid to Gaza.
On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly expressed hope that a deal would allow all foreign nationals in Gaza to get out of the war zone, including the roughly 200 Canadians who are still there.
No Canadians were among those on Wednesday’s list of foreign nationals approved to cross into Egypt from Gaza.
The latest Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel launched a retaliation campaign, including airstrikes and a ground offensive, which the health officials in Gaza say has killed more than 12,700 people.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.
– With files from The Associated Press.
