OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 18 expressed concern around Israel’s planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a call with Israeli war Cabinet member Benny Gantz, Mr Trudeau’s office said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to push into Rafah in Gaza’s southern tip, where more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents have been sheltering to escape an Israeli assault farther north.
US President Joe Biden warned Mr Netanyahu on March 18 that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would deepen anarchy in Gaza, and they agreed that teams from each side would meet in Washington to discuss it, according to the White House.
“The Prime Minister shared his concern around Israel’s planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and the severe humanitarian implications for all civilians taking refuge in the area,” Mr Trudeau’s office said in a statement.
“He underscored the need to increase the volume of life-saving humanitarian aid for civilians and to ensure aid reaches all those in need, safely and without delay.”
Commenting on the Canadian parliamentary motion in a post on X after the call with Mr Trudeau, Mr Gantz said “unilateral recognition (of a Palestinian state), particularly following Oct 7, is counter-productive.”
Israel’s military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has displaced nearly its entire population, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave and killed more than 31,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, while also leading to accusations of genocide being probed in the World Court.
Extreme food shortages in parts of Gaza have exceeded famine levels, and mass death is now imminent without an immediate ceasefire and surge of food to areas cut off by fighting, the global hunger monitor said on March 18.
Israel denies the genocide charges and says it is acting in self-defence after the Oct 7 attack on Israel from Palestinian Islamist Hamas fighters killed some 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. REUTERS
