• Source:JND
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Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said the "killing of women, of children, of babies" in the besieged Gaza Strip must end. While Canada has been affirming that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack, claiming 1,400 lives, it has expressed increasing concern over the mounting death toll in the battered enclave.

Criticising Israel, Trudeau said, "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," he said.

"The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop," he told a news conference in the western province of British Columbia.

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Following his remark, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu also posted on X and wrote, "The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop," he told a news conference in the western province of British Columbia."

"While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm's way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm's way," Netanyahu added.

He also mentioned that Israel provides civilians in Gaza humanitarian corridors and safe zones, and Hamas prevents them from leaving at gunpoint.

"It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime - targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians. The forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism," the Israeli Prime Minister mentioned.

Trudeau's remark came as the lives of 36 babies at Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital were hanging in the balance on Tuesday, according to medical staff there who said there was no clear mechanism to move them despite an Israeli effort to supply incubators for an evacuation. Three of the original 39 premature babies have already died since Gaza's biggest hospital ran out of fuel at the weekend to power generators that had kept their incubators going.

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