Trudeau says he supports 'humanitarian pauses' to allow aid to flow into Gaza
CBC
Canada would support "humanitarian pauses" in the Israel-Hamas war to allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza and permit aid for civilians to enter the territory, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
"Our priority throughout this needs to be the continued protection of innocent civilians. That's why we're engaged closely with our allies, trying to build humanitarian corridors," Trudeau told reporters.
"There's a lot of conversations going on now about the need for humanitarian pauses and I think that's something that Canada could absolutely … support."
Trudeau's comments come as the United States and other global powers call for aid to continue flowing into the besieged Gaza Strip to prevent a grave humanitarian crisis from getting worse.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to the UN Security Council, called for "humanitarian pauses" to enable urgent aid shipments to Gaza civilians.
"Palestinian civilians are not to blame for the carnage committed by Hamas," Blinken said, referring to the militants' killing of 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and capture of over 200 hostages in a one-day rampage through Israeli communities near Gaza.
U.S. President Joe Biden underscored the need to sustain "a continuous flow" of humanitarian assistance into Gaza in a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said Monday.
Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, said Monday that he backs a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a break in the conflict to allow much more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Luxembourg have publicly backed the idea of a humanitarian pause.
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday called for an unimpeded flow of aid into Gaza.
Trudeau has faced pressure from some members of his own caucus to call for a full ceasefire.
More than 30 MPs — most of them Liberals — wrote a letter to Trudeau last week calling on him to advocate for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
But other Liberal MPs, including Ben Carr and Anthony Housefather, have spoken against calls for a ceasefire, citing Israel's right to defend itself and the concern that Hamas would use a ceasefire to rebuild and regain strength.
During a press conference on Friday, Trudeau was asked if the conflict was creating a division in his caucus.
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