Palestinian Canadians call on Trudeau to push for end of 'indiscriminate bloodshed' in Gaza
More than 60 families demand Canada call for immediate ceasefire between Israel, Hamas
Toronto residents with family trapped in Gaza are pleading for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to push for a ceasefire and take action to get Canadians out of the besieged enclave as ongoing bombing continues, killing thousands so far.
At a news conference in Mississauga, Ont., Thursday at the Palestine House Toronto — an independent non-profit that connects Palestinians in Canada — members of a coalition of residents called on Trudeau to advocate for an end to the "indiscriminate bloodshed" in Gaza.
Noora, a representative of the coalition of 60 Palestinian-Canadian families in the Toronto area, says many are afraid to speak up about their relatives' experiences.
"Today we gather as concerned Canadians with families in Gaza as we witness the devastating war," said Noora S., as members of the audience chimed in calling it a "genocide." CBC News has agreed to withhold her last name because she fears repercussions.
"Every day, innocent lives are being lost and the situation is spiraling into an even greater catastrophe," she said. "We implore the Canadian government to use its diplomatic influence to help broker an end to this conflict, to put an end to the suffering and to bring about justice."
"We have many Canadian families terrified to speak up in fear of arbitration and attacks on their families back home," she added.
'How many more innocent lives need to be lost?'
Since Oct. 7, Israel has pummeled the densely populated Gaza Strip with airstrikes following the initial Hamas attack.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,400 people including children, and took more than 200 hostages. As of Thursday, some 7,028 Palestinians had been killed, including 2,913 children, Gaza's health ministry said.
"The proportionality of death and destruction and loss is being unfairly represented and we are asking when will it be enough for Israel?" Noora said Thursday.
"How many more innocent lives need to be lost and homes need to be destroyed for it to be okay?"
The families are calling on the Canadian government to demand a ceasefire, to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and allow humanitarian aid, food, water and medical supplies to enter and reach Gazans.
The group says the government must plan to safely evacuate Canadians trapped in Gaza and acknowledge the "massacre" of Palestinians by the Israeli government.
Mansour, a Palestinian-Canadian stuck in Gaza, whose full name CBC News has also agreed to withhold over his fears of repercussions, spoke at the Thursday conference via Zoom from an undisclosed hospital in Gaza where thousands are sheltering.
"We are feeling despair. We are feeling angry. We [feel] that there is no concern for the people here by the international community," Mansour said.
Mansour says in addition to fearing for their lives, the need for food, clean water, aid and fuel is rapidly becoming more critical.
"Everyday you find people being taken to the graveyards. Around me are thousands of refugees, people who think that staying inside a hospital will keep them safer."
Mansour says some 350 Canadians in Gaza have not heard back from Global Affairs Canada for more than a week. CBC News has not been able to independently verify that number.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on Thursday there are 453 registered Canadians in the West Bank and Gaza and that it is currently helping 70 Canadians, permanent residents and family members in West Bank, 437 in Gaza and 175 in Israel
"We will continue to assist the departure by land of Canadians, permanent residents and eligible family members from the West Bank... We also continue to work around the clock to secure a window for Canadians to exit Gaza. We continue to communicate directly with Canadians, giving them the latest information regarding the situation and windows for possible exit at the Rafah border crossing."
The Gaza Strip is blockaded at its two land borders with Israel and Egypt. Roughly 1.4 million people have been displaced and are in desperate need of supplies, especially fuel to support hospitals, according to the United Nations.
"The Palestinian people and the Canadian Palestinian people are very disappointed by the Trudeau government's stance against the people here in Gaza," Mansour said.
"We do not feel very hopeful of any of anything coming from the Canadian government at this stage. I hope I'm wrong."
WATCH | Gazan health authorities say more than 700 Palestinians killed in single day:
In August of 2021, the Canadian government helped reunite Abdallah Alhamadni with his wife and three sons who were trapped in Gaza amid active bombings between Israel and Hamas. Now his mother, brother and other relatives remain in Gaza, unable to get out.
"I feel proud that my kids are safe right now but … we feel guilty [at] the same time. We are conflicted that we left our families behind," Alhamadni said.
Alhamadni fled Gaza in 2019. His refugee claim was approved in 2020 and he asked the federal government to grant an emergency permit to bring his wife and three children to Canada the following year.
Alhamadni, who now lives in Milton, Ont.,, says he still clings to hope that his loved ones will make it out alive. But he says his family is growing increasingly worried about them.
"My wife is crying all the time. She's just watching the news and looking for the names listed,"
"There is no electricity, no water even [in] the hospital. They are completely [in] darkness in the night. No fuel … This is a collective punishment. This is not fair."
Trudeau in favour of 'humanitarian pause'
The Liberal government has said it is in favour of a "humanitarian pause" to the violence to help get aid to the Gaza Strip, while the NDP has called for a ceasefire.
Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to Israel and senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in Toronto, said he's concerned about the lack of humanitarian aid reaching civilians in Gaza.
"Some aid — not enough and not a lot — is entering now," Allen told CBC Toronto Thursday.
"I would hope the [humanitarian] pause, if it happens, would last long enough to get a significant amount of humanitarian aid in and nationals out and perhaps hostages."
Allen says he does not believe that Trudeau can affect Israel's decision on a possible humanitarian pause.
"I wouldn't overemphasize the influence of Justin Trudeau or [Emmanuel] Macron or the British Prime Minister," he said. "I think it's Bibi Netanyahu, his war cabinet and Joe Biden that are the major players here."
Mirvat Alshrafi, who was also at the news conference, said her family's home was bombed last Friday.
She says her mother, four sisters and their children, ages six months to 12 years old, were all injured and taken to hospital.
"Every hour, many ambulances come back and forth carrying injured and dead," she said.
Her family has since been able to leave the hospital, she says, but they remain in a dire situation.
"They are in the shelter with no food. They have nothing and no one can help," she said through tears. "It's too hard."
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With files from Dale Manucdoc and Reuters