Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit out at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his scathing criticisms of Israeli military actions in besieged Gaza.
Trudeau, who condemned Hamas's attack on Israel and defended Tel Aviv's right to hit back at the militant group, on Tuesday shared concerns over the mounting death toll in the battered enclave.
Talking about the "heart-wrenching" situation in Gaza, Trudeau said, "the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians." "Even wars have rules. All innocent life is equal in worth — Israeli and Palestinian," he 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. He also urged Hamas to release all hostages and stop using Palestinians as human shields.
"Around 350 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members had been evacuated from Gaza," he added. Trudeau had also called for a significant humanitarian pause in the conflict to allow for the release of all hostages and the delivery of enough aid to address civilian needs.
However, the Canadian Prime Minister's comments did not go down well with Netanyahu, who took to X to school Trudeau. Tagging the Canadian Prime Minister, Netanyahu posted: "It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust."
"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 wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Israel provides civilians in Gaza humanitarian corridors and safe zones, 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."
Netanyahu also said "the forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism."
Before Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron too had criticised Israel for the indiscriminate bombing in Gaza. Macron, who told the BBC there was "no justification" for Israel’s alleged bombing of "these babies, these ladies, these old people". He also urged Israel to stop the bombing while calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
