‘Israel is Doing Everything to…’: Netanyahu Responds to Trudeau Over ‘Killing of Babies’ Rebuke – News18

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau’s sharp criticism over the alleged “killing of women, of children, of babies” in the besieged Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, Trudeau said, “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.” “The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop,” he told a news conference in British Columbia.

Hours after the Canadian PM’s remark, Netanyahu put a post on social media platform X, defending Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. “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,” he said.

“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. The forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism,” he added.

This spat comes 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.

Canada has maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel last month, killing 1,400 people and taking over 200 hostages. However, like the US and other allies, it has expressed increasing concern over the death toll in the enclave, where local health officials say 11,000 people have been killed since the conflict started.

(With agency inputs)