OTTAWA: Canada supports Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, condemning Palestinian group Hamas for taking hostages during its incursion last weekend.
Trudeau though side-stepped questions about whether Israel's decision to seal off the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and cut off water and power supplies to the enclave was justified. Israel on Thursday said there would be no pause of its siege of Gaza until all hostages were freed.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Wednesday said she was worried about what might happen next in Gaza given the signs Israel was preparing for a possible assault.
Nine US citizens confirmed dead in Israel-Gaza violence
"Israel has the right to defend itself in accordance with international law. And we continue to look for ways to...ensure that as many civilians as possible are kept safe during this terrible conflict," Trudeau told a televised press conference in Yellowknife, in the Northern Territories.
The United Nations World Food Programme said crucial supplies were running dangerously low in Gaza.
Trudeau did not respond directly when asked whether Israel's blockade conformed with international law.
"This is an unbelievably difficult situation. But Hamas's decision to take innocent hostages and to use them as pawns in a game of terror is absolutely unconscionable," he said.
Canada is supplying an initial C$10 million in humanitarian assistance to Israel and Gaza and is deploying a unit of officials who are trained to help during times of emergencies.
The first military plane evacuating citizens from Israel flew 130 people from Tel Aviv to Athens on Thursday and a second plane is due to arrive in Israel shortly.
Canadian officials said on Wednesday that around 700 people had reached out seeking to be evacuated.
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