Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking for a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, saying Canada is in favour of working “towards a sustainable ceasefire.”This comes in a statement made together by Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday.The United Nations General Assembly is voting on a motion to request an immediate ceasefire.The statement also acknowledges Israel's right to defend itself, especially following the deadly attacks by Hamas on October 7, which Israel said resulted in approximately 1,200 casualties and 240 people being taken hostage.“In defending itself, Israel must respect international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected. We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza,” said the statement. “The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.”More than 17,480 people in Gaza have died in the conflict, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.The joint statement says “There is no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza.”Before this statement, Trudeau supported a "humanitarian pause" like other leaders in Western countries. This pause is meant to allow the delivery of aid into the Palestinian territory.Humanitarian pauses differ from ceasefires, which involve temporary or long-lasting pacts made by all parties in a conflict to stop fighting.“The recent pause in hostilities allowed for the release of more than 100 hostages and supported an increase in humanitarian access to affected civilians. We acknowledge the persistent diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar and Egypt to broker this pause, and we regret it could not be extended,” said the statement.“We want to see this pause resumed and support urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire. This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and lay down its arms.”
