Trudeau calls report of Gaza hospital blast 'horrific' and 'unacceptable'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the news coming out of Gaza on Tuesday was "horrific and absolutely unacceptable" after the Gaza Health Ministry reported that hundreds have been killed in a blast at a Gaza City hospital.

"International humanitarian and international law needs to be respected in this, and in all cases," Trudeau told reporters on his way in to question period, adding in French it is not legal to bomb a hospital. "There are rules around wars, and it’s not acceptable."

In an emailed statement to CTV News on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said intelligence from “multiple sources” indicate “Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.” Reuters is reporting a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad is denying the IDF’s claim, calling it “a lie and fabrication.”

• Complete coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

Trudeau's comments came hours after Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly confirmed that a sixth Canadian has died in the Israel-Hamas war and International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen painted a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

With the United Nations warning earlier that Israel's evacuation order for Gaza may breach international law, Joly was asked whether she thought what is transpiring in Gaza was a violation. She was unspecific in her response.

"Of course a civilian is a civilian, and therefore we believe that Israeli civilians and Palestinian civilians are equal," Joly said. "That is why we're very, very engaged in providing that humanitarian access. And we need to make sure that we're in contact with Israeli officials to make sure that international law principles are upheld in this situation."

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Providing an update ahead of a federal cabinet meeting and an afternoon technical briefing, Joly said just two Canadians remain missing.

Trudeau suggested Monday that those missing may be among the 199 hostages taken by Hamas, something federal officials will not comment on, citing the potential risk of endangering their lives.

Joly also said the 11th and 12th evacuation flights from Tel Aviv will transport more Canadians and their families to Athens on Tuesday. Approximately 1,300 people have left through these daily military evacuation flights since they began last Thursday.

An additional 31 passengers — including Canadians and some foreign nationals — have also been shuttled out of the West Bank.

"My message to Canadians that are in Tel Aviv and Canadians that are in West Bank: if you want to leave please contact Global Affairs Canada. If you're given a spot, please take it, because we don't know how long this operation will be able to continue as the situation is very volatile," Joly said.

Palestinian families rush out of their homes after Israeli airstrikes targeting their neighbourhood in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Abed Khaled)

Julie Sunday, the assistant deputy minister for consular, security and emergency management at Global Affairs Canada (GAC), told reporters Tuesday that her department is still working to evacuate Canadians from the Gaza Strip.

“We know that they are facing extremely difficult conditions,” Sunday said. “We are giving them the latest information and advising them that we're working (with Egypt) to secure an opening of the Rafah crossing for Canadians and that they should be ready to take advantage of any window for a safe exit.”

She added that the situation at the Rafah border crossing is “extremely fluid,” and that it “remains closed,” since a failed operation to evacuate Canadians through there on Saturday.

“Not a single person has left Gaza, and that is a situation that is very preoccupying for us,” Sunday said.

She said GAC has identified 370 affected individuals in Gaza for whom the Canadian government is trying to secure a safe evacuation.

Sunday said the Canadian government has also identified 127 individuals in the West Bank that qualify for evacuation, and GAC is getting in touch with them to assess their needs.

In Israel, GAC’s list of affected persons possibly needing help evacuating has gone down to about 1,800 individuals after the dozen flights to Greece in the last few days, Sunday said.

Late Monday, GAC revealed family members and some non-essential embassy staff from Canada's missions in Tel Aviv and Ramallah have left the region.

Finding a way to get to those stranded in Gaza remains "a priority," Joly said as the Israel-Hamas war hits its 11th day after the Canadian government-designated terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel, prompting subsequent Israeli retaliation.

"I've been in contact with many of my G7 counterparts including also with the State Department and the White House. We are working 24/7 on this. Our goal is to make sure that we can help de-escalate the situation, and this is my utmost priority," Joly said.

SIXTH CANADIAN KILLED IDENTIFIED

Joly started her remarks by offering her condolences to the family of Tiferet Lapidot, who the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has described as an Israeli woman with Canadian family.

While technically not a Canadian citizen, because her parents are Canadians and she would have been eligible for Canadian citizenship if they’d filed the requisite paperwork, Joly's office said the federal government is counting Lapidot's death as a Canadian death. 

Lapidot's body was reportedly identified on Tuesday. It is believed she was taken hostage during the Hamas attacks at the Nova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7.

"I met with her father in Tel Aviv and with her uncle. They told me how much she was a brilliant, beautiful young woman, and my heart and my thoughts are with her loved ones," Joly said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks to media as she arrives for a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Speaking on The Vassy Kapelos Show, her uncle Harel Lapidot said she was set to turn 23 last week, and folks "celebrated her birthday by baking cakes and lighting candles for her birthday, but without her," he said.

The other Canadians confirmed dead are: 21-year-old Netta Epstein, 22-year-old Shir Georgy, 22-year-old Ben Mizrachi, 33-year-old Alexandre Look and 33-year-old Adi Vital-Kaploun.

'DESPARATION' IN GAZA: HUSSEN

In a separate pre-cabinet scrum, Hussen spoke about the latest efforts to see a humanitarian corridor opened in Gaza to allow for essential aid access, after Israel has cut off access supplies and electricity to the Hamas-controlled area.

Hussen suggested that U.S. President Joe Biden's coming trip to Israel may help see a corridor secured through Egypt, which is what Canadian officials have been waiting for in order to facilitate the safe evacuation of the hundreds of Canadian citizens seeking a way out.

Canada has committed an initial $10 million to address "urgent needs" in the region, but until there's a way to get those pre-positioned life-saving supplies into Gaza, the situation remains dire, Hussen said.

"We are hearing reports of children drinking dirty water out of desperation. We know that there’s tens of thousands of pregnant women in Gaza. We know that there are civilians who need assistance on both sides," Hussen said, citing medical equipment and food among the materials in short supply.

"The message that I got from the international aid organizations is that they can only operate in an environment of trust, and they have to make sure that for them to go into Gaza … they have to be 100 per cent sure that their workers will be protected from the conflict. They’re really trying to get that sorted out before they can go in," Hussen said. "We need to get in."

With files from CTV's Power Play Senior Producer Rachel Swatek and CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk