Palestinian Canadians call on Trudeau to push for end of 'indiscriminate bloodshed' in Gaza

Toronto residents with family trapped in Gaza are pleading for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to push for a ceasefire and take action to get Canadians out of the besieged enclave as ongoing bombing continues, killing thousands so far. 

At a news conference in Mississauga, Ont., Thursday at the Palestine House Toronto — an independent non-profit that connects Palestinians in Canada — members of a coalition of residents called on Trudeau to advocate for an end to the "indiscriminate bloodshed" in Gaza.

Noora, a representative of the coalition of 60 Palestinian-Canadian families in the Toronto area, says many are afraid to speak up about their relatives' experiences.

"Today we gather as concerned Canadians with families in Gaza as we witness the devastating war," said Noora S., as members of the audience chimed in calling it a "genocide." CBC News has agreed to withhold her last name because she fears repercussions. 

"Every day, innocent lives are being lost and the situation is spiraling into an even greater catastrophe," she said. "We implore the Canadian government to use its diplomatic influence to help broker an end to this conflict, to put an end to the suffering and to bring about justice."

"We have many Canadian families terrified to speak up in fear of arbitration and attacks on their families back home," she added.

Since Oct. 7, Israel has pummeled the densely populated Gaza Strip with airstrikes following the initial Hamas attack. 

Israel says Hamas killed 1,400 people including children, and took more than 200 hostages. As of Thursday, some 7,028 Palestinians had been killed, including 2,913 children, Gaza's health ministry said.

"The proportionality of death and destruction and loss is being unfairly represented and we are asking when will it be enough for Israel?" Noora said Thursday.

"How many more innocent lives need to be lost and homes need to be destroyed for it to be okay?"

The families are calling on the Canadian government to demand a ceasefire, to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and allow humanitarian aid, food, water and medical supplies to enter and reach Gazans.

The group says the government must plan to safely evacuate Canadians trapped in Gaza and acknowledge the "massacre" of Palestinians by the Israeli government.

Mansour, a Palestinian-Canadian stuck in Gaza, whose full name CBC News has also agreed to withhold over his fears of repercussions, spoke at the Thursday conference via Zoom from an undisclosed hospital in Gaza where thousands are sheltering.

"We are feeling despair. We are feeling angry. We [feel] that there is no concern for the people here by the international community," Mansour said.