Netanyahu blasts Canadian PM Trudeau for saying Israel kills Palestinian babies

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday night, after he stated that Israel was killing babies during the fighting in Gaza.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Trudeau said, “I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint. 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 added.

“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,” Netanyahu responded in a post on X, tagging Trudeau.

“While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way. 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,” Netanyahu wrote.

The following day, war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, called Trudeau on the phone and reiterated Israel’s position that Hamas is to blame for the death of Gazan civilians by using them as human shields.

Gantz also updated the Canadian premier on the progress of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, emphasizing that Israel saw the war as crucial to national security.

During the call, Trudeau brought up his “years of support for Israel and its right to defend itself,” and stressed the importance of returning the hostages from the hands of Hamas, Gantz’s office reported, but Trudeau did not explicitly walk back his comments.

In a similar incident last weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron first said there was “no justification” for Israel’s alleged bombing of “these babies, these ladies, these old people,” before calling Israel's President Isaac Herzog shortly after to clarify that he didn't intend to imply Israel was killing civilians on purpose.