Israel has a right to defend itself, but a wider war must be avoided: Trudeau Achi-News

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned Wednesday’s missile attack, but said the international community must do everything it can to help avert a larger regional war.

The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon over the past year erupted into wider violence in the past week as Israel stepped up its air campaign against Hezbollah and on Tuesday began sending in ground troops.

Also on Tuesday, Iran launched about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, and warned of a “harder” attack if Israel responds in kind.

“It’s destabilizing further action by this terrorist regime in the region, putting civilians at risk, risking a wider war,” Trudeau said after speaking to his G7 counterparts in a joint call Wednesday morning.

“Obviously, Israel has the right to defend itself against these attacks. At the same time, we must try to do everything we can to avoid a wider war, to protect civilians and to get humanitarian aid to the affected regions. “

Officials in Washington said US destroyers helped defend Israel, while the UK defense secretary said British forces had played a role but did not specify what. Defense Minister Bill Blair said Canadian forces were not involved at all.

Trudeau said in his call with other G7 leaders, that everyone agrees that the international community must do everything it can to ensure peace and stability in the region. That includes repeating calls for a ceasefire and pushing for a two-state solution where Israel and a Palestinian state can safely exist.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who holds the rotating presidency of the G7, claims that a diplomatic solution is still possible.

Earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that in just one week the dire situation in Lebanon had gone from bad “to much, much worse,” and called for an end to the hostilities. .

“The sick cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff” must end, he said.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly acknowledged on Wednesday that Israel had already promised that Iran would face “severe consequences” for its attack and would retaliate.

“Canada’s role right now, Canada’s goal, is to make sure that there is no full-scale war in the Middle East, and so that’s why we will continue to engage diplomatically,” Joly said.

The rapid escalation in the conflict comes just days before a year since the October 7 Hamas attack in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in Israel.

The attack sparked immediate retaliation from Israel in the besieged Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have since been reported dead and millions displaced.

The international community has raised concerns that an Israel-Hamas war would lead to a wider regional conflict in the Middle East for the past year.

With the massive increase in hostilities in Lebanon and the latest attack on Israel from Iran, those fears are coming true.

There are reports of Israeli airstrikes in recent days in Gaza to the south, Lebanon to the north and Syria to the east.

Joly once again called on Canadians still in Lebanon to receive help to leave the country. Since Friday, Global Affairs Canada has been helping citizens book plane tickets out of Lebanon.

So far more than 400 Canadians have left through the airport in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, and about 300 more were scheduled to leave on the next flights, Joly said. All flights are scheduled to Istanbul.

Joly’s department estimates there are as many as 45,000 Canadians in Lebanon, and has warned in the past that Canada may not be able to help them escape if commercial flights are grounded. The government has been preparing a possible evacuation plan for months.

Still, many of the seats that the government has offered on flights out of Lebanon remain empty, said Joly, imploring those who are offered a seat to take them.

“I know it’s hard. I know it’s hard to leave your loved ones,” he said.

“Please, this is about your own safety and the safety of your loved ones.”

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on October 2, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press