'Canadians are scared in our own streets': Justin Trudeau's message to nation

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau called for a significant humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war to allow for the release of all hostages and the delivery of enough aid to address civilian needs. Earlier, Canada had called for a series of halts in the fighting to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave but had steered clear of advocating a longer pause in the fighting.

"I don't need to describe the horrors. This is why we are calling for a significant humanitarian pause that will allow us to release all the Jewish hostages and ... continue to evacuate foreign citizens from Gaza," Justin Trudeau said, adding, "This pause must allow the delivery of real and substantial aid, enough aid to relieve this abominable humanitarian crisis for people and civilians in Gaza."

Citing a "terrifying" rise in anti-semitism globally and in Canada, where he said Molotov cocktails had been thrown at synagogues, Justin Trudeau noted that Islamophobia is increasing in the country.

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"This is not who we are as Canadians. This is something that is not acceptable in Canada, period ... Canadians are scared in our own streets right now," he said.

“We must be there to understand the fear and pain that millions of Canadians are feeling,” he asserted. "Heavy lifting" would be needed to work on a two-state solution that would lead to a viable Palestinian state and a safe, secure, viable Israel, he said.

This comes as the Israel Defense Forces said on that combat engineers have uncovered and destroyed 130 Hamas tunnels in Gaza since the beginning of the ground invasion.

The IDF said, “The enemy's preparation for a prolonged stay in the tunnels can be seen based on water and oxygen means found in the tunnels.”

Meanwhile, Hamas accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of "colluding" with Israel as thousands of Palestinians streamed from northern Gaza to the southern side of the Strip.

"UNRWA and its officials bear responsibility for this humanitarian catastrophe, in particular, the residents of the Gaza [City] area and north of it" who are moving along IDF-arranged displacement routes to flee south, Hamas said as per news agency AFP.

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