Ceasefire needed in Gaza as civilian casualties mount, Manitoba premier says

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is asking the federal government to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Kinew says Israel has the right to exist, and Hamas must be destroyed, but the growing destruction and famine in civilian areas must stop.

He told the legislature the Israeli government could have targeted Hamas narrowly rather than in a way that has broadly affected civilians and supplies of food and water.

The premier says it is unfair to hold people collectively responsible for the actions of Hamas.

Canada has provided $100 million in aid for Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

That day, militants killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took another 250 hostages.

“After some five months of war in Gaza, have we seen the government of Israel wage this war in a way that is narrow and targeted, or in a way that shows little regard for civilians?” Kinew said in the legislature chamber Monday.

“Some may argue it is unfair to hold Israel to such a standard — that this country be expected to wield their military might in a responsible fashion during an asynchronous conflict. But Israel is strong, and the strong have a responsibility to exercise their power in a way that is just.”

In a joint statement, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said they share Kinew’s concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians “at the hands of Hamas.”

“Relief for the Palestinian people could be immediate if Hamas released the hostages and laid down its arms, as the entire western world has been demanding,” said Jeff Lieberman, chief executive of the Winnipeg group, and Gustavo Zentner, the centre’s vice-president for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, in the statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2024.

The Canadian Press