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OTTAWA – A Liberal and a Conservative MP are calling on Canada to help to bring an end to the brewing conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel before it becomes a wider war.
Fayçal El-Khoury, a Liberal MP from Quebec who holds dual Canadian-Lebanese citizenship, said the casualty count this week from attacks in Lebanon was catastrophic and said that not just a ceasefire but a lasting peace was necessary.
“The first day, more than 500 to 600 people lost their lives, among them were 62 children, 86 women, destruction of residences, hitting the infrastructure, and as you know, more than 2,500 badly wounded,” he said Wednesday, referring to Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets.
The Liberal also lamented the injuries from an attack that targeted Hezbollah pagers, causing them to explode and kill or injure their owners, which is being attributed to Israel, although Israel has not taken credit for it.
Edmonton Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif also called for the government to do more to bring about an end to the conflict, in a post on the social media site X.
“The Lebanese people did not ask for this war. It must stop,” he wrote Wednesday. “I call on the government and the international community to step up and put an end to this unnecessary pain.”
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He added that he also regretted that tens of thousands of Israelis have been under attack by Hezbollah for nearly a year. “Hezbollah should stop this war, end their attacks and stop using innocent people in Lebanon to shield themselves.”
Israel started an airstrike campaign this week against targets in Lebanon, while the terrorist group Hezbollah, which operates openly inside of Lebanon, has continued to fire rockets and missiles into Israel, a campaign that began after the Hamas terror attacks last October.
Civilians from Lebanon’s south have been evacuating the region en masse, and Israel’s military chief told news outlets Wednesday that ground operations in Lebanon might begin soon.
El-Khoury said Canada needs to use all its diplomatic tools to bring an end to the conflict before it escalates.
“I appeal on our government to stand for Canadian values, for human rights, to do everything that’s possible, within the family of the United Nations, particularly the G7 countries, to stop the war,” he said. “If the war continues and it doesn’t stop, it might lead to a regional war, and perhaps to an international war, and everyone will pay then.”
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Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is expected to speak about the situation later today. The U.S. and U.K. have moved troops to Cyprus in anticipation of a wider war and the potential need to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon.
The Canadian government has been warning Canadians in Lebanon for almost a year to leave the country and avoid any travel there. Joly has repeatedly told Canadians to get out immediately using commercial travel, warning that may not be an option in the future.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the conflict briefly on Tuesday and called for peace.
“Lebanese-Canadians are watching this and incredibly worried. We need to make sure there is de-escalation, both by Israel and Hezbollah. We need to protect civilian lives. We need to make sure we’re moving towards peace and stability.”
More to come …
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