Israel's Gaza campaign puts its long-term safety at risk: Trudeau

Israel's close friends are worried its military campaign in the Gaza Strip is putting at risk the country's long-term safety, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview that aired on Thursday.

His comments mark the latest expression of concern from allies about the spiralling death toll among Gazans, which local health authorities say has hit nearly 20,000. Israeli planes continued to pound the Palestinian enclave on Thursday.

Trudeau has consistently said Israel has the right to defend itself after the deadly rampage by militants of Gaza's ruling Hamas group into Israel on Oct. 7. But as the civilian toll in Israel's devastating retaliatory air and ground war in Gaza has mounted, he has gradually hardened his tone.

Israel's strongest friends "are becoming increasingly concerned that ... the short-term actions being taken by Israel are actually putting at risk the long-term safety (of) and even support for a Jewish state into the future," Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand last week backed urgent international efforts towards a "sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza in a coordinated show of concern shortly after the U.S. warned Israel of declining international support.

"Israel has the right and responsibility to defend itself, but it has to be doing so in ways that (are) careful around the impact on civilians," said Trudeau.

He called for humanitarian aid to be sent into besieged Gaza and stressed the importance of fighting antisemitism at home and abroad. The number of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes in Toronto has spiked significantly since the start of the Gaza conflict, police in Canada's largest city said last month.