By Canadian Press

Hamas hostage deal ‘progress’ but long-term peace needs ‘many more steps’: Trudeau

Nov 24, 2023 | 10:46 AM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still rejecting demands for Canada to call for a full ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, but he says a deal to temporarily halt hostilities this week so Hamas can release hostages represents progress.

Trudeau says the world needs a lasting peace in the region, including a two-state solution.

He made the comments today at a news conference in St. John’s, saying that that will require many steps, but that the humanitarian pause that started today is progress.

The militant group has so far freed 24 people, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 people from Thailand and one person from the Philippines.

They were captured during the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people, and federal officials confirmed this week that one Canadian woman is still missing. 

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The pause in fighting is a respite for some 1.7 million people the United Nations says have been displaced amid Israel’s retaliation campaign in the Gaza Strip, where local health authorities say 13,300 Palestinians have been killed and another 6,000 people are missing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2023.

— With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press