Deadliest Day in Lebanon War Demands Canadian Action
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to impose sanctions on Israel following its devastating wave of airstrikes across Lebanon yesterday [April 8], which killed at least 182 people and wounded more than 890, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble. The strikes, which hit over 100 locations within 10 minutes, targeted densely populated residential neighbourhoods in Beirut and other regions, causing widespread destruction and panic among civilians.
“Yesterday [April 8] was the deadliest day for Lebanese civilians since the start of this illegal war,” said Michael Bueckert, Vice President of CJPME. “These strikes hit busy residential areas without warning, killing families in their homes and overwhelming hospitals with the wounded. Such attacks are grave violations of international humanitarian law, which Israel has been emboldened to escalate with total impunity.”
Regional Ceasefire?
The attacks occurred amid confusion over a regional ceasefire, as many Lebanese civilians believed the truce between the US/Israel and Iran applied to them and had hoped it would allow them to return home. Instead, a massive wave of Israeli airstrikes struck across the country within minutes, causing chaos and devastation. Hospitals, particularly in Beirut, were struggling to treat hundreds of wounded while emergency responders searched through rubble for survivors, with bodies reportedly piled up outside medical facilities.
CJPME notes that while Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the recently announced ceasefire between the United States and Iran in a joint statement with European leaders, and called for the ceasefire to include Lebanon, he did not issue any condemnation of Israel’s deadly airstrikes yesterday in Lebanon.
“Canada cannot continue to remain silent in the face of such large-scale violence against civilians,” added Bueckert. “Canada must urgently condemn these attacks, push for immediate diplomacy, and work with the international community to prevent further escalation. But most importantly, sanctions are necessary to force an end to Israel’s aggression and a withdrawal of its illegal invasion of Lebanon.”
Finally, CJPME expresses profound disappointment in the Canadian government’s failure to adequately respond to Trump’s openly genocidal rhetoric against Iran earlier this week, when he threatened that “whole civilization will die tonight.” CJPME believes that Canada’s ongoing support for the illegal US-Israeli war, alongside its muted response to Trump’s explicit incitement to genocide, amounts to complicity in the ongoing regional mass killings. CJPME urges Carney to condemn US and Israeli violence, fully retract his support for this illegal war, and vow to hold war criminals accountable. •
