An online petition calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to demand an immediate cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas ended Thursday with a record-setting 286,719 signatures. This is the largest number of e-petitions for Congress since its inception in 2015.
Invented by Montreal resident Maeva Gaudreau and sponsored by Quebec NDP MP Alexandre Bouleris. petition It also calls on the prime minister to call on Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza and to meet its commitments under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
The Liberal government must respond within 45 calendar days after the e-petition is submitted to the House of Commons.
Prime Minister Trudeau has so far not explicitly called for a ceasefire, choosing instead to push for a pause in fighting to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the world was witnessing “the murder of women, children and infants” and called on Israel to “exercise the utmost restraint” in its war with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back at the comments in a social media post that tagged Trudeau, saying Hamas, a designated terrorist group in Canada, was intentionally targeting civilians.
The Conservatives have joined the Liberal government in calling for a humanitarian moratorium, while the Bloc Québécois and the National Democratic Party have both called for an immediate ceasefire and are calling on the Liberal government to do the same.
Last month, 23 Liberal MPs signed a letter calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to advocate for a ceasefire.
Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people and injured thousands more. Hamas also abducted more than 200 hostages, some of whom were released on Friday.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, laid siege to Gaza, dropped thousands of bombs, and launched a ground operation into the center of Gaza City. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Authority announced Thursday that more than 13,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s current military operation in Gaza.
A four-day cease-fire began early Friday to allow the release of some hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of some Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press for war with Hamas after the temporary ceasefire expires.