Canada 'fully supports' Gaza cease-fire efforts by Egypt, Qatar, US

​​​​​​​By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed mediation efforts Friday by Egypt, Qatar and the US to secure a “permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”

"The agreement led by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar can achieve this. Canada fully supports their efforts to release the hostages, end the humanitarian crisis, and return to a path of peace," Trudeau wrote on X.

On Thursday, Egypt, Qatar and US mediators urged Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, to resume talks in Doha or Cairo next week.

Cease-fire efforts come after nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,700 injured in Israel’s response to an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.