By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Adel Abu Lebdeh’s world was shattered when at least 117 members of his family were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, joining many in the Palestinian diaspora who are mourning the loss of their loved ones amid Israel's aggression against the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 42,000 people and wounded over 98,000.
"I lost about one-third of my family," he told Anadolu while tearfully recounting the devastating impact the war has had on his loved ones and many others in the Palestinian community in Hamilton, Canada.
For Abu Lebdeh, who identifies as a Palestinian-Canadian, the loss of his loved ones goes beyond personal tragedy; it represents a stark shift in how he perceives life itself.
"It changed our understanding of life," he says, adding that “life doesn’t matter so much these days.”
His grief is compounded by the overwhelming number of families in Hamilton alone – more than 11, he said -- who share similar stories of loss.
“I lost about 117 family members -- brothers, sisters, two uncles, nieces and nephews,” he said, adding that each of them had ambitions, futures taken away from them.
Unable to hold back his tears, Abu Lebdeh spoke about the loss of his nieces who recently graduated from university and were killed in Israeli airstrikes a few months after.
He recounted how his cousin had called him just before his home was bombed, in a final attempt at communication that came too late.
"The next day, his house was bombed. I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye," he said.
The bombing took the lives of 17 members of his cousin’s family, wiping them off the registry.
“They all had some good future and good life. Unfortunately, they don't exist anymore,” he said.
He said another family in Hamilton lost more than 250 relatives in Gaza, underscoring the catastrophic human toll of the ongoing violence.
"This is a new Holocaust happening in front of the whole world," he said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
Deeply critical of the global complicity in the face of genocide, Abu Lebdeh said: "The world is watching, and they are between approving and staying silent for a reason of probably the interest of wealth, or probably to get accustomed and used to the new ways of mass killings in the future."
He lamented the inaction of the international community, particularly those he identified as having "corrupted political systems," both in the Muslim world and beyond.
The loss of unity among Muslim nations is something he denounced.
"Unfortunately, since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and then the separation of this Ummah (Muslim world) into smaller entities with the Sykes–Picot Agreement, the definition of ‘Ummah’ probably doesn't exist."
- Canada 'on the wrong side of history'
Abu Lebdeh described the silence of Palestine’s neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan as complicity in the atrocities.
"They're not just silent, they are complicit in such genocide that is being committed against the brothers in Gaza or the rest of Palestine and nowadays against Lebanon,” he said.
While he noted that people across the globe are with the “right cause” and in support of Gaza, he said “the political systems that are running the world are in the wrong cause, on the wrong side of history.”
Recalling Canada as a place of human rights and freedoms, Abu Lebdeh expressed his deep disappointment over Canada's stance, particularly that of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Unfortunately, how shameful it is for Trudeau to be on the wrong side of history,” he said, criticizing Canada’s stance during voting at the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution regarding the “advisory opinion” of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Noting a stark contrast between Trudeau and his father, the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who was criticized for his pro-Palestine position, Abu Lebdeh said: “He (Justin Trudeau) kind of violated this expression of ‘like father, like son’ and he went on the wrong side of the history, and he took all of Canada to the wrong side of history.”
He deems that the Canadian government is contributing to the genocide in Gaza by supporting Israel through military aid and political backing.
Despite his immense grief, Abu Lebdeh holds on to the hope that the Canadian government will reassess its stance.
“I hope that our government reevaluates and rethinks their stance and takes the right decision and will be on the right side of history soon.”
For Abu Lebdeh, the consequences of this conflict are not just about the present but will also shape the future.
He expressed concern over how future generations of Canadian Muslims will view Trudeau, accusing him of not only being complicit in the violence but also playing an active role in supporting Israel with weapons and financial aid.
"What kind of feelings will they have when they read the history?" he said, referring to the Trudeau government's position on the genocide.
As the bombs continue to fall in Gaza, Abu Lebdeh mourns not just for his own family but for the many lives lost. He calls on the world—and particularly Canada—to take a stand for humanity before it’s too late.