Mr. Chair, I am thankful for this opportunity to address my colleagues.
I join the minister, the hon. member for York Centre, in condemning Hamas. The pictures of the attacks by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians are horrific. I unequivocally join my colleagues in condemning Hamas and its blatant act of terror. Our priority is the civilians.
Every human life is precious, whether it is Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli or Christian. Hamas does not and will never represent Muslims and Palestinians and does not represent the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspirations. We must do everything we can to continue to protect both Israeli and Palestinian civilians. We will continue to work with our allies in the region and beyond to make sure that all civilians get the assistance and aid they need.
The reality is that this humanitarian crisis is getting worse. We need unimpeded humanitarian access and an open corridor to make sure that life-saving food, medicine and water get to those who desperately need it now. We are working very closely with our international partners, trusted organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies, and groups in the region that have always served everyone. I have had a number of conversations with ICRC; MDA, the equivalent of ICRC in Israel; and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, to get a sense of the needs on the ground and the heroic work being done by humanitarian and medical workers.
With regard to our support so far, we have wasted no time in taking action. We were the first western country to commit an initial $10 million to put much-needed aid and assistance in the hands of trusted organizations so they can deliver water, food and medicine to civilians in need. We will continue to work with our allies to call for the respect of international humanitarian law, which means allowing unimpeded access to medicine, food and other aid.
I want to emphasize that in our domestic approach, we know that Muslim Canadians, Jewish Canadians, Palestinian communities and Arab communities are impacted by this. There are folks with family members who have been killed as a result of this conflict. Family members are experiencing grief because their loved ones are being held hostage by Hamas. Family members are really concerned about being caught in the conflict in Gaza and making sure they are safe.
We must not let the actions of Hamas turn into hate in Canada. I unequivocally condemn the rising acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim behaviour that we have seen in Canada in the last week. We must come together to call out hate in all its forms.
I am so proud of the fact that our special envoys are working together. I spoke to both of them on the weekend. It is so heartening for me as a Canadian to see that our special representative on combatting Islamophobia and the newly appointed envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism are not only working together but embracing each other to lead us forward and make sure that we are holding on to the diversity and inclusion that make Canada so strong.
Canada only succeeds when Canadians can put aside their differences and work together for the betterment of all, not just in the good times but also in the difficult times. We are steadfast in coming together to assist the most vulnerable. I want to reiterate our government's active engagement on this issue. We will be there to support civilians.
We will continue to monitor the situation. We will work with our partners, regional friends and allies and make sure we continue to work with trusted organizations that have served us well over the years to make sure that Canadians have the framework to help the most needy and vulnerable. Canada will continue to do that.