Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Brampton Centre.
In light of today, I want to start my comments tonight by stating that Canada unequivocally condemns Iran's reckless attack against Israel. This attack demonstrates yet again the Iranian regime's disregard for peace and stability in the region. It has put civilians at risk, forcing millions across countries into bomb shelters in search of safety, and it only seeks to further escalate the conflict. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Canada fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against this attack, and we call for the safety of all civilians in Israel and Lebanon.
We are only a few days away from the one-year anniversary of October 7, the day of the deadliest attack on Israeli soil. We continue to feel the immense pain and grief experienced by so many on October 7, and in the devastating 361 days since, when eight Canadians lost their lives at the hands of Hamas. We mourn their loss, not only as a Jewish community, but also as Canadians.
For 361 days, daughters, sons, sisters and brothers, mothers, fathers and grandparents have been held hostage in Gaza by Hamas. Their families, and we all, demand for them to come home. There can be no resolution without the return of the hostages.
On October 7, that tragic day, 1,100 lives were lost, and the loss of life every day since has been horrific. So many families have suffered in so many different parts of the world and in so many communities, including here in Canada. As Jon Polin, father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a member of my home community in Jerusalem, said so well, “in a competition of pain, there are no winners.” There is only the loss of loved ones.
We continue to call for all hostages to be released, for Hamas to lay down its arms, for international law to be respected, for civilians not to be used as human shields and for the escalating violence in the region to end. The escalation of violence today and over the last several weeks does nothing but further perpetuate the cycle of violence that harms everyone in the region.
The violence and attacks perpetrated by Hezbollah on Israeli soil are unacceptable, but we must remember that this is not a new front to this war. Lebanon has been held in the grips of Hezbollah for decades, impacting the lives of Israeli and Lebanese civilians for years.
Hezbollah is a terrorist organization backed by Iran. This horrific war and its escalation did not happen in a vacuum. Within days of October 7, Hezbollah began launching rockets into northern Israel, escalating the conflict, creating a two-front war and resulting in more than 70,000 Israelis being displaced. This escalation served to upend the lives of Lebanese civilians who live along its border. It created devastation and continues to disrupt the lives of Lebanese and Israelis alike.
It is not enough to say that the violence has to stop and that there needs to be a ceasefire, because if, at the end of this ceasefire and the cessation of violence, Hamas and Hezbollah are still armed, then we have gotten ourselves no closer to ending this cycle of violence. This is why a two-state solution is imperative. This is why recognizing terrorist organizations for what they are is critical to understanding that, in a multilateral world, these are not militias or state actors. These are terrorist organizations that do not play by the rules of what we recognize as a rules-based order. They put civilians at risk.
The cost they exact on civilian populations for their own agenda is what we need to recognize and fight against. They use the lives of civilians, of children and of families. They use their lives and the infrastructure in the homes they live in to wage a war of terror on civilians across the region. That the value of civilian lives is irrelevant in the terror they exact is what we need to recognize and address. The people of Lebanon deserve to live in peace and security, free from conflict and from Hezbollah's Iran-backed terrorism, as do Israelis and Palestinians.
The populations of the region deserve nothing less than our collective support as an international community to end this conflict. The only way forward is a safe and secure future for Israelis and Palestinians and a lasting two-state solution. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, let us take pause in understanding what needs to be demanded in the context of a ceasefire. It is not as simple as demanding for the violence to stop. It is about ensuring that, in the days after, Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, security and dignity because all civilians have a right to live within their homes and in their communities.
Tomorrow, Jewish communities will hear the sound of the shofar. It is blown every year to mark the beginning of the new year for all to hear. It is a spiritual awakening of a sort, but the shofar has also been known to be used as a call to war. As we head into the year of 5785, I want to wish for Jewish communities throughout the world that the shofar be blown as a symbol of peace, and that we no longer need the sirens of war. Shana tova, and may the new year bring peace and security for all in the region.
