Speaker, this morning, we began speaking on the motion to condemn the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas. We spoke about the trauma triggered and the immense pain that so many Jewish community members are feeling across the world. I shared my personal belief that is deeply rooted in the teaching of my faith that forbids and condemns the killings of innocent civilians. And with that belief, I want to reiterate my values, as a Muslim and a human, to condemn killings of all innocent lives. We must join together in condemning the attacks by Hamas, and with that responsibility to human rights and justice, we must also look at the bigger conflict that has brought horror across Israel and Palestine.

As an immigrant from a nation that was born out of a liberation war and as a daughter and descendant of people who faced war crimes in their own country—a country that experienced the horrors of genocide—I come to you asking for a call for peace: peace for the Israeli people; peace for the Palestinian people.

I want to quote an essay that scholar Peter Beinart published in the New York Times here, because it really resonated with me and I think it resonated with a lot of my colleagues and friends that I have spoken to over the last couple of days. Mr. Beinart is a professor of journalism and political science, and editor of the Jewish Currents magazine:

“As Jewish Israelis bury their dead and recite psalms for their captured, few want to hear at this moment that millions of Palestinians lack basic human rights. Neither do many Jews abroad. I understand; this attack has awakened the deepest traumas of our badly scarred people. But the truth remains: The denial of Palestinian freedom sits at the heart of this conflict, which began long before Hamas’s creation in the late 1980s.”

I felt Mr. Beinart’s words were powerful. The violence did not start last weekend with Hamas’s attack. The people of Palestine have endured brutality for decades—violence that has endangered the lives of civilians in Israel and Palestine—and we cannot deny the complex history that has impacted generations in this region and the deep trauma it has caused. Today, we are seeing innocent Palestinians suffering at a scale we have never seen before as a result of the siege of Gaza; two million Palestinians in Gaza, half of whom are children. These children must have the same rights as everyone else, and should not and must not be treated any differently because of where they live, who they are or what their families believe.

Within hours of Saturday’s tragedy, shock and horror, we saw what many feared: a massive bombardment on Gaza, killing thousands of innocent Palestinians civilians; a bombardment led by the current Israeli government—a hawkish government, one that has been called out by many of its own citizens in Israel as not reflective of their views, the values and the people it supposedly serves; a government whose defence minister called the people of Palestine “human animals.” These are innocent people who must not be punished for actions they are not responsible for, Speaker. And I want to reiterate: Palestinian people are not human animals. Palestinian people are not human animals. Palestinian people are not human animals.

We are outraged by the terrorist attacks by Hamas, and we are appalled by what we are seeing from the siege of Gaza by the Israeli government. We are seeing children, women and elderly people being attacked without discern—2,808 Gazans have been killed so far, including more than 1,030 children. More than 10,000 have been injured, and more than one million Gaza Palestinians displaced. Blockades and moves to stop or slow the flow of food, fuel, water, electricity and medical supplies into Gaza and the absence of a humanitarian corridor out of Gaza is causing massive suffering and casualties. Canada must urgently insist that Israel respect international law and protect the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians who bear no responsibility for Hamas’s horrendous attacks.

Just yesterday, the Israeli government bombed the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt, further preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it. Hospitals in Gaza are in the midst of a catastrophic shortage of medical supplies, and blockades are not only preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the region but also further jeopardizing the very lives of innocent civilians.

To make matters worse, the State of Israel has also cut power in Gaza, leaving hospitals reliant on external generators that are running on borrowed time, as confirmed by the United Nations. This power crisis places thousands of patients in even more immediate danger, particularly those already on the brink of life and death, including kidney and cancer patients. And according to the United Nations Population Fund, the situation is further exacerbated by the alarming fact that nearly 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza cannot access health care due to the damaged hospitals. This power outage is also threatening the lives of newborns in incubators.

Just on the health care front, Speaker: 24 health facilities, including six hospitals, have been directly damaged by air strikes. Tragically, 15 health care workers have lost their lives, while another 27 have been injured. On top of this—just today, I believe—the Toronto Star reported a story of a direct air strike on a hospital that killed 500 Palestinians and had thousands of others that were in that hospital—this just happened.

On top of all of this, the UN relief agency has reported that almost 500,000 people have been left without access to food. How can we, as a global community, stand idly by while health care facilities are not only targeted but decimated, leaving countless innocent lives in jeopardy?

Lastly, access to clean drinking water—something we talk about in this House, Speaker—in Gaza is becoming increasingly scarce, with families spending hours just searching for water. Those who do find water often rely on private vendors operating small desalination and water purification plants, primarily using solar energy. Others are left with no choice but to drink brackish water from agricultural wells, sparking concerns about the potential outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera.

From food, fuel, power, water—humanitarian aid has been blocked. The blockade which has been ruthlessly imposed by the Israeli forces has deprived Palestinian residents of freedom of movement and crippled Gaza’s economy. These tactics by the Israeli government may very well amount to a war crime; in fact, they have all been well-documented by Human Rights Watch—not us here, but Human Rights Watch—Amnesty International and the Jewish organization B’Tselem as war crimes against Palestinians of all faiths. The United Nations Secretary-General has said that “we are on the verge of the abyss” as he urged Israel to consider the humanitarian rights of Palestinians.

So I ask this House: Do innocent Palestinian civilians not have the same rights to survive as everyone else in this world? I ask again: Do innocent Palestinian civilians not have the same rights to survive as everyone else in this world?

The UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini says this: “The siege in Gaza, the way it is imposed, is nothing else than”—and this is what they called it—“collective punishment,” demanding an immediate passage for essential supplies. When the UNRWA commissioner general calls it a collective punishment—and you can just look up on Wikipedia what a collective punishment identifies as. You are co-signing on something that gives a free pass for any state, for anybody, to go ahead and do whatever they want. Just think about what you’re signing on to. Just think about what you’re signing on to if you’re giving carte blanche to do what they want to do and commit such crimes. Just think about it.

This morning, I talked about members who have their own stories. There were Parliaments that were sitting and there were debates in 1971, when the genocide happened in my nation, where I was born, and there were genocides that took place in other places.

The impact of this war has also been felt here in Canada—and I talked about this this morning, as well—as we are seeing an alarming rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate. In a concerning incident last week, the Toronto police arrested three individuals, and their hate crime unit is now actively investigating threats that were aimed at a Jewish high school in North York—a school, we’re talking about. Such acts of blatant anti-Semitism are deeply, deeply troubling, and it is essential that they are thoroughly investigated and addressed, to ensure the safety and security of all community members.

The Toronto police have also investigated two recent acts of vandalism at a local mosque, both believed to be hate-driven, one of which occurred on October 12 at the mosque at Danforth and Donlands Avenues, which was targeted with hate symbols and hateful writing.

In the United States—and I want to share this example because it was particularly horrifying—we have also heard about the heartbreaking story of a six-year-old Palestinian American boy being stabbed 27 times by their landlord, simply for being Palestinian. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, was attacked and severely injured by a man because she said she would pray for peace as the conflict in Israel and Palestine raged on.

In these times, the urgency for de-escalation and a ceasefire cannot be overstated. The loss of thousands of innocent lives, including women, children, the elderly and their entire families, is unjustifiable. We must join the international community in calling for an immediate end to the violence.

I join my Ontario NDP colleagues—and I think I can say this for everyone in this Legislature—to call on the federal government to do everything possible to reunite family members of Canadians who were horrified and impacted by these attacks. We cannot lose any more lives.

A colleague of mine, a staff member of our caucus, my friend Farah, has given me permission to share this, so I will share her story: Last week, Farah received a call with unimaginably devastating news, news that she had lost 18 members of her family in Khan Younis, Gaza, and 10 members of her family are still under rubble. That’s 18 members of her family, the Samoor family, gone in minutes: grandparents, children, moms and dads gone, and 10 of them are still under rubble.

Speaker, her story is just one of many. It is with her family in mind, and the families of everyone affected by this horrific crisis, that we call for a ceasefire, a humanitarian aid corridor to save human lives. And we call for us to work towards a sustainable solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, security and mutual self-determination.

The solution can only be political. There is no possible military solution to this decades-long conflict. I’m calling on our federal government to do everything in its power to stand with the United Nations in calling for peace and justice, and to ensure the protection of civilians and respect for international law.

Canada must also support international justice efforts by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes by all military actors in Israel and Palestine. All war crimes by all parties to this conflict must be prosecuted.

I stand with all people in Israel and Palestine who yearn for peace, freedom and security.

Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about what has happened as well in our communities over the past few days since this attack. I think it’s very important for us to make sure that we act on this. The Toronto police have investigated two recent acts of vandalism at a local mosque, both believed to be hate-driven, one of which occurred on October 12 at a mosque at Danforth Avenue and Donlands Avenue, which was targeted with hate symbols and hateful writings. At the same time, we have heard about the school closure and the horrific anti-Semitic attacks across the city, where police had been called to make sure that people across Toronto can feel safe.

Speaker, the impact that all of this has had—the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate has increased immensely. There are people who are Palestinian Canadians, who are Israeli Canadians, who are Jewish Canadians, who are Muslim Canadians. And I think sometimes it’s forgotten or missed by many of us that there are Palestinian Christians, there are Palestinian Jews, and there are Palestinians of other religions as well who have been impacted by this—including the 1,100 Christians who are stuck in a church looking for safety.

It is extremely incumbent on us to make sure—and I know that the motion did not go through, and I hope that the House will listen—that we do everything to push the government of Canada to advocate for an immediate release of all hostages, the protection of all civilians in accordance with international law, an end to the siege of bombardment of Gaza, and humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians urgently.

The reason I say this is because we need to also look at the root cause of all of this. I got to learn a lot from some of the experts—and I say this from lessons that I have learned from people who are family members, are Holocaust survivors who have shared their side of the story. Recently, one of them is David Hearst, a journalist who talked about the impact and looking at the root cause of this.

Right now, when we look at this, we know that we have a responsibility to listen and understand the issue. I know this may be the first time many people across the province are tuning in to the issue of Palestine and Israel. As sad as that sounds, there are a lot of people who have called me with anger and rage, and after we had a conversation, they said, “I will go and find out what the issue is on both sides.” And I know that there are a lot of people who have their own personal stories, who know and learn about what took place. So, today, when we talk about this, we have to make sure that we tell the full story. We have to make sure that we allow for our communities to be heard in a fair way that is important.

The difference between those who have been returned from Israel and those who have returned from Palestine is very simple, and I’ll tell you why. While 1,300 Canadians from Tel Aviv were safely returned, there was a stark difference in the way Palestinians were treated when they tried to get back to their homeland, to Canada—so for that, we need to step back and understand what took place. When Palestinian Canadians tried to go back, they had to take a bus to Jordan and book their own flight and return to Canada. They did not have our local MP, Minister Bill Blair, putting out the flight that went and carried them back. They didn’t have that. So I ask this House: Do Palestinian Canadians not have the same right? Do their lives not have value in the same way—to make sure that they also return home safely to their loved ones? When Hala talks about her 16 family members who were killed and one family member who is still waiting to return—does that family member not have the right, just like anyone else, just like any other human being?

When we have people who are Palestinian Canadians telling us their side of the story, we need to make sure that we hear that as well. And today, I hope that our government will listen. As a provincial government, we don’t have the power to move policies, but we do have power in our voices, in our words, to make sure that we influence the federal government to make that change.

We also need to make sure that we look at the root cause of this. We know that the violence did not start last week—

Good morning, everyone, and good morning to the guests we have in the House. It is an honour for me—and I’ve met some, especially at the recent museum opening, and I’ve had the privilege of hearing about your stories. So I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this motion and to have you all here this morning. I represent Scarborough Southwest, and as the deputy leader of the official opposition, I also feel a great, great load of responsibility, speaking to this today. I believe I can say this for all of us—and it has been spoken in the House already: The last week has been an extremely, extremely difficult week. So many of our communities are still in shock, while for some, it’s even more personal, with family members and loved ones suffering immense loss and trauma triggered from the atrocities.

As an immigrant myself from a nation that was born out of a liberation war and a genocide, and as a daughter of the descendants of people who faced subjugation and were treated as second-class citizens in their own country just for who they are, for their language, for their religion—a country that experienced the horror of genocide, which was committed not too long ago, just in 1971—I stand before this House with a heavy heart, reflecting on the painful and horrifying events that unfolded in Israel and Palestine over the past week.

I know that I stand amongst colleagues and friends on both sides of the House who can relate to the anguish and the sorrow that come with such painful stories and history, and experience of violence, colonial violence—some carrying a much heavier burden of pain and suffering of their families and, in some cases, themselves. We have heard in this House about the Tamil genocide from our colleagues; the Armenian genocide; the Sikh genocide; the horrific killing in Jallianwala Bagh; or, just recently, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the systemic violence carried out on the people of this land, here in Canada.

And we can never, ever forget the dark chapter in human history of the Holocaust—a harrowing chapter in history, when the world witnessed the systemic genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany, a state-sponsored killing. Jews endured unimaginable suffering in concentration camps and extermination camps, with mass shootings and inhumane conditions. It is a stark reminder of the depths to which hatred and bigotry can lead. I was able to have the interactive demonstration that we have at the museum—which will bring you to tears, to learn about that history.

I want to make this very clear: Hamas’s senseless violence—war crimes and attacks on innocent civilians, women, seniors, babies—has caused unimaginable pain and trauma for not only Israelis but for Jewish communities across the world. I know that many Jewish Canadians are feeling unsafe—terrified at seeing targeted violence on this scale.

Last week, we were shocked by the brutal attacks on civilian lives in Israel—over 1,600 dead and thousands injured, children and families kidnapped.

In this House, today, we mourn the lives of the five Canadians who lost their lives in this violent conflict: Shir Georgy, Adi Vital-Kaploun, Ben Mizrachi, Alexandre Look, and Netta Epstein.

We have heard from friends and family members—I have in my community, and I know some of you have as well—who are worried and waiting to hear from family members in Israel. I know that many of you in this House have had similar conversations in the past, and it is heart-wrenching. At the same time, we have also heard from friends and family members who are in fear and waiting to hear from their family in Palestine. So many Palestinian family members are feeling anxious and scared.

I want to be very clear: The Palestinian people do not represent Hamas, just like the State of Israel does not represent all people of Israel and all Jewish people.

Sometimes in this House we talk about or we debate on opposite sides about an action a government does—and it is the people, it is their voice, that should be the loudest, that truly matters.

But more than that, the struggles that we are seeing right now are what I want to talk about. It is an honour for me, also as a Muslim Canadian, to start by saying that there is an Arabic phrase that I will translate: “Harming one single human is a harm to all humanity.” If you harm even a hair of a human, an innocent civilian, you’re harming all of humanity. That is the belief that I truly believe in as a Muslim and as a Canadian, and it is the deep-rooted understanding that I come with.

Today, when I speak to this issue, I want to share some of the things that I have received over the last five, seven days—because I have talked to community members who come from both sides, and it has been an extremely, extremely painful week. I don’t think, in my career as an MPP, as a representative, I have had this difficulty, navigating through this as I did this past week, just hearing the stories, and I cannot imagine what the community is feeling—because it is horrendous, what Hamas did. One of the things that I want to make very clear is that when something like that happens, it doesn’t just harm the one side—and their action has also hurt Palestinians. We have heard from those family members who are waiting to hear back.

So when we look at this motion and understand, how do we address the atrocities and how do we make sure that we stand with the people who have suffered this immense loss—so many Palestinian families are feeling anxious and scared, or, more than that, their struggles are neglected and undermined by the rhetoric of those in power and a lot of mainstream media, and their story has not fully been told.

When I look at the difference between those who return to Canada and Canada’s effort in Israel—it has been very different in the reality of Palestinian Canadians and Palestinians in Gaza. While we hear about the stories, we also heard from NCCM—where Hala Alshaer, who lives in Ottawa and is a Canadian, talked about her family, who are still waiting to return. Hala shared about the killing of her 16 family members, who were killed after the Israeli attacks.

I want to thank the federal government—and this is part of something that I want to make clear: I want to thank the federal government for the safe return of 1,300 Canadians from Tel Aviv. I think that we need to make sure that we urge our government to do much more in ensuring that all Canadians, all Jewish Canadians who are stuck, must return safely. I would like to put in a motion to make sure that I add onto the—and so, Speaker, I would like to move that the following sentence be added to the end of the main motion: “And that this House calls on the government of Canada to advocate for immediate release of all hostages and protection of all civilians in accordance with international law, an end to the siege of bombardment of Gaza and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians urgently without restriction.”