Family Members of the Hostages Ask For Canadian Support

At a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, relatives of Israelis who were killed or abducted by Hamas during its October 7 attack in southern Israel urge the federal government to call for the unconditional release of all Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. Itay Raviv, Alexandra Friedman, Harel Lapidot, Chen Zeigen, and Aharon Brodutch share their families’ experiences and answer questions from reporters.

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Thank you for listening to Pictures MediaRadio. All right, good, good

(01:15):
afternoon, oh twelve twenty four.Already, I Frank, there's a set
up front. You sure just letme know when you want to ask a
question. Okay, yeah, allright, good, good afternoon. Yes,
just a quick update on the SecretaryGeneral. As you know, he

(01:38):
is in Nepal on his first tripin preparation for the upcoming climate change summit,
the COP twenty eight, which willbe held in the United Emirates later
this year. This morning, hemet with people from local communities in the
Himalayas to hear directly from them abouthow they are being impacted by climate change.
In a video message issued from MountEverest, the Mount Everest Region,

(02:00):
the Secretary General noted that Nepal haslost close to one third of its ice
in the last thirty years. Hesaid that glaciers are retreating, but we
cannot. He stressed that we mustend the fossil fuel age and we must
act now to protect people on thefront lines. And yesterday the Secretary General
had bilateral meetings with senior Nepalese officials, including President Pawdel and Prime Minister Pushba

(02:25):
Kamal dahl Prachandra. In a jointpress encounter with the Prime Minister, the
Secretary General extended his deepest condolences tothe families of the ten Nepalese students killed
in the terror attacks by Hamas inIsrael on seven October, and his best
wishes for the safe return of VipinJoshi, who is missing. He repeated

(02:45):
his utter condemnation of the appalling attacksfor portrayed by Hamas, stressing there's no
justification ever for the killing and injuringan abduction of civilians. He said the
situation in Gaza is growing more desperateby the hour, and he reiterated his
appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,the unconditional release of all hostages, and

(03:07):
the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief ata scale that meets the needs of people
of Gaza. Tomorrow, the SecretaryGeneral will deliver a peace message from Lumbini,
the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Hewill also address a joint session of
the Parliament in Kathmandu, and thenhe is heading, as we've told you,

(03:27):
to London to attend the Artificial IntelligenceSummit, which is being organized by
the Government of Great Britain. Forher part, the Deputy Secretary General Mina
Mohammad is in Abu Dhabi, whereshe delivered opening remarks at the PrepCom meeting
for the upcoming COP twenty eight.She underscored that the COP twenty eight was
being convened at a critical moment inthe fight against the climate crisis and its

(03:53):
may outcome under the global stock takeneeded to respond decisively to the alarming findings
of science and the existing gaps inmitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.
I Miana Mohammad arrived in Abu Dhabiyesterday and has been engaging on a series
of bilateral meetings, including with thePresident Designative COP twenty eight, Sultan al

(04:14):
Jabar, senior climate ministers from aroundthe world, representatives of civil society,
the chair of key negotiating groups,and the Ministerial co Facilitator appointed by COP
twenty eight presidency to address the politicalissues to be resolved at the upcoming COP
meeting. Turning to Gaza, theOffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports

(04:38):
that yesterday at least thirty three truckscarrying water, food and medical supplies enter
Gaza through the RAFA crossing in northernEgypt. This is the largest delivery of
humanitarian aid since October twenty first,when the limited delivery of humanitarian aids resumed
through RAFA. While the increase iswelcome, a much large UDRA volume of

(05:00):
aid is needed on a regular basisto prevent further deterioration of the dire humanitarian
situation, including civil unrest. Inparticularly the entry of fuel to operate medical
equipment and water and sanitation facilities isurgently required. The cumulative number of internally
displaced persons since the start of thehostilities in Gaza is estimated over one point

(05:25):
four million men, women and children. These include more than six hundred and
seventy thousand people who are sheltering inone hundred and fifty shelters run by UNWAH,
and all of these shelters are weighover their normal capacity. Over the
weekend, the vicinities of Shifinal Kut'shospitals in Gaza City and that of the

(05:49):
Indonesian hospital in Northern Gaza were reportedlybombarded, causing damage. This followed renewed
cause by the Israeli military authorities toevacuate these facilities. All but thirteen hospitals
still operational in Gaza and Northern Gazahave received repeated evacuation orders in recent days.

(06:10):
For his part, Martin Griffiths,the Emergency Relief Coordinator, has started
a visit to Israel and the occupiedPalestinian territory. Mister Griffiths said he will
hold discussions on how to ramp upthe humanitarian response for civilians in Gaza.
Going back to Saturday, NWAD reportedthat thousands of people broke into several un

(06:30):
warehouses and distribution centers in Gaza,taking flower, hygiene supplies and other items.
Ana's operations director Tom White said thisis a worrying sign that civil orders
starting to break down after three weeksof war and a tight siege on Gaza.
For its part, the World HealthOrganization called on all parties to the

(06:51):
conflict to protect civilian and civilian infrastructuresand saying the obvious that it is impossible
to vac create patients without endangering livesfrom the hospitals. The Security Council will
hear more about and yourselves will hearmore about the hibitarian situation in Gaza this

(07:11):
afternoon when the Security Council meets.The Council members will be briefed by the
Commissioner General of ANHUA, Filippe Lazzarini, and a senior director from OCHA,
Lisa Dawton. We will get youthose remarks before they are delivered, at
least we'll try to do so.Meanwhile, back here, the special end

(07:32):
Word for Syrigear Pettison brief Security Councilmembers on situation in Syria. He warned
that the Syrian people are facing terrifyingprospects of a potential wider escalation given the
alarming developments in Israel and the occupiedPalactian territory. He sounded the alarm that
the situation is now at its mostdangerous for a long time and called for

(07:53):
an immediate de escalation while advancing thepolitical process. Also addressing Security Council members
was Adam Wusornu, the Director ofOperations and Advocacy at the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. She saidthat several areas across the northern Syria experience
to serious escalation and hostilities. Thishad deep impact on the humanitarian workers and

(08:16):
operations, particularly in the northwest ofthe country. Three aid workers who are
among those kills, and many organizationsare forced to temporarily suspend their operations.
Hostilities have also damaged critical services andinfrastructure, including more than forty health facilities,
two dozen schools, and some twentywater system plants temporarily affected. Also

(08:39):
main power stations at Idlin. Tenmonths into this year, Miss Wosorni said
Syrian humanitarian response plan is less thanthirty percent funded and without additional funding,
Oha fears that many people will gowithout the support they need to get through
the harsh winter months, and we'veseen how harsh the winters in Syria can

(09:01):
be. Turning to Lebanon, Exchangesof fire across the Blue Line are continuing
through the weekend, with two peacekeepersinjured on October twenty eighth due to shelling
that impacted two UNIFIL positions in thesector East. UNIPHIL is working to ascertain
the origins of the shell fire amongUNIFIL compounds. Another UNIFIL compound was also

(09:24):
hit by shelling on the same day, causing minor property damage. UNIFIL personnel
repeatedly sheltered in bunkers over the weekend, while UNIFIL premises have been impacted on
several occasions since October eighth. Theincident on the twenty eighth, where the
first time that UNIFIL peacekeepers have beeninjured during the ongoing breaches of the cessation

(09:46):
of hostilities along the Blue Line.We remind the parties of their obligations to
ensure the safety and security of peacekeepersand the inviability of ur and premises,
and again we urge all actors toimmediately cease hostile actions cross the blue line.
Moving to staying on peacekeeping, butthis time in the Congo, the
UN Peacekeeping Mission in that country,otherwise known as MUNUSCO, said they're concerned

(10:11):
about clashes between members of the twentythree Militia, the Congolese Armed Forces,
and a coalition of armed groups thathave been occurring daily since the beginning of
October in the province of North Kivu. These clashes, taking place in Masisi,
Rutchuru and Yerongogo territories, represent aserious escalation of the conflict in eastern

(10:33):
Congo, where also there's also aserious threat to humanitarian relief operations and to
the sites hosting displaced people in theperiphery of Goma. Peacekeepers deployed a quick
reaction force to Rutchuru to protect civiliansworking closely with the Congolese armed Forces and
the East African Community Regional Force UNpeacekeepers continue to conduct patrols excuse me,

(10:58):
to protect Goma. They've also establishedsecurity perimeters around the humanitarian aid distribution centers
in Kinchanga Base and escorted the deliveryof non food items and other humanitarian assistants
in the airs where approximately twenty fivethousand internally displaced people are seeking protection around
the mission's base. Also, I'vebeen asked by some of you about the

(11:26):
talks that are going on in Jeddain Saudi Arabia regarding Sudan and whether we're
involved in those talks. I cantell you that our colleagues at OCHA have
a team in Jedda to facilitate thehumanitarian track of these critical negotiations. More
than six months since the start ofthe current hostilities, we and our partners

(11:46):
have reached more than three and ahalf million people with humanitarian assistants, but
that's only twenty percent of the peoplewe aimed to help. The number of
people who need humanitarian assistance in Sudanhas increased from an estimated fifteen point eight
million people in November of last yearto twenty four point seven million people in

(12:07):
May, representing a fifty seven percentincrease. In a statement issued over the
weekend, the Undersecretary Journal for HumanitarianAffairs, Martin Griffiths, said the Sudanese
armed forces and rapid support forces mustfully adhere to international humanitarian law and ensure
safe and sustain and unhindered access topeople in need, including by breaking through

(12:30):
the bureaucratic logjam. And an updatefrom a humanitarian crisis that we don't want
to overlook, which has taking placejust a few hours flights south of here.
Quick update from Haiti. The WorldFood Program tells us that since mid
August, violence importer Princess forced aboutforty thousand people to flee from their homes.

(12:50):
These recent movements bring the total numberof displaced people across the country to
two hundred thousand. In the Haitiancapital, displaced people have taken shelter in
over ninety different locations, including schools, churches, and abandoned buildings. WFP
has set up three central kitchens inthe capital where each day is Many's twenty

(13:11):
two thousand meals are prepared and thentransported to various sites where displaced people are
staying the food agencies in the processof shifting from serving hot meals to providing
kasha dessistance to displace people. However, and we often talk about what underfunding
means for people, funding cut meansthat WFP has been unable to deliver continuous

(13:35):
assistance to all those in need andis urgently calling for one hundred and thirty
six million dollars to each the mostvulnerable Haitians over the next six months.
And I have been asked about thesituation in Bangladesh, and I can tell
you that the Secretary journal is concernedabout reports of violence and political rallies in

(13:56):
Bangladesh in which at least nine peoplehave died and people have been injured.
He calls on all parties to refrainfrom violence or any excessive use of force
or arbitrary detention. He also stressesthe need to respect for the right of
freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.A couple of senior personnel appointments, then
you get to ask me some questions. Today, the Secretary General is appointing

(14:20):
Marcos Satias Netto of Brazil as anew Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau
of Policy Program Services at UNDP.He succeeds how Chiang Shu of China,
who has been recently appointed as theUnder Secretary General Deputy Administrative UNDP. Mister
Netto is currently the Director of UNDP'sSustainable Finance Hub and we congratulate him on

(14:43):
his appointment. And today the SecretaryGeneral also appointed Kirsi Madia Finland as Deputy
Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainabilityin Partnerships at un Women. The Secretary
General extends his appreciation to UN WomenDirect, his predecessor of Moez Dorid of
Egypt, who will continue to serveas UN Women Deputy Direct Executive Director at

(15:07):
interim until Miss Mahdi assumes her functions. Currently serving as Director of the Executive
Director's Office in Chief of Staff atUNICEF, MS Mahdi brings over thirty years
of experience. We congratulate her.Tomorrow, I will have a guest and
that will be EPC. Campbell Bar, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on People
of African Descent and Jewels. JustinHansford, a member of the Forum.

(15:30):
They will be here to brief youfollowing the first presentation of Annual Reports of
the General Assembly and on a muchlighter note. I think we all need
to congratulate the South African spring Boxfor their win in a World Rugby World
Cup, which was wonderfully hosted bythe French Dye. Thanks, thank you,

(15:54):
Steph. A couple of questions relatedto the Israeli Hamas conflict. First,
does the Secretary General have any commenton the entry of Israeli tanks into

(16:15):
Gaza and its orders, specifically forAl Kud's hospital to evacuate when it has
people on ventilator and newborns in incubators. And on the Israeli statement that this

(16:42):
evacuation order is allowed under the GenevaConventions because self defense can include hospitals when
they claim that the headquarters of Hamasis under the hospital. Thank you,

(17:07):
okay. Let me try to takesome of those things backwards. I think
on the evacuation of hospitals, aSecretary General thing he's in full agreement with
doctor Tedros when he said it isimpossible to evacuate hospitals in a conflict zone
without endangering the lives of those patients, and that hospitals need to be protected

(17:30):
under international law. As far asthe ground incursion, I would refer you
to the statement we issued over theweekend from the Secretary General, which I
think refers to that we continue towork and to call for a humanitarian ceasefire,
to call for greater humanitarian access.I mean where you know, we

(17:55):
did see a larger number of trucksgoing in, but it remains drop in
the bucket, and we continue tocall for the immediate and unconeritial release of
all the hostages. One follow upa question related to the hostages. Hamas
put out a video today of severalhostages. Does the Secretary General have any

(18:22):
comment on the release of that videoand what it said? Uh, no,
I haven't seen. I won't comebecause I've not seen the video.
I mean video, no video.People, These people need to be released.
Maggie Steph, you said thirty threetrucks yesterday. It's already pushing seven

(18:48):
pm in the region Monday. Anythingon Monday, we will know when Monday
ends. And just to be crystalclearer, no fuel whatsoever it was on
those correct, Okay. And thenon mister Griffith's meeting in Israel and the
occupied territories, Where in the occupiedterritories where is he planning to go?
I mean, obviously sly Gaza iskind of a no go zone, but
the West Bank is also seeing areal escalation and violence. So with whom

(19:14):
is he going to meet and where? My understanding is that he will most
likely go to uh to the WestBank and meet with representatives of the Palestinian
of the Palestinian authority. Today,I know mister Griffiths and mister Veni Islan

(19:36):
both met with with President Hertzog aswell as other Israeli officials up to some
Then DOGI then pem On follow upon mister Givit's visit to Israel and the
occupied Palassian territories. Is he planningto go also to the Gaza strip and

(20:00):
if not, why we will.We will update his travels as they as
they become clear. But did heask the Israelis to allow him to go
there, so we will update histravels as they become okay. So then
on the I asked you, Ithink last week about that Israelis are after
the October seventh there revoked the workingpermission of Palestinian workers from Gaza immediately,

(20:30):
and they're according to local media reports, including Israeli media reports, there's at
least four thousand Palestinian workers who areheld in detention centers. And there's also
reports about human rights violations. Sodo you have any updates on that go

(20:55):
through a process or need to bereleased. I'm still trying to I don't
know what. It's so complicated,but trying to get some details about those
particular workers and on regarding the settlers. Attacks increased more even than a week
before or two weeks before. There'stwo Polsingians who were killed during the weekend.

(21:18):
Some injurers, they attack farmers,et cetera. Is mister Griffith's planning
to visit any of these families orfarmers who are I don't know what he's
playing, but I can tell andI will let you know if he does.
But I can tell you that theSecretary Journal strongly condemns the acts of
violence we have seen by settlers inthe occupied Palestinian territory, including I think

(21:42):
the most recent deadly shooting which tookplace I think yesterday on the twenty eighth,
of someone who was just harvesting hisolives with his family. Now we
condemned this the attacks, but alsothey have a risk of of of greatly

(22:03):
inflaming or already very volatile situation inthe West Bank, and Israel must ensure
that civilians are protected and perpetrators heldto account. And we call it all
to act responsibly. The PM.Yeah, huh oh, sorry, Steph,
you've got something dropped there. Ithink that's what's okay? Okay.

(22:29):
Anyway, So I got a coupleof questions also concerning the situation in Gaza.
Last week you mentioned that the ESGis trying to expand to increase the
volume of humanitarian aids from butter crossing. How's the work now? We saw
some increase, but it's not enough. Just like you said, I think

(22:52):
you answered the question. It's notbut but but it's still but the ESG
is still in in the in thenegotiation with with parties. Let me just
put it. Let me put itin simple terms. We're not holding back
right, So it's not enough.Yeah, okay. So also last week
on Friday, I think I askedyou about the negotiation which broke in Doha,

(23:15):
and the next day the ESGAY wasin Doha. So the UN has
been involved in that negotiation. Canyou share us more information since so you
have already posted this. No,I mean it's no secret The Secretary John
wanted to stop over in Doha onhis way to Nepal. He met with
the Prime Minister while there. Obviously, he thanked the Prime Minister and through

(23:37):
him, the Emir for all theassistance, especially on the issue of the
release of hostages. Those discussions areare ongoing. I think you would understand
that. I'm not going to provideyou more details, not to jeopardize anything.
Okay. Last Friday, also onthe General Assembly vote. After that,

(24:00):
the explanation by the Israeli ambassador,he said, there's no humanitarian crisis
in accordance with the international humanitarian law. That's basically what's against what you've mentioned
in your opening remarks. You coulddo. That's your job. You do
the compare and contrast. I comehere every day. I tell you what's
going on. I think in prettybleak, in pretty bleak and stark terms.

(24:22):
The Israeli ambassadors said what he saidfrom the up compared, I mean
there is a human tarian crisis.You have been listening to what I mean,
and I don't mean it retarda.I know you've been listening to what
I've been saying, so I thinkI heard. I think you're drawing the
right conclusions, Pam, Then Gabriela little more straightforward. Martin griff has

(24:45):
said today that he met with someof the Israeli hostage families. Can you
say which ones? And no,I don't any readout. Let's see what
else we can get. And itwas Israeli Matt who said that he that
Griffiths was not given a visa forfor Gaza. Is that correct? And

(25:11):
who said what sorry? That thatMartin Griffiths was denied a visa for Gaza
has not correctly? Has Martin griffhas been denied a visa from the I'm
not sure. I think you haveto check you. I mean, I'm

(25:32):
not sure. Let me just saytell you that Martin Griffiths is in Israel,
right, He got a visa togo to Israel, right right.
Any other further travel I will sharewith you, Okay, And as far
as you know, you can't speakto the fact that he may have been
denied the ability to go to visa. As I said, I will update

(25:56):
you on travel as it happens,all right, Thank you, Gabriel,
Yes, peas Hi, thank youSteph. I know the Secretary of General
has been very clear since this conflictbegan about the protection of journalists during this
conflict, but I have a followup on that. Youma Al said Al
Jazeera reporter in Gaza City within thelast few hours has received a phone call

(26:22):
saying that she and her family needto leave their home or else they'll be
engraved danger facing potential death. Myquestion is, as the Israeli military begins
this incursion into Gaza City, whatis the Secretary General's message to the journalists
that remain in Gaza City reporting onthe conflict. I think first it's a

(26:45):
it's a badge of honor that inthe midst of conflict your colleagues of not
just Al Jazir, but others haveremained there remain to tell the story.
It's it's it's a mark immense courage, and we need to make sure that
they remain safe and they remain protectedYvonne. And then yeah, okay,

(27:11):
so the first question on UNIPHIL.You said they're working to ascertain the responsibility
for the mor soshell attacks, butwhat form of that investigation take, how
long will it take and will theyactually share the information when they have some
or is there a concern about exacerbatingtensions tensions were Let me just put it

(27:34):
this way, UNIFIL is not makingtensions worse. We're trying to calm tensions.
As soon as they have something,hopefully I will be able to I
will be able to share with you. Okay. But they don't know who
did it. No, that's thepoint they're trying to ascertain. Okay,
it came from all right. Oneother questions on Martin Griffiths, given the

(27:57):
context of last week and how angrythe Israeli mission was with the United Nations,
with the Secretary General, what kindof reception is he receiving in Israel
and are there any meetings that he'srequested that he's been denied. I'm not
aware of him having been denied meetingshe's requested. He along with Tor have

(28:18):
continuously since the beginning of this currentcrisis, have continued to have meetings with
Israeli counterparts where we continue to advocatefor the things we've been advocating for publicly,
Celia Steph, each time there isa war in the world, the

(28:41):
Secret General is deeply concerned. Butnothing, nothing happened that the war are
still wedging. He's the un relevantCelia. I think if you were,
if we put ourselves in the shoesof people who rely on the UN to

(29:03):
be fed, to be housed,to be taken care of in time of
conflict, I think the answer wouldbe yes. Despite all of the political
schisms that we see increasing within themembership of the of the organization, UN
staff, humanitarian workers, peacekeepers continueto serve on the front lines to help

(29:30):
people to ensure that they survive tothe to the next day. The long
term political solutions need to come fromUnited action from the member States. My
short answer to you is yes,Sir. Channel five in the Russian city

(29:52):
of Mahatrikalam, hundreds of people stormthe aeroport because of flight from and the
police didn't stop them. So willthe end condemn this act of anti semitism?
Thank you. Look two things.My understanding is that the security forces
and the government have put things,have restored order. But we condemned unconditionally

(30:21):
the actions and the words of thosepeople who tried to storm the airport,
who tried to hunt down people justbecause of their religion, And we condemned
those acts of antisemitism without reserve.Stephano. And then we'll come back to
round two and then I think I'llgo to the screen unless, thank it's

(30:42):
the fun. Two questions, oneon for about thirty six hours in gods
that there was no internet, thatwas not seller, there was nothing when
they really came in. Now isthis I mean, is this important to

(31:03):
understand who what happened because it couldbe a crime to all of a sudden,
I don't know, ambulance cannot respondto a call. I mean,
obviously communications is critical, right thecommunications have now been restored. We are
exploring various solutions to make our systemsmore resilient. I mean, lack of

(31:33):
communication is of course very bad forus because we lose contact with our staff
and I think whether it's Unlair WillFood Program, UNICEF and others lost contact
with their staff for quite some time. And it's of course critical for us
to be able to have communications incontact with the people that were there to

(31:55):
serve. Now, I'm sorry,I understand that is important. I just
my question is is this considered somethingthat is like a crime something the international
law. I'm not I'm not goingto get into. Okay, then I
have another question on you told mebefore that the Secretary General I didn't have

(32:15):
the contact with the government, Imean with Netta yaour government. But he
had contact with the President of Israelherzog He on October two held the President
of Israel said, it is anentire it is an entire nation. How
that that he is responsible is nottrue. This rhetoric about civilians not being

(32:39):
aware, not involved. One.This was on October twelve, when the
Secretary General spoke with the President Herzo. Did you have impression that the President
of Israel thought that all the Palestiniansin Gaza were responsible for the October seven

(33:00):
I can't. I can't. Imean, I can't speak to every conversation
that they've had. I know they'vebeen in touch quite a bit. They
also have a longstanding relationship and they'recontinuing to stay in contact. Meanwhile,
tour and others are I think todaymet with the National Security Advisor of the

(33:21):
Prime Minister. So I mean thecontacts are being had Alan, thanks Stephan.
Just t minutes ago, the representativeof the Israeli Army in Geneva,
during the briefing in Geneva, saidthat they will not allow representatives of Israeli

(33:43):
Army. Yeah, in Geneva.He said that they will not allow to
deliver fuel to Gaza strict because they'renot obliged by anything any commentary in the
I don't really understand. I'm notsure I understand the question now, but
if it just happened a few minutesago, I'm happy to look into it.
But I can repeat it. Youcould try, but I may still.

(34:06):
I may try. I mean hestated literally that Israel will not allow
to deliver the fuel. I mean, I haven't seen that same. What
I can tell you is that wedesperately, desperately need fuel for you and
operations to run the health centers thatwe operate to run, to get fresh
water so WFP sponsored bakeries can canwork, and so people can can drink.

(34:30):
The fuel is needed. Okay,let me go to the screen,
Beno, and then Lanka here stuff. I'm a very loud environment I hope
you can hear me. My questionis very easy, though Joe Biden insimulated
that he can't really trust the garddesk toll because of it's coming from the

(34:52):
guy's health authorities. Does the achieveus these numbers? Yes? Why,
Beno? I think the question differentform was asked last week, but I'll
repeat basically what I said, whichis that we are very clear when we
talk about the death toll in Gaza, We're very clear about the source of
those figures and those come from theMinistry of Health in Gaza. We do

(35:15):
not take them as our own.We state where they come from. That
being said, we've been through conflictsin Gaza before. We have found to
be the figures issued the death tollfigures issued by the Ministry of Health in
Gaza UH to be to be reliableUH and to be close to close to

(35:38):
being on h on on target.If I may use if I, if
I may use that that word.So we've had we've had no particular issues
with that data LINKA thank you,thank you step So two questions please,
if I may follow up on theinternet issue. Alon Masks said over the

(36:01):
weekend that he would be willing toconnect communications of UN agencies. Has there
been any contacts with him on thisnote? Yes, I know there has
been some contact, and I alsoknow that our our colleagues who deal with
the issue of telecommunications are in touchwith various entities and governments and stakeholders to

(36:24):
try to ensure the connectivity with betweenthe UN officers around the world and our
colleagues in in Gaza is resilient hasgiven its life saving need for such communications.
Your second question is going to speakis there is she going to speak

(36:45):
with him? No? I don'tthink this is an issue where the SG
needs to speak to Elon Musk.I know they've been they've been contacts with
Starlink. Sorry sorry second good question. Thank you. So the new US
Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday sent a messageto the United Nations saying, quote there

(37:08):
will be a ceasefire only when Hamasceases to be a threat to Israel end
of quote, and he sent itto the UN. I was wondering if
you contacted him, and what's yourmessage back? No, I mean I
haven't seen that particular message. It'snot that we're going to send a message
back our message. You know,the Secretary General can be criticized for what

(37:31):
he says, and people have andothers have supported him, but he's been
very consistent in calling for the samethings wherever he is and he will continue
to do that as well as allof his senior officials. Mushwik, thank
you Pement for your statement on Bangladesh. The islands unleashed by the police and

(37:53):
the rolling party of Banglades out oftwenty to fill them in a position to
get Tixandre. So police still arrested. No, sorry, I don't mean
in terms ofp you I know whathappened. What is your question, sir?
So my question, how could youbelieve that there can be election which

(38:15):
will be here any exclusive because somebodyis attacking the opposition and all thank can
buy and their family members. Imean, we we're obviously concerned, as
I said, by the violence.We still think that it is important that
they're be calm and respect for uhfor all people's freedom to to express themselves

(38:35):
in advance of the of the elections. But I don't think anyone wants to
pre judge the elections, madam.No, thank you, Steph. You
mentioned the introduction of your speech thatthe Shifa couts and the Indonesian hospitals we're

(39:00):
hit in northern Gaza, and thereare news right now that just arrived that
the Turkish past in Frenship hospital wasalso hit. What is the Secretary General's
reaction to the bombardment of hospitals.I mean he's against it. I mean,
hospitals need to be protected. Hospitalscannot be used for combat and those

(39:23):
people who are inside need to beneed to be safe. Idiot and Gabriel,
and then I think we'll stop.Thank you, Steph. Following up
on his meetings in Gaza is thehas the Secretary General been in contact with

(39:45):
other leaders? Will he be andwhere after his visit to Nepal which I
believe and tomorrow where's he going.He will be in London for the for
the Artificial Intelligence summit that was convenedby Prime Minister Sunak. He will be
at work in the office on Friday. He spoke to President CECI of Egypt

(40:13):
over the weekend and of course heremains in touch with all of his senior
officials and he's with his phone allthe time. Uh, Gabriel. Thanks,
I'll make this quick. Thanks forthe letting me do a follow up
just on language, ceasefire, humanitarianpause and truce. A lot of people
are are talking about what's what's thedifference. I'm not asking you to give

(40:37):
it what's the difference, but canyou, from the Secretary General's standpoint,
please explain his views on these threewell? Listen his His view on a
humanitarian ceasefire is a ceasefire with humanitarianpurposes they are. You're right, there's
a lot of debate and different languagebeing used. Ultimately, what we want

(41:00):
to see is we want to seea situation where it is safe for humanitarian
workers to deliver life saving aid,it is safe for people to receive that
that aid, and that's what we'reworking towards. Thank you all. I
wish you a good usual Pagane.My name is Amindad. I'm the stokesperson

(41:30):
for the Embassy of Israel here inCanada. We have is As today a
delegation of people that have survived andhave loved ones that were either murdered or
are right now abducted by Jamas inGaza. They came here in order to
speak to government officials here in Canadaand asking of the immediate release of all

(41:53):
hostages, including their loved ones,and they are here to tell their story
and answer questions. You would liketo thank both Melissa Lansman and Malcolm and
Dicino for arranging us this press conferencetoday and for having us the opportunity for
you to meet with those people andget their stories told to the Canadian public.

(42:20):
If you wish to know anything orhave more questions. You can reach
me after this press conference. Thankyou all start. Thank you again.
So this is our Lam, mygrandpa's brother. He lived in kibootznel Oz
together with his family Uti. Bothof them are seventy eight years old.

(42:46):
He used to live there with theirson ye Munda, who was murdered on
Saturday morning, and on that weekend, their daughter Karen came to visit with
her son or had for the holidayfor the weekend just to see grandpaying.
Grandma and the four of them areRam, Ruti, Karen and Oud were

(43:08):
abducted by Ramas into Gaza and theyhave been there since that Saturday for over
three weeks. We don't know whattheir condition is, whether they're alive or
not. Avram my uncle. He'san old person. He can barely walk.
He uses a cane, he needsto take medicine. His vision isn't
great. And both of them,my uncle and aunt, Alam and Ruti

(43:30):
are peace activists. They've been participatingin so many peace programs. They used
to take sick children and people fromGaza into hospitals inside as well, and
their kibootsneil Oz suffered so many casualties. It was a small community of four
hundred people, and one of fourpeople who used to live there was either

(43:53):
murdered or abducted by Ramas on thatmorning. Everything there is ruined, burned
to the ground, and we reallywant everyone who was abducted to be released
immediately and as soon as possible.My name is Alexandra. I am sister

(44:15):
roll of Sapir Coin. Sapir wentwith Alexandra her partner to Kibootz near Us
to have a celebration of Jewish holidayAlexander's family. Unfortunately, his father got

(44:37):
murdered. Darmy found his body rightby Gaza, and the rest of the
family is kidnapped by Hamas. Wesaw a video of Sapir getting kidnapped by
Hamas terrorists, and we saw howthey brought her to Gaza, and we

(45:00):
saw civilians how happy they're of this, and we saw students punching her,
throwing things towards her and just lookedlike it's a celebration for them, and
this is Theabot's happening now, andwe really hope that we will get them

(45:22):
back as soon as possible, becauseevery second there there can be critical.
We don't know what's going on there. We can't imagine what's they're going through
now. My name is Novela Pidot. I'm the uncle. Oft I was

(45:44):
born in Regina, Saskatchewan, andTifat's brother, also Tifat, was twenty
three years old. She was supposedto have her birthday on Monday, just
after that horrible Saturday. The lasttime we've heard from her was on Saturday

(46:06):
ten o'clock when she called her mothertelling her that she's hunted by the terrorists
of Ramas. Can imagine for amother to hear that kind of horrible thing,
not without any possibility of doing somethingto help her own daughter. The

(46:28):
Fareth was just after a period ofvolunteering in South Africa for kids with special
needs. You can see in thepicture the kids there weren't Jews. Most
of them were Muslims and Christian.The fair didn't care because kids are kids.

(46:50):
But on the other side, theFareth was hunted there just because she
was Jew. My second name isMichael. I'm called after my grandma's brother.
My grandma is also Canadian. Hewas hunted in the streets of Budapest
only because the fact he was Jew. He pretended to be Christian in a

(47:13):
hospital in Budapest, but he washunted of being jew shut it down in
the streets of Budapest, and unfortunatelythe ferret was hunted like an animal.
It took more than eleven days toidentify her body. We thought she was
kidnapped because her cell phone was evenstolen from her. It took more than

(47:37):
eleven days. You can imagine whathappened to her. We're hearing the horrified
things that happened to girls and topeople that stood on the hands of Ramas
and was in the hands of Ramas. Those things are the exact things that
we have heard from my grandma duringthe Holocaust. We felt the fair's body,

(48:04):
parts of her we're missing. Thoseare things that as a Canadian and
as a human being are unbearable.And we expect the Canadian government and we
want and we ask the Canadian governmentto help and support Israel. First of
all, the hostages that are heldthere should be immediately back. Canada can

(48:30):
help them and to support Israel.That's a act, unhuman, unbearable act
of Nazi people. And as Canadastood against Isis, against that rribal terror,

(48:52):
we want Canada to stand for Israel. It's not a matter of Israel.
It's a matter of the Western worldwith the values that I grew up
into and the shared values of Canadaand Israel. My name is hen Zeigen.

(49:15):
My mother, Vivian Silver, seventyfour years years old, was born
and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba.In nineteen seventy four, she chose to
move to Israel and make her lifethere. For thirty three years, she
has been living on kibootz Bery,That's where I grew up. The community

(49:38):
of Kibootzbery was decimated with more thanwith one hundred people found dead seven eight
ten. Yeah, hello good herekidnapped. My mother her life to building

(50:04):
to gardner understanding between Israelis and Palis, to fight for equality Israeli and as
citizens of Israel. Devoted her professionallife and also after her retirement, she

(50:30):
devoted her life to the peace movement. She also was among the people who
volunteered to drive sick Palestinian children fromGaza to get treatment in hospitals in Israel.
Want to Many of her friends volunteeringon the same program were murdered on

(50:57):
the key boots. We hope thatthe Canadian government will join the international effort
to pressure UH and promote the releaseunconditional release of all these hostages. Hamas

(51:19):
is trying to frame UH the hostagesas prisoners of war. But these are
babies and toddlers and women and elderlypeople taken from their homes. They have
not had UH any access to UHany international committee like the Red Cross.

(51:40):
They have not we have not beengiven any information about their fate. Till
this day, I am not sureif my mother is alive or dead,
or whether UH she was injured ornot. Her house was completely burned down.

(52:00):
My name is Aaron Brodac. I'ma Canadian Israeli. I live in
Toronto. This se is my niece. Hopefully she visited us in Toronto this
summer. Spent a month in Toronto, made many Canadian friends at summer camp.

(52:23):
On the morning of October seventh,I called my mother to ask her
how a fool's birthday party went fromthe night before. My mother told me
that there's a war going on andthat they don't know where my brother's family

(52:45):
is. I I waited and calledagain to see what's going on, and
I was able to talk to mybrother and he told me that his entire

(53:05):
family had been murdered. I askedhim, are you sure because he wasn't
home, and he said, thelast text message I got from my wife
is they're coming in and I knowwhat's going on in the Keyboots. Everyone
was shocked, but a day anda half later we learned that someone had

(53:31):
seen them taken from their house.Someone in the Keyboots had seen seen them
being led into Gaza. This gaveus a lot of hope. There was
still battles going on in the Keyboots, but two days later the Kybots was

(53:52):
cleared. Someone went into their houseand saw that the house was empty.
The soldiers who cleared the house talkedto my brother and told him that when
they opened the fridge they saw birthdaycake and they all started crying. I

(54:14):
flew to Israel initially to support myfamily, well and still am supporting my
family, but we realized as soonas I got there that we have to
just fight for something that should bevery obvious. You know, children,

(54:38):
women, my sister in Lhagal,this is your vile, my my brother's
eight year old child, This ismy brother's four year old child, and
a free whose stand These kids,they they want to go home and play
Xbox. So Free wants to celebrateher birthday, get her birthday gifts,

(55:02):
which they're still wrapped. My brothersits and plays the guitar that he bought
her, and you know, wishinghe was able to teach her how to
play. This should have ended interms of the hostages twenty three days ago.

(55:22):
This is not There's a complicated wargoing on, but this is a
very simple piece in that there's acrime against humanity happening every single day that
you know, my family, thirtythree children, two hundred and I think

(55:43):
thirty nine hostages that we know ofright now are being held. You know,
this is just a horrible crime.I think everyone can completely understand that
this is just wrong. We reallyappreciate, or at least I can speak

(56:05):
for myself, I really appreciate thePrime Minister and the Speaker taking their time
to hear our stories, and wehope the Canadian government and the Canadian people
can help us, first of all, bring the hostages back again. This

(56:28):
is really the simplest piece of thisvery very complicated situation. I will now
turn to the floor for questions,as as common one question one follow up.
I'll remind my colleagues not to gotoo close to the microphone for our
interpreter's sake, and if we havetime, we'll move to questions online.

(56:49):
We'll begin with Jillian. My firstquestion would be why is it important for
you to be in Canada right now? How would you characterize the Canadian government
and the Canadian people's support so far? Well, Canada helped and supported the

(57:23):
States and the coalition was part ofthe coalition against ISIS. As a Canadian,
I think and I know that Canadacan and will be a part of
a coalition that demands those terrors,those animals, bringing those people back home.

(57:54):
It's not a part of anything.They're just ordinary people. My mighty
fer my baby was just dancing ina peace party. They have nothing.
She never went to the army,she never held a gun. She knows

(58:17):
nothing about politics. That's a basichuman human being, basic value that citizens
are out of any question of war. And we know, we know that
the values of Canada are the samevalues. So that's why we are here

(58:44):
as some of us Canadians asking thesupport of Canada government and people being with
us, because now Israel is inthe front, but some Muslims are looking
there I'm talking about the terrorists ofthe tourists. They are looking and asking

(59:07):
themselves, what is Canada going todo? What is the state going to
do? What is France going todo? And if the answer will be
we are fighting in terror, We'redoing wherever whatever should be done, that
would be the right answer to terrorbeing with us. And I guess my

(59:31):
follow up anyone can answer this.We've mentioned the hostages and what could be
done now? What would you liketo see the Canadian government do in terms
of the hostages? What do youthink they could feasibly do now that could
help you know, I'm not apolitician, not a strategist, but it's

(59:57):
it's very clear that international pressure isneeded to make this move faster. We've
seen hostage situations before, not nothingeven close to this. We know how
they end, and they sometimes theytake a short amount of time, sometimes

(01:00:23):
they take years. And we needto make this happen as soon as possible.
That our children being held twenty threedays, it's unheard of, and
we need the governments of the worldto pressure both Israel and Tramas to make

(01:00:52):
this happen quickly. It has tohappen now, and you know, prioritize
this the the hostages over everything elsethat is happening. Some some things take
time, but this is not oneof them. This has to happen right

(01:01:13):
now. Centering, Hi, thankyou for your time. I was just
wondering for those of you who stillhave loved ones being held hostages in Gaza.
I was wondering if you're currently infrequent contact with you know, government
officials to have updates on the situation, and if so, like, is

(01:01:37):
it enough? Are you like orare you in the dark about what's going
on. I can say that thegovernment, the Israeli government has set up
a task force to communicate with thefamilies. I know my family is in
touch with representatives from this task force. UH. So far, they have

(01:02:01):
not been able to share any informationwith us, UH other than the initial
knowledge that my mom's phone has beengeolocated in Gaza, and that is all
the information I have currently. II think this is uh, you know,

(01:02:21):
another piece where you know, theworld's governments can really really help with
pressure on Hamas or you know it'sit's I guess it's very hard to pressure
Ramas. But are you know countriesthat are you know, friendly with Ramas
and can help create pressure on atleast giving us knowledge of the state of

(01:02:45):
our families. I at at theend of the day, they they're hidden
somewhere in tunnels. Most likely youknow it s it's f it's very unlikely
that we will get information from Israeligovernment. And just talking about the pressure,
do you believe that Canada's pressure sofar has been sufficient. I can

(01:03:13):
answer that I think only necessarily Canada, But I'm sure that the international pressure
isn't enough because they're still there.So there hasn't been enough pressure. Like
I said before, Hamas is organizationand they don't cooperate with any international organization.
Like I said before, the RedCross hasn't visited the hostages. There

(01:03:37):
are babies there, babies. There'sa nine month old baby who is there.
The baby doesn't eat solid food yet, Okay, we don't know if
he has his mother with him.There are kids there that saw how their
parents are butchered in front of theireyes. The whole world needs to deal
with this as a top priority priority. So I think that Canada hasn't done

(01:04:01):
enough yet. I think the Wardhasn't done enough yet. This should be
a top priority of the whole war, the whole Western world, anyone who
believes in human rights, in humanityand humanitarian support, because, like I
said before, every day, everyhour that they're there is a crime against

(01:04:23):
humanity. What they did is atrocitiesthat the world hasn't seen it. It's
they need to come up with anew term for it, because it's it's
worse than a crime against humanity.Ken just to follow up on what Canada
can do, is there a thingwhether it comes to sanctioning Iran or perhaps

(01:04:47):
pressure and cutter, there's some tangiblethings that you'd like to hear from the
Canadian government in terms of messaging thatyou feel would be stronger in terms of
helping your family man for sure,hostages, Sorry someone I felt like you
like or if you would, ButI'm interested to hear multiple opinions. If

(01:05:10):
it's okay, I can say thatin my opinion, as long as there's
a message of business as usual Canadaas other prominent countries have diplomatic relations and
financial ties. As long as thereis no immediate action, this is a

(01:05:36):
message of legitimation. So we want, we are hoping to see decisive action.
I you know, I'm I'm anew Canadian. One of the reasons
I decided to live in Canada isthe huge diversity. And we have,

(01:06:05):
you know, big Muslim communities inCanada who are seeing this, and I'm
sure many of them are horrified byby what has happened. I would like
to see the Canadian Muslim community,which I'm sure can impact indirectly impact Haramas,

(01:06:31):
you know, fight for Muslim valuesand and those values are one hundred
percent not holding women and children hostage. I think, I'm sure, I
don't think. I'm sure that Ramasis doing a huge disservice to all Muslims
in the world. And regardless ofwhich side you take in the conflict on

(01:06:56):
a bigger scale, you know this, This is obvious. There are women
and children being held hostage by terrorists. So I certainly think, you know,
there are communities within Canada who canhelp, who can help de legitimize

(01:07:18):
Hamas as long as they're creating these, you know, terrible crimes for those
who have family members that are stillbeing helped captive by Hamas. What's going
through your minds right now? Asthe Israeli defense forces are expanding their ground

(01:07:39):
operations, it must be very difficult, I imagine. I just sort of
want to get a sense of howyou're feeling about. You know, your
your family members are there, andthere's a ground invasion that's underway and could
expanding further. I can answer that. I think it is scary, but
it's not the main thing. WhetherHamas wants to keep our family members alive

(01:08:03):
or not, it's up to Hamas. It's not up to anything Israel does.
Because we've seen how Ramas can keepwhoever they want safe in their tunnels,
whether it's their leaders or whether it'scaptives. So it's up to Hamas.
They decided to murder people and butcherinnocent civilians, and they decide whether

(01:08:28):
our loved ones and other civilians whoare held by them are going to stay
alive or not. It's not upto anyone else. I would say that.
Again, I'm not not a militarystrategist. I don't know what is
the best way to get the hostagesout. I hope. I don't know,

(01:08:54):
but I hope that Israel's government isdriven by this is not the main
mission, but the only mission thatthey need to accomplish right now. Two
hundred and forty hostages civilians that Israel'sgovernment did not protect these people should have

(01:09:18):
been protected by the Israeli government,they weren't protected by the Israeli government.
And Israel's government one single mission hasto be to bring them home as quickly
as possible. I don't know ifcontinuing the ground invasion is a correct way
I have. Again, I'm nota military strategist. I certainly don't understand

(01:09:41):
Kamas and I don't know what thepressure points are, but I can only
hope that this is the driving forcebehind any decision that's being made. Belleri,
I'm wondering. I understand you askingfor support from the Canadian government,
but do you have support from Idon't know melan usually office. Do you

(01:10:08):
keep you, I mean, awareof what's going on? Do you have
is the government giving you news?Are you in contact with anyone? My
family has been in contact with theCanadian government. My brother had a meeting

(01:10:30):
with mel Unusually. They have pledgedtheir support and said that they're making efforts,
but we have not received tangible informationso far. I can tell you
that through the time that theft wasconsidered being in Gaza, the government of

(01:10:58):
Canada, first of all, MadameJulie visit visited us in Tel Aviv.
We were we had a few visitorsfrom a representative of the Canadian government.
Through those eleven days, we hada WhatsApp group. From that point of

(01:11:25):
view, I think that the stateof the government of Canada did a very
good job supporting us through those thosedays. I can understand from my friends
here that that's the same thing happeningnow. And we're very grateful for for

(01:11:46):
everything that Prime Minister Trudeau, MadameJulie, indeed for us, the ambassador
of the Israeli ambassador, the Canadianambassador in Israel. We're very grateful for
being there for us and any ifI Melanitially asked Israel to ease giaz A

(01:12:13):
bombing, she said she's worried aboutthe four hundred Canadians trap there at this
moment. Do you think it's afair request? Focused this one on the
hostages and the families. I cansay another thing that we felt as Canadians
that there was no difference between coalitionopposition parties. Everyone were there for us.

(01:12:44):
Dan Danceman wasn't a direct contact withus on a daily basis. Members
of Parliament Jews, non Jews,Mister House father and we we we couldn't
tell the difference between the parties.They were all for us. We felt

(01:13:09):
that the Canadian government, but notthe government, the whole parliament was there
for us. That's the thing thatunites every human being, unites united the
Canadian members, Parliament members, andagain we're very grateful for that support.

(01:14:10):
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