Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit out against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after he said Israel must stop “this killing of women, of children, of babies” in Gaza.

Mr Trudeau on Tuesday called upon Israel to  “exercise maximum restraint”, adding that “the world is watching”. 

“We’re hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents,” he said. “The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop.”

In response, Mr Netanyahu said: “It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust.”

“It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime – targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians,” he added in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“The forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.”