Pro-Palestine protesters take part in a demonstration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
OTTAWA – The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel last year, and the immediate Israeli retaliation that followed, sent shockwaves throughout the world that have shaken Canada culturally and politically.
Here is a look at some of the major developments in Canada related to the conflict.
Oct. 7, 2023 – Hamas-led militants launched air and ground attacks on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages. The attacks, followed hours later by Israeli counterattacks in the Gaza Strip, marked the beginning of the current Israel-Hamas war.
Seven Canadians were among those killed in the initial attack. Global Affairs Canada has said an eighth person who was not a citizen but had deep ties to Canada also died in the ensuing conflict.
In the year since, Israel’s campaign in Gaza in retaliation has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, just over half them women and children, according to local health officials.
Oct. 12, 2023 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $10 million in humanitarian assistance for urgent needs in Israel and Gaza.
The same day, the Canadian Armed Forces launched the first assisted-departure flights out of Tel Aviv. Canada helped 1,600 citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members leave Israel on 19 flights over the course of 10 days.
Oct. 27, 2023 – Canada tried to amend a UN resolution calling for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce to ensure it named Hamas specifically. Opponents of the amendment derided it as one-sided, unequal and unfair, noting that the original resolution was expressly designed to avoid chastising either party.
As a result, Canada abstained from the resolution that called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce.
Nov. 4, 2023 – Trudeau had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Trudeau expressed Canada’s support for Israel and its right to defend itself in accordance with international law. Trudeau thanked Netanyahu for his assurance that Canadians in Gaza would be able to leave in the coming days.
Nov. 6, 2023 – The government pledged $5 million to bolster security around community centres and places of worship after a rapid increase in reports of hate-motived incidents and crimes in Canada. The money was also available to daycares and office spaces for communities at risk.
Nov. 7, 2023 – Two Jewish institutions, including a synagogue, were firebombed overnight in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux. The incidents were the first of several similar attacks and threats on Jewish community spaces, synagogues and schools over the course of the year in multiple cities, including Toronto and Vancouver.
The first 59 people connected to Canada made it out of the Gaza Strip through the tightly controlled Rafah border crossing into Egypt. By the end of the year, more than 600 Canadians and their immediate family members would be allowed to leave.
Nov. 9, 2023 – Canada voted at the UN to recognize “the vital role played by UNRWA in the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians.” That was a departure from Canada’s typical move to abstain from all votes supporting the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees.
Nov. 14, 2023 – Trudeau criticized Israel for the ever-mounting number of civilian deaths in Gaza, pointing to an Israeli military operation in and around the Al Shifa Hospital. Trudeau said the world was witnessing the killing of women, children and babies, and that it must stop. He urged Israel to exercise “maximum restraint.”
His comments earned a swift rebuke from Netanyahu, who wrote on social media that Canada’s prime minister should be holding Hamas accountable for carrying out war crimes against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and then hiding behind civilians in Gaza.
Dec. 12, 2023 – Canada issued its first official call for a ceasefire in a joint statement with Australia and New Zealand. Canada also voted for a UN resolution that supported a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the region.
Jan. 9, 2024 – The immigration minister launched a unique program – at first limited to 1,000 applications – designed to help people in Gaza with extended family in Canada escape the besieged territory and seek temporary refuge with their loved ones.
Jan. 11 – Toronto police said they would no longer allow demonstrations on a bridge over Highway 401 in an area with a large Jewish population. Local residents had complained about feeling intimidated by the large events, while the pro-Palestinian organizers said the location was chosen out of convenience and not because of who lived nearby.
Police said the demonstrations had escalated and posed a threat to public safety and warned people protesting on the bridge would be arrested if necessary.
Jan. 26, 2024 – Canada suspended its funding for UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, after allegations some UNRWA staff played a role in the Oct. 7 attack. At least 16 countries cut back or suspended funding. The government promised to channel aid to Gaza through other organizations while the agency investigated the claims.
March 8, 2024 – Reassured by an interim investigative report, Canada’s international development minister reinstated funding for UNRWA.
March 18, 2024 – MPs spent hours debating a highly symbolic NDP motion that called for the recognition of a Palestinian state. In a dramatic turn, the governing Liberals tabled amendments that softened the NDP’s original call without any time left for debate.
The amended motion urged Canada to “actively pursue” the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state solution, which aligns with Canada’s existing policy.
It also included reference to Hamas as a terrorist organization and a demand that Hamas lay down its arms.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a vocal critic of his party’s handling of the conflict, voted against the motion, as did former cabinet minister Marco Mendicino and Manitoba MP Ben Carr. Housefather spent several days considering whether to leave the Liberal caucus, ultimately deciding to remain.
March 20, 2024 – Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the program to help family members of Canadians leave Gaza had been a “failure” to that point.
The Immigration Department would eventually issue 698 temporary visas to Palestinians with family ties to Canada as of Sept. 30, 2024.
April 1, 2024 – A dual Canadian-American citizen was among seven aid workers killed while trying to deliver desperately needed food in the Gaza Strip. Jacob Flickinger was in a convoy leaving a World Central Kitchen warehouse when he and his colleagues were hit by the Israeli airstrike. Canada, the United States, Poland and Australia demanded a full investigation.
April 1, 2024 – Trudeau reminded police forces across Canada to find a balance between free speech and maintaining the peace following months of criticism over the response to large pro-Palestinian protests, particularly in Toronto. Among the high-profile incidents, a video spread of Toronto officers not acting as a man nearby uttered death threats in December. He was charged five weeks later.
“We expect police to both obey the laws and enforce the laws. That’s something I think that is necessary. Just waving the Palestinian flag is not in itself something that is unacceptable or antisemitic,” Trudeau said at a press conference.
“It’s when you start making people feel unsafe in their neighbourhoods, in their schools, in their communities, that we fall into things where police do need to lean in and make sure that everyone is safe and feels safe.”
April 27, 2024 – Montreal supporters of Palestinians announced an encampment on the McGill University campus, following similar moves at American institutions such as Columbia University. Various encampments were made at campuses across Canada, attracting both non-student supporters and controversy over the balance of free speech and the use of open spaces. Police later cleared some of the encampments, with some drawing criticism over use of force, particularly in Edmonton.
July 22, 2024 – A Canadian citizen was killed after threatening Israeli security forces with a knife near the Gaza border. The Israeli military said the man drove to the entrance of an Israeli town close to the border, left his vehicle and approached the security forces with a knife. The forces shot him.
Aug 1, 2024 – The Canadian government called for an investigation into Israel’s destruction of a large water facility in an area of the Gaza Strip where Ottawa is known for supporting Palestinians. The office of International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said the Israeli military’s demolition of the well added to a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation.
Sept. 25, 2024 – Canadian couple Hussein and Daad Tabaja were killed in what Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said was an Israeli military strike. Their son Kamal said the pair was caught in an hours-long traffic jam as people tried to flee Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.
– with files from The Associated Press
