Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Israeli strikes levelled entire neighbourhoods in Gaza on Wednesday as the war between Israel and the Hamas militants that rule the Palestinian territory entered its fifth day.
In Israel, legislators have formed an emergency unity government and war cabinet that consists of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Benny Gantz, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and two other top officials serving as “observer” members.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes continued to target locations in the Gaza Strip as part of its vow to deliver severe retaliation against Hamas after its fighters stormed through the border fence Saturday with an unprecedented attack last weekend that caught Israeli officials and civilians off-guard.
The bombings have flattened buildings, leaving residents searching for places to go. Gaza’s power authority also announced Wednesday that its only power plant had run out of fuel, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies and leaving much of the territory without electricity. Meanwhile, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors to deliver aid. You can follow our live updates here.
Evacuations under way
The first flight evacuating Canadians from Israel, a privately organized Dash 8 charter, has successfully touched down in Cyprus after taking off from an airport in Haifa on Wednesday. The plane carried 27 passengers, mostly Canadians. Two more Canadian flights, with as many as 267 passengers, are being privately arranged in the next two days.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will also begin airlifting citizens out of Tel Aviv by the end of the week, first ferrying Canadians, Canadian permanent residents and their families to Athens before they fly to Canada.
More than 2,100 dead
The deadly incursion has claimed at least 2,100 lives on both sides so far. Israel’s military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday’s attack, while scores of Israelis were taken hostage into Gaza. In Gaza, 1,055 people have been killed, including 260 children and 230 women, according to authorities there. Israeli officials say hundreds of Hamas soldiers are among those killed.
As of Wednesday, the Canadian government said there are now likely three Canadians who were killed in Saturday’s attack. The Jewish Federation of Ottawa says a Canadian citizen, Adi Vital-Kaploun, was killed by Hamas militants in her home on a kibbutz in Israel. Meanwhile, the United States has confirmed that at least 22 U.S. citizens have died in Hamas’s attack.
The risk of the war spreading was evident Wednesday. Hezbollah has moved carefully since the start of the Israel and Hamas war, and took responsibility for attacks at the Lebanese border.
Read more:
- Ontario Premier Ford, rival Liberals call for NDP MPP Sarah Jama’s ouster over Israel statement
- Opinion: Canada can help save the hostages in Gaza
Mourners react beside grave of Mapal Adam, during her funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 11, 2023. Adam was killed by Hamas militants on Saturday as they carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis.Francisco Seco/The Associated Press
Catastrophe looms without overhaul of Alberta’s inactive oil and gas well rules, report says
Inactive and orphan oil and gas wells are an escalating environmental liability costing billions, according to a new report from the University of Calgary’s school of public policy.
The school says Alberta’s Liability Management Framework is a failure and is calling for an independent inquiry to examine Alberta’s mishandling of the problem and to recommend a new regime to avoid financial and environmental catastrophe.
An orphaned well sits in a field near Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, on May 24, 2023.GEOFF ROBINS/Getty Images
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Australian journalist returns home after three years detention in China: China has released Cheng Lei, more than three years after she was detained on unspecified national security charges, in a case widely denounced by Western governments and press freedom organizations.
Anti-Ukrainian rhetoric increases in Poland during run-up to national election: Poland has been one of Ukraine’s strongest backers since the invasion, and the country still hosts nearly one million Ukrainian refugees. But public attitudes have changed sharply, and as Poland heads toward an election on Oct. 15, anti-Ukrainian sentiment is running high.
Auditor-General asked to provide update on ArriveCan audit after RCMP, CBSA confirm probes linked to app: Karen Hogan has been called to give an update on the status of her ArriveCan audit, after The Globe and Mail reported that both the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency are investigating misconduct allegations related to a project with links to the controversial app.
MARKET WATCH
Strength in the utilities, telecommunications and financial sectors helped lift Canada’s main stock index higher Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets also rose.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 162.64 points at 19,663.84.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 65.57 points at 33,804.87. The S&P 500 index was up 18.71 points at 4,376.95,while the Nasdaq composite was up 96.83 points at 13,659.68.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.51 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down US$2.48 at US$83.49 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down half a penny at US$3.38 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$12.00 at US$1,887.30 an ounce and the December copper contract was down two cents at US$3.61 a pound.
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TALKING POINTS
The Kennedy who shames the name could hand the election to Trump
“As a next chapter in third-party candidates determining the presidential election outcomes, how about this scenario? Havoc-wreaker Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handing the 2024 election to Mr. Trump, who appears to have gone even more off the rails than before.” – Lawrence Martin
Expect Wab Kinew’s government to carry the torch of Prairie pragmatism
“As the dust settles on this campaign, analysts are quick to point to the Progressive Conservative brain trust’s decision to “stand firm” against searching a landfill for the remains of two murdered Indigenous women – it became the centrepiece of their closing argument to voters. While an important moment to be sure, and one that should live in voters’ memories for a long time, it wasn’t what delivered an NDP victory.” – Mike McKinnon
LIVING BETTER
We test-drive a muffin recipe created with AI
While artificial intelligence is becoming more effective at creating attractive, generic recipes with the mass-market appeal that many large brands aim for, when it comes to food, we crave the stories, the personalities, the nostalgia, the culture – the human connection. Being human, we tend to sniff out the artificial. Julie Van Rosendaal walks us through a muffin recipe that was created entirely by 6 Seeds’ generative AI.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Scientists reveal treasure trove of material gathered from asteroid by OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector, with sample material from the asteroid Bennu seen on the middle right at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., in a recent undated photograph.NASA/Reuters
Seventeen days after a NASA capsule returned from its mission to sample a distant asteroid, scientists at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston are preparing to show the world just how much and what kind of material the OSIRIS-REx mission returned from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. NASA would have considered a minimum of 60 grams to be a success, but scientists estimate the capsule might contain two to six times that amount.
Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.