Evening Update: Israel agrees to daily four-hour pauses in Gaza attacks, White House says

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

Israel has agreed to pause military operations in parts of north Gaza for four hours a day starting today, the White House said. More than a month of fighting so far has killed thousands and stoked fears of regional conflict. The pauses would allow people to flee along two humanitarian corridors and could be used for the release of hostages, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.

But as night approached, there were no immediate reports of a lull in fighting in the north of Gaza Strip, and also no direct confirmation from Israel. In recent days, its forces completely encircled Gaza City, with the military allowing civilians safe passage along the main route south for three or four hours daily.

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Meanwhile, earlier today, the heads of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency met with the Qatari prime minister in Doha to discuss the parameters of a deal for hostage releases and a pause in fighting, according to a U.S. official and another official briefed on the discussions.

• Related: Supports for Gaza evacuees to be determined based on need, immigration minister says
• Also: Joly says Palestinians cannot be forced out of Gaza Strip, as 32 more Canadians leave

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Ottawa plays down British travel advisory that says terror attack attempt in Canada is ‘very likely’

The Canadian government is playing down a recent U.K. government warning that says an attempted terrorist attack in Canada is “very likely.” Earlier this month, the U.K. government updated its travel advice for British citizens visiting Canada, saying that “terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Canada.” Britain currently has the same warning on its travel advisories for the U.S. as well as countries such as France, Spain and Germany.

Canada’s national terrorist threat level is currently set at medium, meaning a violent act of terrorism “could occur.” If it was upgraded to high, this would more closely match the U.K. warning because high means an act of terrorism “is likely.”

Freeland to release fall economic statement on Nov. 21

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will release the federal government’s fall economic and fiscal update on Tuesday, Nov. 21. A fall update provides the latest forecast for federal spending and revenue projections in light of events that have occurred since the March budget.

• Canadians should be prepared for rates to remain higher in the long-run, Bank of Canada senior deputy says

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Crime: Montreal police said today that two Jewish schools were hit overnight by gunshots, in what seems to be the latest violent event in the city tied to the war between Israel and Hamas. Staff members discovered bullet holes on the exterior of the buildings when they arrived this morning. Police said nobody was inside at the time of the shootings.

Employment: Ontario plans to ban employers from requiring Canadian work experience in job postings or application forms. The new rule will be part of legislation to be introduced early next week.

Iceland: One of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, closed temporarily as a swarm of earthquakes put the island nation’s most populated region on alert for a possible volcanic eruption.

Flying with a disability: Air Canada’s CEO has apologized for the airline’s accessibility shortfalls and announced new measures to improve the travel experience for hundreds of thousands of passengers living with a disability.

Layoffs: Canadian Tire has laid off 3 per cent of its work force, which amount to more than 200 corporate “full-time equivalent” positions, amid persistent economic pressures.

U.S. politics: Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy says it’s time to bring to life a well-worn Canadian punchline about building a wall along the Canada-U.S. border. “Don’t just build the wall. Build both walls,” he said during yesterday’s primary debate in Florida.

Toronto public libraries: For almost two weeks now, many of the Toronto Public Library’s services have been unavailable after a ransomware attack. Here are the services that are currently available and unavailable.

MARKET WATCH

U.S. stocks slipped today, jeopardizing the longest winning streaks for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 in almost two decades.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.20 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 19,587.41.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 220.33 points, or 0.65 per cent , to 33,891.94, the S&P 500 lost 35.43 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 4,347.35 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 128.96 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 13,521.45.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.56 cents US.

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TALKING POINTS

Tucker Carlson’s event is a spectacle that Alberta doesn’t need

“Ms. Smith’s time would be better spent dealing with a myriad of provincial challenges rather than being interviewed by a man who abruptly departed Fox News one week after the network agreed to pay more than US$787-million to settle a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems, related to the network’s airing of false claims following the 2020 presidential election.” - Kelly Cryderman

A bureaucrat points a finger in an ArriveCan whodunnit

“This doesn’t happen in Ottawa. Politicians throw shade at each other at committees, and sometimes grill officials. But you don’t see senior civil servant fingering each other, publicly, as liars.” - Campbell Clark

How we can set out ground rules for the debate over an Alberta pension plan

“Whatever the politicians say, whatever current or future legislation says, and whatever the experts say, the Supreme Court of Canada will ultimately have to weigh in.” - Ken Boessenkool

To solve the housing crisis, we need to do something about ‘mom-and-pop’ investors

“As Canada largely stopped building permanent rental units over the past few decades, smaller investors stepped in. But this approach is now widely seen as a catastrophic policy failure leading to massive increases in rental prices and squeezing young Canadians out of home ownership.” - Jon Shell

LIVING BETTER

Will mouth taping actually help me stop snoring and sleep better?

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Dave McGinn shared a tent with a colleague this summer on a work trip. That’s when he was told to seek medical attention for his snoring, with his colleague looking exhausted and, as he puts it, “too polite to throttle me.” But a stint at a sleep clinic years ago had already told him he didn’t have sleep apnea. Now, enter mouth taping, which has become one of the wellness industry’s biggest sleeper hits.

• More ZzZz: Four ways to refresh your bedroom for a more luxurious sleep

TODAY’S LONG READ

Ukraine’s children, hurt inside and out by war, fight inner battles in a growing mental-health crisis

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The Russian invasion that began in 2022 has left thousands of young Ukrainians traumatized, injured, orphaned or all three. Health officials worry that treating PTSD could push the limits of their knowledge and resources – yet they are trying. European bureau chief Eric Reguly reports.

• How a young Ukrainian woman built a global volunteer network to supply equipment to front-line soldiers
• ‘Anywhere we go war is following us’: Those who fled Ukraine face a new conflict zone in Israel

Evening Update is written by Maryam Shah. 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.