Good morning,
The brutal conflict in the Middle East has entered its 10th day. The war has claimed more than 4,000 lives since Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Oct. 7 followed by Israeli retaliation.
Hopes for a brief ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow foreign passport holders to leave and aid to be brought in were dashed on Monday, with Israeli bombardments intensifying ahead of an expected ground invasion.
Water supplies in Gaza are rapidly dwindling and thousands of hospital patients are in severe danger while Israel’s blockade and bombing campaign triggers a humanitarian catastrophe for the 2.3 million people of the Palestinian territory.
Israel launched the air strikes after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel and abducted more than 120, according to the government’s latest count.
Coupled with Israel’s blockade of Gaza’s supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine, international concern has been growing. By Sunday evening, the total death toll in Gaza had climbed to more than 2,750.
Follow our live coverage of the conflict for updates today. Check out The Globe’s explainer to know about the attacks, casualties, hostages and the response.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the media before leaving Cairo, Sunday Oct. 15, 2023, en route to Jordan.Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press
Possibility of expanding into regional conflict
The U.S. government is scrambling in a bid to prevent Israel’s war with Hamas from expanding into a regional conflict, and vowing to help mitigate the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel today to seek help ensuring forces, including Iran, Syria and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, do not get involved in the war.
Among the most dangerous questions for Israel is whether its actions in Gaza will prod Hezbollah to direct its full arsenal toward a second front. Already, the rumble of warfare is echoing along Lebanon’s border with Israel, which on Sunday dispatched helicopters to attack what it called military targets in Lebanon after receiving anti-tank fire.
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People pray in front of Parliament Hill in support of Palestinians, in Ottawa. October 15, 2023.ISMAIL SHAKIL/Reuters
More Canadians in Gaza asking for help to leave
Three hundred Canadians, permanent residents and their families have asked the federal government for help leaving Gaza, senior officials told reporters at a press briefing in Ottawa on Sunday. That’s double than before the weekend, as fighting between Hamas militants and the Israeli army intensifies. The first opportunity to leave the besieged territory evaporated with no new plan for departures. However, news reports suggest that the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt may be set to reopen.
- The conflict in the Middle East has galvanized Canadians into action with financial and material donations as calls grow for safe passage of aid and essential supplies into Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is growing dire.
- Large crowds turned out for competing demonstrations on Parliament Hill on Sunday, with hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators first filling the lawn in front of the Centennial Flame and then, a few hours later, hundreds of others gathering to show their support for Israel.
Read more:
- Jewish groups in Poland angered by comparison of Palestinian attack to Warsaw ghetto uprising
- Volunteers in Tel Aviv enlist technology to locate hostages taken by Hamas
- Listen to The Decibel: The Globe’s Senior International Correspondent, Mark Mackinnon, is on the show, and has been travelling through the region.
Opinion and Analysis
- Yossi Klein Halevi: As Israel is reborn, it faces terrifying options
- Ayelet Tsabari: In Israel, it will take a long time for our souls to heal
- Adam Elliott Segal: The word pogrom has been spoken back into the present
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop
Also on our radar
Russia-Ukraine war: Russia’s assault on Avdiivka, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, entered its sixth day on Sunday. Fighting is raging so fiercely in the eastern Ukrainian town that civilians are too terrified even to try to escape, a Ukrainian official says.
Polish elections: Poland’s opposition coalition is on course for a groundbreaking election victory that will bring the country closer to the European Union and roll back some of the outgoing government’s populist social reforms.
Australian Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Australians overwhelmingly rejected an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in a referendum Saturday, after a campaign that some fear has left the country’s First Nations people worse off than they were before.
NDP convention analysis: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has emerged from a policy convention hoping to convince Canadians that his party is the only one that truly fights for ordinary people – but his own support with the rank and file, while strong, appears to be slipping, writes Shannon Proudfoot.
Rental housing: A pair of recent government initiatives aimed at boosting rental housing construction are critical, the industry contends, after developers had put projects on the shelf because they were becoming cost prohibitive.
The future of e-bikes: China is leading the charge with 50 million electric bicycles sold in 2022. But the North American market, at first slower to the uptake, is surging ahead. Cities across North America are leveraging this demand to reduce emissions and cut congestion.
Morning markets
Markets cautious: European stock indexes slid on Monday but oil prices pulled back on recent gains, as cautious markets watched for signs of escalation which could determine the financial fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.26 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.11 per cent and 0.06 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 2.03 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.97 per cent. The Canadian dollar was higher at 73.31 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
I love hockey. Why doesn’t the rest of America?
“I mean, sure, 25 out of the 32 teams in the NHL are based in the United States, but if you were to ask the average American to choose between watching the Canucks play the Bruins or, say, the latest episode of Dancing with the Stars, I bet they’d choose that dancing show nine times out of 10.” - Dave Hill
Who owns data about you?
“A human-rights lens applied to data’s qualities and applications could pave the way for addressing significant policy and regulatory voids. Data aren’t going away, and neither are we.” - Wendy H. Wong
Today’s editorial cartoon
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
Living better
AI could be behind your next favourite beer or snack. Will you notice a difference?
Illustration by Audrey Malo
Some food companies have used artificial intelligence technology to improve efficiency. Others have used AI to produce marketing materials, or in customer service. But many companies, too, are using it to develop new foods altogether – relying on robots to come up with new flavours or ingredient combinations that human chefs might not otherwise think of.
The potential upside goes beyond cost-cutting. Advocates of AI argue that the technology has the potential to help create a better food system overall, despite other very real questions around the technology that still exist.
- Also read: We test-drive a muffin recipe created with AI
Moment in time: April 5, 1942
Maple Leafs win the Cup
Captain Syl Apps clutching the Stanley Cup after the game, April 18, 1942. "It was a long wait, but it was worth it," said the Pride of Paris, Ontario. Originally published April 20, 1942John Boyd/The Globe and Mail
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re showcasing the work of John Boyd, the Globe’s first staff photographer, who died 52 years ago, in October, 1971.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup drought had reached an unthinkable 10 years by 1942. The team, coached by Hap Day and managed by owner Conn Smythe, finished second in the regular season and beat the New York Rangers in the playoffs semi-final to advance to the best-of-seven final series against Detroit. The city was on tenterhooks. April 18, a Saturday night, Game 7, Maple Leaf Gardens. Pete Langelle scored the winning goal and the Leafs beat the Red Wings 3-1 to win the NHL’s championship trophy. The fans went wild. Globe and Mail photographer John Boyd had a rinkside view of the action and captured Toronto captain Syl Apps clutching the prized silverware afterward. “It was a long wait, but it was worth it,” Mr. Apps said of the team’s Cup drought. Toronto won the Cup another five times in the next nine years. Ho hum. Philip King
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