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The Israeli army on Friday told the residents of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, they had 24 hours to move to southern Gaza “for their own safety and protection.” It said “military operations” will take place in Gaza City and its residents will not be permitted to return until a future announcement. Follow our live coverage here.
The Israeli government, five days into its siege of Gaza in response to the cross-border attack by Hamas militants last weekend, says it will not relent until the hostages Hamas abducted during the attack are returned home.
The position runs counter to pleas by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Tel Aviv yesterday in a show of support for Israel but added that its military must minimize the suffering of civilians in Gaza, home to 2.3 million people.
Israel cut the Gaza Strip’s power, food, water and fuel supplies Monday and began air strikes on the densely populated territory. So far, about 2,700 people have been killed. In Israel, at least 1,300 were killed and about 150 abducted in the Hamas invasion. Meanwhile, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved an emergency unity government yesterday that is expected to oversee a probable ground invasion of Gaza.
“We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard, even when it’s difficult,” Blinken said at a news conference in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “That’s why it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”
Israeli troops fire rounds near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on Oct. 12, 2023.JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images
Israelis near Lebanon border fear a widening war if Hezbollah attacks
With Israel’s military mobilizing on its border with Gaza in anticipation of a land offensive into the Hamas-controlled territory, residents of its northern communities near the Lebanon border are bracing for the possibility of a two-front conflict.
There are fears that Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed armed group in Lebanon that has long opposed Israel, could seek to exploit Israel’s current focus on Hamas, or could retaliate against a potential ground assault on the Gaza Strip.
A weapons distribution point for people allowed to carry arms at the Ayyelet HaShahar Kibbutz, in northern Israel, on Oct. 12, 2023.JALAA MAREY/AFP/Getty Images
For decades, northern Israel has witnessed frequent clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. “But today is different,” says Shani Bouhbot, a resident of Shlomi. “What happened with Hamas could happen with Hezbollah. I’m not worried about Hezbollah rockets – I’m worried about being slaughtered in our homes.”
Hundreds of Canadians trapped in Palestinian territories while relatives worry
In Gaza and the West Bank, hundreds of Canadians have registered with the Department of Global Affairs.
As Israel’s bombs level entire blocks in Gaza City, thousands of Gazans have received Israeli notifications to evacuate targeted buildings. More than 222,000 people have taken shelter at around 90 schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, according to the organization – but these buildings, too, are vulnerable.
Ottawa pledged $10-million in humanitarian assistance for Israel and the Gaza Strip yesterday, and Global Affairs Canada said it is exploring any possible evacuation opportunities, but for loved ones there are only anxious moments.
“I spend every hour waiting for bad news,” said Reem Sultan, a London, Ont., pharmacist with relatives in the area. “Waiting to hear someone is dead.”
- What we know: The Canadians killed and missing during the attacks
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Also on our radar
Rogers family feud reignited: In a court filing that again highlights disagreements about the governance of the country’s largest wireless carrier, Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers have asked the B.C. Supreme Court to force Rogers Communications to provide them with documents containing information about the Shaw deal they say they need to make informed decisions and properly perform their duties as directors.
Health ministers vow to shore up ranks of health care workers: A meeting of provincial and territorial health ministers this week was dominated by discussions of how to recruit and keep doctors, nurses and other front-line care providers. Ministers, who met in Charlottetown along with federal Health Minister Mark Holland, say a raft of changes will help ease the strain on the health care system.
Hells Angels denied appeal over forfeiture: The Supreme Court of Canada ended a years-long court battle when it refused to hear an appeal of the B.C. government’s seizure of motorcycle gang clubhouses in East Vancouver, Nanaimo and Kelowna, and the province’s Public Safety Minister is declaring victory.
Republican stalemate over Speaker continues as Scalise drops out: Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives spent hours in closed-door talks yesterday but failed to resolve divisions that have prevented them from installing Steve Scalise as Speaker of the chamber, which has been leaderless for nine days. Now, Scalise says he’s out of the running.
Morning markets
Risk retreat weighs on stocks: Global shares slipped on Friday while assets considered to be safer havens such as gold and U.S. Treasuries rose as traders retreated from market risk as conflict in the Middle East intensified. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.42 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.81 per cent and 0.63 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished down 0.55 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped 2.33 per cent. New York futures were negative. The Canadian dollar was modestly higher at 73.09 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Marsha Lederman: “I’m trying to think of another time when innocent civilians were slaughtered, murdered in the most barbaric of ways, hunted house to house – little kids, elderly women, babies – and the so-called progressives of the world (of which I consider myself one) have fallen over themselves to blame the victims.”
Rita Trichur: “The public at large, both investors and consumers, deserve to know why there is a revolving door of directors at Rogers and whether the same trend is at risk of transpiring at MLSE. Ms. Rogers-Hixon’s departure from MLSE’s board certainly aggravates its diversity problem. As of Thursday afternoon, MLSE’s eight-person board was comprised of seven white males and one white woman.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
How to watch tomorrow’s ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse (a partial eclipse in Canada)
It may not be as dramatic in Canada as in other parts of the Americas, but the solar eclipse astronomers are tracking this weekend still holds plenty of interest. The annular (as opposed to total) eclipse means the sun won’t be completely blocked by the moon, even to those with the best view. Still, this event will serve as a dry run for Canada’s best total eclipse in a generation, which is on April 8, 2024. It is never safe to stare directly at the sun, so partial eclipses should only be viewed with approved protective equipment or indirectly by projecting the sun’s light through a pinhole onto a white surface.
Moment in time: Oct. 13, 1970
Reporter Tim Ralfe, right, questions Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, left, on the steps of Parliament Hill about the FLQ crisis and the invocation of the War Measures Act.PETER BREGG/The Canadian Press
Pierre Trudeau says ‘just watch me’
The whole country was on edge, with soldiers and military vehicles patrolling the streets of Ottawa. Members of the separatist Front de libération du Québec had abducted British trade commissioner James Cross in Montreal; then, five days later, Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte. Prime minister Pierre Trudeau had called in the army and, upon arriving at Parliament Hill on Oct. 13, was confronted by CBC reporter Tim Ralfe. Mr. Ralfe asserted that the use of the military was an abuse of power. Mr. Trudeau instantly took it as a provocation. Visibly irritated, he stepped in close to the reporter and smiled. After much back and forth, in which Mr. Trudeau defended the harsh measures, Mr. Ralfe asked: “At any cost? How far would you go with that? How far would you extend that?” The prime minister shrugged and replied: “Well, just watch me.” Three days later, Ottawa would invoke the War Measures Act, giving police extraordinary powers to arrest and detain people. Mr. Cross was eventually released, but Mr. Laporte was strangled to death, his body discovered in the trunk of a car. – Massimo Commanducci
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Mason Wright