Israel-Hamas war updates: Here’s what happened on Oct. 12

11:12 p.m. ET

U.N. says Israeli military is warning 1.1 million Gazans to relocate south

The United Nations said early on Friday it has been told by the Israeli military that some 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza should relocate to the enclave’s south within the next 24 hours.

“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

“The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation,” he said.

Dujarric said the order by the Israeli military also applied to all U.N. staff and those sheltered in U.N. facilities, including schools, health centres and clinics.

– Reuters

10:49 p.m. ET

Canadian schools, synagogues, community centres ramp up security

The Toronto police department’s hate crimes unit is investigating after the arrest of three people at a Jewish high school, as police forces, synagogues, mosques and schools across the country announced heightened security measures in the wake of last week’s attack against Israel.

Police forces in several cities announced increased patrols of places of worship and cultural centres after a former Hamas leader called for a “general mobilization” of Muslims to protest against the retaliatory bombing by Israel of Gaza. The Toronto District School Board was one of several in the country to reassure parents that safety was being prioritized as religious leaders described a climate of fear and anxiety from a conflict that has killed thousands, including at least three Canadians.

On Thursday, three male suspects allegedly made undisclosed verbal threats at the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto and were arrested by Toronto police, the force said in a statement. The hate crimes unit is now investigating.

Other police agencies across Canada, including those in Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Halifax, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, said they were unaware of any hate-motivated crimes but most have been on high alert after the weekend’s attacks in Israel, the continuing war against Hamas, and related tensions and protests in Jewish and Palestinian communities across Canada.

– Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel, Alanna Smith and Laura Stone

10:25 p.m. ET

Canadians trapped in Gaza with no safe way out await help from Ottawa

On the day Ottawa began evacuating Canadians from Tel Aviv, Ehab Bader woke up on the floor of a Gaza City school wondering when his government might also come for him.

Two weeks ago, the pediatrician from London, Ont., said goodbye to his wife and three daughters – aged 16, 9 and 7 – and travelled to Gaza to care for his ailing parents, both nearing 80.

He saw family, met friends, even pulled a few shifts in the neonatal intensive-care unit of the local hospital.

“Everything was fine, then everything changed on Saturday,” he said by phone from Gaza, occasionally raising his voice to talk over nearby explosions.

That was the day Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, launched a series of devastating attacks on military and civilian targets in Israel that killed more than 1,300 people and left at least 3,300 wounded.

Israel’s retaliatory bombing strikes have levelled entire city blocks in Gaza City, reducing apartment towers as high as 15 storeys to rubble, Dr. Bader said.

“There is bombing everywhere in all directions,” he said. “We have no access to news. All we hear are the sounds of war. It is 24 hours a day. We don’t sleep.”

He’s now one of 475 Canadians in Gaza and the West Bank who have registered with the Department of Global Affairs and have no safe way out. Crossings from both areas have been closed, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and all travel in the region is discouraged.

Electricity, water and internet have been cut off throughout Gaza, leaving Dr. Bader’s family back home in London scrambling for details on his well-being, an agonizingly common experience among Canadians with Palestinian ties as the Israeli bombardment continues.

– Patrick White and Tom Cardoso

8:45 p.m. ET

Joly planning Israel trip as evacuation flights begin

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is making plans to travel to Israel as Ottawa’s evacuation flights began from Tel Aviv and the number of missing Canadians grows.

Two flights operated by the Canadian Armed Forces shuttled Canadians, permanent residents and their spouses and children from Israel to Athens on Thursday. The first two flights carried, respectively, 128 passengers and 153 passengers, according to government officials.

Evacuation flights are expected to continue indefinitely at the rate of two flights a day on Friday and Saturday, and senior officials said they expect about 800 people are seeking assistance in leaving Israel but cautioned that the number could grow. They said there are about 180 people in the West Bank who are also seeking help but cannot leave through Israel and another 100 people in Gaza. Officials said they are exploring ground travel options for those in the West Bank and are awaiting United Nations assistance to reach those in Gaza.

A significant contingent of foreign dignitaries was expected in Israel Friday. They reportedly include U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Union parliament, Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

A senior federal government official said the Canadian Foreign Minister is making plans to visit Israel shortly, but it was not clear whether she will make it by Friday or Saturday.

- Steven Chase and Marieke Walsh

8:20 p.m. ET

Israelis near Lebanon border fear a widening war if Hezbollah attacks

A kilometre south of the Lebanon border, the streets of the Israeli town of Shlomi are almost empty. Most shops and restaurants are closed. Many people have abandoned the town, while others are staying inside their homes, within reach of their reinforced-concrete safe rooms. They fear an assault by Hezbollah militants.

In the tense aftermath of last weekend’s Hamas attacks in southern Israel, anxieties about a possible cross-border assault are escalating sharply in many towns like this one along the country’s northern border. There are fears that Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed armed group in Lebanon that has long opposed Israel, could seek to exploit the distractions of Israel’s current focus on Hamas, or could retaliate against an expected Israeli ground assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Shlomi, a town of about 7,000 people, is near the heart of this potential second front in Israel’s latest war.

- Geoffrey York

7:45 p.m. ET

Israel, White House condemn Trump remarks

Israel and the White House on Thursday condemned remarks by Donald Trump in which he praised the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an attack by Palestinian Hamas militants that killed more than 1,300 people in Israel.

Trump, a former Republican president who is the frontrunner to become the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, called the Lebanese Hezbollah, a sworn enemy of Israel, “very smart” and accused Netanyahu of being “not prepared” for the Hamas attack, which also killed 22 Americans.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Trump’s comments to supporters and in a television interview on Wednesday night showed he could not be relied on.

It is “shameful that a man like that, a former U.S. president, abets propaganda and disseminates things that wound the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens,” Karhi told Israel’s Channel 13.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates called Trump’s comments “dangerous and unhinged.”

“It’s completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as ‘smart’,” Bates said.

- Reuters

6:45 p.m. ET

B.C. church group, caught between Israel-Hamas war, struggles to get home

A group from a British Columbia church that had been touring historical sites in Israel when Hamas fighters began killing civilians is struggling to find a way home with the confusion of the war and a lack of support from the Canadian government.

Paul Olson, an executive pastor at the SouthRidge Fellowship Church in Langley, said he woke Saturday to a ton of messages from church members on the tour saying they were safe.

After listening to the news, Olson said he was worried, but was able to contact Brent Chapman, the pastor who was leading the group of 25 on a tour in Masada, an ancient fortress in the southern Israel.

But the next dilemma was how to get them out, he said.

“When it happened at the weekend, there was no support whatsoever from the Canadian Consulate. There was no support from Air Canada, they had no idea what they were supposed to do,” said Olson. “And the Canadian government didn’t help at all.”

By Monday, the Canadian government had issued notices telling people to stay away from the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, but Olson said the group was still feeling “cut off.”

“They weren’t saying: Hey, here’s where you need to go. Here’s what you need to do,” added Olson.

In the days since Hamas launched bombs and sent gunmen over the Israeli border, more than 2,500 people have been killed on both sides.

Olson said their tour group first moved to northern Israel to get clear of the fighting and then form a plan to get home safely.

He said they eventually made it to the neighbouring country of Jordan, hoping that they might find a flight from there.

Olson said they tried to reach out to the government, but the office was closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday and when the office finally opened on Monday, their phone calls still weren’t answered.

- The Canadian Press

6:40 p.m. ET

Iran says crimes against Palestinians to receive response from axis

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Thursday that the continuation of crimes against Palestinians will receive a response from “the rest of the axis” and Israel will be responsible for the consequences.

Israel has been pounding Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas rampage in Israel this week that has killed at least 1,300 people, the deadliest attack on civilians in Israeli history. More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed.

The Iranian minister said the displacement of Palestinians and cutting water and electricity to the Gaza Strip are considered war crimes.

He did not specify, but the Axis of Resistance refers to an alliance among Iran, Palestinian militant groups, Syria, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other factions.

- Reuters

5:40 p.m. ET

Israeli-Canadian reservists say they’re ready to fight

Temima Silver is waiting for the call to report for duty in the Israeli military.

Born and raised in Ottawa, the 21-year-old moved to Israel in 2020 to join the Israel Defense Forces. Released from service last year, Silver said she recently responded to a call asking members of her former platoon to voluntarily return to duty after Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday.

Hundreds of people, including young children, were killed in the attacks, whose targets included a music festival and communal farming settlements. “What else is there to do but go out and fight?” Silver asked.

Israeli-Canadian reservists like her say they’re volunteering because they believe it’s the right thing to do, even though they’re not looking forward to combat.

“If you don’t believe that this will succeed, then you don’t believe that you see a tomorrow for future generations of Israel, of Jews, of your brothers and sisters. There is no choice,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

- The Canadian Press

4:35 p.m. ET

Blinken calls on Israel to minimize civilian deaths ahead of expected ground invasion of Gaza

A visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Thursday for Israel to minimize civilian suffering, as it tightened its siege of the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion.

Speaking five days after a surprise Hamas invasion that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 Israelis, Mr. Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that while the U.S. “will always be there by your side” – and expressed his personal horror at the images of what Hamas militants had done to Israeli citizens, including children – Israel needed to take the humanitarian conditions in Gaza into account.

“We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard, even when it’s difficult,” Mr. Blinken said at a press conference in Tel Aviv. “That’s why it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”

So far, Israel is not doing that. Israel declared a “full siege” of Gaza and its 2.3 million people on Monday, cutting off the supply of food, water, and fuel to the densely populated strip of land wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

– Mark MacKinnon, Geoffrey York

4:30 p.m. ET

The Canadians killed and missing during the attacks

Families and friends have confirmed the deaths of three Canadians who were killed in Hamas’s brutal surprise attack in Israel on Saturday. The exact number of Canadians missing is still unknown, though the federal government says it is aware of four unaccounted for. And it is not clear how many people are being held hostage in Gaza.

The slain Canadians include a 33-year-old mother who was killed as she hid at home with her two young sons, and two men attending a large music festival where Hamas gunmen opened fire.

– Globe Staff

4:30 p.m. ET

Second government flight evacuating Canadian leaves Israel

Department of National Defence media relations head Daniel Le Bouthillier said the second flight had left Tel Aviv.

– Steven Chase, Ottawa

3:55 p.m. ET

U.S. and Qatar agree to prevent disbursal of recently unfrozen Iranian funds as Israel-Hamas war rages

The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The move, which stops short of a full refreezing of Iranian funds in Qatar’s banking system, follows the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel and continued Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s deal with Iran, in which $6 billion was unfrozen in exchange for the release of five detained Americans. The official who outlined the understanding between the U.S. and Qatar was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials have strenuously pushed back against the criticism, noting that the money had yet to be spent by Iran and can only be used for humanitarian needs.

– The Associated Press

3:45 p.m. ET

Hamas attack would fall under jurisdiction of war crimes court, says prosecutor

The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over potential war crimes carried out by Hamas militants in Israel and Israelis in the Gaza Strip, even though Israel is not a member state, the ICC’s top prosecutor told Reuters on Thursday.

The occupied Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC, meaning the court has the authority to prosecute Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza.

“If there is evidence that Palestinians, whether they’re Hamas or Al Quds Brigades or the armed wing of Hamas or any other person or any other national of any other state party, has committed crimes. Yes, we have jurisdiction wherever they’re committed, including on the territory of Israel,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in an interview.

– Reuters

2:20 p.m. ET

Ottawa says four Canadians are reported missing

Federal government officials now say four Canadians are reported missing following the Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday.

During a press briefing on Thursday, a senior federal official said the four missing Canadians are in addition to the two Canadians who are confirmed dead and one Canadian who is presumed dead.

As of Wednesday, three Canadians who were killed in the attacks had been identified by family members. They are Adi Vital-Kaploun, Ben Mizrachi, and Alexandre Look.

The briefing was provided to journalists on the condition the civil servants not be identified.

– Steven Chase, Marieke Walsh, Ottawa

1:25 p.m. ET

Second Canadian government evacuation flight set to depart Israel

The first Canadian government evacuation flight has departed Tel Aviv for Athens with approximately 130 passengers, Defence Minister Bill Blair says.

A second flight from Tel Aviv was still boarding at Ben Gurion airport as of 1:30 pm ET Thursday.

Ottawa’s evacuation efforts are shuttling Canadians, permanent residents and their children and spouses from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to Athens. From there, federal officials have arranged for Air Canada aircraft to take passengers back to Canada at their own expense.

– Steven Chase, Marieke Walsh, Ottawa

1:10 p.m. ET

Canada committing $10-million in humanitarian aid to help in Israel and Gaza

Canada will provide an initial $10-million in humanitarian assistance “to address urgent needs in Israel and in the Gaza strip,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at a press conference in Yellowknife Thursday.

He said International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen would have further details on the aid later in the day.

Mr. Trudeau also said the government remains in contact with the three families of the Canadians who have been reported missing. The federal government won’t confirm whether Canadians are among the hostages taken by Hamas, but Israel has said Canadians were among the people kidnapped. Canada has also sent a negotiating team to Israel.

The Prime Minister also repeated his government’s support of Israel.

“Canada supports Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law. Hamas is a terrorist organization and it does not represent the Palestinian people, or the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and it does not represent Arabs or Muslims,” Mr. Trudeau said.

– Steven Chase, Marieke Walsh, Ottawa

1:00 p.m. ET

Canadian police forces upping local patrols in response to Israel-Hamas war

Some Canadian police forces say they are increasing local patrols in response to the Israel-Hamas war while offering assurances they have not received any credible threats.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw says there have been no specific credible threats locally, but the war has shaken the feelings of peace and security in the city.

He says police divisions have been directed to “ensure a high visibility presence,” and increased patrols announced earlier this week have now been expanded to include cultural centres, synagogues, mosques, schools and other places of worship.

Police in Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg have also announced similar steps.

– The Canadian Press

12:45 p.m. ET

Tour companies reeling as Canadians rethink Israel travel plans

Travel businesses are scrambling to rebook passengers and reroute itineraries as the war sparked by Hamas’s attacks on Israel ramps up.

Artzi Korostelev says at his Toronto-based company Peerless Travel, he had two groups of several dozen people in the country when fighting broke out, and two more slated to fly there last Saturday – the day the attacks began – on top of some 40 tour groups that were supposed to visit before the end of the year.

– The Canadian Press

12:06 p.m. ET

France bans pro-Palestinian protests

France is banning pro-Palestinian protests as they are “likely to generate disturbances to public order,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Thursday in a letter to prefects across the country.

Earlier this week, Hamas called for protests across the Muslim world on Friday to support Palestinians amid the bloody conflict between the Islamist movement and Israel.

– Reuters

11:58 a.m. ET

Map of today’s fighting in the Israel-Hamas war

Israel-Hamas war

As of Oct. 12

Rocket strikes by Hamas

Israeli air strikes

Military base

Clashes

Closed bordercrossings

Avivim

1

2

WEST

BANK

Tel Aviv

3

Jerusalem

DEAD

INJURED

Israel

Gaza

1,300

1,203

3,300

5,769

Israel Defense Forces estimate

1,500 Hamas killed in Israel

Closed

military

zone

Mediterranean

Sea

Ashkelon

Zikim

4

Sderot

Gaza City

5

Kfar Aza

Nahal Oz

Refugee

camps

6

Be’eri

GAZA

STRIP

ISRAEL

Re’im

Kisufim

Ofakim

Magen

Rafah

Sufa

Kerem Shalom

EGYPT

8 KM

1

Lebanon: Hezbollah fires missiles at IDF positions, attempts cross-border

infiltration. Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah

2

Syria: Iran-backed militants fire rockets

into Israel

3

Jerusalem: Lion’s Den militia calls for

supporters to storm city on Oct. 13

4

Israel: Formation of emergency unity war cabinet. Closed military zone established around Gaza

5

Gaza City: Air strikes target Hamas’ elite Nakhba force and tunnel network to Khan Younis and Rafah

6

Gaza: Electricity and water running short after Israel ends supplies

THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC

NEWS; OPENSTREETMAP

Israel-Hamas war

As of Oct. 12

Rocket strikes by Hamas

Israeli air strikes

Military base

Clashes

Closed border crossings

Avivim

1

2

WEST

BANK

Tel Aviv

3

Jerusalem

DEAD

INJURED

Israel

Gaza

1,300

1,203

3,300

5,769

Israel Defense Forces estimate

1,500 Hamas killed in Israel

Closed

military

zone

Mediterranean

Sea

Ashkelon

Zikim

4

Sderot

Gaza City

5

Kfar Aza

Nahal Oz

Refugee

camps

6

Be’eri

GAZA

STRIP

ISRAEL

Re’im

Kisufim

Ofakim

Magen

Rafah

Sufa

Kerem Shalom

EGYPT

8 KM

1

Lebanon: Hezbollah fires missiles at IDF positions, attempts cross-border

infiltration. Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah

2

Syria: Iran-backed militants fire rockets

into Israel

3

Jerusalem: Lion’s Den militia calls for

supporters to storm city on Oct. 13

4

Israel: Formation of emergency unity war cabinet. Closed military zone established around Gaza

5

Gaza City: Air strikes target Hamas’ elite Nakhba force and tunnel network to Khan Younis and Rafah

6

Gaza: Electricity and water running short after Israel ends supplies

THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS;

OPENSTREETMAP

Israel-Hamas war

As of Oct. 12

Rocket strikes by Hamas

Israeli air strikes

Military base

Clashes

Closed border crossings

Avivim

1

2

Mediterranean

Sea

Ashkelon

Closed military zone

WEST

BANK

Tel Aviv

Zikim

4

3

Jerusalem

Jabalia

Ash Shati

Sderot

Gaza

City

5

Kfar Aza

Nuseirat

Nahal Oz

6

Refugee

camps

Be’eri

GAZA

STRIP

ISRAEL

Re’im

Kisufim

Khan

Younis

Ofakim

Magen

Rafah

DEAD

INJURED

Sufa

Israel

Gaza

1,300

1,203

3,300

5,769

Kerem Shalom

EGYPT

Israeli Defense Forces estimate

1,500 Hamas killed in Israel

8 KM

1

4

Lebanon: Hezbollah fires missiles at IDF positions, attempts cross-border infiltration. Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah

Israel: Formation of emergency unity war cabinet. Closed military zone established around Gaza

5

Gaza City: Air strikes target Hamas’ elite Nakhba force and tunnel network to Khan Younis and Rafah

2

Syria: Iran-backed militants fire rockets

into Israel

3

6

Jerusalem: Lion’s Den militia calls for supporters to storm city on Oct. 13

Gaza: Electricity and water running short after Israel ends supplies

THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS; OPENSTREETMAP

11:49 a.m. ET

Blinken to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, after reiterating support to Netanyahu

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated support for Israel today, standing beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said, “You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself. But as long as America exists, you will never ever have to. We will always be there by your side.”

Mr. Netanyahu said: “Thank you, America, for standing with Israel, today, tomorrow and always.”

Mr. Blinken also offered an emotional, personal aside, recounting how his own grandfather had fled pogroms in Russia and his stepfather survived Nazi concentration camps.

“I understand on a personal level the harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres carry for Israeli Jews, indeed, for Jews everywhere,” he said.

“We democracies distinguish ourselves from terrorists by striving for a different standard, even when it’s difficult. That’s why it’s so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.”

Mr. Blinken will visit Jordan on Friday to meet King Abdullah and Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority that operates limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Mr. Abbas, whose Fatah faction is a longstanding foe of Hamas, condemned violence against civilians on both sides on Thursday.

While Washington has strongly backed Israel, Mr. Blinken’s plan to meet Abbas shows it is still mindful of Palestinian grievances, strongly felt by Arab allies.

– Reuters

11:46 a.m. ET

Israeli military chief of staff admits failure to protect civilians around Gaza Strip

The chief of staff for Israel’s military, Herzi Halevi, admitted Thursday that the military had failed to protect civilians around the Gaza Strip from Hamas’s unprecedented attack on the country.

“The IDF is responsible for the security of the country and its citizens, and on Saturday morning in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip, we did not,” Halevi said. “We will learn, we will investigate, but now is the time for war.”

Meanwhile, a high-ranking Hamas official warned Thursday that any Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip will prove catastrophic for the Israeli army.

“For every action the enemy takes, there is a plan we have,” said Saleh Al-Arouri, the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas.

Israeli defense officials have yet to order a ground invasion of the pummeled territory, but have been planning for the possibility of it. The military has called over 300,000 reservists into action in preparation.

– The Associated Press

11:33 a.m. ET

Canadian trapped in Gaza pleads for Ottawa’s help

Open this photo in gallery:

A Canadian woman trapped in Gaza says she is afraid she could die at any moment as Israeli warplanes drop bombs around her in the sealed-off Palestinian territory, and she’s pleading for Ottawa’s help.

“Please, please, please, please help us,” said Mississauga, Ont., resident Khloud Fayyad, crying as she spoke by phone from Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza.

With the sound of exploding bombs audible in the background, the 60-year-old mother of three paused and said she could hear an Israeli warplane flying overhead.

“They can drop anywhere, any time. I’m very scared. I really need help. Everything is destroyed around us. Everything.”

Fayyad said she left her three sons in Mississauga to visit her sick 85-year-old father in Gaza a week before Israel began its massive bombardment of the territory in retaliation for a deadly weekend attack by Hamas militants, which killed Israeli soldiers and civilians, including children.

Fayyad told The Canadian Press that she narrowly evaded Israeli strikes, but that three of her cousins were killed.

When the war began, Fayyad said she called the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv to report that she was a citizen stuck in Gaza. They took her number and promised to call back but have not, she said. The embassy also told her to call a United Nations emergency line, but no one picked up, she said.

Around 70 Canadians are stuck in the Gaza Strip and have asked for help, federal government officials said Wednesday, but the Canadian government has no way of reaching them without a humanitarian corridor.

– The Canadian Press

11:30 a.m. ET

U.S. Defense Secretary says no specific conditions on how to use American-provided munitions

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that the U.S. is placing no specific conditions on how Israel uses the American-provided munitions. Israel has a professional military and “we would hope and expect that they would do the right things,” he told reporters at the close of the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels.

He was asked if the U.S. would put conditions on the weapon, specifically that they would not be used against civilians. Austin said he would leave it to the Israelis to define their operations.

Mr. Austin also said that the U.S. is working to provide Israel whatever it needs, even as America continues to support Ukraine. “The United States can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

– The Associated Press

10:29 a.m. ET

First Canadian government evacuation flight departs Israel

The first Canadian government evacuation flight has departed Tel Aviv for Athens with approximately 130 passengers, says Defence Minister Bill Blair.

The airlift of Canadian citizens and permanent residents out of Israel began Thursday afternoon local time – almost six days after Hamas’s brutal attack on Israeli civilians.

Ottawa’s evacuation efforts are shuttling Canadians, permanent residents and their children and spouses from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to Athens. From there, federal officials have arranged for Air Canada aircraft to take passengers back to Canada at their own expense.

The Air Canada planes can carry 150 so the first flight Thursday was not flying at full capacity.

– Steven Chase, Marieke Walsh, Ottawa

9:46 a.m. ET

Video shows Canadian woman missing in Israel

9:41 a.m. ET

Officials say more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip

Open this photo in gallery:

At least 1,417 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and over 6,200 have been injured since the Israel-Hamas war began, Palestinian health officials said Thursday.

Of the dead, nearly 450 are children and 250 are women.

The war has claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last Saturday.

– The Associated Press

9:15 a.m. ET

Israeli military says bodies of 222 soldiers have been identified

Every Israeli soldier killed by Hamas militants so far in the latest Israel-Palestinian war has been identified, the Israeli military confirmed Thursday.

A total of 222 Israeli soldiers have died and their families have all been notified, a spokesperson for the military said.

– The Associated Press

9:06 a.m. ET

No direct evidence implicating Iran in Hamas attack: France

France has no formal trace directly implicating Iran in the Hamas attacks on Israel, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding that Paris had passed messages to regional actors warning against taking advantage of the crisis.

France has Europe’s largest Jewish community and thousands of dual nationals live in Israel.

Ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre said 12 French citizens had been killed in the Oct. 7 attacks and a further 17 could not be located with some likely being held in Gaza, including children.

“At this point... there is no formal trace of a direct Iranian role,” Ms. Legendre said, adding that there were, however, clear links between Tehran and Hamas.

“The message we are passing is clear. We insist that no actor hostile to Israel attempts to take advantage of these attacks.”

– Reuters

8:11 a.m. ET

Egypt facilitating deliveries of aid to Sinai for Gaza

Egypt called on Thursday for humanitarian relief to be provided to Palestinian civilians inside the Gaza Strip and said it was directing international aid flights to Al Arish airport near its border with the enclave.

The Rafah crossing between Sinai and Gaza remained open, the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that Egypt had asked Israel to avoid targeting the Palestinian side of the crossing after strikes that prevented normal operations there.

Movement of registered travellers through Rafah, which is subject to tight controls, has been interrupted since Israeli bombardments hit the Palestinian side of the crossing earlier this week.

Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and the Palestinians during periods of unrest in Gaza, has said it is trying to facilitate the delivery of relief but that the situation inside the enclave has hampered plans.

Egypt has also signalled its rejection of Gaza residents being forced south across the border.

– Reuters

8:07 a.m. ET

Israeli airstrikes target airports in Syria, according to Syrian state media reports

Syria’s pro-government media reports that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the airports of the capital city Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways.

Al-Watan Daily and Dama Post did not give further details other than both airports are out of service.

They were the first Israeli strikes on Syria since the militant Palestinian group Hamas carried out its deadly attacks in southern Israel.

Earlier this year, the airports of Damascus and Aleppo were hit several times.

– The Associated Press

7:54 a.m. ET

The International Committee of the Red Cross in touch with Hamas, Israel about hostages

The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday said it was in touch with Hamas and Israeli authorities as part of efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages who are believed to be held in the Gaza Strip.

“As a neutral intermediary we stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits, facilitate communication between hostages and family members and to facilitate any eventual release,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the group’s Middle East regional director.

The Mideast emirate of Qatar, a frequent mediator between Israel and Hamas, has also confirmed its involvement in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was working closely with Israel to secure the release of people taken hostage by Hamas.

– The Associated Press, Reuters

7:46 a.m. ET

At least 25 Americans killed in Hamas attack: Blinken

At least 25 Americans have been killed in the attack by Hamas militants in Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

– Reuters

7:40 a.m. ET

Israelis attend funerals for soldiers killed fighting Hamas

7:21 a.m. ET

Blinken reassures Netanyahu of Washington’s support

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday reassured Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu of Washington’s support, during a trip to the Middle East that aims to prevent the conflict with Palestinian Hamas militants from spreading.

Washington’s top diplomat will also try to help secure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, some thought to be Americans, and advance talks with Israelis and Egyptians on providing a safe passage for Gaza civilians out of the enclave before a possible Israeli ground invasion.

Blinken’s trip also aims to send a deterrence message to Iran, which backs Hamas, to not get involved in the conflict.

An hour after landing in Tel Aviv, Blinken shook hands with Netanyahu and told the prime minister: “We’re here, we’re not going anywhere,” footage from Netanyahu’s office showed.

A senior State Department official, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said Washington was working to advance talks on providing a safe passage to civilians, including Americans in Gaza.

“There’s a community of something in the order of 500 to 600 Palestinian Americans, more or less, resident in Gaza. Some of them want to leave...and we are working to organize safe passage,” the official said.

Making sure the conflict does not expand has also been a top priority for Washington and Blinken has been speaking with regional allies, which speak to Iran and Iran-backed groups, to ask them to advise Tehran to keep out.

– Reuters

7:06 a.m. ET

Palestinians rush to buy food as Gaza faces possible ground invasion

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Palestinians lined up outside bakeries and grocery stores in Gaza on Thursday after spending the night surrounded by the ruins of pulverized neighborhoods darkened by a near-total power outage.

International aid groups warned that the death toll in Gaza could mount after Israel stopped all deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity and the tiny enclave’s crossing with Egypt is closed.

As Israel pounds Gaza, Hamas fighters have fired thousands of rockets into Israel since their weekend assault. Militants in the territory are also holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel.

Palestinians fleeing airstrikes could be seen running through the streets, carrying their belongings and looking for a safe place. Tens of thousands have crowded into UN-run schools while others are staying with relatives or even strangers who let them in.

Lines formed outside bakeries and grocery stores during the few hours they dared open, as people tried to stock on food before shelves are emptied. On Wednesday, Gaza’s only power station ran out of fuel and shut down, leaving only lights powered by scattered private generators.

A senior official with the the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that the lack of electricity could cripple hospitals.

“As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can’t be taken,” said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC’s regional director. “Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues.”

Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said nothing would be allowed into Gaza until the captives were released. “Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on, and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” he tweeted.

– The Associated Press

6:44 a.m. ET

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken begins Middle East tour

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv on Thursday as part of a Middle East tour to show Washington’s solidarity with Israel.

Mr. Blinken will also try to help secure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas – some of whom are Americans – and advance talks with Israelis and Egyptians on providing a safe passage of Gaza civilians out of the enclave before a possible Israeli ground invasion.

After Israel, Mr. Blinken will head to Jordan, where he will meet with King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

– Reuters

6:34 a.m. ET

No humanitarian exceptions to Gaza Strip siege until all hostages freed, says Israel

Israel said on Thursday there would be no humanitarian exceptions to its siege of the Gaza Strip until all its hostages were freed, after the Red Cross pleaded for fuel to be allowed in to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from “turning into morgues.”

Public broadcaster Kan said the Israeli death toll had risen to more than 1,300 since Saturday. Most were civilians gunned down in their homes, on the streets or at a dance party. Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza.

Gaza authorities say more than 1,200 people have been killed and more than 5,000 people have been wounded in the bombing. The sole electric power station has been switched off and hospitals are running out of fuel for emergency generators.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said fuel powering emergency generators at hospitals could run out within hours.

– Reuters

6:31 a.m. ET

Hamas holding at least 97 people hostage: Israeli military

Israel’s military spokesperson said on Thursday that Israel was able to confirm the identities of 97 people taken hostage into Gaza during an attack by Hamas on Saturday.

– Reuters

6:25 a.m. ET

China says three of its citizens killed in Israel-Hamas conflict, two missing

At least three Chinese citizens have died as a result of fighting between Hamas and Israel, Beijing said Thursday, while two others are still missing and several injured.

China has presented itself as a potential peacemaker in the escalating conflict, coordinating with both Egypt and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which is opposed to Hamas. Beijing was criticized by Israel after initially equivocating on the violence unleashed by Hamas over the weekend, and has modified its stance somewhat since then, condemning the loss of civilian life on both sides.

Israel’s ambassador to China said Beijing’s special envoy for Middle East issues, Zhai Jun, was due to speak to Israeli officials on Thursday.

In a call with Palestinian deputy foreign minister Amal Jadou late Wednesday, Mr. Zhai said China was “deeply saddened by many innocent civilian casualties caused by the current escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict.”

“To end the cycle of conflict between Palestine and Israel, it is essential to restart talks for peace on the basis of the two-state solution, establish an independent State of Palestine, and realize peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel,” Mr. Zhai said. “China will continue to promote a ceasefire and the end of violence, help relieve the humanitarian crisis, actively advance talks for peace, and play a constructive role in promoting a full, just and lasting settlement of the Palestine question.”

Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said this position was shared by China’s Arab allies, and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire and end to Israeli strikes against Gaza.

Chinese state media, which initially appeared to downplay Hamas atrocities in favour of covering the Israeli response, has begun to add more balance. On Thursday, the state-run China Daily published an interview with the mother of Noa Argamani, who was seen on video pleading for her life as she was taken away by Hamas fighters from a music festival.

The interview highlighted that Ms. Agramani’s mother was born in China, using her birth name, Li Chonghong, and noted “the conflict has had a global impact, with several countries reporting their citizens being killed, abducted or missing.”

– James Griffiths, Hong Kong

6:21 a.m. ET

Latest Israeli strikes focused on Hamas’s ‘Nukhba Force’: Israeli military

The latest strikes overnight were focused on Hamas’s “Nukhba Force,” which spearheaded Saturday’s attacks, Mr. Hecht told reporters. Palestinian gunmen were still trying to infiltrate Israel by sea and the military was still working to secure the Gaza fence, Mr. Hecht said.

No decision on a ground assault had been made “but we’re preparing for it,” Israel military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht said early on Thursday.

– Reuters

1:15 a.m. ET

Israel conducts ‘large-scale strike’ on Gaza as Blinken heads to region

Israel’s military said it was conducting a “large-scale strike” on targets belonging to Hamas in Gaza on Thursday, but gave no details, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the region to meet leaders on both sides of the conflict.

Israeli jets have pounded Gazan targets for days in retribution for a weekend attack by Hamas militants who breached the border fence enclosing the enclave and rampaged through towns and villages, killing 1,200 people, injuring over 2,700, and taking scores of hostages, the Israeli military said.

At around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, Israel’s military said it was conducting a “large-scale strike” on targets belonging to Hamas in Gaza. It did not provide details.

Hamas media said 15 Palestinians had been killed and several wounded in Israeli air strikes.

Eyewitnesses reported Israeli aircraft heavily bombarding Gaza City and Gazan authorities also reported an air strike on the Jabalia refuge camp in northern Gaza.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 1,200, with around 5,600 wounded, Palestinian media reported earlier, citing Gaza’s health ministry.

U.S. President Joe Biden dispatched his top diplomat to the Middle East to show Washington’s enduring support for Israel, seek to secure the release of captives, including Americans, and prevent a wider war from erupting.

Blinken will arrive on Thursday and will also visit Jordan, but will not visit the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where he ordinarily meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Blinken and Abbas will meet on Friday, Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said on social media platform X, without elaborating.

Speaking to a roundtable of Jewish community leaders in Washington, Biden said his deployment of military ships and aircraft closer to Israel should be seen as a signal to Iran, which backs Islamist groups Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“We made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful,” Biden said.

Iran likely knew Hamas militants were planning “operations against Israel” but initial U.S. intelligence reports showed that some Iranian leaders were surprised by the group’s unprecedented attack from Gaza, U.S. sources said on Wednesday.

Iran has said it was not involved in the Hamas attacks.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the conflict on Wednesday, in the first telephone call between the two leaders since a China-brokered deal between Tehran and Riyadh to resume ties.

Raisi and the Saudi crown prince discussed the “need to end war crimes against Palestine,” Iranian state media said.

The Saudi crown prince “affirmed that the Kingdom is making all possible efforts in communicating with all international and regional parties to stop the ongoing escalation,” Saudi state news agency SPA said.

– Reuters

Canadian woman missing in Israel attended music festival near Gaza border

A Canadian woman is among the missing in Israel after her family confirmed that 22-year-old Shir Georgy has not been heard from since she sent a message to her father early Saturday morning from the music festival near the Gaza border that was attacked by Hamas militants.

Ms. Georgy’s aunt, Michal Bouganim, told The Globe and Mail that her last message was just before 8 a.m. and the family has since been piecing together videos and photos from social media to try and find her.

Ms. Bouganim said her niece arrived at the Supernova festival in Kibbutz Re’im, just five kilometres east of the wall that separates Gaza from Israel, in the early morning hours of Saturday. The sound of sirens went off around 6:30 a.m. before gunfire from militants tore through the crowd, reportedly killing more than 200 people.

“We are just living with hope because we don’t know anything yet for sure,” said Ms. Bouganim, who spoke in English and Hebrew, which was translated by a family friend.

Ms. Georgy found shelter inside a migunit, a small above-ground room intended to protect people from blasts. A video sent to her family, and provided to the Globe, shows the Ms. Georgy sitting against the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest, surrounded by at least 11 others. Another woman inside the room tells everyone to be quiet in Hebrew while shouting can be heard outside.

Next to Ms. Georgy, who sits with her hand over her mouth, is another woman bleeding from a wound on her upper thigh. Blood is spattered on her legs and a white tourniquet is tied above the wound. There appears to be another injured person in the video laying on the floor, who is connected to an IV bag with a clear fluid inside.

Ms. Bouganim said three of her niece’s friends were killed at the festival while another managed to flee to safety. The family has been visiting hospitals in the area and have filed a police report on Georgy’s disappearance, but they have mostly been left to search for answers on their own. They believe she has been kidnapped and is still alive.

“We have to do everything we can, everything that there is to do to get her back to us safe,” said Ms. Bouganim. “She is an angel. She’s great. She’s the nicest person ever.”

– Alanna Smith

Loved ones recount horrifying murder of Canadian who was shot by Hamas in front of children

Adi Vital-Kaploun’s last moments would have been pure horror. Not only were Hamas gunmen in her house, intent on killing her, they had her two young sons as well.

Ms. Vital-Kaploun, a 33-year-old Canadian citizen with ties to Ottawa, was shot in front of her two sons, four-year-old Negev and 4½-month-old Eshel, according to Dina Zaslacski, a family friend.

The family was told by the Israeli military that her body was then shoved under Negev’s bed and booby-trapped so it would explode whenever someone tried to pull her out, Ms. Zaslacski said.

“They put bombs all over her body and her dad was in the house. Thank God he didn’t open the door,” Ms. Zaslacski said, weeping as she spoke to The Globe and Mail.

Until Wednesday, friends and relatives believed Ms. Vital-Kaploun was a hostage of Hamas, somewhere in the Gaza Strip. That faint hope that she could somehow survive disappeared when the military found her body in the family’s home in Holit, a tiny kibbutz in the Negev Desert. It had taken days to find her because of the number of booby-traps Hamas had laid in the house.

– Mark MacKinnon

Israel announces war cabinet as it warns fighting will intensify, Gaza’s only power plant shuts down

Israel’s government, bolstered by the creation of an emergency cabinet with opposition membership, is pushing ahead with military preparations for a possible ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The new decision-making body, described by the government as a “war management cabinet,” includes Benny Gantz, a former defence minister who now leads an Israeli centrist opposition party. He agreed on Wednesday to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in supervising Israel’s response to the weekend’s devastating attacks by Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza.

The death toll from those attacks, which began on Saturday in the country’s south, has now risen to more than 1,200, with more than 2,700 wounded. Israel’s retaliatory bombing strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 1,100 people and wounded 5,339, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. In addition, Israel’s army says it has killed at least 1,000 Palestinian gunmen who participated in the attacks.

The Israeli military continued to mass its forces around Gaza on Wednesday. Large numbers of troops and tanks were visible near the kibbutzes of Be’eri and Re’im – both within sight of Gaza – where Hamas fighters carried out massacres of Israeli civilians on Saturday.

– Geoffrey York, Mark MacKinnon

Read more:

• In Kibbutz Be’eri, where at least 120 residents were killed by Hamas, Israeli officers survey aftermath of attack
• Third Canadian confirmed killed in Israel
• First Canadian evacuation plane, privately organized, flies out of Israel
• Ontario Premier Ford, rival Liberals call for NDP MPP Sarah Jama’s ouster over Israel statement
• Third Canadian presumed dead in Hamas attack: Ottawa
• Evacuation of Canadians in Israel to begin by end of week, Foreign Affairs Minister Joly says