'Harrowing and heartbreaking': Liberal, Conservative MPs show solidarity with Israel
A small group of Liberal and Conservative MPs are in Israel as part of what they say is a bipartisan trip to show solidarity with the country as it grieves a gruesome attack by Hamas and comes under scrutiny for deaths in the Gaza Strip.
"Israel is definitely not the same Israel as before the terrorist attacks," Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said in an interview from Jerusalem.
"I thought it was important for me to come, to better understand and be able to explain to my colleagues what the Israeli perspective is on what happened on Oct. 7 and on the war with Hamas."
The group started the trip on Monday, meeting with survivors of the Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel and took roughly 240 people hostage.
Housefather said that before they head home Wednesday evening, his fellow MPs will also meet with the co-chairs of the Canada-Israel parliamentary friendship group and some government officials. They'll also likely travel to areas affected by the Oct. 7 attacks.
The trip was organized by an informal coalition of Jewish federations across Canada, which sent another 43 people to take part in the trip alongside the five MPs.
Liberal MP Marco Mendicino said in an email that the group has heard "harrowing and heartbreaking" stories about Oct. 7, including from families who rushed into bunkers during the attacks or suddenly lost contact with loved ones on WhatsApp, a popular instant messaging application.
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman posted a photo of herself in Israel alongside fellow Tory MPs Michelle Rempel Garner and Marty Morantz.
Lantsman posted on social media that the MPs are there to bear witness "and to express our solidarity with the Israeli people." None of the Conservatives responded to an interview request, but caucus spokesman Sebastian Skamski echoed Lantsman's statement.
"The terrorist attacks committed by Hamas represent the single worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust and Canada must continue to stand with Israel and the Jewish people," he wrote.
After the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel declared war on Hamas, began an airstrike campaign and cut off food, fuel, water and supplies to the Gaza Strip, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.
The territory's health officials say more than 12,700 people have been killed in the retaliation campaign so far, two-thirds of them women and children. Another 2,700 people are reported missing.
The United Nations reports that more of its humanitarian workers have been killed in the six-week conflict than any other war, and says Israel is violating humanitarian law.
Housefather noted the suffering of civilians in Gaza, but he said Canadians might not realize the extent to which Israelis continue to grapple with the aftermath of the attacks that kicked off the war.
Thousands of people have been displaced from communities close to Israel's borders, air-raid sirens occur constantly and many schools are closed. Universities have delayed the fall academic term until late December, because the Israeli military has called up so many young people.
The Liberal MP said the country's hotels are deserted, and people are on edge.
Hamas attacked multiple collective farming communities, each known as a kibbutz. Housefather said those places tend to be home to left-leaning people who are fiercely critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But he said even people with that political background tend to be "in solidarity" with the government's position on the war.
"There's no call that I see from anyone in Israeli society, on the centre, on the left or on the right, to stop this until Hamas is eradicated in Gaza," Housefather said.
"The eradication of Hamas, I think, is a prerequisite to discussing a two-state solution."
He added that the idea of a ceasefire is "a complete non-starter" among Israelis.
The Liberal government has gotten calls from MPs in various parties, including their own, for Canada to follow France and Ireland in calling for a halt to the fighting. Israel has argued that such pauses would only allow Hamas to rearm and kill more Israelis.
"Hearing from, today, people who survived the attack at the kibbutz and also people whose children were murdered at the kibbutz was an important first step to understanding the situation better from the perspective of the average Israeli," Housefather added.
He said that many Israelis express feeling like they have the ability to protect themselves against Hamas, which Canada recognizes as a terrorist group, in a way that Jewish people were not able to do over centuries of pogroms and the Holocaust.
He said it's a reality he never understood, and one that many Canadians are probably missing.
"They're saying, 'Yes, we care about the people that are being killed; we don't want civilians to be killed in Gaza. We are deeply pained by the death of any person that is not a terrorist,"' he said.
"But what they're saying is, 'If we don't destroy the terrorists, then they will kill us tomorrow.' And that's the lesson they learned from Oct. 7."
Housefather said his group will meet with Israeli Arabs but there are no plans to meet Palestinians. He said this is because there is no access to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, and the territories are not safe to enter. There are no Palestinian officials in Jerusalem for the MPs to meet, he said.
Meanwhile, Global Affairs Canada says 90 people with ties to Canada made it out of the Gaza Strip into Egypt over the weekend.
The list of foreign nationals cleared to make the trip on Sunday, as published by Gaza's General Authority for Crossings and Borders, had included 135 people with a connection to Canada.
Ottawa says a total of 450 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have now left the Palestinian territory through the Rafah crossing with Egypt since the conflict began.
Global Affairs Canada said there were 600 people with links to Canada inside Gaza when the crossings started; the department has stopped reporting its estimate of people inside the besieged territory.
It also says one Canadian remains missing in the region. Washington this past weekend hinted that at least one Canadian is among those believed to be held hostage by Hamas -- a detail that Ottawa has not confirmed.
On Monday, heavy fighting broke out around the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, which has housed thousands of patients and displaced people for weeks.
The fighting comes a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, the territory's largest. They were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound.
Israel says Hamas uses civilians and hospitals as shields, while critics say Israel's siege and relentless aerial bombardment amounts to collective punishment of Palestinians.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2023.
-- With files from The Associated Press
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Israel launches strikes on military targets in Iran, escalating Mideast wars
Israel pounded Iran with a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military targets in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier this month. Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though there was no immediate information on damage or casualties.
Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.
An abrupt goodbye to a guerilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrant
A makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky fire hydrant in New York City has been paved over, to the dismay of neighbours who turned the area into a hangout spot and goldfish shrine.
Scotiabank confirms outage for mobile, online banking resolved
Scotiabank has confirmed outages affecting mobile and online banking services, according to a statement published to its X account.
Mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son to death sentenced to over 50 years in prison
A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
Pizza inadvertently infused with THC sickens dozens in Wisconsin
Pizza inadvertently laced with THC has apparently sickened dozens of people in Wisconsin.
'Get away from your inner circle': Liberal MP 'shocked' PM didn't take more time to reflect on calls to resign
Longtime Liberal MP Wayne Long says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should give more weight to the views of his backbenchers in determining his future leading the Party, rather than relying on those in his immediate orbit.
Mom and child jumped from a window to escape a Las Vegas fire that killed 2 children and 2 adults
Two adults and two children were found dead in the charred rubble of a house fire after a mother and another child jumped from a third-floor window to escape flames in a southwest Las Vegas neighborhood, authorities said.
Four arrested in Poland over alleged plot to send explosives via courier to Canada, U.S.
Polish authorities have arrested four individuals they allege planned to send parcels containing camouflaged explosives and dangerous materials to Canada and the United States, according to Poland’s government website.
Local Spotlight
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.