Weekend rallies mark 1 year since Oct. 7 attacks

Rallies took place in Ottawa this weekend ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, which led to Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip and the ensuing months of violence and displacement.

On Saturday, protesters took to Parliament Hill to demand a ceasefire and to show solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people who've been killed and displaced during the conflict.

Then on Sunday, another group of protesters marched from Ottawa City Hall to Parliament Hill to mark the attacks and to demand the release of all remaining Israeli hostages.

Israel's assault on Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 94,000 more, according to the local Health Ministry in Gaza.

Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have had to flee their homes at least once.

Israel attacked the enclave after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people — including several Canadian citizens — and took another 250 hostage in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies.

Around 100 hostages remain unaccounted for.

It's been one week since the Israeli military launched a ground invasion of Lebanon targeting militant group Hezbollah. The operation in Lebanon represents an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran-backed militants.

About 60,000 people have been evacuated out of northern Israel after near-daily attacks since Oct. 7.

Arms embargo, ceasefire among demands on Saturday

Palestinian Youth Movement organizer Sarah Abdul-Karim said protesters gathered in hopes of sending a clear message to the federal government: enact a two-way arms embargo and strengthen calls for an immediate ceasefire.

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Fifty-eight marches were set to take place across the country this weekend in solidarity with Palestinians.

"Across Canada, people are saying very clearly, 'We do not support our government continuing to provide arms to this,'" Abdul-Karim said.

In September, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced Canada had suspended 30 arms permits with Israel. But that's short of the nearly 200 permits organizers said would constitute a full embargo.

"Killing innocents, it doesn't matter which side, is unacceptable," said Eli El-Chantiry, a former city councillor and deputy mayor of Ottawa.

El-Chantiry emigrated from Lebanon to Canada when he was 18, leaving behind two brothers, two sisters and their children, as well as his wife's family. He worries for their safety.

"All of Lebanon is only four times the size of the City of Ottawa," he said. "We are not a very large country. Nowhere is safe in Lebanon today."

El-Chantiry added that he believes the government of Canada has failed its citizens in not calling for a ceasefire sooner.

Concerns about loved ones were front and centre for many other protesters, regardless of their heritage.

Habib Khoury has family in the West Bank, and though they are safe for now, he worries about all Palestinians.

"To the Palestinian community, everybody is a family," he said. "We have a family here that lost 200 members of their family. It has been ... beyond comprehension to even begin to understand the amount of loss and pain the community is gong through."

Return of hostages a priority on Sunday

Sunday's rally, organized by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, was intended to honour Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.

Brit Hemming had friends killed in the Oct. 7 attacks. She has spent time in both Israel and Gaza and said she plans to move to Israel and become an Israeli citizen in November.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," she said. "Since October 7th, my heart and my mind have been there, and I want to be there physically as well."

For some protesters, like Nathan Taieb, the last year passed quickly. But he said that's not the case for everyone.

"I can't even imagine how long it's felt for [the hostages]," Taieb said. "We think about them every day."

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Taieb, who has lived his whole life in Canada, said his family was forced to leave their home in Tunisia because of their Jewish faith. He also has family in Israel.

"They're not the only ones that are suffering," he said.

"We're marching here to think about the hostages, but that doesn't mean that we forget all the people that are suffering in the West Bank and Gaza and Lebanon. We think about them too."