National Defense has confirmed that members of Canadian special operations forces were deployed to Israel following the October 7 terrorist attack. Their mission is to reinforce the security of the Canadian Embassy and to ensure, if necessary, the safe evacuation of Canadian citizens.
It is a detachment of Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), Canada’s most secret unit responsible for anti-terrorism and hostage rescue missions.
Canada has some 300 military personnel in the region. Those most at risk are probably the twenty Canadian soldiers deployed in the occupied West Bank as part of Operation Protéus. Their mission is to train members of the Palestinian Authority security forces, from East Jerusalem, under the supervision of the United States. Criminology professor Jeffrey Monaghan of Carleton University in Ottawa accuses Canada of making itself the instrument of the Israeli occupation.
If the Israel-Hamas war escalates into a regional conflict, other members of the Canadian forces could also be directly involved. Ottawa has extended Operation IMPACT until March 31, 2025, the mission of which is to strengthen the military capabilities of Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.
There is an immediate risk of escalation of hostilities on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Global Affairs Canada has asked the Canadian Armed Forces to prepare to ensure the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. There are more than 50,000 of them. A Canadian operational command has been deployed in Cyprus.
Canada’s “big ears” in Iraq
In Iraq, according to National Defense, Canadian soldiers in support of NATO are helping to improve the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces. The FAC also operates a joint intelligence center. It collects information from various sources, analyzes it and synthesizes it.
Through the “Five Eyes” electronic eavesdropping pact (United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand), Canadian military intelligence maintains links with its Israeli equivalent. According to files released by whistleblowers Edward Snowden, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) shared information about Palestinians with “Unit 8200,” Israel’s electronic intelligence agency.
Canada is not helping Israel in Gaza this time
The site specializing in intelligence The Intercept claims that the Snowdon leak contains several documents dating from early 2009, relating to the Israeli attack on Gaza which left more than 1,000 dead.
Obviously this time Hamas found a way to thwart electronic surveillance to prepare and launch its terrorist attack which left 1,200 Israelis dead, including women and children.
On November 1, Marie-France Lalonde, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Defense, nevertheless thought it necessary to declare that Canada “does not provide military assistance” to Israel in its offensive in Gaza.
The Department of National Defense initially said its commandos were simply in Israel to evacuate Canadian embassy staff, but the DND spokesperson mistakenly added that they were in “liaison” with the Israeli army. .