(Montreal) Moayed Salim expected his father to return to Canada at the end of the month, in time for the birth of his son. Instead, the London, Ontario resident’s father is stuck in Gaza. There is no way to know if he is alive or dead, due to a phone and internet outage.
“It’s devastating, it’s hard to concentrate on anything,” Mr. Salim said in an interview Saturday. My wife is about to give birth, her whole family is in Gaza, so you can imagine the amount of emotions, the pain, the confusion. »
Israel launched an expanded ground operation in the enclave on Saturday, as intensified bombardment knocked out telecommunications services for most of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents and created a near-blackout -out information in the area.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to the nation on Saturday evening, saying the latest actions marked a new phase in the country’s war against Hamas, Gaza’s governing body which was behind a brutal incursion into Israel on October 7, which left more than 1,400 dead. At least 200 people have since been taken hostage.
Mr. Salim, who grew up in Canada and whose father is a Canadian citizen, admitted that those close to him have accepted the fact that nowhere in Gaza is safe.
“My father, like my wife’s family, has accepted the reality that there is a very good chance that none of them will make it. They tried to comfort us, when we should be the ones comforting them,” he said.
Mr. Salim added that he felt guilty about eating and drinking water, knowing that essential supplies are limited in Gaza.
“Maybe they can find one bakery open for an entire neighborhood and then that bakery will be bombed,” he lamented. If Israel wants to eliminate Hamas, fine. But preventing civilians from having a loaf of bread, I don’t understand how that will allow him to achieve his objective. »
Escalation of violence
Mansour Shouman, who lived in Canada for more than a decade and became a citizen in 2006 before moving to Gaza three years ago, has witnessed signs of an escalation in the Israeli military offensive. He said it appears more bombs are falling and striking without warning.
“I feel like they don’t discriminate,” he said of the Israel Defense Forces, an allegation the country’s military has consistently denied.
“The wounded that I see, those who are killed, all these people are for the most part, 70%, women and children,” he described Saturday in an interview from southern Gaza.
He said his family was sheltering in an apartment with eight other families when the area was bombed, destroying several buildings. He and his loved ones escaped with only minor injuries.
His wife has lost family members, he said, while others cannot be reached and their status is unknown.
Even in the south, where Israel has encouraged Palestinians to flee, Mr. Shouman said the situation was dire because of the number of refugees.
“There is a lack of food, a lack of water, a lack of fuel,” he lamented, adding that many have fled their homes with few clothes and may not be prepared for the winter to come.
He would like a ceasefire that would allow the injured to access medical care outside the territory and allow the delivery of food, water and fuel.
New phase
In his televised address, Mr. Netanyahu warned that the war had entered a new phase, as ground forces enter Gaza amid increased land, air and sea attacks.
“This is the second stage of the war, the objectives of which are clear: destroy Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities and bring the hostages home,” he said.
The Israeli military released images Saturday showing columns of armored vehicles moving slowly toward the Gaza Strip, most apparently close to the border, and claimed warplanes had bombed dozens of tunnels and shelters Hamas underground.
The escalation increased pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of the hostages, fearing they could be held in hiding.
Mr. Netanyahu told the press conference that Israel was determined to return all the hostages, and said the expansion of ground operations “will help us in this mission.”
Demonstrations
Meanwhile, in Toronto, thousands of protesters gathered in Nathan Phillips Square downtown, waving Palestinian flags and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Waqas Ali joined the protest to show solidarity with the Palestinian people after the Canadian government abstained from voting on a United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted Friday.
He called for an “immediate, lasting and sustained humanitarian truce” in the region, but did not mention Hamas, its attacks or its tactics.
A similar demonstration took place Saturday afternoon in the streets of Montreal.
Bob Rae, Canada’s permanent envoy to the UN, presented an amendment that “unequivocally rejects and condemns” the attacks, while demanding the “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages. The amendment was ultimately rejected and Canada abstained from voting on the final wording of the resolution.
“There are children, babies who are killed there,” said Mr. Ali. If it were one of our own children, we wouldn’t have abstained, but we totally did. So it’s shameful. »
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza rose Saturday to just over 7,700 people in the three weeks since the war began, with 377 deaths reported since Friday evening, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The majority of those killed were women and minors, the ministry said.
For Mr. Salim, the Palestinian people face collective punishment for the “crime” of living under Hamas rule.
“The Canadian government considers Hamas a terrorist organization, which is a good thing,” he stressed. But let him not forget that there are two million civilians living in Gaza and that Hamas does not represent them. »
With information from the Associated Press and Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press, in Toronto.