Montrealers hold protests, memorials after a year of war in the Middle East

On the anniversary of the night Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, leading to a retaliatory military campaign that has devastated the Gaza Strip, Montrealers are taking part in several events to mark a year of violence in the region.

At around noon on Monday, a large crowd gathered at a vigil in front of McGill University's Roddick Gates under a heavy police presence to honour those who were killed and taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Supporters of Israel, many waving Israeli flags, gathered on Sherbrooke Street, which was closed to traffic for the event. Across the street, a few pro-Palestinian counter-protesters could be seen behind police lines waving Palestinian flags.

Leon Novodvorets, a McGill student, helped organize the vigil alongside advocacy group Federation CJA and other students.

"The Montreal Jewish community has been through a lot," he said. "We're here to mourn together, to grieve, to kind of know we're not alone."

Posters of Israeli hostages were plastered on the fence surrounding McGill's campus, which is closed to the public today. Individual posters on wooden sticks were also placed into buckets of dirt to symbolize what happened at a music festival and communities in southern Israel a year ago.

Monday marks a year since Hamas's attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and led to about 250 others being taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has killed at least 41,500 people in an ongoing air and ground military offensive, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

About 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced from their homes and at least 680 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank — most by the Israeli army and some by Israeli settlers.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said 728 of its soldiers have died in Gaza in the last year.

Reuben Polansky-Shapiro, a Concordia University student who took part in the vigil in support of Israel, said he wants people on both sides of the conflict, all of whom are grieving, to be able to have respectful conversations with each other as the war wages on.

"A lot of my friends, they don't agree with me. But I can grab a coffee with them, we can have lunch and we can talk about it and we can say, 'Yeah, I understand your point, and I may not agree with everything, but I understand it.' And that's what I hope to see," he said.

Mourners also came together at Hampstead Park Monday evening in a memorial organized by Federation CJA. 

Among the 4,000 attendees was Raquel Look. Her son Alexandre Look, 33, was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks. 

"It's unimaginable that it's already a year," she said. "It's so sad realizing that you're going to miss him for the rest of your life."