Montrealers mourn and protest to mark Oct. 7
CTV
Montreal students and supporters showed their grief and anger at protests and vigils as they marked the anniversary of the current war between Israel and Gaza.
Montreal students and supporters showed their grief and anger at protests and vigils as they marked the anniversary of the current war between Israel and Gaza.
A vigil started at 12:30 p.m. in front of McGill University to commemorate those who were killed over the last year and show support for the hostages still being held. Though it was organized by students, people of all ages came carrying signs with names and photos of hostages and those killed on Oct. 7.
A handful of Palestinian flags were seen flying across the street, though a heavy police presence prevented counter-protesters to approach the vigil.
Pro-Palestinian protesters met at Concordia's Hall Building at 2 p.m. in solidarity with the thousands who were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza and Lebanon. They demand an end to the war and the siege on Gaza.
Monday marks one year since Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, with more trapped under rubble. The heavy bombing caused mass destruction and famine, while 90 per cent of the besieged territory's population was displaced from their homes.
McGill has been restricting access to its campuses as of Saturday and moved some classes online in anticipation of potential tensions and clashes between protesters.
