Hundreds gathered in Ottawa on the eve of the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas-led attack, marching from city hall to Parliament Hill and calling for the release of hostages. Members of Parliament and rabbis addressed a crowd carrying Israeli and Canadian flags under an increased police presence.
The march centred victims and hostages
Hamas-led attackers killed about 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, 2023, most of them civilians, and abducted roughly 250. The anniversary event honoured the dead and demanded that people still held in Gaza be returned.
Participants displayed yellow balloons to represent hostages. Symbols and numbers used at a public event can reflect the best information available at that time; hostage status changed as people were released, rescued, confirmed dead or remained unaccounted for.
Politicians received different reactions
Liberal MP Mona Fortier acknowledged the pain of Canada’s Jewish community but faced boos and demands for stronger action. Conservative MP Shuvaloy Majumdar described himself as a Zionist and was greeted with loud applause.
Those reactions showed how a memorial had also become a forum for judging Canadian foreign policy. Reporting should identify political statements without assuming the whole crowd held every view expressed from the stage.
A mother spoke about her son
Raquel Ohnona Look addressed the gathering about her son Alexandre, a 33-year-old Montréal native killed at the Supernova music festival. Survivors told his family that he stood near the front of a shelter and tried to protect others during the attack.
Her testimony connected national debate with one family’s loss. It should not be reduced to a political prop or described in graphic detail beyond what the family chose to share.
The war had killed tens of thousands in Gaza
Israel’s military campaign following October 7 had killed more than 41,000 Palestinians by the anniversary, according to Gaza health authorities, and displaced most residents. The total did not consistently distinguish civilians from combatants, while the civilian catastrophe and damage to essential infrastructure were extensive.
Recognizing that toll does not excuse hostage-taking or attacks on Israeli civilians. The laws of war protect civilians and prohibit collective punishment, indiscriminate attack and hostage-taking regardless of the perpetrator.
Other Canadian demonstrations emphasized Gaza
Pro-Palestinian gatherings in Montréal that weekend denounced Israel’s bombardment and called for the war to end. Participants used the term genocide, a legal allegation being contested in international proceedings rather than a final judgment available at the time.
Covering both kinds of event is not false equivalence. It documents how different communities experienced the same year of violence and what each asked Canada to do.
Public safety and expression had to coexist
Police protected routes and gatherings amid concern about antisemitic and anti-Muslim or anti-Palestinian hate. Security should focus on specific threats and unlawful conduct, not treat identity or peaceful advocacy as suspicious.
Organizers and politicians also carry responsibility for language. Criticizing a government is not hatred toward a people; praising or denying attacks on civilians can cross ethical and sometimes legal lines.
Commemoration required precision
The Ottawa march was an event for remembrance, hostage advocacy and political speech. It took place while Palestinian families were also mourning on a vast scale.
A trustworthy account can hold those facts together: October 7 involved deliberate mass killing and abduction; the ensuing war produced catastrophic civilian harm; and Canadians had the right to mourn and protest without being targeted for being Jewish, Palestinian, Muslim or Israeli. Precision protects both memory and public debate.
