Hundreds gather for Israel's Independence Day celebration at Montreal park
By
Hundreds of people waving Israeli flags gathered at Macdonald Park in the Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough Thursday to celebrate Israel's 77th Independence Day.
The Independence Day rally, known as Yom Ha'atzmaut, is normally held downtown, but event spokesperson Anthony Koch said it was moved to the park for security reasons.
'In the last few years, things have gotten a little bit heated,' Koch said, referring to rising global tensions following the Hamas attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, and subsequent Israeli military operations in Gaza. 'The cops wanted to make sure that, unlike in past years, they could reasonably ... limit safety concerns.'
By 10 a.m., more than a dozen counter-protesters — mostly Hasidic Jewish men — had gathered across the park, waving Palestinian flags. One shouted through a megaphone, 'Shame on you! You're not a Jew!'
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 11:07 AM.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Why some key Tehran allies have stayed out of the Israel-Iran conflict
BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah has long been considered Iran's first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran, triggering the ongoing Israel-Iran war, the Lebanese militant group has stayed out of the fray — even after the U.S. entered the conflict Sunday with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has also remained mostly quiet. Domestic political concerns, as well as tough losses suffered in nearly two years of regional conflicts and upheavals, appear to have led these Iran allies to take a back seat in the latest round convulsing the region. 'Despite all the restraining factors, wild cards remain,' said Tamer Badawi, an associate fellow with the Germany-based think tank Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient. That's especially true after the U.S. stepped in with strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran. The 'Axis of Resistance' Hezbollah was formed with Iranian support in the early 1980s as a guerilla force fighting against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon at the time. The militant group helped push Israel out of Lebanon and built its arsenal over the ensuing decades, becoming a powerful regional force and the centerpiece of a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the ' Axis of Resistance.' The allies also include Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen's Houthi rebels, as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. At one point, Hezbollah was believed to have some 150,000 rockets and missiles, and the group's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah once boasted of having 100,000 fighters. Seeking to aid its ally Hamas in the aftermath of the Palestinian militants' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and Israel's offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border. That drew Israeli airstrikes and shelling, and the exchanges escalated into full-scale war last September. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, killing Nasrallah and other top leaders and destroying much of its arsenal, before a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire halted that conflict last November. Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and to carry out near-daily airstrikes. For their part, the Iraqi militias occasionally struck bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis fired at vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and began targeting Israel. Keeping an ambiguous stance Hezbollah has condemned Israel's attacks but did not immediately comment on the U.S. strikes on Iran. Just days before the U.S. attack, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a statement that the group 'will act as we deem appropriate in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression.' Lebanese government officials have pressed the group to stay out of the conflict, saying that Lebanon cannot handle another damaging war, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who visited Lebanon last week, said it would be a 'very bad decision' for Hezbollah to get involved. Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia — a separate group from Hezbollah — had said prior to the U.S. attack that it will directly target U.S. interests and bases spread throughout the region if Washington gets involved. The group has also remained silent since Sunday's strikes. The Houthis last month reached an agreement with Washington to stop attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea in exchange for the U.S. halting its strikes on Yemen, but the group threatened to resume its attacks if Washington entered the Iran-Israel war. In a statement on Sunday, the Houthis' political bureau described the U.S. attack on Iran as a 'grave escalation that poses a direct threat to regional and international security and peace.' The Houthis did not immediately launch strikes. Reasons to stay on the sidelines Hezbollah was weakened by last year's fighting and after losing a major supply route for Iranian weapons with the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally, in a lightning rebel offensive in December. 'Hezbollah has been degraded on the strategic level while cut off from supply chains in Syria,' said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst and associate professor at King's College London. Still, Qassem Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said a role for the militant group in the Israel-Iran conflict should not be ruled out. 'The battle is still in its early stages,' he said. 'Even Iran hasn't bombed American bases (in response to the U.S. strikes), but rather bombed Israel.' He said that both the Houthis and the Iraqi militias 'lack the strategic deep strike capability against Israel that Hezbollah once had.' Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Iraq's Iran-allied militias have all along tried to avoid pulling their country into a major conflict. Unlike Hezbollah, whose military wing has operated as a non-state actor in Lebanon — although its political wing is part of the government — the main Iraqi militias are members of a coalition of groups that are officially part of the state defense forces. 'Things in Iraq are good for them right now, they're connected to the state — they're benefitting politically, economically,' Mansour said. 'And also they've seen what's happened to Iran, to Hezbollah and they're concerned that Israel will turn on them as well.' Badawi said that for now, the armed groups may be lying low because 'Iran likely wants these groups to stay intact and operational.' 'But if Iran suffers insurmountable losses or if the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) is assassinated, those could act as triggers,' he said.
Toronto Sun
4 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
What to know about bunker-buster bombs unleashed on Iran's Fordo nuclear facility
Published Jun 22, 2025 • 4 minute read In this photo released by the U.S. Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(U.S. Air Force via AP, File) AP BANGKOK (AP) — In inserting itself into Israel's war against Iran, Washington unleashed its massive 'bunker-buster' bombs on Iran's Fordo fuel enrichment plant. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Those bombs were widely seen as the best chance of damaging or destroying Fordo, built deep into a mountain and untouched during Israel's weeklong offensive. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said 14 of the bombs were used in Sunday's attack on Fordo and a second target. The U.S. is the only military capable of dropping the weapons, and the movement of B-2 stealth bombers toward Asia on Saturday had signaled possible activity by the U.S. Israeli leaders had made no secret of their hopes that President Donald Trump would join their week-old war against Iran, though they had also suggested they had backup plans for destroying the site. In all, the U.S. hit three nuclear sites and Caine told reporters Sunday that 'initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.' The mission could have wide-ranging ramifications, including jeopardizing any chance of Iran engaging in Trump's desired talks on its nuclear program and dragging the U.S. into another Mideast war. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Here's a closer look. What is the bunker-buster bomb? 'Bunker buster' is a broad term used to describe bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding. In this case, it refers to the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the U.S. Air Force. It's believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. It was not immediately known how many were used in the Sunday morning strike. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, which had raised the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Initial assessments by the IAEA, however, were that this had not happened. How tough a target is Fordo? Fordo is Iran's second nuclear enrichment facility after Natanz, its main facility, which already has been targeted by Israeli airstrikes and was also hit by the U.S. on Sunday, along with Isfahan. The IAEA says it believes those earlier strikes have had 'direct impacts' on the facility's underground centrifuge halls. Fordo is smaller than Natanz, and is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. Construction is believed to have started around 2006 and it became first operational in 2009 — the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In addition to being an estimated 80 meters (260 feet) under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defences, however, likely have already been struck in the Israeli campaign, which claims to have knocked out most of Iran's air defences and the U.S. bombers were not fired upon during their mission. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordo was part of that plan. 'This entire operation … really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo,' Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., told Fox News. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In theory, the GBU-57 A/B could be dropped by any bomber capable of carrying the weight, but at the moment the U.S. has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman. According to the manufacturer, the B-2 can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds (18,000 kilograms) but the U.S. Air Force has said it has successfully tested the B-2 loaded with two GBU-57 A/B bunker busters — a total weight of some 60,000 pounds (27,200 kilograms). In the attack on Fordo, Caine said the first B-2 dropped two of the bunker busters on the facility. The strategic long-range heavy bomber has a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometres) without refuelling and 11,500 miles (18,500 kilometres) with one refueling, and can reach any point in the world within hours, according to Northrop Grumman. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The mission against Iran was flown from its home base in Missouri. Trump was noncommittal Whether the U.S. would get involved had been unclear in recent days. At the G7 meeting in Canada, Trump was asked what it would take for Washington to become involved militarily and he said: 'I don't want to talk about that.' Then on Thursday, Trump said he would decide within two weeks whether to get involved, to give another chance to the possibility of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. In the end, it took just two days to decide. Sunday's attack was specifically restricted to the three nuclear sites, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said. 'The scope of this was intentionally limited, that's the message that we're sending, with the capabilities of the American military nearly unlimited,' he told reporters. 'So Iran, in that sense, has a choice.' Sports Sunshine Girls World Columnists Editorial Cartoons
Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
The Latest: US inserts itself into Israel-Iran war and strikes 3 Iranian nuclear sites
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) LC flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
