A small team of Canadian special operations forces have deployed to Israel in the wake of the October 7 attack, Global News has learned from multiple sources with direct knowledge of the mission.
The deployment includes Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), Canada’s most elite and secretive military special forces unit. Joint Task Force 2 is Canada’s national mission force responsible for the most dangerous and sensitive missions the military undertakes, including counterterrorism and hostage rescue.
Sources told Global News the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) troops in Israel are dealing with security at the Canadian embassy (including any possible future evacuation of essential staff) and liaising with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
That is consistent with what retired Major-General Denis Thompson, a former CANSOFCOM commander, would expect, telling Mercedes Stephenson on The West Block that the special operations forces typically deploy to crisis areas quickly owing to their high state of readiness and agility, activating an “immediate task force” which enables them to draw on JTF2 and other units to accomplish their mission.
Thompson also commanded the Multinational Force and Observers during Israel’s last ground operation into Gaza in 2014. The peacekeeping force was established by the 1978 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty known as the Camp David Accords.
The Canadian government often deploy special operations forces into tense environments to assist with intelligence gathering, evacuation planning, to provide security for embassies and to liaise with host militaries.
“There’s certainly a close relationship between Canada Special Operations Forces and the Israeli Defense Forces… so there’s nothing surprising here and it’s pretty much par for the course,” Thompson said, stressing he had no insider knowledge of current JTF2 plans.
JTF2 are also Canada’s designated hostage rescue unit and Thompson said they could be involved in helping the IDF plan rescue operations — but he did not suggest Canadian special operations forces would be planning any independent rescue efforts or participating with the Israeli efforts.
Despite being Canada’s designated hostage rescue unit, JTF2 has never carried out a hostage rescue operation.
Hamas and other militant groups claimed to have taken around 230 hostages on Oct. 7, when they attacked Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, according to the Israeli government. Two Canadians are presumed missing, though Global Affairs Canada has not confirmed Hamas captured them.
“There are still two Canadians missing. I believe they could well be hostages, in which case they may be part of the hostage rescue planning” Thompson said on The West Block, stressing he had no insider knowledge of current JTF2 plans.
Similar deployments took place in Ukraine and Afghanistan and CANSOFCOM assaulters were involved in the evacuation planning for Sudan.
Multiple sources said this deployment should not be interpreted as Canadian troops fighting or preparing to fight in Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel was in a “second war of independence” (referencing the 1948 Arab-Israeli War when the newly declared Israeli state and Arab nations fought), Thompson told Stephenson he expects the IDF’s ground offensive to take months to complete its stated goal of destroying Hamas.
“This is extremely complicated,” he said.
“Hamas is — they’re on the home turf.”
Thompson said the Iraqi army, with American help, needed nine months to clear Mosul of ISIS fighters in 2017 and that Hamas has had much more time than ISIS did to prepare its defences, since no Israeli forces have been in Gaza since 2014.
He told Stephenson the recent IDF raids into the enclave were probably meant to gather intelligence and provide reconnaissance, which will help soldiers systematically isolate individual neighbourhoods.
“By isolate, I mean surround (with) armoured vehicles to make sure nothing gets in or out. And then they will clear it – buildings, ruins and tunnels in a meticulous fashion, in an effort to kill all the Hamas fighters, to destroy any equipment and weapons that they find” and rescue the roughly 230 hostages, Thompson said.
He told Stephenson Hamas will likely deploy improvised explosives and anti-tank guided weapons to stop the IDF and destroy Israeli armoured vehicles.
He said that’s why Israel is using its Merkava IV tanks, “which is almost indestructible” and is capable of shooting down incoming missiles.
“But at the ranges we’re talking about here in a closed in urban environment, it will be extremely tough for the Israelis,” Thompson said.
“And the advantage will, in some respects, be in Hamas’s side.”
Some of the worst fighting will likely come in the militant group’s tunnels underneath Gaza.
“It’s close-quarter combat that is extremely, extremely hazardous,” Thompson said.
He suggested IDF soldiers would likely use small drones to explore the underground network before sending troops in, and also said that Israelis could also use trained dogs with cameras that send a live images back to IDF personnel in order to plan their attack.
And while soldiers will likely be using night-vision goggles, Thompson said those need some light to work and that probably isn’t available underground, especially with Israel having cut electricity to Gaza. The IDF could use infrared floodlights to help, but Thompson warned Hamas fighters may also have the same equipment.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
