National Defense has confirmed that members of Canadian special forces were deployed to Israel following the October 7 terrorist attack. Their role is to strengthen security at the Canadian Embassy and ensure the safe evacuation of Canadian citizens if necessary.
It is a division of Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), Canada's most secretive unit responsible for counter-terrorism and hostage rescue missions.
Canada has about 300 military personnel in the region. Perhaps most at risk are the twenty Canadian soldiers stationed in the occupied West Bank as part of Operation Protéus. Its mission is to train members of the Palestinian Authority security forces from East Jerusalem under the supervision of the United States. Criminology professor Jeffrey Monaghan from Carleton University in Ottawa accuses Canada of making itself an instrument of the Israeli occupation.
If the Israel-Hamas war escalates into a regional conflict, other members of the Canadian Armed Forces could also be directly involved. Ottawa has extended Operation IMPACT until March 31, 2025, whose mission is to strengthen the military capabilities of Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.
There is an imminent risk of an escalation of hostilities on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Global Affairs Canada has asked the Canadian Armed Forces to prepare to evacuate Canadians from Lebanon. There are more than 50,000 of them. A Canadian task force was stationed in Cyprus.
Canada's “big ears” in Iraq
In Iraq, Canadian soldiers supporting NATO are helping to improve the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, according to National Defense. The FAC also operates a joint intelligence center. It collects information from various sources, analyzes it and synthesizes it.
Canadian military intelligence maintains ties to its Israeli counterpart through the “Five Eyes” electronic eavesdropping pact (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand). According to files released by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) shared information about Palestinians with Unit 8200, Israel's electronic intelligence agency.
Canada is not helping Israel in Gaza this time
Specialist intelligence site The Intercept claims that the Snowdon leak contains several documents from 2009 relating to the Israeli attack on Gaza, which killed more than 1,000 people.
This time, Hamas apparently found a way to thwart electronic surveillance in order to prepare and launch its terrorist attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, including women and children.
On November 1, Marie-France Lalonde, the parliamentary secretary to the defense minister, nevertheless found it necessary to declare that Canada “is not providing military assistance” to Israel in its Gaza offensive.
The Ministry of Defense initially said its commandos were only in Israel to evacuate Canadian Embassy staff, but the DND spokesman incorrectly added that they were in “liaison” with the Israeli army.