Israeli troops on the edge of the Gaza Strip. Photo courtesy the Israel Defense Forces/Telegram.

On May 28, virtually every attendee arriving at CANSEC—North America’s largest annual arms trade show—was met with the piercing cry of “war criminal,” as over 300 protesters gathered to denounce war profiteering and Canada’s complicity in crimes against humanity committed by Israeli armed forces and political authorities since October 7, 2023.

Inside the arms fair, the focus was on Canada-US relations, European militarization and NATO commitments. But protesters outside were highlighting the presence of weapons companies and parts manufacturers implicated in Israeli war crimes. Amid Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza and the continued blockade of humanitarian aid, they were calling for an immediate and full arms embargo and divestment from companies complicit in war crimes and illegal occupation.

Local and provincial police, outfitted in anti-riot gear, maintained a heavy presence, while private security guarded the outer gates. A surveillance drone hovered above the parking lot outside CANSEC’s gated entrance. Police lines were positioned tightly around protesters, frequently leaving no room for media to move between and document the demonstration.

Demonstrators gathered at multiple access points around the EY Centre. That morning, a group—primarily women—formed a blockade on Uplands Drive, covering the street, their hands, and their clothing in red paint, symbolizing the bloodshed in Gaza.

Out of a population of just under 5.8 million, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s assault. Among the dead are at least 1,400 health care workers and 181 journalists, including international personnel.

In early May, UN human rights experts condemned the sharp rise in casualties following the collapse of the January ceasefire with Hamas in March, noting that more than 400 people were killed within just 24 hours on March 18.

As outlined in an appeal made by 38 human rights experts including Special Rapporteurs on human rights, on health and internally displaced persons, “International norms were established precisely to prevent such horrors. Yet, as millions protest globally for justice and humanity, their cries are muted. This situation conveys a deadly message: Palestinian lives are dispensable, and international law, if unenforced, is meaningless.”

According to Oxfam, Israel has since issued over 30 forced displacement orders, expanded military exclusion zones across 80 percent of Gaza, and heightened military presence on security corridors that restrict civilian movement across the strip.

“This isn’t counterterrorism, as Israel alleges—it’s the systematic clearing of Gaza through militarized force into enclaves of internment,” Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said in a recent statement.

“The companies that are arming Israel’s genocide right now are here in front of us in this building. It’s our duty as humans in this world who are witnessing a genocide to interrupt their business as usual in every way that we can,” echoed Rachel Small, an organizer with the Canadian branch of international peace group World BEYOND War.

The anti-war organization recently launched a campaign to pressure municipal officials in Ottawa to reject an application from the Canadian company Gastops to build a new factory in the city. Gastops is the only company manufacturing engine sensors for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets. The jets are often described as the most technologically advanced in the world, owing to their advanced communications systems. A global call for an arms embargo, including halting all transfers of F-35 jets to Israel, was launched last summer when the Israeli military [dropped three 2,000 pound bombs] on the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in Khan........

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