Those in Canada with loved ones in Middle East hopeful about Hamas-Israel peace plan

Raquel Ohnona Look, whose son was killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, at a music festival by the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, said the U.S.-backed plan to end the war has been a long time coming.

“We will take any deal, because we need our people back where they belong,” said Look, who lives in Montreal.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a plan that will see Hamas release 20 living hostages while Israel pulls troops back to an agreed-upon line. The Trump administration hopes a pause in the conflict will lead to a phased end to the war. Details of the medium and long-term plan are still under discussion.

Look said she can’t begin to imagine the pain of families of those held captive the last two years. “We’re all elated for the families of the hostages, both dead and alive,” she said. “It’s an excruciating pain to not have your loved one’s body to bury.”

Global Affairs Canada officials told the Senate foreign affairs committee on Wednesday it’s too soon to say whether Canada will take part in an armed mission to secure a ceasefire or truce in the Gaza Strip.

Look says she hopes Canadian troops on the ground won’t be necessary.

Omar Mansour, based in Vancouver, has family in the Gaza Strip and says any plan that could put an end to attacks on innocent civilians is welcome. “Then we can talk about a one-state solution, a two-state solution,” he said. “For now, at least, stop the killing.”

He too doesn’t want Canada to send troops to the Gaza Strip; rather, he says the government should take diplomatic action to pressure the Israeli government to allow for the existence of a Palestinian state.

Mansour tries to keep in touch with his family in Gaza as often as he can and said it’s a miracle the people he loves are still alive.

“They’ve been crying, because they just need some time to wake up from this thing. They need some time to breathe and to grieve,” he said.

Mansour wants to see Canada to do more to support people in Gaza, saying the special visa program created to assist people fleeing the war should be reopened. The federal government closed the program, which had a cap of 5,000 applications, in March.

Nariman Ajjur, who lives in Surrey B.C., said she’s feeling cautiously optimistic. Her parents and six siblings are still trapped in the Gaza Strip. “We’re trying to be hopeful but we’re afraid that it won’t work,” she said about the plan to end the war, adding that she has doubts that Israel will commit to a ceasefire.

She wants to see international pressure on Israel to make it abide to a ceasefire and allow more humanitarian aid to enter the territory.

“We have been living this fear for two years, seeing our loved ones displaced, starving,” she said. “I’m hoping that this will end soon.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2025.

Miriam Lafontaine, The Canadian Press