A closer look at an escalating war

Plus, Toronto's cheap parking and living in Mike Harris' Ontario [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on Israel and Palestine, Toronto parking prices and the legacy of former premier Mike Harris. DON’T MISS Oren Ziv/AP Photo middle east [Israel is pounding downtown Gaza City after Hamas’ weekend attack]( Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to retaliate against Hamas with strikes that “will reverberate with them for generations.” Since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israelis Saturday, and Israel’s subsequent attacks against Palestinians, more than 1,600 people have died and thousands on both sides have been wounded, The Associated Press reports. [Take a closer look at how the war is playing out and why it is expected to escalate](. - Context: Desperation has grown among Palestinians amid decades of Israeli control and increasing settlements in the West Bank, the blockade in Gaza, and a perceived apathy among world leaders. - More: Under heavy bombing, Palestinians in Gaza move from place to place, [only to discover nowhere is safe](. - On the home front: Justin Trudeau spoke at a Jewish community centre this weekend. [Here’s how he condemned the attack by Hamas](. - Jon Allen’s take: The violence between Israelis and Palestinians will not end [until each side recognizes the other’s legitimacy](. Steve Russell/The Star GTA [Toronto’s cheap and ample parking has been good for business — that may be about to change]( How much parking space does a city need in order to thrive? Around the world, the question has pushed urban centres to reconsider decades-old planning practices. In Toronto, it’s behind a new pilot project to collect real-time data on how many drivers are using parking spots and when. The next thing to determine is whether the current price — and dedicated real estate — for parking is right, Ben Spurr reports. [Here’s what proponents and critics of reducing parking space have to say](. - Go deeper: A shift is underway in how city planners think about parking. While the mid-20th century saw North American cities adopt car-focused policies enacting minimum parking spaces and cheap spaces on commercial streets, today’s planners are pointing out the costs: people being motivated to drive instead of using other transportation — and causing gridlock, stifling productivity and releasing more emissions. - By the numbers: Toronto Parking Authority reported earlier this year that prices at its 20,000 on-street spaces, no higher than $5 per hour, were 41 per cent lower than other North American cities. Canadian Press File Photo ontario politics [Before there was Doug Ford, there was Mike Harris — and we’re still living in his Ontario]( To his supporters, former premier Mike Harris was a principled leader whose “Common Sense Revolution” cut taxes and spending, keeping promises that returned the Progressive Conservatives to power. His detractors, however, point out that he presided over the Walkerton tainted water tragedy, the police shooting of an Indigenous protester at Ipperwash and labour strife in education. Whichever way you see him, he still looms large in Ontario, Robert Benzie writes. [Here’s how a new book lays out that, 20 years later, we’re still living in Mike Harris’ Ontario](. - More: “The Harris Legacy” editor Alister Campbell, who was a key player in Harris’s political success, explains in the preface that Harris’ four successors have not reversed many of the former premier’s major decisions. - More: The 16-chapter scholarly book includes contributions from David Frum, the late Hugh Segal, Terence Corcoran and Jack Mintz, among others. WHAT ELSE SickKids hospital spent hundreds of hours reviewing a disgraced doctor’s research. [Here’s why the “disappointing” review has sparked anger](. Afghans are still hoping to find survivors from the quake that has killed more than 2,000 people. [Here’s the latest on the search](. Good Shepherd, a Catholic faith-based charity, [served its first communal Thanksgiving lunch since COVID-19](. Soon, 27 city parks involved in a pilot project will no longer allow alcohol consumption. [But is it really last call?]( A Toronto man accused of killing “random strangers” has been found guilty. [Take a closer look at the case](. Raptors fans used to proclaim: “In Masai we trust.” [Trusting Ujiri remains the most logical position](. Quebec has long dominated the maple syrup industry. [Ontario wants to change that](. [A shooting at a Pickering casino]( on Thanksgiving has left one man dead. Martin McSkimming, a Kiwi transplant and Toronto’s “Mayor of Yorkville” [created an unpretentious oasis at Hemingway’s](. Here are four ways AI can help your job search — [and save you hours of work](. ICYMI Toronto Star Photo Illustration [She used to call herself an antivaxxer. Now, she’s a student nurse — who just gave her first vaccine.]( CLOSE-UP Toronto Star NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUARE: Thousands of demonstrators march in Toronto on Thanksgiving Day while war rages on in Israel and Palestine. [Take a look at the downtown scenes and where politicians offered words of support](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_201345). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](