The Palestinians wanting to get back to their families in Gaza

Plus, new documents on the SNC-Lavalin affair and a massive COVID fraus case [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on desperation among Palestinians, new revelations about the SNC-Lavalin scandal and the co-accused in a massive COVID fraud case. DON’T MISS Mohammed Dahman/AP Photo israel-hamas war [As thousands seek safety, these men just want to get back to Gaza]( Although Israel is bombing Gaza — and has left civilians without water, electricity or shipments of food and medicine — a small group of Palestinian men want nothing more than to be back in the territory with their families. They were in Israel, where they have temporary work permits, when the war escalated and are now stuck in the West Bank, Marco Chown Oved reports. [They described detainment and desperation away from their loved ones](. - More: “I’m worried about my parents,” 32-year-old Oday Mousa told the Star. “My father has shrapnel from an explosion in his knee and they don’t have the materials they need to operate on him.” - Live updates: Israel has bombed southern Gaza, where it told civilians to take refuge, and killed more than a thousand Palestinian children. [Read the latest updates from the ground](. - Word from Ottawa: Justin Trudeau said Hamas may have three Canadian hostages, and is calling for a humanitarian corridor in Gaza. [However, he did not respond to demands to call for a cease fire](. - Word from Queen’s Park: [Doug Ford’s Tories are moving to punish the NDP’s Sarah Jama]( for her statement on the war, saying her apology falls short. Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick federal politics [Why the RCMP didn’t pursue a criminal probe of Justin Trudeau in the SNC-Lavalin affair]( Newly released documents reveal the RCMP declined to pursue a criminal investigation into Trudeau’s actions during the SNC-Lavalin scandal, in part, because the government refused to share confidential cabinet records with the police, Stephanie Levitz reports. Publicly available materials, meanwhile, didn’t provide the RCMP with enough evidence to go forward with a probe. [Here’s what else we can take away from the documents](. - Context: Then-ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, found in a 2019 report that Trudeau broke ethics laws during the scandal. Dion was also hindered by the government’s refusal to grant a broad waiver to cabinet confidences, although exemptions were limited at the time. - Wait, what? [Here’s a primer on the SNC-Lavalin affair.]( Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star ontario politics [The co-accused in a massive COVID-19 fraud case was a secret informant]( According to court documents, a confidential police informant is co-accused with the convicted fraudster who stole $47.4 million from the Ontario government. Vidhan Singh, a private sector associate of ex-bureaucrat Sanjay Madan (who is now serving 10 years in prison), was secretly recording his friend for the Ontario Provincial Police, Robert Benzie reports. [Here’s a closer look at the efforts in a civil trial to seal the wiretaps between the two](. - Wait, what? Madan was fired in November 2020. He was the Ministry of Education’s information technology leader on the Support for Families program, which gave parents money to offset online educational expenses during the pandemic. In April, he pleaded guilty to stealing $47.4 million over many years — including $10.8 million in COVID-19 relief funds. - More: Singh is still on trial for charges of money laundering, fraud and possession of stolen property. He has denied any wrongdoing. WHAT ELSE The NDP is warning it will stop propping up Justin Trudeau’s government [unless it gives pharmacare to everybody](. Alberta (and the oil industry) have won big against Ottawa. [But we may all be the losers in the end](. An Israeli-Canadian cabinet minister feels “heartbreak and fear” as a Jewish mother. [Here’s how she described Trudeau’s stance on the war](. A University of Toronto Mississauga student has been arrested following a report of a hateful social media post. [Here’s what we know](. Will Israel face tunnel warfare in Gaza? [Here’s what we know](. The final complainant in the Peter Nygard case testified that he [berated her during a sexual assault in Toronto](. How hard data — and blunt questions — [could bring real change to Chow’s city hall](. Inflation is forcing pet owners to [choose between feeding themselves or their animals](. Want to buy a home? [A report has found you need to make more money, despite falling prices](. The average car price is now 20 per cent higher than it was last year. [Here’s how much the vehicles are being listed for](. Can you fly with weed in your luggage? Drive with pot in the car? [Here’s a refresher on Canada’s cannabis laws](. Harry and Meghan’s luxe Caribbean getaway proves [we love/hate to see royals on vacation.]( ICYMI Susan Kao Photo Illustration [A second Trump presidency could be “an absolute disaster” for Canada. Are we ready?]( CLOSE-UP Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo ILLINOIS: Family members of Wadea Al Fayoume, who was six, carry his casket to a waiting hearse in Bridgeview, a heavily Palestinian Chicago suburb, on Monday. A landlord accused of fatally stabbing the Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother was charged with a hate crime. [Here’s how loved ones remembered the child](. 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_201887). 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](