Aid trickles into Gaza as the war widens

Plus, a sexual assault survivor's breakthrough and bringing back neighbourhood businesses [The Star] First Up [By Manuela Vega] By Manuela Vega Good morning. Here’s the latest on the aid arriving to Gaza, a sexual assault survivor’s breakthrough and efforts to bring small neighbourhood businesses back to Toronto. DON’T MISS Hatem Moussa/AP Photo middle east [A second aid convoy reaches Gaza as Israel attacks targets in Syria and the occupied West Bank]( Israel allowed a second batch of desperately-needed aid to reach Gaza civilians on Sunday, including water, food and medical supplies, but no fuel, The Associated Press reports. Relief workers said the supplies amount to only 4 per cent of an average day’s imports and “a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.” Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes attacked Syrian airports and a mosque allegedly used by militants in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s prime minister also warned of potential retaliation against Hezbollah that would have “devastating” consequences for Lebanon. [Here’s what to look out for as the escalating violence in the region enters its third week](. - Context: Fire exchanged between Hezbollah and Israel [point to a widening war](. - By the numbers: In Israel, more than 1,400 people have been killed, with more than 200 kidnapped to Gaza. In Gaza, more than 4,600 people have been killed (the Gaza Health Ministry includes the deaths from the hospital explosion whose source is disputed in the figure). In the occupied West Bank, 93 Palestinians have been killed. - Go deeper: Dwindling fuel supplies for Gaza’s hospital generators are [putting premature babies in incubators at risk](. - Free digital access: [Why Twitter — now X — serves you bad information on the Israel-Hamas war](. Lorne Clark for The Star canada [Ten years after the worst night of her life, she achieved a breakthrough for survivors of campus sexual assault]( In 2013, Stephanie Hale experienced what she describes as the worst night of her life, Omar Mosleh reports. In the aftermath of a sexual assault, the 18-year-old student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) searched for help and guidance on how to make a report. Instead, she faced a process that “exacerbated the impacts of the assault” and worsened her disabilities, a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has found. [Take a look at Hale’s 10-year fight for justice and recognition — and why the tribunal ultimately found the university’s response itself could be a form of discrimination](. - Context: In late August, the tribunal ordered the university to award Hale $65,000 in damages, lost wages and expenses for failing to properly respond to her sexual assault complaint. - Go deeper: Others are arguing that UBCO’s behaviour towards Hale is part of a long-standing pattern. One 2011-2013 graduate student is spearheading a case that contends the university has a track record of failing to take complaints about sexual misconduct seriously. Nick Lachance/The Star GTA [As home prices rise, neighbourhood gems like Park Snacks café are disappearing — the city wants them back]( Nestled between detached houses in Cabbagetown, Park Snacks is the kind of small business that today’s planning rules don’t allow to be built, Victoria Gibson reports. Places like the café — mini corner stores, tiny pizzerias and coffee counters — operate on grandfathered permission if they’re continuously in use. Once the shop, which is now for sale, stops being used as a business, the permissions for it to operate end, too. As converting businesses to residential units becomes more lucrative, the local haunts are disappearing. [Here’s how the city wants to turn the trend around](. - More: The Parks Snacks building has a long history as a community staple. Local records show it’s been used since the late 1800s as a grocery store, a shoemaker and a laundromat, among other uses. The longtime owner is ready to retire, but hopes the sale isn’t the end of the road for the shop. - Context: In the 1950s and ’60s, Toronto increased efforts to divide land uses, introducing zoning that allocated large swaths of land as “neighbourhoods” meant only for detached and semi-detached houses.  WHAT ELSE How a kidnapping plot to extort 500 bitcoins was [undone by Toronto police and the COVID-19 pandemic](. Doug Ford is urging the Bank of Canada to [stop the “crushing” interest rate increases](. [York University is demanding its student union boards resign]( after releasing a statement about Palestine. [I was disgusted — but for most MPs, it was just another day in the House of Commons]( Susan Delacourt writes. The RCMP is reporting an improvement in employees completing mandatory anti-racism training. [Here’s what’s changing](. What to do if you’re sending money overseas to support your family — [but you can barely afford to live in Toronto yourself](. CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn is [apologizing for his statement on Palestinian resistance](. A month after a pig heart transplant, [a man works to regain strength with no rejection so far](. Transit riders take all kinds of things on the TTC. [Here’s what is and isn’t allowed](. A former Toronto paralegal is getting [jail time for a traffic ticket-fixing fraud scheme](. Make money while you save. [Here’s where you can find the best savings account interest rates in Canada](. From Spadina to Bathurst, here’s what [800-plus photos say about the evolution of Queen Street West](. ICYMI Dreamstime Photo [Beyond memory loss, look out for these (surprising) early warning signs of dementia.]( CLOSE-UP R.J. Johnston/The Star LOWER SIMCOE: Thousands of protestors gathered in downtown Toronto on Saturday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories. [Here’s how the demonstration played out and what participants had to say](. 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_202335). 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](