In February 2023, less than a year into the RCMP’s investigation into possible war crimes stemming from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Cpl. Kate Walaszczyk was trying to “manage expectations.â€
It can take years before these kinds of probes result in prosecutions, , but the initial steps are critical. The RCMP was first focused on preserving physical and digital evidence, as well as gathering victims’ stories.
“Let’s say a conflict finishes. Individuals don’t come forward about those allegations until years later, and then evidence is lost. Memories are lost, all those things are lost,” said Walaszczyk, who was described as an investigator in the RCMP’s Ukraine war crimes unit. “We need it to be robust, so that there aren’t gaps … When you don’t gather the evidence properly, these things fall apart. And then what’s the point?”
This sense of urgency was reflected both in the RCMP’s official statements about the investigation — which stressed that information be — and its actions, such as signs to greet fleeing Ukrainians at the airport, online ads, a hotline and website, and working with Ukrainian organizations. A from then-public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc described “targeted public engagement campaigns” as key.Â
But more than a year after the RCMP quietly opened an investigation into potential war crimes related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the agency has taken a markedly different approach, with few details offered and scant indication the police have begun seeking testimony from Palestinians or Israelis who may have information about possible crimes. The contrast has raised alarm among international law experts and human rights advocates, who question why the RCMP has taken such a divergent approach in what’s intended to be an impartial process to hold perpetrators of atrocities, involving a Canadian connection, to account.Â
Since it was first reported by the Star in early June, the tight-lipped investigation into the nearly 22-month-old conflict has sparked intense interest, including . News of the probe arrived amid  that Israel’s military is committing war crimes in Gaza, with more than 1,000 Palestinians reportedly killed while seeking  since late May.Â
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans for Canada to recognize Palestine as a state at the UN general assembly in September, though the commitment was contingent upon multiple conditions.
So far, it’s unclear what headway the RCMP has made in its Israel-Hamas probe.
In recent weeks, the Star has spoken to more than two dozen interested parties, including organizations active in Canada’s Palestinian and Jewish communities, refugee support groups, international law experts, lawyers working with Palestinian Canadians, and Gazans attempting to resettle in Canada. Among them, only one organization said they were aware of the investigation before it became public. However, this organization, which requested not to be named as the investigation is ongoing, said the RCMP had only informed them of the probe days before the Star’s report, and after we first asked the RCMP if it was investigating the war in Gaza.
The Mounties have not said whether they have begun soliciting information from those directly impacted by the conflict. Â
Meanwhile, despite launching to collect public input the same day it formally announced its Ukraine probe in early April 2022, the agency has yet to introduce a public portal for its Israel-Hamas investigation due to “technical challenges.†The RCMP refused to elaborate, but says the portal is . As of mid-June, the investigation remained in a “developmental” stage.
Nearing two years after Hamas’s attack in southern Israel set off  — with the effects reverberating here at home in spiking hate crimes, protests, bubble zone laws and literary scandals — the end of the crisis remains out of reach.
That’s the fraught situation the RCMP finds themselves in. Still, the lack of clarity around its investigation has raised doubts about the force’s seriousness among those calling upon Canada to take a stronger stance against Israel’s military campaign, while also fuelling speculation (and erroneous media reports) that Canadian police are specifically targeting soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, .

Alex Neve is an international human rights lawyer who previously served as secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
Ahmer Khan via Alex NeveAlex Neve, the former secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, said he was “encouraged†by the RCMP’s decision to investigate potential crimes committed by Israel and Hamas following what he called decades of “impunity.â€Â But even as he’d expect this probe to differ from its Ukrainian counterpart due to their disparate contexts and “political considerations,†he said the Crown agency’s lack of transparency raises concerns.
“The fact that no one seems to have the slightest indication that something genuine and active is underway is concerning,†said Neve in late May, shortly before the Star revealed the probe. “It’s vital that this move forward as quickly as possible.â€
Known as a structural investigation, the RCMP’s Israel-Hamas probe falls under Canada’s , which aims to prevent war criminals from obtaining safe haven in Canada, as well as seek accountability for such crimes. The RCMP says it launched the probe in “early 2024,†independent of political influence. Though the Mounties have not said publicly what specifically prompted it, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says it was told by the RCMP the probe began with investigations into Canadians killed by Hamas. (The Star has reached out to the force for confirmation.)Â
So far, the RCMP has not announced any criminal investigations as a result of the probe.
In general, the decision to open a structural investigation depends on the credibility of allegations; the existence of a Canadian connection, such as victims, witnesses or alleged perpetrators present in the country; the presence of a sizable community in Canada that could provide testimony and evidence; and, finally, “investigative feasibility†and “operational capacity.â€
In June, it had three structural investigations underway: Ukraine, Israel-Hamas and the “Yazidi genocide carried out by ISIS between 2014 and 2017.â€Â
Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada, said he’s heard a “tremendous amount of concern†about the Israel-Hamas probe from the Jewish community. And while he said the organization supports investigating war crimes in principle, Robertson said some are worried the RCMP’s work could be corrupted by those seeking to target Canadian Jews by “weaponizing” the upcoming public portal.
It’s imperative, he said, “any investigation into war crimes and other atrocities during the Israel-Hamas conflict focuses on the attack on Oct. 7 and any actions following Oct. 7 undertaken by Hamas, a listed terror entity in Canada.â€
Earlier this month, B’nai Brith had planned to host  to discuss the probe, but the virtual event was cancelled a day before. When the Star asked if the RCMP had plans to meet with members of Canada’s Palestinian community, the force said it “welcomes all invitations to speak to community groups and organizations on various issues,” later adding that it had spoken to community leaders about this issue in the past and would continue to do so.
A representative at a Muslim organization told the Star the RCMP reached out days after the probe was revealed, but the group said what was shared was “not very substantive in terms of outcomes.” The group asked not to be identified so as not to thwart the investigation.Â

A woman walks with an umbrella reading ‘End the war immediately,’ during a protest demanding immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at the site of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel, Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Ohad Zwigenberg/APMeanwhile, the pro-Palestine advocacy group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, , said it hasn’t heard from the RCMP. Nor had a handful of other organizations active in the Palestinian community, such as , a collective of health workers in Canada who’ve travelled to Gaza, and whose members have provided testimony to other war crimes inquiries.
Omar Omar, a Vancouver-based Palestinian activist with the Gazan Canadian League, said he also hadn’t heard of any newly arrived Gazans being asked if they have witnessed war crimes. Pointing to the far smaller number who’ve resettled in Canada compared to Ukrainians, he feels “betrayed” by the Canadian government.
Since the probe became public, the RCMP has attempted to allay speculation by noting it’s not a criminal investigation and does not target specific groups. Instead, , structural investigations are “broad, intelligence-led†efforts that could inform future criminal investigations. No proceedings can commence, however, without the of Canada’s attorney general.
Besides criminal charges, evidence gathered could also be used to pursue immigration measures like deportation, or be shared with outside authorities such as the International Criminal Court, which in 2019 began investigating alleged war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The ICC has since issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former Israeli defence minister as well as a high-ranking Hamas leader, whose death from an Israeli airstrike was later confirmed. Meanwhile, Israel is facing charges of genocide, brought by South Africa, at the International Court of Justice, which the Israeli government has described as
Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has , displaced most of the population at one point and killed at least 60,000 Palestinians, including over 27,000 women and children, . . The war was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians. Around 250 people were also taken hostage by the militant group. Approximately 50 hostages remain in Gaza, .
Most Canadians are likely unfamiliar with . The initiative — a joint effort by the RCMP, the Department of Justice and Canada Border Services Agency, as well as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — dates back to 1998. It enforces a that implemented Canada’s obligations under the Rome Statute, the world’s handbook for defining genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
Canada played a key role in crafting the Rome Statute. In 2000, it became the to incorporate the treaty’s obligations into domestic law, making genocide and the other aforementioned crimes illegal here at home.
Why, some might wonder, would Canadian authorities wade into messy, foreign conflicts?
Mark Kersten, an assistant professor in criminal justice at the University of the Fraser Valley, argues that, on top of fulfilling international obligations, it’s not in Canada’s domestic interest to have people “spend six months abroad committing international crimes or being involved in unlawful wars and then coming and being the person who lives in the cottage next to you.
“We’re not willing to accept people who commit theft or murder or assaults in our own communities.†Why then should people’s actions outside of Canada be overlooked, he asked. “They do matter.â€
In recent years, however, and  say Canada has strayed from its international obligations by failing to prosecute alleged perpetrators residing in the country. In more than two decades, Canada is known to have criminally charged only three people under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. (Two of the cases stemmed from the Rwandan genocide, and only one was successful, while another case is currently underway.) Authorities instead often rely on immigration measures — perhaps due to a lack of funding. According to the Department of Justice, the war crimes program receives about $15.6 million annually, a number that since its creation.

Mark Kersten, an associate criminal law professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, views the RCMP’s Israel-Hamas probe as a shift in Canada’s approach to the decades-long crisis.
Courtesy of Mark KerstenAfter Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Canada exhibited a renewed zeal in pursuing war crimes — at least when it came to Ukraine. Six weeks into a war that had then , the RCMP announced its investigation. The police also sent investigators to assist the ICC in its own probe. “We are seeing homes that are being reduced to rubble,â€Â then-public safety minister Marco Mendicino , stressing a need to “preserve the record.”
Canada’s swift response was welcomed by Kersten: “This is exactly the kinds of action that states should take when faced with mounting evidence of these types of atrocities.â€
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ to a large Ukrainian diaspora, Canada’s enthusiasm in announcing its Ukraine probe likely reflected, according to a longtime international human rights lawyer who wished not to be named, the investigation’s political favourability and the illegality of Russia’s 2022 invasion, which was widely accepted as an act of aggression. Whereas, the lawyer said, Israel’s immediate response to Hamas attack’s was viewed by allies like Canada, at least initially, as an act of self defence.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who oversees the RCMP, did not respond to a request for comment.Â

A woman rides her bike by destroyed buildings on June 2, 2022 in Trostyanets, Ukraine.
Alexey Furman/Getty ImagesKersten sees the Israel-Hamas probe as a momentous shift in Canada’s approach to the decades-long crisis — , according to Kersten, the Canadian government has dedicated “tangible resources†to investigating international crimes in Israel or the Palestinian territories.
He can also appreciate the RCMP’s contention, shared in an email to the Star in May, that every structural investigation requires a “tailored approach and investigative techniques that cannot be applied universally.†But what appears to be scant outreach to those who may have knowledge of possible atrocities baffles Kersten, describing canvassing refugees for testimony as “a pretty elementary thing to do.”
Still, Kersten believes the decision to investigate has already borne fruit by sparking an important dialogue.
Michael Lynk, the Canadian former UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, wishes he could feel more optimistic. Instead, his expectations are tempered by what he views as a history of Canadian inaction. For instance, he noted, although this country has , thus constituting a war crime, Lynk can’t recall the RCMP or justice department taking interest. (Global Affairs Canada did, however, recently sanction two Israeli cabinet ministers over “extremist rhetoric” related to the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.)
“I don’t hold a lot of optimism that this is going to lead anywhere unless there’s concerted political pressure or public attention given to this,†said Lynk, who teaches law at Western University.
“The whole point of deeming genocide to be the crime of crimes is to stop it when it’s occurring or to stop (it) when it looks like evidence is approaching that this may be a genocide. It’s for the here and now, not for the historical record.â€