On March 12, Toronto Star staff reporter Marisa Coulton stated that:

“On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250 as hostages. The ensuing Israeli war effort has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the latest death toll from the Gaza Health Ministry.”

After publishing this report, the anti-Israel group, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), took issue with this statement, and said it lodged a complaint with the Toronto Star, stating that:

“By narrowing the focus to a music festival, the article distorts the broader context of the attack and implies that it was solely an assault on a cultural event rather than part of a larger confrontation between Hamas and Israel.”

After lodging their complaint, the Star amended its article to state that:

“On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel. A total of 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted in the attack that day that included other locations such as settlements. The ensuing Israeli war effort has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the latest death toll from the Gaza Health Ministry.”

A correction notice was then published to the article and it stated the following:

“Correction — This file has been updated to correctly explain the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.”

However, contrary to this statement, on October 7, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists (and civilians) attacked the Nova Music Festival, along with many communities which are located in sovereign Israeli territory and not on tenuous or disputed land.

The October 7 attacks did not target any settlements along the Gaza envelope, because there are none and haven’t been since 2005 when Israel disengaged from Gaza in a unilateral pullout by removing 21 settlements and 8,500 settlers.

At the Nova Music Festival itself, close to 400 Israelis were massacred and the remainder were killed in their homes which were located on sovereign and internationally recognized Israeli territory, including the communities of Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Alumim.

After HonestReporting Canada lodged a complaint directly with the Toronto Star, we are pleased to note that the Star reversed course and corrected this article which now states:

“On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel. A total of 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted in the attack that day that included other locations including several communities. The ensuing Israeli war effort has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the latest death toll from the Gaza Health Ministry.”

As well, the Star revised its correction notice which now states:

Correction — March 13, 2025

• This file has been updated twice to correctly explain the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. 

We thank the Toronto Star for taking immediate corrective action.