Israeli military says more than 1,500 Canadians were serving in its ranks last year

Palestinians hang decorations beside the rubble of destroyed homes as they prepare for the holy month of Ramadan in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

OTTAWA — The Israeli military says more than 1,500 people with Canadian citizenship — soldiers holding dual or multiple citizenships — were serving in its ranks as of a year ago, according to documents obtained by an Israeli organization.

The news comes months after the RCMP confirmed it would be collecting reports from members of the public about possible war crimes by Hamas or the Israeli military during the Israel-Hamas war.

The Israeli consumer advocacy organization Hatzlacha asked the Israeli military to provide numbers on active service membership as of March 2025, broken down by citizenship. The Israeli government published the completed freedom-of-information document online.

The Hebrew document says 1,185 Canadians who also hold Israeli citizenship were serving in the Israel Defense Forces as of March 2025. Another 339 Canadians serving with the Israeli military were people with at least three nationalities: Canadian, Israeli and a third nationality.

Elad Man, a lawyer with Hatzlacha, confirmed an English translation of that document for The Canadian Press.

The parliamentary library service for the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, also issued a report last year that said 56 Canadians without Israeli citizenship — individuals known as “lone soldiers” — were serving in the country’s military as of August 2024.

Neither document indicates how many Canadians have served in Israel’s military campaign within Gaza.

Israel’s Defense Service Law requires all Israeli citizens who are Jewish, Druze or Circassian, including those who also hold other citizenships and those who live abroad, to serve a mandatory period in the military.

The data comes as Jewish groups call for clarity from the RCMP on its plans to launch an online portal to allow members of the public to report possible war crimes by Hamas or the Israeli military.

The RCMP confirmed last June that it would “proactively” collect information about possible war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The RCMP said it initiated what it calls a “structural investigation” of the conflict in early 2024. The latest military action began in October 2023, when Hamas militants brazenly attacked Israel and took dozens of hostages, prompting Israel to bombard the Gaza Strip and restrict food deliveries.

The RCMP probe is meant to collect evidence of Canadian residents taking part in war crimes or atrocities, or of being victims of them, to prepare for future prosecutions.

An RCMP assistant commissioner was set to brief the Jewish organization B’nai Brith on the structural investigation last July, but the police service cancelled the virtual town hall and hasn’t rescheduled it.

The RCMP still has not launched the promised online portal.

The NDP has urged the Liberals to make it clear to any Canadians serving in the Israeli military that they may be subject to prosecution for any war crimes.

B’nai Brith has accused the NDP of singling out Zionist Canadians with unfounded insinuations about serious crimes.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, which advocates for Palestinians, urged Ottawa to probe those who have served in Israel’s military.

“Canada must investigate and prosecute these citizens for any complicity in war crimes and genocide in occupied Palestine,” the group wrote Tuesday.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs on Tuesday compared dual citizens undertaking military service for Israel to Canadians serving in the militaries of allied democracies such as the U.S. or U.K.

“Efforts to single out or discriminate against Israelis and Jewish Canadians are not only completely unacceptable and undermine our inclusive society but also harm our country as a whole,” wrote vice-president Richard Marceau.

“There can be no moral equivalence between those who have done their military service in the armed forces of a democratic ally of Canada, and supporters of a listed terrorist entity under Canadian law.”

Israel is not officially an ally of Canada as the two are not joined by a formal military or intelligence alliance. Israel and Canada are strategic partners under a formal agreement and they collaborate in fields like defence production.

The International Court of Justice is years into its probe of genocide allegations against Israeli authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over war crimes, as were Hamas leaders who have since been killed.

Last October, Sen. Yuen Pau Woo tabled a motion asking Ottawa to examine the risk of Canadian complicity — through exports or through individual military service — in violations of international humanitarian law.

The Senate has repeatedly adjourned debate on the motion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press