Pro-Hamas mob breaches police lines at McGill as Concordia is forced to close

After the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned as “shameful” the actions of pro-Hamas student groups at Montreal universities, violent anti-Israel protests escalated into open riots on Tuesday.

Chaos engulfed Montreal’s downtown as riot police clashed with protesters outside both Concordia University and McGill University. Montreal police said they had been aware of planned demonstrations and had deployed units to “ensure everyone’s safety.”

Concordia earlier announced the closure of its Sir George Williams downtown campus due to “threats of extreme disruption,” according to an email from President and Vice Chancellor Graham Carr to students and staff obtained by Canada’s National Post newspaper.

Two people were arrested Monday “following the disruption of a class and midterm exam,” Carr said. One was found carrying “a metal bar and several incendiary devices.”

“With hundreds of protesters from other universities and cégeps [publicly funded colleges in Quebec] expected—as well as counter-protesters not linked to the university planning to gather outside our downtown campus this afternoon—the threat of extreme disruption is simply too high to operate as usual,” Carr wrote.

By late afternoon, rioters broke through police lines and stormed McGill’s campus, detonating smoke bombs as riot police (SPVM) attempted to contain the situation. Officers marched in formation through the campus, striking batons against their shields in unison.

Witnesses reported plumes of smoke rising near McGill, while earlier in the day, an Israeli flag was burned nearby. The Montreal Gazette reported that pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators faced off on opposite sides of the street as thousands joined the protests.

On Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry sharply condemned student groups at Concordia University for planning a “shameful” pro-Hamas rally on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, which ultimately forced the university to close its downtown campus due to threats of violence and unrest.

“Concordia University student groups are organizing a rally this October 7, celebrating the massacre and atrocities committed by Palestinians, glorifying terrorism under the banner of ‘resistance,’” the Foreign Ministry posted on X. “These groups don’t support peace or justice. They’re celebrating murder, rape & the kidnapping of innocent civilians, carried out by Hamas terrorists—under the protection of a Canadian university. Terror has no place on campus.”