Air Canada suspends pilot over offensive anti-Israel social-media posts

Air Canada suspended one of its pilots, First Officer Mostafa Ezzo, for sharing offensive anti-Israel posts on social media.

Ezzo, who seen wearing pro-Palestine colours while in his pilot uniform, posted inflammatory messages like "F*** you Israel, burn in hell", and labelled Israel as a "terrorist state".

The airline took action in response to public complaints about these posts, emphasising that they don't endorse such views. 

What

• Air Canada took a pilot, First Officer Mostafa Ezzo, out of service for posting offensive messages about Israel on social media.
• This happened after a demonstration in Montreal, Canada, in support of Palestine. 
• He used strong offensive language like "F*** you Israel, burn in hell" and called Israel a "terrorist state".
• He even posted a picture of an Israeli flag being thrown into the trash with the caption, "Keep the world clean."

Air Canada reacts

The airline acted after people complained about Ezzo's posts.

• Air Canada said they were 'taking the matter very seriously', and suspended the pilot. 
• They made it clear that they don't support violence, and condemned the pilot's posts. 

Canada's stance on the Israel-Hamas war

Canada has officially spoken out in support of Israel after the attack by Hamas. Canada condemned the attack by the Hamas militants on Israel and said that they were 'with the Israeli people'.

The war between Israel and Hamas

The suspension of Mostafa Ezzo comes at a time when Air Canada has temporarily stopped flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, because of the war.

• The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for five days now, resulting in over 1,900 casualties in Israel, and more than 4,000 people injured and many missing or taken hostage.
• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that more than 5,000 rockets were fired from Gaza.
• In response, Israel launched counter-offensives, with dozens of air raids and strikes on terrorist hotspots, such as the Al-Furqan neighbourhood, where Hamas plans and carries out attacks.
• This marked the third counterstrike in the area in the last 24 hours. 

On October 7, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a major attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, breaking through the Gaza-Israel barrier and entering Israeli settlements and military sites.