Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 13, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba THRIVE M A N I T O B A GROWING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY TO BUILD A STRONG MANITOBA Thank you for putting your heart into helping kids Learn more about your impact at goodbear.ca. February is #HeartMonth, and we at the Children’s Hospital Foundation are so deeply grateful for supporters who follow their hearts to help kids. Over the last four years donors have helped transform the lives of kids who need cardiac care – kids like Max. When Max was born, he had eight holes in his heart as well as narrow airways. Before his first birthday, Max had more than 20 surgeries and spent a significant amount of time in hospital connected to remote monitored equipment. You can imagine, remote monitored equipment allows health care teams to keep a close eye on kids’ vital signs while they’re in hospital without being right beside them. Children’s Hospital’s amazing staff can check in on any patient from any of the centralized monitoring locations. We are pleased to share that thanks to $6.5 million of generous donor support we will be able to outfit all 100 inpatient beds at Children’s with this game-changing technology. Meet Your 2025 Champion Child Jack was born premature at 26 weeks along with his twin brother Jori. Sadly, Jack’s brother died at just 6 days old and Jack struggled with hydrocephalus - an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that puts harmful pressure on brain tissue. Jack needed several life-saving neurosurgeries at HSC Children’s Hospital. As a complication of hydrocephalus, Jack now lives with Spastic Dysplasia Cerebral Palsy - a chronic condition of muscle stiffness and spasms in his legs. He has received care from many departments within Children’s Hospital, such as emergency care, physical therapy, eye care, and more. Despite his challenges, Jack is a thriving, happy child who loves to collect flags, fly kites and fish. He does not let his condition hold him back…in fact, his favourite saying is, “I can do it!” Jack’s parents, Samantha and Jason, thank donors to Goodbear.ca who support child health research at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and ongoing care for kids at Manitoba’s only Children’s Hospital, making the health care Jack receives possible. Watch Jack’s story at Goodbear.ca/ Jack and please show support for Jack’s champion year with a gift by clicking the “Support Jack’s fundraising” button. DID YOU KNOW? The federal government extended the 2024 tax receipt deadline to February 28, 2025. We encourage you to donate now to support high priority needs in HSC Children’s Hospital. Please sign up for email receipts! You will receive your tax receipt faster and reduce costs to the Foundation. Please contact info@goodbear.ca to switch. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● B3 NEWS I WORLD Israel threatens ‘all hell will break loose’ on Hamas in latest Gaza ceasefire crisis J ERUSALEM — Israel’s defence min- ister on Wednesday vowed that “all hell will break loose” on Hamas if it fails to free hostages this weekend as planned, stepping up threats against the militant group as mediators worked to salvage their ceasefire. There were signs that the gaps could be bridged. The dispute was sparked when Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet some commitments under the truce, including the delivery of tents and other aid, and said it would delay the next hostage release on Saturday. Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi told The Associated Press there were “positive signals” the three hostages will be released as planned on Satur- day but the group had not yet received a commitment from Israel that it would adhere to the deal. An Egyptian official with knowledge of the talks said the two sides were close to an agreement. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations, said Is- rael had committed to delivering more tents, shelters and heavy equipment to Gaza. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. Israel says it is fulfilling its obligations under the deal, which went into effect on Jan. 19 and has paused the 16-month war in Gaza, bringing respite to hundreds of thousands of Pal- estinians. In the ceasefire’s current first stage, which is to last 42 days, Israel is to de- liver large quantities of aid. Hamas is meant to free 33 hostages taken during its cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Eight of them are said to be dead. Twenty-one have been released so far, along with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli cus- tody. Hamas’s threat to delay the hos- tage release sparked fury from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to resume the fighting if Hamas didn’t follow through and or- dered troops to be strengthened around Gaza. They pulled back from the ter- ritory’s populated areas during the ceasefire. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he was echoing U.S. President Donald Trump by threaten- ing that “all hell will break loose” if there is no hostage release on Saturday as planned. “If Hamas stops releasing the hos- tages, then there is no deal and there is war,” he said during a visit to a mil- itary command centre. He said the “new Gaza war” wouldn’t end until Hamas was defeated, which would al- low for Trump’s “vision” on transfer- ring Gaza’s population to neighbouring countries to be realized. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem rejected “the language of U.S. and Is- raeli threats” and called on Israel to implement the terms of the ceasefire deal. Among other claims, Hamas says Israel is not allowing an agreed-upon number of tents, prefabricated homes and heavy machinery into Gaza. The ceasefire’s stability has also been rocked by Trump, who has pro- posed relocating Palestinians out of Gaza to neighbouring Arab countries so the U.S. can “own” and rebuild the territory — not necessarily for its cur- rent inhabitants. Jordan and Egypt, where Trump wants Palestinians moved, have repeat- edly and vehemently rejected the pro- posal. Jordan’s King Abdullah II did so again after his meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. Trump has also suggested Hamas release all the hostages yet to be freed under the ceasefire’s first phase at once — which emboldened Israel to call for more hostages to be freed on Saturday. The releases have been gradual and al- most weekly so far. The latest ceasefire dispute came as Israel and Hamas were expected to begin negotiations on a second phase of the deal, which would extend the truce, bring about the full withdrawal of Is- raeli troops from Gaza and see the re- maining living hostages freed. But there appears to have been little progress on those talks. Netanyahu is under pressure from his political partners, on whom he relies to remain in power, to resume the war after the first phase. But he also faces surging outrage from many Israelis, who are stunned by the ema- ciated condition of the three hostages released last Saturday and want him to follow through with the deal. — The Associated Press TIA GOLDENBERG AND SAMY MAGDY J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Hamas’s threat to delay the hostage release sparked fury from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Egypt, Jordan call for Gaza reconstruction without displacement BEIRUT — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed their nations’ strong, historic ties and commitment to regional co-ordin- ation during a phone call on Wed- nesday, the Egyptian presidency said. Their discussion, which came a day after Abdullah met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., focused on Gaza and broader Middle East stability. According to presidential spokesman Mohamed El-Shenawy, both leaders emphasized the full implementation of the Gaza cease- fire, the continued release of hos- tages and Palestinian detainees, and the urgent delivery of humani- tarian aid. They also stressed the need to start Gaza’s reconstruc- tion immediately while preventing Palestinian displacement. Al-Sissi and Abdullah condemned Israeli military actions in the West Bank, calling for an end to measures worsening conditions for Palestin- ians. Both the Egyptian and Jordan- ian governments have rejected Trump’s proposal to resettle Pal- estinians from Gaza in their coun- tries. Egypt has played a key role in brokering multiple ceasefires between Israel and Hamas. The latest Gaza escalation has once again placed Egypt and Jordan at the forefront of diplomatic efforts to end hostilities and address the humanitarian crisis. — dpa ;