Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 29, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Read online at: winnipegfreepress.com/fp-features S A V O U R M A N I T O B A M A N I T O B A ’ S P R E M I E R F O O D , D R I N K A N D L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E F A L L 2 0 2 5 F r e s h h a r v e s t v e g g i e s F R O M F I E L D T O T A B L E L o c a l i n f u s i o n s F L A V O U R E D V O D K A M A K E S A C O M E B A C K I N S I D E WATCH FOR IT AT MANITOBA LIQUOR MARTS! FALL 2025 ISSUE DON’T MISS THE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2025 B2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I CANADA / WORLD Israeli military launches strikes on Gaza J ERUSALEM — The Israeli military launched several strikes in Gaza City and other parts of the enclave late Tuesday, rescue workers and health officials said, after Prime Min- ister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “forceful” response to what he called a ceasefire violation by Hamas. The bombardment, which medics said killed at least nine people in Gaza, put additional strain on the ceasefire agreement brokered this month by President Donald Trump. Earlier Tuesday, Hamas militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade and a sniper fired at troops in two incidents in southern Gaza, an Israeli military official said, speaking on the condi- tion of anonymity to discuss the attack. Hamas said in a statement that it had “no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah and affirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement.” Tensions had been escalating af- ter Netanyahu accused Hamas of re- turning the remains of hostage Ofir Tzarfati; but Israel had already re- covered his partial remains in Novem- ber 2023. Under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, Hamas agreed to return the remains of hostages it abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, many of whom died or were killed in captivity. The prime minister signalled hours before the strikes that he would seek retaliation for what he called a clear violation of the agreement by the group. “Today’s attack on IDF soldiers in Gaza by the terrorist organization Hamas is a crossing of a glaring red line to which the IDF will respond with great force,” Israeli Defence Minis- ter Israel Katz said shortly before the bombardment began. “Hamas will pay dearly, with interest, for attacking the soldiers and for violating the agree- ment on the return of the deceased hos- tages.” Hamas has countered that Israel has been slowing the search for hos- tage bodies by refusing to allow into Gaza heavy machinery needed to move rubble, and forbidding Palestinian and international search teams from entering certain areas. The militant group accused Israel of “seeking to fabricate false pretexts in preparation for taking new aggressive steps against our people.” Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence, confirmed in a text message around 8 p.m. local time that Gaza City was under bombard- ment. A strike hit a residence in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City, Bas- sal said, killing four people. Another at- tack targeted an empty area at the edge of al-Shifa Hospital, said the facility’s director, Mohammad Abu Selmiya. In the southern city of Khan Younis, five people, including two children, were killed in a strike on a vehicle, the civil defence force said. Israel has continuously carried out low-intensity strikes since Oct. 11, the first full day after the ceasefire came into effect — killing more than 90 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The heaviest bombardment came on Oct. 19 after Israel blamed Hamas for the deaths of two soldiers in Rafah, unleashing a wave of strikes that local health authorities said killed as many as 45 people. Speaking to reporters Tuesday about the incidents in Gaza, Vice-President JD Vance said he thought the “cease- fire is holding” and did not appear to definitively blame Hamas for the sniper attack. “We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked a soldier,” Vance said, according to Reuters. “We expect the Israelis are going to re- spond, but I think the president’s peace is going to hold despite that.” Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian Amer- ican who was a key intermediary be- tween Trump and Hamas leaders this year, said Hamas officials told him on Tuesday that they were “unequivocal- ly committed” to finding all dead Is- raeli hostages and suspected that the sniper who shot at Israeli forces was a rogue individual who wanted to “create havoc.” “Hamas have very strict instruc- tions to their people not to violate the ceasefire,” Bahbah said. “From their perspective, they have zero interest in retaining the hostages and they want to hand them over as soon as possible, be- cause then we’ll go into Phase 2 of the agreement. This agreement cannot be blown up. We came to the end of the war, we need to keep it that way, and Hamas knows damn well that they either abide by the agreement or that would be the end of them, even politically.” Several senior Trump administration officials, led by Vance, visited Israel last week in an effort to buttress the ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who visited Thursday, told re- porters this week that Israel retains the right to strike “if there’s an imminent threat to Israel and all the mediators agree with that.” Rubio’s comments came in response to a Saturday airstrike by Israel against what it said was an Islamic Jihad mil- itant who was planning an imminent attack against Israeli troops. Netanyahu is scheduled to make his first visit today to the Civil-Military Coordination Center, established by the U.S. Central Command in southern Israel to monitor the ceasefire, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported late Tuesday. — The Washington Post GERRY SHIH, HAZEM BALOUSHA HEIDI LEVINE / THE WASHINGTON POST An Israeli soldier at a military outpost aims his weapon toward Gaza City, Tuesday. Company submits revamped silica sand mining proposal A Calgary firm has submitted a second application to extract silica sand from eastern Manitoba, after being rebuffed last year in its initial attempt. Sio Silica, in a filing with Manitoba’s Clean Environment Commission, said it has taken into account concerns raised previously, and is now planning to drill fewer wells in a much smaller area. “This new project has been revised in consideration of the questions and concerns raised by the public, various Manitoba government departments and the CEC,” said company documents posted Tuesday by the agency. Sio Silica initially sought to create more than 7,000 wells over 24 years across a large swath of southeastern Manitoba, extracting more than 30 mil- lion tonnes of quartz silica. The materi- al is used in semiconductors, solar pan- els, fibre optics and other goods. The idea ran into stiff opposition from residents and was rejected by the NDP government in 2024, partly because of concern over the potential impact on drinking water. This time around, the company sub- mitted plans for a smaller project with more measures to protect water. Extraction would be phased in, reach- ing up to 500,000 tonnes annually by the fourth year, and water brought to the surface would undergo filtration and UV treatment before being returned down the wells, the company’s sub- mission said. “Effects on groundwater quality will be minor and, in some cases, positive,” the documents say. Rural Municipality of Springfield Coun. Andy Kuczynski said the com- pany didn’t inform town council before- hand; more information on Sio Silica’s application is expected to be provided to the community later this week. “We are very disappointed what’s happening, but I guess it is what it is.” In a 2023 referendum, residents voted 96.4 per cent against allowing development. At a recent meeting with residents in Cooks Creek, people told Kuczynski they’re still against develop- ment that would drill into the aquifer and interfere with the water supply. “Our residents don’t want it, so we have to organize ourselves again,” he said. “We just have to keep fighting again, like we did previously.” Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, the clos- est First Nation, recently voted against partnering on the new project. Premier Wab Kinew said the proposal will go through the assessment process. Manitoba’s ethics commissioner ruled that former premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet min- isters in the Progressive Conservative government unsuccessfully tried to push the project’s approval after losing the 2023 election and before the new NDP government could be sworn in. — The Canadian Press, with Free Press file STEVE LAMBERT Netanyahu orders ‘forceful’ response to what he calls Hamas ceasefire violation ;