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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he was not confident a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold, despite trumpeting his diplomacy to secure it ahead of his inauguration.

Asked by a reporter as he returned to the White House whether the two sides would maintain the truce and move on in the agreement, Trump said, “I’m not confident.”

“That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,” Trump said.

Trump, however, said that he believed Hamas had been “weakened” in the war that began with its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

“I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza is like a massive demolition site,” Trump said.

The property tycoon turned populist politician said that Gaza could see a “fantastic” reconstruction if the plan moves ahead.

“It’s a phenomenal location on the sea — best weather. You know, everything’s good. It’s like, some beautiful things could be done with it,” he said.

Israel and Hamas on Sunday began implementing a ceasefire deal that included the exchange of hostages and prisoners.

The plan was originally outlined by then president Joe Biden in May and was pushed through after unusual joint diplomacy by Biden and Trump envoys.

Trump, while pushing for the deal, has also made clear he will steadfastly support Israel.

In one of his first acts, he revoked sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank imposed by the Biden administration over attacks against Palestinians.

ISLAMABAD: Salman Akram Raja, a lawyer and close aide of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, said the jailed leader had told the party not to participate in the next session of ongoing reconciliatory talks with the Pakistan government unless it announced judicial commissions into accusations Khan’s party and supporters had led violent protests. 
The first round of talks aimed at cooling political instability in the 241-million South Asian nation took place between Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the government on Dec. 23, with follow up talks on Jan. 2 and 16. 
The PTI party’s demands to the government mainly include the release of all political prisoners including Khan, and the formation of two judicial commissions to probe into the events which led to his arrest in August 2023, and violent protest rallies, including one on May 9, when PTI supporters rampaged through military offices and installations, and a second one on Nov. 26 in which the government says four troops were killed. 
A Pakistani court last week sentenced Khan to 14 years imprisonment in a land corruption case, a setback to the nascent talks’ process. 
“He [Khan] has said we will not play committee-committee,” Raja told reporters after meeting Khan at the Rawalpindi Adiala prison on Monday.
“Our demands that judicial commissions be formed, if commissions are not announced into the events of May 9 and Nov. 26, then we will not sit in the next round [of talks].”

The talks opened last month as Khan had threatened a civil disobedience movement and amid growing concerns he could face trial by a military court for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during the May 9 protests.
The negotiations also began two days after 25 civilians were sentenced by a military court to periods of two to 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment” in connection with attacks on military facilities on May 9, 2023. Just days later on Dec. 26, another 60 civilians were sentenced by a military court to jail time ranging from 2 to 10 years in connection with the May 9 attacks.
Khan’s first arrest in May 2023 in the land graft case in which he was sentenced last week sparked countrywide protests that saw his supporters attack and ransack military installations in an unprecedented backlash against Pakistan’s powerful army generals. Although Khan was released days later, he was rearrested in August that year after being convicted in a corruption case. He remains in prison and says all cases against him are politically motivated.
Protests demanding Khan’s release in November also turned violent, with the PTI saying 12 supporters were killed while the state said four troops had died.