Trump says he is ‘not confident’ over Gaza ceasefire


Jihan Abdalla
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US President Donald Trump on Monday said he was not confident that all three phases of the ceasefire in Gaza would be implemented.

Mr Trump was speaking from the Oval Office as he signed a batch of executive orders, hours after his inauguration.

“That's not our war over there, but I'm not confident, but I think they're very weakened,” he said, referring to Hamas.

On Sunday, after months of stalemate, a ceasefire began in Gaza, halting 15 months of conflict sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people on October 7, 2023. About 46,900 Palestinians have been killed and much of the coastal enclave has been flattened since then.

Although much of the agreement between Israel and Hamas was negotiated under Joe Biden's administration, its implementation will take place under Mr Trump. His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff took part in the mediated talks in Doha.

The agreement comprises three phases, beginning with a six-week ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and ending with Israel's complete withdrawal from the enclave and its reconstruction.

“Gaza is like a massive demolition site,” Mr Trump said. “It's really got to be rebuilt in a different way.”

Echoing plans from Israel's extreme right-wing settler movement, Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner last year said that Gaza has “valuable” waterfront property. Mr Kushner worked on Middle East issues for Mr Trump's first administration, and in his role advanced US efforts to further integrate Israel into the Middle East.

“Gaza is interesting,” Mr Trump said. “It's a phenomenal location on the sea, best weather. It's like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but some fantastic things could be done with Gaza.”

Earlier on Monday, he rescinded Biden-era sanctions imposed on settler groups and people accused of committing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Mr Biden's administration had accused settler groups of undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank. The sanctions froze their US assets and barred Americans from dealing with them.

Palestinians and rights groups say violence from Israeli settlers and land grabs have been on the rise, particularly during the war on Gaza.

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Dan Brown
Doubleday

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The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
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Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

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Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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Results

1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000

2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000

3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000

NBA Finals so far

(Toronto lead 3-1 in best-of-seven series_

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

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Profile

Name: Carzaty

Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar

Launched: 2017

Employees: 22

Based: Dubai and Muscat

Sector: Automobile retail

Funding to date: $5.5 million

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The biog

Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.

Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.

Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.

Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

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19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

Updated: January 21, 2025, 12:25 PM