by Francis Tuschek, Staff writer
US President-elect Donald Trump has warned that there will be “all hell to pay in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release its remaining Israeli hostages before he assumes office. Trump has pressed both Israel and the Palestinian militants to end their conflict before his inauguration.
Hamas militants captured more than 250 hostages during their assault on Israel last October. While 105 were freed during a short-lived truce the following month and several others rescued this year, around 100 are believed to remain in Gaza, with Hamas tying their release to an Israeli withdrawal from the enclave – a condition that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to accept.
”Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
The incoming president then declared that “if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” he concluded.
Trump has promised to settle multiple global crises upon his return to the White House, most notably the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While he has offered few specifics as to how he will do this, he previously forced foreign powers to the negotiating table with threats of violence or economic punishment. Before holding a series of cordial meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term, Trump threatened Pyongyang with “fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.”
Before winning last month’s presidential election, Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that he wants Israel’s war on Hamas wrapped up before inauguration day. While Trump has not acknowledged making these comments to Netanyahu, he has publicly called on Israel to “finish up your war” several times this year.
Speaking to Axios on Friday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham claimed that Trump is “more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal.” Graham, a foreign policy hawk, explained that Trump wants to reach a deal on Gaza so he can focus on other issues, including the normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations and building a regional coalition against Iran.