President-elect Donald Trump promised “all hell to pay in the Middle East” if the Israeli hostages Hamas still holds are not released by Jan. 20, when he is inaugurated.
Trump made the threat, which he did not elaborate upon, on social media on Monday, hours after Israel announced that an American-Israeli held hostage in Gaza had in fact been killed on Oct. 7, 2023.
“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 – But it’s all talk, and no action!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent 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,” he said. “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
It was not clear whether Trump was threatening to use U.S. military might in the war in Gaza, which would represent a stark departure from U.S. policy in the region and beyond. The statement did not mention Israel, Hamas or Gaza specifically.
Israel has been fighting Hamas on the ground in Gaza since shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, when it took more than 250 hostages. The Biden administration has for almost a year sought a temporary ceasefire to bring out the remaining hostages, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said it is his mission to free the hostages, including through military means.
Whom Trump would pressure is also not clear; Hamas is rudderless since Israel killed much of its top leadership, and Qatar, until recently the country closest to the terrorist group, reportedly has recently acceded to a U.S. demand that it expel Hamas officials based there.
There are believed to be some 101 hostages, living and dead, held by Hamas, including seven who are American citizens. Omer Neutra’s parents spoke on behalf of the families at the Republican National Convention in August, where father Ronen revealed that Trump had called the couple shortly after Oct. 7.
At the convention, Trump previously warned that Hamas would pay “a very big price” if it did not release the hostages by Jan. 20.
Trump has said he believes most of the remaining hostages are dead. Hamas over the weekend released video of a living American-Israeli hostage, Edan Alexander, who in his scripted comments exhorted Trump to use the “influence and the full power of the United States to negotiate for our freedom.” Two other American-Israeli hostages are thought to be alive.
Some Israelis welcomed Trump’s pledge. President Isaac Herzog said, “Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect.”
“Thank you, President Trump,” former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a tweet. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
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