President-elect Donald Trump warned Monday there will be “all hell to pay” in the Middle East if Hamas does not release every one of the remaining hostages in Gaza before his inauguration next month.
Trump, who has previously demanded Israel find a way to end the war in Gaza before the start of his term, issued his strongest threat yet against the Palestinian terrorists, warning that America would get directly involved in the war if his demands are not met.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
“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!”
Trump’s warning came hours after the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that New Yorker Omer Neutra, 21, was killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
Neutra, an Israeli-American citizen from Plainview on Long Island, was believed to be alive until the IDF revealed he was among the 35 people whose bodies are still being held in Gaza along with the 62 living hostages.
Hamas is still holding the bodies of three other Israeli-Americans, as well as three Israeli-Americans believed to be alive.
The Biden administration, which has tried for a year to broker a cease-fire agreement to free the hostages, will likely be unable to secure the captives’ freedmon by the end of his term next month.
The issue will then move on to Trump, who has long warned Israel and Hamas to end the conflict before his inauguration.
US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Trump’s position remains firm on having the Gaza war end before he returns to the White House, Axios reported.
“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a cease-fire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham told the outlet.
During Trump’s recent conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president-elect allegedly gave Israel the hard deadline to end the war by Jan. 20, 2025, according to the Times of Israel.
Trump suggested Israel could maintain troops in the area past January — a condition Hamas has described as a nonstarter — so long as Israeli leaders officially declared an end to the conflict, according to the outlet.