Trump says ‘hell to pay’ if captives in Gaza not released
Al Jazeera
Threat of escalation comes amid reports Trump seeking Israel-Hamas ceasefire before he takes office in January.
United States President-elect Donald Trump has promised “there will be hell to pay” if captives held in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing war are not released by the time he takes office on January 20.
The statement on Monday was Trump’s most forceful on the deadlocked efforts to bring an end to the war since the November 5 US elections and comes amid reports that he is pushing for a ceasefire to be reached before his second term begins.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump decried “all talk, and no action” about the captives in apparent derision of US President Joe Biden and his administration’s inability to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in more than a year of war.
“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!” he wrote.
