"All Hell To Pay": Trump's Threat To Release Israeli Hostages In Gaza Before His Return To Office
Washington DC, US: The United States President-elect Donald Trump has promised that “there will be hell to pay” if the Israeli captives held in Gaza are not released by the time he takes office on January 20. In a post on social media platform Truth Social, he decried the “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. It was the most forceful move from Trump to end the war since he won the Presidential election on November 5th.
Notably, Trump only mentioned the Israeli hostages in Gaza, and have not mentioned thousands of Palestinians, whose life has become nothing short of hell on earth since the war started in October 7, last year when Hamas launched attack on Tel Aviv.
“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.
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“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.
Trump’s post did not offer details on what the threat would entail or if it could involve the deployment of the US military. It also did not specify which parties it was referring to but notably referenced only captives held by Hamas without mentioning Palestinian civilians.
Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas have been accused of scuttling ceasefire talks. Hamas has repeatedly offered to release captives held in Gaza in return for an end to the war, but Netanyahu is adamant that the war will continue until Hamas is totally defeated.
At least one Israeli official was quick to praise Trump’s post on Monday.
“Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect @realDonaldTrump,” President Isaac Herzog wrote on X. “We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!”
Trump had campaigned on the broad notion that he would bring about peace in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza, but has offered little to no details on how that would be achieved. His “America First” platform has long deliberately avoided further involvement of US forces, assets or funding in conflicts abroad. The Republican has also voiced support for Israel’s war in Gaza, asking Tel Aviv to “finish the job” in Palestine. He has also been the most preferred US President by Netanyahu.
Trump was a strong backer of Israel during his first term. He moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the illegally occupied eastern half of Palestinians, which has long been seen as the capital of a future Palestinian state. He recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights in Syria. He forged a series of normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab countries, and he allowed for the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.
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For his upcoming term, Trump has packed his administration nominations with staunchly pro-Israel officials, including his secretary of state pick Senator Marco Rubio, a rabid defender of Israel’s war, and ambassador to Israel pick Mike Huckabee, a vocal supporter of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank who refuses to use its commonly used name, instead referring to “Judea and Samaria”.
Trump ally and Senator Lindsey Graham said the president-elect “is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal”, he made the remark while speaking to Axios news.
“He wants to see it happening now,” he said. Graham made the statement just days after Biden announced a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Hezbollah to end the fighting in Lebanon.
As of Monday, that agreement appeared to be on the edge of collapse with both Hezbollah and Israel accusing the other of violating its terms. France accused Tel Aviv of violating the deal over 52 times within 24 hours. Reportedly, 11 Lebanese were killed by the Israeli Occupation Force so far, after the declaration of ceasefire.
(With inputs from agencies)
