US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday warned Hamas of massive repercussions if hostages in Gaza are not released by the time he takes office in January.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“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!”
About 250 hostages were dragged back to Gaza during the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
Trump’s comment comes after Hamas on Saturday released a video of 20-year-old Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who was captured while serving in the Israeli military. Alexander pleaded tearfully to Netanyahu to cut a deal for the hostages’ release.
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On the campaign trail, Trump and his surrogates regularly accused the Biden administration of not doing enough to bring attention to the hostages. The Biden administration brokered a short truce in November 2023 that saw more than 100 hostages freed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump’s statement on Tuesday. “I want to thank President Trump for his strong statement yesterday. This is a very decisive statement that clarifies that there is one party responsible for this situation and that is Hamas.”
The hostage issue has captivated Israeli society, with family members of the hostages and supporters accusing Netanyahu of abandoning them by continuing the war. Twelve people with US citizenship were taken during the attacks, according to the Israeli government. A mother and daughter were freed on 20 October 2023 by Hamas amid pressure from the US and Qatar.
The Biden administration has tried to broker a ceasefire that would start with the release of hostages held in Gaza. It regularly blamed Hamas for standing in the way of a deal, particularly saying that Hamas chief Yayha Sinwar was the “main obstacle” to a settlement. However, since his killing in October, there has been no progress toward a ceasefire.
Analysts say Israel has been the main roadblock to ending the war and that Netanyahu has an interest in dragging out the fighting, as he faces domestic political issues, including a corruption trial and a possible inquiry into the Hamas attack if the conflict ends. There is also a growing movement in Israel to establish Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Trump’s statement calling for the release of hostages did not mention ending the war, suggesting he may approach them as separate issues, which Israel has tried to do.
“This is the way to bring back the hostages: by increasing the pressure and the costs for Hamas and its supporters, and defeating them, rather than giving in to their absurd demands,” Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, said on X, praising Trump’s statement.
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It’s unclear how Trump plans to follow through on his threat against Hamas. Most of Gaza has already been reduced to rubble by Israel in an offensive that has killed at least 44,502 Palestinians, mainly women and children. Israel is now laying siege to northern Gaza.
Trump did not directly name Hamas in his threat, but most of the group’s senior leadership, which led the 7 October attack or was in power during the assault, has been killed by Israel.
Sinwar was killed in a firefight in Rafah in October. Israel said it killed Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, in July. Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was also assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July.
Hamas is part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance”, a constellation of militias that it backs to varying degrees. As a Sunni Islamist and Palestinian nationalist group, Hamas has not been as close to Tehran as Shia Hezbollah. Still, the Trump administration is not likely to distinguish between them with such nuance.
Trump has directly blamed Iran for the 7 October 2023 attack, saying that it provided money and training from oil sales to Hamas, which he says would not have been available had he remained in the White House.
Trump transition team insiders have already told Middle East Eye about his plans to ramp up sanctions enforcement against Tehran.
Trump’s broadside about the hostages could be geared more towards a domestic audience, resembling when President Ronald Reagan demanded that Iran release American hostages taken during its 1979 storming of the US embassy before his inauguration. Iran released the hostages minutes after Reagan was sworn into office.
Trump has also issued other blunt warnings.
On Saturday, he threatened to target BRICS countries with 100 percent tariffs if they try to create a rival currency to the US dollar. The nine-member bloc includes US ally India and foes Russia and China. Egypt, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the loosely organised economic bloc this year. Turkey, which is eyeing membership, also trades with Russia in rubles.
