Trump Demands Hamas Release Israeli Hostages Before He Takes Office or There Will Be ‘ALL HELL TO PAY’

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

President-elect Donald Trump demanded on Monday that Hamas release all the remaining hostages taken from southern Israel during the terror group’s brutal attack on October 7, 2023.

Trump posted to Truth Social, “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!”

“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. 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 concluded.

Al Arabiya’s Washington Bureau Chief Nadia Bilbassy-Charters spoke to Trump in October about how he would go about securing the release of the remaining hostages, including 7 U.S. citizens. Sixty-three hostages are believed to still be held by Hamas. Of the some 250 taken, 71 have been confirmed to have been killed.

“You actually told Hamas, you said that you threatened them. You said you have to release these hostages before I reach the White House. So you’re saying what can be done?” Bilbassy-Charters asked Trump on the Saudi state-run television channel.

“Well, I would have said they have to release them immediately. I think if I said it, they would have done it. I think the hostages would have been back home. But I think even early on, I think a lot of those hostages were dead. I think they were dead. I mean, it’s a very sad thing,” he replied, adding:

It’s not even believable when you think about it. But I think pretty early on, there were a lot that were gone. And, you know, just God rest their souls to live that way and, you know, spend– and these were largely young people that were having a good time at a festival. Life was a bowl of cherries. Right. And they’re dead. It’s a very sad thing. But, you know, it’s interesting. I don’t know what’s going to happen when they find out there are fewer than they thought. And it could be by a staggering number.