U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned on Monday that there would be severe consequences in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not freed before his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Hamas-led militants captured more than 250 people during their 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli figures, including dual Israeli-American citizens. Of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages still believed to be in Gaza, approximately half are thought to be alive.
In a post on social media, Trump made his strongest remarks yet about the hostages since his election in November:
"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 further added: "Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America."
Hamas has indicated that the release of hostages is contingent on an end to the war and Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza. In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is entirely eradicated and no longer poses a threat to Israel.
On Monday, Hamas claimed that 33 hostages in Gaza had been killed during the ongoing war, which has lasted nearly 14 months. They did not specify the nationalities of the deceased.
The conflict began when Hamas-led fighters launched a deadly attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel’s military response has resulted in the deaths of over 44,400 Palestinians and displaced the majority of Gaza’s population, according to Gaza officials. Large parts of the enclave have been reduced to rubble.
