Trump says ‘all hell will break out’ if Hamas doesn’t release hostages

The 78-year-old made the remarks during a wide-ranging press conference at his home in Florida on Tuesday, but he did not elaborate on what his remarks mean in terms of U.S. action in the region when he takes office. It is the latest in a series of threats Trump has made for the return of hostages taken in the October 7th attack on Israel more than a year ago. ‘All hell will break out,’ the president-elect declared again Tuesday.

‘If those hostages aren’t back, I don’t want to hurt your negotiation, if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,’ Trump said. ‘And it will not be good for Hamas , and it will not be good frankly for anyone,’ he continued. ‘All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is.’ He refused to elaborate on what exactly would happen if his demands were not met but said the hostages should have been back along time ago.

The president-elect was being pressed by a reporter about the Middle East and Syria at Mar-a-Lago when he changed the subject and called his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to give an update on the hostages. ‘Well I think we’re making a lot of progress,’ Witkoff said. 

‘I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha.’ Witkoff said he would be leaving to go back to Qatar on Wednesday, but he claimed they have had ‘some really great progress.’

‘I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president.’ Witkoff suggested it was Trump’s reputation and the ‘red lines he put out there’ are what is driving the negotiations. A Hamas official told Reuters it has cleared a list of 34 hostages as the first to go free under a ceasefire deal.

There are believed to be around 100 hostages still held in Gaza, but it is unclear how many of them are still alive. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Qatar with talks being mediated by Qatari and Egyptian officials.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called for a deal to be brought ‘over the finish line’ in the next two weeks before President Biden leaves office. Early last month, Trump warned there would be ‘hell to pay’ in the Middle East if Hamas did not release the hostages before he was sworn into office on January 20.

He wrote in a social media post that those responsible will be ‘hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is a close Trump ally, has said Israel’s war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is eradicated and no longer a threat.

1,200 people were killed in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and more than 250 hostages were captured and brought into Gaza. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault since the attack, according to Gaza’s health officials.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.