Trump vows 'all hell to pay' if hostages in Gaza aren’t freed by Jan. 20 inauguration

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday issued a stern warning of severe consequences in the Middle East if the hostages being held by Hamas are not freed by his inauguration just weeks away.

"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!" said Trump on his social media platform Truth Social.

"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," said Trump.

"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 added.

Israel estimates that there are currently 101 Israeli prisoners still being held in Gaza. This figure comes nearly 14 months into a war in which Israel has killed over 44,000 people and injured 105,000 more, mostly women and children, leaving the Gaza Strip a wasteland.

Activists in Israel have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire deal and a swap of hostages and prisoners, but complain that instead he has deliberately obstructed any possible deal. Many charge that he wants to prolong the war for his political survival, holding his own interests above those of the country.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Monday that 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been killed, mostly due to Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, 2023.

In a video posted on Telegram, the resistance group said: "33 Israeli prisoners were killed, and some of their whereabouts remain unknown because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions and obstinacy."

The group warned that continued Israeli aggression would increase the death toll among Israeli hostages.

Trump is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Netanyahu, the architect of Israel’s ongoing 14-month onslaught on Gaza, was said to favor Trump’s election to the White House this fall.

During his first term as president, before he was succeeded by current President Joe Biden, Trump took steps such as moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, angering Palestinians, who see occupied east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.