United States President-elect Donald Trump has promised that there will be “hell to pay” if detainees are held in Gaza during Israel’s tenure. An ongoing war He had not been released by the time he took office on January 20.
Monday’s remarks on failed efforts to end the war since the Nov. 5 U.S. elections were Trump’s strongest and came amid reports that he is pushing for a ceasefire before his second term begins.
In a post on TruthSocial, Trump denied “all talk and no action” on the captives, apparently mocking US President Joe Biden and his administration’s inability to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in more than a year of war.
“Please allow this fact to represent that if the hostages are not released before January 20, 2025, the date I proudly take office as President of the United States, there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East. Those responsible for these atrocities against humanity,” he said.
“The people responsible will be hit harder than anyone in the long and storied history of the United States of America. Now release the hostages!” He wrote.
The post did not provide any details on what the threat entails or whether it would involve the deployment of the US military. It also did not specify which parties it was referring to but only the detainees captured by Hamas without reference to Palestinian civilians who bear the brunt of Israeli operations in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders have been accused of stalling talks aimed at ending months of fighting.
Hamas has repeatedly offered to release those captured in Gaza in exchange for an end to the war, but the Israeli government is adamant that the war will continue until Hamas is completely defeated.
At least one Israeli official praised Trump’s post on Monday.
“Thank you and bless you. President-elect @realDonaldTrump,” President Isaac Herzog wrote on X. “We all pray for the moment when our sisters and brothers return home!”
Policy is formed
Despite its ambiguity, Trump’s promise of de-escalation represents a departure from his second-term Middle East policy as it takes shape.
The former president campaigned on the broad idea of bringing peace to the Middle East, particularly Gaza, but offered few details on how that might be achieved. His “America First” platform has long eschewed further involvement of US forces, assets or funding in conflicts abroad.
At the same time, Trump has expressed support for Israel to “finish the job” in the Palestinian enclave and Netanyahu is his preferred leader in the US.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump was a strong supporter of the US ally.
He moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the illegally occupied eastern half long considered the capital of a future Palestinian state. He recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights in Syria. He forged a series of normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries, and he allowed the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.
This time Trump got it Packed His administration’s nominees, along with pro-Israeli officials, chose his Secretary of State Senator Marco Rubio, a rabid defender of Israel’s war, and Israeli Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a vocal supporter of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, who refused to use them. Its commonly used name, instead, refers to “Judea and Samaria”.
Ceasefire talks resume
Still, speaking to the Axios news site last week, Trump ally and Senator Lindsey Graham said the president-elect was “more determined than ever to release the hostages and support a ceasefire that includes the hostage agreement.”
“They want to see it happen now,” he said.
Graham’s remarks came days after Biden announced that a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Hezbollah to end the fighting in Lebanon.
As of Monday, that deal was on the verge of collapse with both Hezbollah and Israel Blaming others Violating its rules.
Biden promised to re-up efforts to reach a long-flagged deal to end fighting in Gaza, where at least 44,466 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war on October 7, 2023, while Hamas attacks have killed at least 1,139. More than 200 people were held captive in Israel.
Israeli officials said 101 detainees remain in Gaza. On Monday, Hamas said a total of 33 were arrested killed Since the beginning of the war.
On Sunday, Hamas officials told reporters that the group’s leaders had held talks with Egyptian security officials in a new bid for a ceasefire. Israeli officials said Netanyahu would hold security talks on the issue.
Speaking to CNN, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said he thinks the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal have improved, despite the distant prospect.
“(Hamas) is isolated. Hezbollah is no longer fighting them and their supporters in Iran and elsewhere are involved in other conflicts,” he said.
“So I think we might have a chance to make progress, but I’m not going to predict exactly when that will happen. … We’ve come close so many times and haven’t crossed the finish line.
White House officials have repeatedly made similar assertions without successfully bringing about a ceasefire.
