U.S President elect, Donald Trump has reaffirmed his earlier promise that there will be “hell to pay” if Hamas hostages in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House on January 20th.
“If they’re (hostages) not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” Donald Trump told reporters. “And it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say any more, but that’s what it is.”
“They should have never taken them,” Trump told reporters. “There should have never been the attack of Oct 7. People forget that. But there was, and many people were killed.”
The president-elect then invited Steve Witkoff, whom he intends to appoint as his Middle East envoy, to speak to reporters.
He noted that Trump’s “stature” and “the red lines he’s put out there that’s driving this negotiation.”
Witkoff added that he was “leaving tomorrow” to go back to Doha. “So hopefully it’ll all work out and we’ll save some lives,” he said.
The envoy said Trump has given him much authority to speak for him decisively and firmly.
At the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the war will not stop until Hamas is dismantled and all captives are released.
In exchange, Hamas claims it will release its remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to stop the war and withdraw all of its troops from the Gaza Strip, making it difficult to reach an agreement before the inauguration on January 20.
Osama Hamdan, a prominent Hamas commander, stated, “The experience of negotiating with Israel has proven that the only solution to achieve our people’s rights is to engage the enemy and force it to retreat.”
At a press conference in Algeria, Hamdan said Israel was to blame for undermining all efforts to reach a deal.
Commenting on Trump’s threat that there would be “hell to pay” unless all hostages were freed before the inauguration, Hamdan said: “I think the US president must make more disciplined and diplomatic statements.”
Hamdan’s comments came while Israel said it will not end the war until Hamas is eliminated and all the hostages are released.
Israeli Minister of Science and Technology, Gila Gamliel, said on Tuesday that Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip before receiving all the hostages.
For months, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal.
The outgoing U.S administration has called for a final push for a Gaza ceasefire before President Joe Biden leaves office.
