Trump promises 'hell to pay' in the Middle East
3/12/2024 5:55
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said
on Monday there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if
hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not released prior to his
Jan. 20 inauguration.
During their deadly 2023 attack on Israel, Hamas-led
militants captured more than 250 people, according to Israeli
tallies, including dual Israeli-American nationals.
Around half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages
still held incommunicado in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Making his most explicit comments on the fate of the
hostages since his election in November, Trump said on social
media:
" 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."
Trump 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 called for an end to the war and total Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal to release remaining
hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the
war will go on until Hamas is eradicated and poses no more
threat to Israel.
On Monday, Hamas said that 33 hostages in Gaza had been
killed during the almost 14-month-old war between the
Palestinian militant group and Israel in the enclave, without
giving their nationalities.
Israel launched its war after Hamas-led fighters
attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200
people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's military offensive has killed more than 44,400
Palestinians and displaced most of Gaza's population, Gaza
officials say. Vast swathes of the enclave lie in ruins.
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