Donald Trump warns there'll be 'all hell to pay' if Israeli hostages are not released by his inauguration

2 December 2024, 20:52 | Updated: 2 December 2024, 21:12

Donald Trump has demanded the immediate release of all Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

The president-elect warned there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t released by the time he enters office in January.

In a post on his Truth Social site, Mr Trump wrote: "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."

He added: "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!"

Those in Mr Trump’s team have said he wants to secure a ceasefire in Gaza soon after entering the White House.

Mr Trump's allies have said he hopes there will be a ceasefire and hostage release deal before he returns to office early next year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to comment, but the country's president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed Mr Trump's comments in a social media post.

"Thank you and bless you Mr President-elect @realDonaldTrump," he wrote on X. "We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!"

Israel launched its assault on Gaza when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage on October 7 2023.

Some 100 are still held inside Gaza and around two-thirds are believed to be alive.

Israel has killed at least 44,429 people in Gaza, the vast majority civilians, according to the UN.

The war has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of its population of 2.3 million people - often multiple times.

The Biden administration is currently mounting a last-ditch effort to try to restart talks between Israel and Hamas now that it has brokered a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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