Unhinged Trump Warns ‘All Hell to Pay’ If Hostages Aren’t Freed

In revealing his upcoming foreign policy agenda, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has issued a stern warning, stating on Monday that “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” should Hamas fail to release hostages taken from Israel, which maintains military control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Trump has insisted that the hostages who were taken during the October 7 attack the previous year must be released, or he will enact severe consequences. Since Israel initiated a major invasion of Gaza following the Hamas-led assault, approximately 45,000 Palestinians, predominantly civilians including women and children, have lost their lives.

Out of the 251 individuals abducted last year, 63 are reportedly still being held in Gaza, based on updates last week from The Washington Post‘s tracker. To date, 117 have either been released or rescued, and 71 have been confirmed deceased.

Following a dinner with Sara Netanyahu, the spouse of the Israeli prime minister, at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida on Sunday evening, the U.S. president-elect took to his Truth Social platform on Monday afternoon to issue his threat concerning the hostages.

“The world is outraged by the violent, inhumane detention of hostages in the Middle East, against the will of the global community,” Trump posted. “It’s all words and no action! I want this TRUTH to be clear: if the hostages are not freed before January 20, 2025, the day I proudly take office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, particularly for those responsible for these crimes against humanity.”

“Those responsible will face consequences more severe than anyone in the long and storied history of the United States of America has ever faced,” Trump continued. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

Stephen Pollard, editor-at-large at The Jewish Chronicle, commented that “this is the kind of decisive message the president of the USA should have sent on October 8, 2023.”

Responding to Pollard’s remarks, Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at the U.K.-based Medical Aid for Palestinians, queried: “What exactly does Stephen think the U.S. could have done to support Israel in Gaza beyond the current actions? Nuclear weapons?”

“This statement is unhinged—’there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East,'” Talbot added.

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, remarked, “Someone needs to remind Trump that Israel has already unleashed havoc on Gaza, and yet the hostages were not released.”

Drop Site News noted that “Trump’s statement, following a video released over the weekend by Hamas’ armed wing featuring U.S.-Israeli captive Edan Alexander directly addressing Trump, overlooks that Netanyahu has repeatedly undermined cease-fire agreements that could have freed Israeli hostages. It also seems timed to allow him to claim credit for any advancements in cease-fire negotiations, which are already in progress with Egyptian mediators.”

According to the American Jewish news outlet Forward on Monday:

The White House is making a final push to secure a deal. Just last week, President Joe Biden indicated that the recent cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has created a chance to restart stalled talks for a similar agreement in Gaza. “Every day until the end of our term will be used to try to make as much progress as possible,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, stated Sunday morning on ABC‘s “This Week.”

With previous attempts having failed, the families of the American hostages, including the Alexanders, parents of Edan, are hopeful Trump will use his influence in Israel and his rapport with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to facilitate a deal during the transition period. “Trump should not wait until his inauguration to help finalize a deal that will secure freedom for Edan, the other six Americans, and all other hostages,” stated Adi and Yael Alexander on Saturday.

Despite clear evidence of Israel using U.S. weapons to commit mass civilian casualties in Gaza and severely limiting humanitarian aid while claiming to target Hamas, Biden and Congress have not halted arms supplies to Netanyahu’s administration. In fact, shortly after the Israeli government and Hezbollah’s cease-fire—violated around 100 times by Israel—went into effect, the Financial Times reported last week that “Biden has tentatively approved a $680 million weapons sale to Israel.”