Trump vows ‘all hell to pay’ if Israelis held in Gaza not freed by Jan. 20

WASHINGTON (AA) – President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threatened that there would be severe consequences if Israelis held in Gaza were not freed by January 20.

“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!” said Trump on his social media platform Truth Social.

“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,” said Trump.

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” he threatened. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he added.

There are around 100 Israelis currently being held in Gaza out of 250 who were captured by Palestinian resistance groups in an attack on October 7 last year. Many of them, including those of other nationalities, were released in November last year in a weeklong cease-fire agreement in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. In the past 14 months, Israel has killed over 44,000 people and injured 105,000 more, mostly women and children.

Israel’s restrictions on international aid has caused a devastating shortage of food and medicines in Gaza, leaving the Strip almost uninhabitable for 2.3 million Palestinians — most of them displaced from their homes at least once over the course of Israel’s war.

Activists in Israel have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire deal and a swap of prisoners, but complain that instead he has deliberately obstructed any possible deal. Many charge that he wants to prolong the war for his political survival, holding his own interests above those of the country.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Monday that 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been killed, mostly due to Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7, 2023.

In a video posted on Telegram, the resistance group said: “33 Israeli prisoners were killed, and some of their whereabouts remain unknown because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions and obstinacy.”

The group warned that continued Israeli aggression would increase the death toll of the Israeli prisoners.

Trump is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20.

During his first term as president, Trump moved the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, angering Palestinians, who see occupied east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.