Gaza: “Release Israeli hostages before Jan. 20, or else…” Trump threatens Hamas
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: With the outgoing Joe Biden administration’s efforts going nowhere to establish peace in the ongoing Gaza War, the incoming US President-elect Donald Trump has directly threatened the terror group Hamas to release all the Israeli hostages forthwith or face the might of the US.
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” Trump announced on Monday in a post on social media. He has vowed staunch support for Israel and to dispense with Biden’s occasional criticism, the media reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, Trump warned Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip of massive repercussions if hostages are not released by the time he takes office on January 20, 2025.
The threat comes after exhaustive diplomacy by President Joe Biden’s administration, which has so far failed to secure a deal to end Israel’s war in Gaza and free hostages Hamas took 14 months ago.
“If the hostages are not released before 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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“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!”
Hamas staged the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The assault resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians. The Iran-supported Sunni terrorists took 251 hostages during the attack, some of whom are already dead. Of those, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 35 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has since killed 44,429 people in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
