Topline
President-elect Donald Trump threatened “hell to pay in the Middle East” if remaining hostages are not released by the time he takes office next month—a statement echoing his previous support for Israel and past calls for the Oct. 7 hostages to be released.
President-elect Donald Trump said while people are “talking about the hostages who are being held so … [+]
Key Facts
Trump said in the Truth Social post that while “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” it has only been talk and “and no action!”
He added that if the hostages are not released by Jan. 20, 2025—the day he is set to take office—“those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.”
Around 100 people who were taken hostage from Israel by militant-group Hamas on Oct. 7 are believed to still be held in Gaza, though only about two-thirds are believed to still be alive, according to the Associated Press.
Israel’s president Isaac Herzog thanked and blessed Trump for the sentiment in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, “We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had not publicly responded to Trump’s post as of 4 p.m. EST.
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Key Background
Gaza-based militant group Hamas took about 240 people hostage when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 100 hostages were released through a previous ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but the two have been unable to agree on terms of another ceasefire since last year. The Washington Post reported that while most hostages are believed to be held by Hamas still, some may be held by other militant groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is operated by Hamas, has estimated more than 45,000 people have died since Oct. 7, according to Al Jazeera, and Israel has been facing increased international pressure to resolve the war as the death toll increases. Last week, Israel agreed to a ceasefire to end its fighting with Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and at the time U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. would be making another push soon for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and he was hopeful the Hezbollah ceasefire would lay the groundwork.
Tangent
Trump’s statement came after the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli citizen who was believed to be held hostage in Gaza, was dead. The IDF said in a post on X that Neutra, who was a 21-year-old platoon commander in the Armored Corps for the IDF, “was killed in battle on Oct. 7 and his body has been held hostage in Gaza since.” Neutra was one of seven American hostages still believed to be held by Gaza, CNN reported, four of whom are dead.
