Hostage deal terms will get worse after Trump takes office, incoming US national security adviser warns Hamas

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US Representative Mike Waltz, US President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser pick, speaks in a podcast interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, December 22, 2024. (Screenshot: YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
US Representative Mike Waltz, US President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser pick, speaks in a podcast interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, December 22, 2024. (Screenshot: YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz warns Hamas that the terms for a hostage deal will get worse if it waits until US President-elect Donald Trump enters office.

“Let’s allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across the tarmac, or at a minimum, some type of agreement before inauguration because President Trump is serious,” Waltz tells ABC’s “This Week.”

“Any deal will only get worse for Hamas, and there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East if we continue to have this kind of hostage diplomacy,” Waltz adds.

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