From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 2, 2024
Trump says there will be ‘all hell to pay in the Middle East’ if hostages not released by January 20
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President-elect Donald Trump threatens those holding hostages in the Middle East with unprecedented American firepower if they are not released by the time he enters office on January 20.
Trump first made this threat at the Republican National Convention in July, but the latest warning posted on Truth Social comes two days after Hamas released a propaganda video showing American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander in which the 20-year-old pleads with Trump to secure his release.
“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!” Trump writes on Truth Social, without mentioning Israel or the Hamas terror group by name.
“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,” he says.
“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!” he adds.
