President-elect Donald Trump has a message for Hamas as his return to the White House approaches.
“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!” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “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.”
“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!” Trump concluded.
Trump’s remarks came after U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Hamas is starting to feel pressure and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed that “the time is right” for a cease-fire agreement that returns the remaining captives from Gaza after President Joe Biden’s administration spoke to the family of American hostage Edan Alexander.
“I do think that Hamas is feeling the pressure. They’re feeling the pressure because one of their main partners in crime here, Hezbollah, has now cut a cease-fire deal,” Sullivan explained on Sunday’s “Face the Nation.”
“They’re feeling the pressure, of course, because their top leader, Sinwar, has been killed. So, they may be looking anew at the possibility of getting a cease-fire and hostage deal,” he added. A 13-part ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was announced last week.
Sullivan further added that the Biden administration is “working actively with all of the key players in the region, including Israel and Turkey and Qatar and Egypt,” to bring to fruition a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas — one that will hopefully return the remaining hostages home and also end the war in the region.
Trump’s Monday warning also came a day after naming businessman and daughter Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law Massad Boulos as his pick for senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Also on Sunday, the president-elect likened the Jan. 6 rioters to “hostages” in response to Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden.
“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
Stephanie Kaloi and Rocky Harris contributed to this story.
