Trump threatens hell if Gaza hostages are not released

The elected president Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that “all hell will break loose in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release the hostages it is holding in Gaza by the time of his inauguration on January 20.

“And it’s not going to be good for Hamas and, frankly, it’s not going to be good for anybody,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

“We want to get these hostages back for Israel and for us,” Trump said.

“You know, we have people who are being held hostage,” he said, “and I’ll say it again, if this deal isn’t done with the people who represent our nation by the time I get into office, all hell is about to break loose.’

Trump did not specify what action he would take if the hostages were not released.

Nearly 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have died.

Hamas on Monday released a list of 34 hostages the group said it was willing to release in the first phase of a possible cease-fire deal with Israel.

Trump repeated his warning as Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, told reporters that “great progress” had been made in Doha, Qatar, in talks to free the hostages taken in the deadly Oct. 7 attack by the terrorist group. , 2023, invasion of Israel.

“I think we were on the verge of it,” Witkoff said after Trump spotted him in the back of the room and called him to the podium to speak.

Witkoff said he expects to fly back to Doha on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

It was unclear what role Witkoff would play in any negotiations, given that Trump does not take office for another two weeks and that Witkoff is not formally a representative of the US government.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas said it stood by its demand that Israel completely halt military operations against Gaza as part of any deal to release the hostages.

Israel, in turn, says that the war will continue until the hostages are released and Hamas is eliminated. Reuters news service.

“I don’t want to say too much” about the status of the Doha talks, Witkoff said.

But, he added, “I really hope that we’ll have some really good things to announce on behalf of the president before the inauguration.”

He called Trump’s “reputation and what he said” a “negotiating move.”

“I think they heard it loud and clear, and to finish before the inauguration,” Witkoff said.

“Hopefully everything will work out and we’ll save some lives,” he added.