By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s prime minister praised U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump on Tuesday for indirectly threatening Hamas with force unless they release all hostages ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
Trump said there will be “all hell to pay” if hostages held in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House.
Dozens of people taken during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack remain unaccounted for.
On Monday, the Israeli military said an Israeli-American soldier who is believed to be a captive had, in fact, been killed last October.
Without mentioning Hamas by name, Trump posted online the same day: “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of the United States of America.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump on Tuesday for issuing the toughly worded statement saying
“Hamas is required to release the hostages.”
He added, “President Trump put the emphasis in the right place, on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary [elsewhere].”
‘HELL TO PAY’
Netanyahu spoke at the start of a cabinet meeting where others also hailed the pledge that there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East unless all hostages held in the Gaza Strip were released.
“How refreshing it is to hear clear and morally sound statements that do not create a false equivalence or call for addressing ‘both sides,’ but rather clarify who are good and who are bad,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“This is the way to bring back the hostages: by increasing the pressure and the costs for Hamas and its supporters, and defeating them, rather than giving in to their absurd demands.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said simply on social platform X, “Thank you, President Trump.”
Likewise, the families of the missing hostages expressed their gratitude. “It is now evident to all: the time has come. We must bring them home NOW,” the families forum said.
Those sentiments were not shared in Gaza. “We were hoping that the new administration would bring with it a breakthrough,” said Mohammed Dahlan, who is among hundreds of thousands of Gazans fleeing their homes due to the fighting.
AGREEING WITH ISRAEL
“It seems [Trump] is in complete agreement with the Israeli administration and that there are apparently more punitive measures ahead,” he told Reuters news agency.
Hamas-run authorities say more than 44,000 people have been killed since Israel launched attacks against Hamas in October last year.
Israel has given somewhat lower numbers and says about half of them are Hamas fighters hiding among civilians.
The war was triggered when Hamas entered southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others.
Over 60 living hostages and the bodies of about 35 others taken captive on October 7, 2023, but believed to be dead, are still in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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