Trump says there will be hell to pay if Hamas hostages aren't released
World
‘It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone’
(Web Desk) - President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday again said “all hell” will break out in the Middle East if the hostages taken by Hamas aren’t set free by the time he’s sworn in on Jan 20.
“If those hostages aren’t back — if they’re not back by the time I get into office — all hell will break out in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone.
“All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is and they should have been back a long time ago,” Mr. Trump said during a news conference from Mar-a-Lago in Florida after warning similarly last month.
Trump said he’s had parents of hostages approach him and ask if he could help bring back their son or daughter.
The president-elect also praised his new Midwest envoy, Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate investor who will be tasked with negotiating with leaders of nations in the region.
“They respect him over there,” Trump said. “It’s what we needed over there. We have people that know everything about the Middle East, but they can’t speak properly.”
Hamas on Tuesday reiterated its demand that Israel fully end its assault on Gaza as part of any deal to release the hostages. Officials from the terror group and Israel have been holding talks with Qatar and Egyptian mediators, the most intensive effort to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas has said it will free its remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to withdraw all its troops from Gaza, which Israel says it won’t do until Hamsa is dismantled and the hostages are released.
