Trump says ‘all hell will break out’ in the Middle East if Hamas doesn’t release hostages
The 78-year-old made the comments during a wide-ranging press conference at his Florida home on Tuesday, but he did not elaborate on what his comments mean in terms of US action in the region when he takes power.
It is the latest in a series of threats Trump has made regarding the return of the hostages taken more than a year ago during the October 7 attack on Israel.
“All hell will break loose,” the president-elect declared again on Tuesday.
“If those hostages aren’t back, I don’t want to hurt your negotiations. If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break loose in the Middle East,” Trump said.
“And it won’t be good for Hamas, and it won’t be good for anyone, quite frankly,” he continued. ‘All hell will break loose. I don’t need to say more, but it is true.’
He declined to explain exactly what would happen if his demands were not met, but said the hostages were long overdue.
Trump spoke at his news conference in Florida on Tuesday, where he vowed that “all hell will break loose” in the Middle East if hostages held by Hamas are not freed by the time he takes power on January 20.
The president-elect was being pressured by a reporter on the Middle East and Syria at Mar-a-Lago when he changed the subject and called his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to provide an update on the hostages.
“Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress,” Witkoff said. “I don’t want to say too much because I think they are doing very well in Doha.”
Witkoff said he would leave on Wednesday to return to Qatar, but claimed they have made “very big progress.”
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to announce some good things on behalf of the president at the inauguration.”
Witkoff suggested it was Trump’s reputation and the “red lines he set there” driving the negotiations.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined Trump at his press conference and said he believes they are making “great progress” in the negotiations. Witkoff said he would return to Doha on Wednesday
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a ceasefire to be finalized before President Biden leaves office during a press conference on Monday.
A Hamas official told Reuters it has approved a list of 34 hostages as the first to be released under a ceasefire.
About 100 hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, but it is unclear how many of them are still alive.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Qatar, with the talks being mediated by Qatari and Egyptian officials.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called for a deal to be “crossed the finish line” in the next two weeks before President Biden leaves office.
Early last month, Trump warned that there would be “hell” in the Middle East if Hamas did not release the hostages before he was sworn in on January 20.
He wrote in a social media post that those responsible “will be hit harder than anyone in the long and storied history of the United States of America.”
Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza march for a ceasefire deal in Tel Aviv on January 7, 2025
Palestinians walk through the destruction in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on January 7, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Trump, has said Israel’s war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is eradicated and no longer poses a threat.
The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead, and more than 250 hostages were captured and taken to Gaza.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s attack, according to Gaza health officials.