Trump says there will be 'HELL TO PAY' if Oct. 7 hostages not released soon

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term, there will be "HELL TO PAY."

"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," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site.

"Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America," he wrote. "RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening to directly involve the U.S. military in Israel's ongoing campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Trump allies have said he hopes there will be a ceasefire and hostage release deal before he returns to office early next year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined comment.

In a social media post, the country's president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed Trump's comments: "Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect @realDonaldTrump," he wrote on X. "We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!"

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, by Israeli tallies, and taking around 250 people hostage. 

Some 100 are still held inside Gaza, around two-thirds believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry. The war has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90 per cent of its population of 2.3 million people — often multiple times.

Threat comes after death of U.S.-Israeli citizen

Trump's threat came hours after the Israeli government confirmed the death of Omer Neutra, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, whose body is still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.

Days earlier, Hamas released a hostage video of Edan Alexander, who was serving in the Israeli military when he was taken by Hamas to Gaza. Filmed under apparent duress, Alexander calls on Trump to work to negotiate for his freedom and that of the remaining Hamas hostages.

The Biden administration is mounting a last-ditch effort to try to restart talks between Israel and Hamas now that it has brokered a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But the administration has said that Hamas has yet to show a willingness to re-engage in negotiations.