Jesus' Coming Back

Trump reiterates: ‘If the hostages aren’t released by the time I take office, there will be hell’

President-elect Donald Trump, when asked about his warning that “there will be hell if the hostages aren’t released by his inauguration,” responded, “That is exactly what I meant. If the hostages are not released by the time I take office, there will be hell—no ‘don’t,’ there will be hell. They need to be released now.”

The President-elect made the statements on the Hugh Hewitt Podcast on Monday.

Trump added, “I am Israel’s best friend. I moved the embassy to Jerusalem—everything was good, including the Abraham Accords, and every major positive event in Israel recently was because of me. I must also note that I support peace—now is the time.”

Trump’s “don’t” comment appears to be a jab at US President Joe Biden, who warned other actors in the region who were thinking of attacking Israel shortly after October 7. “To anyone thinking of taking advantage of the situation, I have one word: ‘Don’t,'” Biden said from Israel on October 10, 2023.

Trump initially made his “hell to pay’ comment in a post on Truth Social on December 2, 2024. He made the statement after the IDF’s confirmation that Hamas killed American-Israeli Omer Neutra on October 7 and has held his body hostage since. 

 A reported list of hostages approved by Hamas and passed along to Israel. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
A reported list of hostages approved by Hamas and passed along to Israel. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

“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 December.

Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the “long and storied History of the United States of America,” Trump said.

“RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he concluded.

A list of the hostages 

The Saudi news outlet A-Sharq published on Monday a list of what it claims to be the 34 hostages listed to be released in the first stage of a potential hostage deal.

Earlier, the BBC reported, claiming a Hamas official had shown it the list, that among the 34 hostages listed by Hamas to be released in the first stage of a potential hostage deal are young children, 10 women, and 11 male hostages aged 50-85. 


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Hannah Sarisohn and Joanie Margulies contributed to this report.

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