Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, on the 2nd (local time) pressured the Palestinian armed group Hamas, which launched a surprise attack on Israel and took hostages, to release the hostages before he takes office in January next year.
On the same day, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, criticizing, "Everyone talks about the hostages who are violently and inhumanely detained against the will of the entire world, but there is no action," and stated, "If the hostages are not released by January 20, 2025, those who committed atrocities against the Middle East region and humanity will pay a heavy price."
He added, "The responsible parties will be hit harder than anyone in the long history of the United States," and reiterated, "Release the hostages immediately."
It is unclear whether Trump’s remarks constitute a threat to involve U.S. troops in Israel’s military operations targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, AP News reported. Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7 last year and took about 250 people hostage. Currently, about 100 remain detained, and AP News reported that approximately two-thirds of them are believed to be alive.
During his presidential campaign, Trump had expressed skepticism about the likelihood that the hostages taken by Hamas were still alive. In this context, Trump was reportedly surprised when Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog, during a congratulatory call, conveyed that Israeli intelligence believes about half of the remaining hostages are alive, according to the American internet media Axios on the 23rd of last month.
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