US President-elect Donald Trump gestures during a speech at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, on January 7, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump He warned on Tuesday that “hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release hostages held in Gaza when it takes office on January 20.
“It’s not good for Hamas and, frankly, it’s not good for anybody,” Trump told a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
“We want to get these hostages back for Israel and for us,” Trump said.
“You know, we do have people being held hostage,” he said, “and I’ll say it again, if we don’t make a deal with the people who represent our country, by the time I take office, all hell is going to break out.”
Trump did not specify what action he would take if the hostages are not released.
Nearly 100 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza, some of whom are presumed dead.
Hamas on Monday released a list of 34 hostages that the group said it was willing to release as part of the first phase of a possible ceasefire deal with Israel.
Trump renewed his warning as his designated special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told reporters that talks in Doha, Qatar, had made “a lot of progress” to secure the release of a man killed in a deadly attack by a terrorist group. Hostages being held.
“I believe we’re on the edge of it,” Witkoff said after Trump spotted him in the back of the room and called him to the podium to speak.
Witkov said he expected to fly back to Doha on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
It’s unclear what role Witkoff will play in any negotiations, given that Trump doesn’t take office for another two weeks and Witkoff is not an official U.S. government representative.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas said it insisted on a full end to Israel’s military operation in Gaza as part of a deal to release the hostages.
Israel says the war will continue until the hostages are released and Hamas is disbanded. Reuters news agency.
Vitkov said that “I don’t want to say too much” about the progress of the Doha negotiations.
But, he added, “I really hope that at the inauguration we can announce something really good on behalf of the president.”
He credited Trump’s “reputation and the things he said” with “driving the negotiations.”
“I think they heard him clearly and got the job done before the inauguration,” Witkov said.
He added: “Hopefully everything goes well and we can save some lives.”
