US President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he delivers remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US on January 7, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that “hell will break loose in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release the hostages it is holding in Gaza by his inauguration on January 20.
“It’s not going to be good for Hamas and it’s not going to be good for anybody,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
“We want to get those hostages back for Israel and for us,” Trump said.
“You know, we have people who are being held hostage,” he said, “and I’ll just say it again, if this deal isn’t made with the people who represent our nation, by the time I get into office, all hell will break loose.”
Trump did not specify what he would do if the hostages were not released.
Almost 100 hostages are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza, and some of these people are presumed dead.
On Monday, Hamas released a list of 34 hostages the group said it was willing to release in the first phase of a possible cease-fire deal with Israel.
Trump reiterated his warning as Steve Witkoff, his designated Middle East envoy, told reporters that there had been “a lot of progress” in talks in Doha, Qatar, to secure the release of hostages taken during the terrorist group’s deadly attack on October 7 .2023, invasion of Israel.
“I believe we were on the verge of it,” Witkoff said, after Trump spotted him in the back of the room and called him to the podium to speak.
Witkoff said he expects to return to Doha on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
It was unclear what role Witkoff played in any talks, given that Trump has only been in office for two weeks and Witkoff is not formally a representative of the US government.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas said it stood by its demand that Israel completely end military operations against Gaza as part of any deal to release the hostages.
Israel, on the other hand, says that the war will continue until the hostages are released and Hamas disbands, according to Reuters news service.
“I don’t want to talk too much” about the status of the Doha talks, Witkoff said.
But, he added, “I really hope that by the time of the inauguration, we’ll have some really good things to announce on behalf of the president.”
He credited Trump’s “reputation, the things he said” with “getting the negotiations going.”
“I think they heard it loud and clear, and to finish by the inauguration,” Witkoff said.
“I hope that everything will work out and that we will save some lives,” he added.
