Donald Trump hasn't taken office yet, and yet, he's already making strides toward freedom for the hostages that Joe Biden has failed to secure in over a year.
Earlier this month, President-elect Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Hamas, declaring there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if the terrorist organization fails to release the remaining 100 hostages in Gaza (some are American citizens).
"Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East - But it’s all talk, and no action!" he said in a post on Truth Social. "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."
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Trump added, "Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"
This threat, combined with behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts, appears to be resonating.
"Sources within various Palestinian terror groups in Gaza say that Hamas has told them to compile information on the hostages they hold in preparation for a ceasefire and hostage deal with Israel," reports the Times of Israel. "Hamas has told factions including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front and the Popular Resistance Committees to prepare information such as whether their hostages are alive or dead, the sources tell AFP."
It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas in the October 7, 2023, onslaught remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Qatar’s prime minister said yesterday that there was renewed “momentum” for a ceasefire and hostage release deal following the election of Donald Trump in the United States.
A Hamas source told AFP there had been “intensified contacts” recently between Hamas and Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators, and that the group expects a new round of talks in Cairo “will begin in the coming days.”
The same source called on Israel to halt the war, claiming the presence of its forces made it “difficult to reach all the captive groups to know the details of the living and dead prisoners.”
Israel has long said it won’t halt fighting without the return of all hostages and the defeat of Hamas as a military and governing force in Gaza.
Donald Trump is proving himself to be the next Reagan by channeling decisive leadership reminiscent of the Gipper during the Iranian hostage crisis. Just as Reagan’s election in 1980 signaled a hardline stance that expedited the release of 52 Americans held by Iran, Trump’s bold warning to Hamas is pressuring the group to act on hostages Joe Biden failed to free.
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