Trump Promises ‘Brutal Retribution’ For Gaza Hostages After Inauguration

• 3.12.2024, 1:02

As of late November, at least four Americans remained in Hamas captivity.

The perpetrators of hostage-taking in the Middle East will face ‘brutal retribution’ if the latter are not released by January 20. This was stated by US President-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social network.

‘Let this message serve as confirmation that if the hostages are not released by January 20, 2025, when I will proudly assume the office of President of the United States, brutal retribution awaits all those who committed these atrocities against humanity in the Middle East,’ he wrote.

Those responsible for holding hostages ‘will suffer more than anyone’ in American history, the US president-elect promised. He also expressed regret that talking about hostages held in the Gaza Strip does not lead to action.

The Palestinian Hamas terror group took at least 251 hostages in an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The abductees included both Israelis and foreigners, including people with multiple citizenships. As of early October, 97 abductees remained in the Gaza Strip, with about a third of them, 33, presumed dead.

Hamas is also also holding two hostages taken long before the attack, in 2014 and 2015. The group also refuses to hand over the bodies of two dead Israeli soldiers.

At least four Americans remained in Hamas captivity by the end of November, with three more tentatively presumed dead.