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Hamas Responds to Trump Threat to Unleash ‘Hell’ on Terror Group if Hostages Not Freed by His Inauguration
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, US on Nov. 13, 2024. Photo: ALLISON ROBBERT/Pool via REUTERS
Hamas has responded to US President-elect Donald Trump’s warning that there will be “all hell to pay” in the Middle East if the Palestinian terrorist group does not release all of the remaining hostages in Gaza before his inauguration next month, claiming that Israel has “sabotaged” several potential ceasefire deals and should be held responsible for perpetuating the ongoing war.
On Monday, Trump vowed to take strong action if the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel last Oct. 7 who remain in captivity are not freed quickly.
“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!” Trump posted on the social media platform 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.”
“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!” he added.
Hamas addressed Trump’s threat in a statement shared with and reported by multiple news outlets.
Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, defended the terrorist group’s conduct in the war. Shifting blame onto Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly undercutting efforts to secure the release of the hostages, Naim said that Trump’s comments were intended for Netanyahu and Israel, falsely claiming that the Jewish state has executed a so-called “genocide” in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
“Since the beginning of this genocide, Hamas has publicly announced and been active in seeking a permanent ceasefire to end the Israeli aggression against our people; a deal which would have included a full prisoners’ exchange,” Naim said. “However, Netanyahu has sabotaged all these attempts. At many times, we were extremely close to signing on a deal, but due to his savage actions and decisions, these deals broke down.”
Therefore, the Hamas spokesperson and Political Bureau member continued, “Hamas understands that Trump’s message is actually directed first towards Netanyahu and his government. They need to end their evil game by using negotiations as a cover for their personal political ideological interests.”
Naim added that Hamas supports a three-phase ceasefire proposal unveiled by US President Joe Biden in late May that ultimately failed due to conflicting interpretations over the deal’s terms, claiming that the internationally designated terrorist group was eager to see an end to the war, the release of “prisoners from both sides,” and “a better future … full of hope, dignity, and prosperity.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists kidnapped over 250 hostages during their massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, dragging them into neighboring Gaza. There are currently 101 captives still in the Palestinian enclave, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
In the year following the brutal slaughter led by Hamas, the Biden administration has attempted multiple times to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist organization to halt fighting in Gaza. However, Hamas has demanded that any ceasefire deal must include terms that guarantee a permanent end to the war and Israel’s total removal from the Gaza Strip. Israel has said that it is determined to both dismantle Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and free all the hostages, alive and dead.
“[I’m] ready for a ceasefire at any moment. But ending the war, I’m not ready for that, because we also need to achieve the elimination of Hamas,” Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 in a recent interview.
Despite Naim’s insistence that Israel has served as the lone impediment to peace in the war-torn enclave, Hamas has rejected several temporary ceasefire offers, with US officials questioning Hamas’s commitment to reaching a truce.
In contrast to Hamas’s response, Israeli leaders welcomed Trump’s threat.
“Hamas needs to release the hostages,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “President Trump put the emphasis in the correct place, on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary in some places.”
The Israeli premier added, “It is a forceful statement, which makes it clear that there is only one responsible for this situation, and that is Hamas.”
Meanwhile, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which represents family members of the missing and kidnapped individuals, expressed gratitude for Trump’s remarks: “It is now evident to all: the time has come. We must bring them home NOW.”
During his presidential campaign, Trump called for the release of all American hostages around the world, including the Israeli-American dual nationals still in Gaza.
Trump has also urged Israel to “finish” the war in Gaza as soon as possible, arguing that the protracted conflict has damaged the Jewish state’s international image.
The post Hamas Responds to Trump Threat to Unleash ‘Hell’ on Terror Group if Hostages Not Freed by His Inauguration first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.