Trump demands hostages released in Gaza by January 20

There will be serious consequences if the hostages in Hamas’ custody in Gaza are not released before Donald Trump’s inauguration as president on January 20.

That’s what it sounds like from Trump at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

– I do not want to damage the negotiations, but if they are not back when I take office, hell will break loose in the Middle East.

– We want those hostages back – both for Israel and for us, says Trump.

Hamas took approximately 250 people hostage in the movement’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Among them were Israelis, Americans and a large number of other nationalities.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, 100 hostages are still in Hamas custody. Among them, 36 have been found dead.

– We have citizens who are being held hostage, and I must repeat: If this agreement is not concluded by those who represent our nation when I take office, all hell will break loose, says Trump.

He refers to the negotiations on an agreement on the release of the hostages. The negotiations have been going on for months without any breakthrough.

Steve Witkoff, appointed as the incoming Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, speaks at the press conference in Florida.

– I really hope that we can announce some good things on behalf of the president at the inauguration, says Witkoff.

The US – as Israel’s closest ally – has continuously mediated during the negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire in Gaza and on the release of the hostages in the Palestinian territory.

Early in the ongoing war – in late November 2023 – the parties reached an agreement on a short-term ceasefire and the release of some hostages.

But since then, Hamas and Israel have not succeeded in agreeing on a new agreement.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel, wars and conflicts have arisen on a wide range of fronts in the Middle East.

At the center of it all is Israel, which over the past 15 months has both fought against Hamas in Gaza and the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, while at the same time the Houthi movement in Yemen and Iran’s military have attacked Israel.

/ritzau/

Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk