Trump warns Hamas, sets deadline to release hostages in Gaza Strip

According to foxnews.com on December 2, in a post on the social network Truth Social, Mr. Trump said that no action had been taken to rescue those held by Hamas since October 7, 2023. At least 7 of the hostages were Americans.

“Everyone is talking about the hostages being held in the Middle East in a brutal, inhumane and illegal manner against the will of the world, but all talk, no action!” Trump wrote.

Also in the post, Mr. Trump warned: “If the hostages are not released before January 20, 2025, the day I proudly assume the office of President of the United States, there will be hell to pay in the Middle East for those responsible for these atrocities against humanity.”

Mr Trump's post came just days after Hamas released a video of a dual Israeli-American hostage pleading for his release.

In the video released by Hamas on November 30, an image of hostage Edan Alexander, 20 years old, an American of Israeli origin, was shown, kidnapped on October 7, 2023.

Alexander explained that he had been held for more than 420 days. He was forced by Hamas to convey messages to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Trump.

In a message to Mr. Trump, hostage Alexander called on him to use the influence and full power of the United States to negotiate for the hostages’ freedom. Alexander emphasized: “Every day here feels like a thousand years and the pain inside grows stronger.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the video was a cruel form of psychological warfare and said he had spoken to Alexander's family by phone, stressing that Israel was working tirelessly to bring the hostages back.

Earlier on November 29, Netanyahu said the conditions for a potential Gaza hostage deal had improved significantly. “I think the conditions have changed for the better,” he said in an interview with Channel 14.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump declared that the hostage takers would be punished severely, like no one in the long history of the United States of America has ever suffered.

About half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip are believed to be alive.

The video of Alexander is the second to be released in November, after Palestinian Islamic Jihad - an armed group allied with Hamas - released a video of Israeli hostage Sasha Trupanov earlier this month.

More than a year after the attacks, a lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains elusive. Israeli forces continue to carry out military operations in Gaza.