President-elect Donald Trump said there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not released before his Jan. 20 inauguration.
"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 wrote Monday in a Truth Social post. "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!"
"Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump's post came on the same day Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Cpt. Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, was killed during Iranian-backed Hamas' terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Neutra, a New York native, served as a platoon tank commander IDF 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion.