Trump says ‘hell to pay’ if captives in Gaza not released
Al JazeeraThreat of escalation comes amid reports Trump seeking Israel-Hamas ceasefire before he takes office in January. United States President-elect Donald Trump has promised “there will be hell to pay” if captives held in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing war are not released by the time he takes office on January 20. In a post on Truth Social, Trump decried “all talk, and no action” about the captives in apparent derision of US President Joe Biden and his administration’s inability to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in more than a year of war. At the same time, Trump has voiced support for Israel to “finish the job” in the Palestinian enclave and has long been Netanyahu’s preferred leader in the US. This time around, Trump has packed his administration nominations with staunchly pro-Israel officials, including his secretary of state pick Senator Marco Rubio, a rabid defender of Israel’s war, and ambassador to Israel pick Mike Huckabee, a vocal supporter of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank who refuses to use its commonly used name, instead referring to “Judea and Samaria”.