Trump again warns Hamas of ‘hell to pay’ if all Israeli hostages not released

US President Donald Trump has again warned Hamas that there will be “hell to pay” should the Palestinian group not release all hostages, Reuters reports.

At the White House, Trump met a group of hostages who had been released recently under a Gaza ceasefire deal, and he issued a stark new threat against Hamas in a social media post.

He demanded that Hamas “release all of the hostages now, not later,” including the remains of dead hostages, “or it is over for you”.

“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” he said. “Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful future awaits, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, you are dead! Make a smart decision. Release the hostages now, or there will be hell to pay later!”

Trump’s warning echoed his “hell to pay” threat before his January 20 return to the White House, which was followed by the ceasefire and hostages deal in mid-January that he claimed credit for before then-president Joe Biden left office.

Meanwhile released Israeli hostages Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, and Noa Argamani met with President Trump and Special Envoy Witkoff at the White House.

They thanked the President and the Special Envoy for their efforts in securing their release from Hamas hell and shared with them firsthand accounts about the urgency of returning all 59 remaining hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial.

Hamas captivity survivor Keith Siegel on the occasion said that: “We are here today, in Washington DC, a group of released hostages. We came to the White House to express our great appreciation and gratitude to President Trump and his special envoy to the Middle East, Mr. Steve Witkoff.
They made a deal possible, they got us all home.

We urged them to continue their enormous efforts. They have done so much. We trust them and we know they will get the job done to get all the rest of the 59 remaining hostages held in Gaza back to their families, back to Israel.

Thank you very much President Trump, thank you very much Mr. Steve Witkoff and the entire Trump administration.”

Hamas captivity survivor Eli Sharabi said that: “We came to the White House today as captivity survivors to ensure that the 59 hostages still being held will be released through an agreement for their return as soon as possible. Thank you to President Trump and Witkoff who are committed to this goal.”