United States President-elect Donald Trump warned on Tuesday, that if the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are not released by his inauguration on January 20, “all hell will break out in the Middle East”.
The recent warnings from Trump offered one more stark indication of how much the incoming president would prefer to avoid inheriting the Israel-Hamas war as he prepares to take office in less than two weeks.
“It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is,” Trump said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, adding that “there should have never been” the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.
Trump’s pick to serve as the special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff struck an optimistic note about the state of negotiations to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would secure the release of the hostages, saying negotiators were “making a lot of progress.”
“It’s the president, his reputation, the things that he has said that are driving this negotiation, and so hopefully, it’ll all work out and we’ll save some lives,” Witkoff added.
CNN reports that the President Joe Biden’s administration officials are taking the lead in the talks, while their incoming Trump counterparts are being closely updated on developments.
But a senior Biden administration official struck a much more cautious tone following Trump and Witkoff’s comments, saying that the negotiations remain “difficult.”
The official who declined to comment further on the status of the talks insisted that despite Witkoff appearing to suggest that a deal before January 20 was realistic, the talks are challenging.
The Biden administration continues to work in “close coordination” with the incoming Trump national security team, they added.
One senior Democrat close to the White House also told CNN this week that Biden’s top national security officials are not optimistic that a deal can be reached before the president leaves office. “They’re all skeptical,” the source said.
The Biden administration has unsuccessfully tried to help broker a ceasefire in Gaza for well over a year.
The first ceasefire, weeks after the October 7 attack, saw the release of dozens of hostages, but subsequent efforts to pause the fighting and secure the release of additional hostages have failed.