He added that the attack by Palestinian militants on Israel on October 7, 2023 “should never have happened”.
US President-elect Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that if Palestinian Hamas does not release the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip by his inauguration on January 20, “all hell will break loose” in the Middle East. “It will not be good for Hamas and, frankly, it will not be good for no one. Hell will break loose. I don’t have to say more, but it is,” Trump said at the press conference. TASR informs about it according to a CNN report.
Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters that there was “great progress” in negotiations on a deal that would lead to the release of hostages held in Gaza, and he also said he hoped good news would come before Trump inauguration on January 20.
Witkoff went on to say he would return to Doha, Qatar, for talks on Wednesday brokered between Israel and Hamas by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
The October attack by Hamas on Israel sparked a war in the Gaza Strip that has been going on for about 15 months. Palestinian commandos led by Hamas then, according to Israeli data, killed around 1,200 people in the south of Israel and took 251 others hostage to the Gaza Strip. Of these, 96 remain in the Palestinian enclave and about a third are dead, according to Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory military operation has claimed more than 45,000 victims so far, according to Hamas-run authorities. In addition, Israeli airstrikes and intense bombardment have razed much of the Palestinian enclave and, according to the UN, most of the population there have been forced to flee their homes.
