President-elect Donald Trump took to his platform Truth Social on Monday afternoon following the IDF's confirmation that Hamas killed American-Israeli Omer Neutra on October 7 and has held his body hostage since.
Trump did not mention Neutra by name but wrote that "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 continued, saying, "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," Trump wrote.
"RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!" he said.
Former Governor Mike Huckabee, who was nominated as the next US Ambassador in Israel in early November, reiterated Trump's statement on Tuesday overnight.
This is my President! There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage but America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages. https://t.co/Qh8dq78mUM
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) December 2, 2024
"There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage," emphasized Huckabee, adding, "America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages," he wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
In response to Trump's comments, the Tikva forum issued a statement on Tuesday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the security establishment to take responsibility for humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.
In the last two weeks, Biden administration officials confirmed they've begun briefing the incoming Trump team on details of the Gaza hostage talks.
Biden said he himself briefed Trump on the negotiations during their meeting at the White House on November 13.
A representative with the Trump team spoke on Saturday with Adi Alexander, father of American-Israeli hostage Edan, shortly after Hamas released a video revealing Edan is alive.
Trump’s team indicated that they were “shoulder-to-shoulder with the current administration to resolve the issue” and were working 24/7, Adi told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Getting things done
The Post also spoke with Omer's parents on Sunday, and his mother Orna said Trump has a track record from his first administration of getting things done in the Middle East in a way that many other presidents weren’t capable of.
“He’s a deal maker. He’s done it before,” Ronen Neutra said, echoing his wife.
Trump has relationships and has people who have relationships in the region, Orna added.
“We’re just hoping that he uses his leverage. You know, each side has their own leverages,” she continued. “We’re hoping that the combined effort will finally make something move.”
Ronen said he believes the incoming Trump administration understands the sense of urgency and that Trump is receiving the families’ message that a deal cannot wait for inauguration day.
“We sure hope that that’s what’s happening behind the scenes,” he said.
A leader of the New York Hostage Families Forum told the Post that the families have spoken with some of Trump's incoming appointed officials as well as members of their staff.
Organizers with the Families Forum are efforting as many meetings as possible between the hostage families and people within Trump's orbit.
"The incoming team are saying very hopeful things, they're saying that Trump wants a hostage deal and a ceasefire before the inauguration," the leader told the Post on Sunday, echoing Trump's post on Truth Social.
The Families Forum leader also said she knows that Trump knows the initial numbers he was given regarding how many hostages are presumed alive were not correct.
Trump knows there's at least 60 hostages alive, according to the leader.
"So we're hopeful," she said. "We're very hopeful."
"Trump is the most important person," she continued. "He's the one that can get them out. He can put the needed pressure on [Netanyahu] to get a deal."
The Hostage Families Forum praised Trump for his decisive message.
“The Hostage Families Forum extends its gratitude to President-elect Trump for his clear and uncompromising message," the organization said in a statement. "It is now evident to all: the time has come. We must bring them home NOW.
"We call on both the current and incoming US administrations to act without delay and exhaust every opportunity to bring all the hostages home—those alive for rehabilitation, and those murdered for proper burial."
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.