Donald Trump’s clear message to Hamas

Donald Trump used the language Hamas understood best when he promised to “unleash hell” if the hostages the terrorists were holding were not released by the time he took office on January 20. He vowed to hit those responsible “harder than anybody has been hit” in the long history of the US. If Hamas fails to act, Mr Trump will need to follow through on his threat or lose credibility. He was taking a calculated risk speaking out in a way few Western leaders had done for months, but he was right to demand action. Everybody was “talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East”, he said. “But it’s all talk and no action!” Unless all remaining hostages are released, no progress can be made towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Only that would bring an end to the intense suffering of Gazans, let alone allow longer-term possibilities for a sustainable solution to be addressed.

As Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin says, Mr Trump’s “strong and clear stance shows how betrayed the hostages have been by the international community, our government and the myriad international organisations who claim to stand with the oppressed”. The Albanese government, Mr Ryvchin said, had buried calls for their release in convoluted, often contradictory statements about ceasefires and Palestinian statehood. In doing so, he said, the government had “subtly incentivised terrorism by indicating to Hamas that the continued holding of hostages is just an issue to be transacted among others rather than a stain on humanity that must be ended immediately and unconditionally”.

The president-elect spoke out on his Truth Social platform after Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, 20, who appeared to be speaking under duress after 420 days in captivity, expressing disappointment at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sending a message to Mr Trump not to “make the mistake Biden has been doing”, with the weapons he had sent “killing us and the unlawful sieges … now starving us”. The young man pleaded with Mr Trump to use the “full power of the US” to help secure his freedom. Mr Alexander is believed to be one of three Americans still alive in Gaza’s dungeons. He was one of 251 people taken hostage during the October 7 massacre in Israel by Hamas last year. Of those, 117 have been freed or rescued, 71 have been killed and 63 people are believed to be alive.

The proof-of-life video that Hamas wanted the world to see is a reminder of the inhumanity of the terrorist organisation and why it must not be allowed any role in a future Palestinian settlement. One of Joe Biden’s failures, as The Wall Street Journal argues, has been his reluctance to speak up about the Americans held hostage by Hamas since last year. The outgoing President rarely mentions them and when he does it is usually to criticise Israel’s government for not agreeing to a ceasefire that would prompt Hamas to release them.

Mr Trump increasing pressure on Hamas may be timely, Joe Kelly reports. Mr Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said last weekend that the group was under pressure because Hezbollah, one of its main partners, had cut a 60-day ceasefire deal with Israel and would not be with Hamas until the end of the war, as the Palestinian terrorists had expected. But Hamas has shown no inclination to date to release the hostages, its strongest bargaining chips.