President Donald Trump this week once again threatened Hamas will have “hell to pay” if it doesn’t release “all” of its remaining hostages — including an American-Israeli — now claiming this would be his “last warning” and that “it will be OVER” for Hamas if it does not comply.
“RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Wednesday, the latest in several similar threats.
“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,” Trump also wrote, demanding “all of the Hostages now, not later.”
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Trump’s message came shortly after he met with eight of the released hostages from Gaza in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
“The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X. “The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.”
Adi and Yael Alexander, the parents of the last living American-Israeli hostage, Edan Alexander, attended Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday.
On Thursday, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff reiterated the president’s threat, saying, “I wouldn’t test President Trump.”
Witkoff emphasized that “there’s going to be some action taken” if the hostages are not released. “It could be jointly with the Israelis … it’s unclear right now,” he added.
When asked in the Oval Office on Thursday what type of action Trump would take and whether he would potentially join military strikes with Israel, the president responded, “you’re going to find out.”
Hamas brushed off Trump’s threat but argued that the president’s language serves to empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Such positions are what give the war criminal Netanyahu the strength and ability to continue his crimes as long as he receives absolute support and encouragement to commit more crimes against 2.4 million people,” head of the Gaza Government Office said in response.
“Trump’s threats against Hamas are unjustified and hold no value,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement to a Hamas-affiliated news agency, arguing that they are not intimidated by the president’s words. “Such threats should be directed at those refusing to implement the agreement, not those committed to it.”
In a new statement Thursday, a Hamas military spokesperson threatened to kill more hostages if there is “any escalation of aggression against our people.”
“The enemy has resorted to bullying, stalling, and reckless aggression,” the spokesman added, saying “the enemy’s threats are a sign of weakness and humiliation.”
Dana Shem Tov (C) the sister of Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov reacts as she watches with others his televised release by Hamas militants at the family home in Tel Aviv, on Feb. 22, 2025.
John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images
After Phase 1 of the ceasefire expired on Saturday, negotiations for Phase 2 remained on shaky ground.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last Saturday that the U.S. is expediting delivery of $4 billion in military assistance to Israel, claiming the move was a reversal of what he called a “partial arms embargo” imposed by former President Joe Biden.
Biden denied withholding arms to Israel, other than pausing a single shipment of MK-84 2,000-pound bombs in May 2024, saying it would endanger Palestinian civilians if Israel used them in densely populated areas of Gaza.
President Trump lifted the pause when he returned to the White House.
Israel halted all entry of food and other supplies to Gaza on Sunday, hours after announcing a U.S.-proposed ceasefire extension through Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday to end on April 20.
Hamas has refused to accept the proposed extension, calling it a breach of three-phase deal originally agreed upon, which included an extension of the recent ceasefire, and said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
On Tuesday, U.S. officials were directly negotiating with Hamas at an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo. The summit adopted the Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza without the displacement of Palestinian people, which Israel has rejected.
Cars and pedestrians move along a road amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military’s ground and air offensive against Hamas in Gaza City’s Jabaliya refugee camp, Feb. 7, 2025.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
It had remained unclear what Trump means exactly when threatening “hell.”
Last month, the president demanded that if Hamas didn’t release “all of the hostages” by noon on Saturday, Feb. 15, “all bets are off, and let hell break out.”
Yet the deadline came and went, and Hamas did not free “all” of the hostages — they freed the three hostages that were scheduled to be released according to the original ceasefire agreement.
The seventh and final hostage swap of Phase 1 occurred on Feb. 26, where 4 bodies were returned to Israel in exchange for 642 Palestinian prisoners.
A giant display supporting the release of all hostages who have been held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, seen on a high rise offices building in Ramat Gan, Israel, Feb. 18, 2025.
Nir Elias/Reuters
Fifty-eight hostages remain in Gaza — 24 of whom are presumed to be alive. Alexander is the last American-Israeli hostage to remain alive in captivity.
Trump has been promising “hell” for months, making this threat even before he was officially sworn into office on Jan. 20.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Will Gretsky, Ellie Kaufman, Shannon Kingston, and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
