Vance Suggests Trump 'Hell' Warning to Hamas Involves Destroying Gaza Terror Brigades; Media Reports Say Deal Near
JERUSALEM, Israel – Vice President-elect JD Vance provided further definition this weekend concerning President-elect Donald Trump's warning to Hamas that "all hell would break loose" if the hostages held in Gaza aren't released by Inauguration Day next Monday. Meanwhile, media reports indicate a hostage-ceasefire deal is near and awaits agreement from Hamas.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Vance stated, “It means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership."
Vance, who resigned last week from the U.S. Senate so he can assume the office of vice president on January 20th, added, “We’re hopeful there’s going to be a deal that's struck toward the very end of Biden’s administration – maybe the last day or two. But regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered several top security and intelligence officials to Qatar on Saturday night as the negotiations for the hostages' release intensified. Those officials included Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, and Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon (ret.), according to a report in Israel Hayom.
After the first day of talks, the Israeli delegation stayed in Doha, the Qatari capital, indicating possible progress. Israel's Channel 12 reported Monday that a deal has been finalized although Hamas remains silent about the draft. The reported draft involves a three-stage agreement for a ceasefire, an Israeli pullback from Gaza, the release of some hostages, and the freeing of Israeli-held Hamas prisoners, some with blood on their hands.
The unauthorized media leaks sparked skepticism among many in Israel because they seemed to suggest a sizable capitulation on the part of the Netanyahu government.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday called the reported agreement "a catastrophe for Israel's national security, and said his Religious Zionist Party would not be part of such a deal.
northern Israel, at a press conference on January 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says his Religious Zionism party “will not be part of” the emerging hostage-ceasefire deal, which he calls a “catastrophe for Israel’s national security.”
“We will not be part of a surrender deal that would include releasing terrorists, stopping the war and dissolving the achievements that were bought with much blood, and abandoning many hostages."
Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden by phone Sunday, and the White House confirmed that the two discussed the negotiations in Qatar. The Israeli delegation met with two officials, Brett McGurk from the Biden administration and President-elect Trump's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The White House said Biden and Netanyahu talked about “the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.”
JNS News reports that Israeli and American officials estimate that about 60 of the Hamas-held hostages abducted on October 7, 2023, remain alive.
The Israel Defense Forces admit that they have not finished off the final two Hamas brigades in Gaza because of their belief that the terror operatives are holding the living hostages in the central Gaza Strip.
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