‘All hell will break out in the Middle East’ if captives are not released, says Trump
US President-elect Donald Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Wittkoff hed a news conference in Florida, where they addressed some questions about the Gaza ceasefire talks.
Trump said if the captives are not back by the time he gets into office, “all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone”.
Dunno what more he expects to do to Gaza, but he might be dumb enough to green light more assassinations in Iran and further ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.
A ‘crisis of severe and multi-dimensional proportions’
The Israeli military is still ramping up attacks across in Gaza, where in the past 24 hours, there have been blistering strikes on residential homes. Eastern Gaza has been the recent epicentre of the conflict [between Hamas and Israeli armed forces].
We’re also getting reports from northern Gaza that suggest the continuation of obliteration operations by the Israeli military. At least 14 Palestinians were killed today due to Israel’s repeated attacks on Gaza.
Satellite images have shown severe destruction and widespread devastation in the far north of the Strip. There has been extensive bulldozing in that part of the enclave. The Israeli military is looking to clear that area under the pretext of dismantling [Hamas’s] military infrastructure.
Such operations, however, have led to significant displacement waves from northern Gaza.
The humanitarian situation has reached what observers describe as a “breaking point”. That’s part of what we’re seeing on the ground. The absence of basic services has led to a crisis of severe and multi-dimensional proportions.
There have been attacks on the [UN World Food Programme], [UN agency for Palestinian refugees] UNRWA and World Central Kitchen. There has also been deliberate elimination of law enforcement agencies, which has led to a surge in criminal gang activity, which is also undermining aid work.
Palestinian houses stand badly damaged during the continuing Israeli military operation in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, December 18
Hamas stands by demand for end to Gaza war in captive deal, as Trump deadline nears
Hamas has stood by its demand that Israel fully end its assault on Gaza under any deal to release the captives still held there. The group also said President-elect Donald Trump was rash to say there would be “hell to pay” unless the captives are freed by his January 20th inauguration.
Officials from Hamas and Israel have been holding talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in the most intensive effort for months to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
The outgoing US administration has called for a final push for a deal before Joe Biden leaves office, and many in the region now view Trump’s inauguration as an unofficial deadline.
But with the clock ticking, both sides accuse the other of blocking a deal by adhering to conditions that torpedoed all previous peace efforts for more than a year.
Essay Pro