The ‘Hell’ To Pay in Gaza

President-elect Trump vows to unleash “hell” on Gaza hostage-takers if 101 infants, women, and men are not freed by January 20. Even before the inauguration, the tone is shifting at Washington in respect of the war that Iran and its proxies launched on Israel on October 7, 2023. President Biden’s decidedly mixed messages are replaced with a clarity that reminds Governor Huckabee of television shows from America’s past. “Was so happy to hear @realDonaldTrump let Hamas know that they need to let hostages go NOW,” the nominee to serve as our ambassador to Jeruslaem writes on X. “The pressure should be on the criminals, not the victims! Biden has put more pressure on Israel than Hamas. On Jan 20 we trade Barney Fife for Wyatt Earp!” Echoing Trump’s posting, Mr. Huckabee is onto something. Our foes, and Israel’s, are overdue. “If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office,” Trump wrote yesterday, “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. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”What a contrast to rhetoric of officials in the Biden administration, who at times sound like an adjunct of the Israel-averse United Nations. As America’s ambassador there, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said yesterday, “We will continue our relentless diplomacy to bring an end to this conflict, and bring the remaining hostages home. We will continue to work around the clock to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.” Addressing reporters as America assumed the presidency of the Security Council for December, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield was asked if she expected all this to happen before Trump becomes president. Forgetting about the hostages altogether, she said America isn’t “playing down” hardships in Gaza: We are “working to ensure that food and other necessary assistance is being delivered to the Palestinian people. And more needs to be done.”That message shifts the onus to Israel, rather than the terrorists of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and their Mideast allies. For months, Mr. Biden urged Israel to ease the suffering in Gaza while praising Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey who serve as mediators. These enablers seem now to fear Trump’s “hell.” Soon after the November election, Doha announced that Hamas leaders who have lived there lavishly for years are no longer welcome. Meanwhile the ever-increasing humanitarian deliveries, which the UN and our ambassador there are so keen on, have done little to hasten the war’s end. Under America’s pressure, hundreds of trucks arrive at Gaza crossings from Israel each day. Aid doesn’t reach those who need it because gun toting thugs confiscate it. Humanitarian goods are now Hamas’s top source of income and its main instrument of controlling the Strip’s population. Trump critics ridicule his “hell” threat. After all, it hasn’t been heaven for Gazans until now. Yet the president elect is savvy. As long as our aid ends up in Hamas’s hands, the terrorists have no incentive to end the war they started. Cut off this lifeline to terrorists. Add pressure on their regional enablers. Most crucially, stand by America’s true ally rather than nitpick its faults. A new sheriff is posting new rules.

The ‘Hell’ To Pay in Gaza

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