Trump's 'all hell will break out' threat to Hamas likely meant to stop any dithering

Warning injects urgency into stalled Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations

- Jonathan Eyal

US President-elect Donald Trump has repeated threats that unless Hamas, the Palestinian militant organisation, agrees to a ceasefire in the Gaza war and releases the Israeli and American hostages by the time he is sworn into office on Jan 20, "all hell will break out" in the Middle East.

Speaking at a news conference on Jan 7 at his Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago, alongside his recently appointed Middle East envoy, Trump claimed that he "didn't want to hurt" the ceasefire negotiations currently being held between Hamas and Israel.

However, he added that if the hostages held by Hamas "are not back by the time I get 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".

But while Trump's intervention was intended to inject some urgency into the stalled Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations, it offered no clues on the policies his administration may pursue in the region.

The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden accepted that the inclusion of appointed officials from an incoming administration in current efforts to broker a ceasefire is inevitable, given the imminent transfer of power in Washington.

As a result, Mr Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy to the Middle East, is intimately involved in the Israel-Hamas discussions taking place in the Qatari capital of Doha, even though he has no legal authority until the Trump administration is sworn in.

Mr Witkoff, who flew back to Doha on Jan 8 after briefing Trump on the progress in the negotiations, is a wealthy real estate investor and close friend of the President-elect. He is expected to have a considerable influence on the Trump administration's Middle Eastern posture.