‘Hell’ to break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages on Feb. 15, warns Trump

The U.S. president stated a deadline of noon; otherwise, he says, “it’s going to be a different ball game.”

Written by Jonathan D. Salant

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas did not release the remaining hostages by Saturday.

“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock—I think it’s an appropriate time—I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told to reporters at the White House as he was signing a new round of executive orders, according to pool reports.

“I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” the president said. “And if they’re not returned—all of them, not in drips and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two–by Saturday at 12 o’clock. And after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out.”

After that time, Trump said, “it’s going to be a different ball game.”

Asked what “all hell will break out” means, Trump responded: “You’ll find out, and they’ll find out, too. Hamas will find out what I mean.”

Trump’s comments came after Hamas said it would delay the release of hostages scheduled for Saturday “until further notice” due to alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement with Israel.

The terror group accused Israel of shelling Gaza and not allowing sufficient supplies to enter the Hamas-run enclave. In response, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Hamas’s refusal to release the hostages would be an “outright violation of the ceasefire and that the country’s military should be prepared for the highest level of alert.”

Israel estimates that Hamas still is holding 76 hostages, including 73 abducted during the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.