Vance: Trump’s ‘hell to pay’ threat ‘pushed Hamas’ to Gaza truce

The next vice-president of the US, JD Vance, believes Donald Trump’s controversial threats last week to Hamas that “all hell will break lose” if Israeli captives are not released has pushed the group to accept a ceasefire for Gaza, despite repeated walk-backs on previous deals by Israel.

Vance told US media he was hopeful a Gaze ceasefire would be agreed before outgoing President Joe Biden finishes her term in office next week, “maybe the last day or two”, with at least 46,854 Palestinians killed in the 18-month conflict.

Officials have met in Doha to iron out an agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is expected to be announced at any moment after Qatar presented both parties with a final version of the deal on Monday.

“It’s very clear that President Trump threatening Hamas and making it clear that there is going to be hell to pay, is part of the reason why we’ve made progress on getting some hostages out,” Vance told Fox News.

“Now, what does that look like? I think number one, it means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership.”

This could entail harsh penalties and sanctions on anyone who supports “terrorist groups” in the Middle East, he added.

“It means, actually, doing the job of American leadership, which Donald Trump did very well for four years and he’s going to do very well for the next four years,” he said.

A Hamas source told The New Arab’s Gaza correspondent on Monday that a Gaza ceasefire would be announced “as soon as today or tomorrow” after the US delivered on guarantees to the Palestinian movement. 

Hamas has generally backed previous ceasefire offers, but a sticking point has been the future of Gaza, including the presence of Israeli soldiers and who runs the enclave.

Hamas reportedly agreed to the Israeli draft on Monday, with the US and Qatar waiting on the Israeli government to greenlight the agreement.

Palestinians and some Israelis have accused Netanyahu of putting his political career above a ceasefire with Hamas – necessary to free the dozens of hostages held in Gaza – leading to a number of draft truce’s failing at the last minute.

Trump, widely viewed as the most ‘pro-Israel’ president in US history, has previously said he would force both parties to agree to a ceasefire if elected president and has been actively following the talks held in Cairo and Doha.

Having beaten incumbent president Joe Biden in a general election last year, Trump’s team has reportedly been involved in the negotiations which he hopes will be finalised by the time he takes to the White House on 20 January, likely in a bid to start his term with a clean slate.

Last week he made a chilling threat to Hamas about hostages held by the group, appearing to suggest he would green light all forms of violence used by Israel on Gaza if a truce is not agreed.

“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” he threatened on social media last week.

“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!”

Israeli analysts generally believe it would be near impossible to completely defeat Hamas militarily and that a political solution to the conflict is necessary.