ABU DHABI: Donald Trump's Middle East envoy warned on Monday during a visit to the region it would "not be a pretty day" if the hostages held in Gaza were not released before the U.S. President-elect's inauguration.
Steve Witkoff, who will formally take up the position when Trump's administration starts, said he hoped and prayed there would be ceasefire in Gaza between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
"You heard what the president said, they better be released," he said, referring to Trump.
"Listen to what the president has got to say. It's not a pretty day if they're not released," Witkoff added, in response to Reuters questions on the sidelines of a bitcoin conference in UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
President-elect Trump said on social media last week there would be
"hell to pay"
if the hostages were not released before his inauguration.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 101 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.
More than 44,700 people have been killed in the assault that Israel launched on Gaza in response, authorities in the Hamas-run territory say. Thousands of others are feared dead under the rubble.
Witkoff earlier spoke to an audience at the Bitcoin conference where those attending paid as much as $9,999 to access special sessions, which are closed to media.
Trump’s Middle East envoy warns of consequences if Gaza hostages not released soon
https://arab.news/cqnn8
Trump’s Middle East envoy warns of consequences if Gaza hostages not released soon
Lebanon’s government approves a deal to transfer Syrian prisoners back to Syria
- Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides
- A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet on Friday approved an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Lebanon back to their home country.
The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighboring countries seek to recalibrate their relations following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led insurgents in December 2024. Former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now Syria’s interim president.
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it entered Syria’s civil war in defense of Assad’s government.
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately.
The deal approved Friday appeared to resolve that tension. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad’s rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that about 300 prisoners would be transferred as a result of the agreement.
Protesters gathered in a square below the government palace in downtown Beirut ahead of the Cabinet vote to call for amnesty for Lebanese prisoners, including some who joined militant groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni cleric Ahmad Al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in 2013 clashes that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.
“The state found solutions for the Syrian youth who are heroes and belong to the Syrian revolution who have been imprisoned for 12 years,” said protester Khaled Al- Bobbo. “But in the same files there are also Lebanese detainees. ... We demand that just as they found solutions for the Syrians, they must also find solutions for the people of this country.”
