President-elect Donald Trump threatened “ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” if hostages taken by Hamas and other groups during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel were not released by his second inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.

The threat, made in a social media post Monday afternoon, came hours after Israeli officials confirmed the death of Israeli American soldier Omer Neutra and said they believed his body was held by Hamas in Gaza. After Trump was elected last month, Neutra’s parents wrote an open letter to him urging him to “have a Reagan moment of his own,” referencing the release of the hostages held by Iranian revolutionaries on the day of Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration.

“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East - But it’s all talk, and no action!” Trump said on Truth Social. “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.”

The president-elect went on to write “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!”

It was not immediately clear exactly what Trump was threatening and if he was willing to involve the U.S. military in the war in Gaza. His campaign did not respond to a request for further clarification.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment. But the country's president, Isaac Herzog, welcomed Trump's remarks in a social media post.

"Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect @realDonaldTrump," he wrote on X. "We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!"

As he has with Ukraine’s war with Russian invaders, Trump has pledged to end the conflicts in the Middle East when he returns to office, though he has offered few details beyond his unflinching support for Israel’s war effort and threats of American military might against Iran and other regional foes.