Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to a warning by US President-elect Donald Trump that the hostages must be returned to Israel by Inauguration Day.
"Thank you very much, Mr. President-elect!" he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "How refreshing it is to hear clear and morally sound statements that do not create a false equivalence or call for addressing 'both sides,' but rather clarify who are the good and who are the bad, where the light is and where the darkness lies."
"This is the way to bring back the hostages: by increasing the pressure and the costs for Hamas and its supporters, and defeating them, rather than, giving in to their absurd demands.
"Thank you. @realDonaldTrump"
On Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, "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!"
"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. 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 President Isaac Herzog wrote in response to Trump on X, "Thank you and bless you Mr. President-elect @realDonaldTrump. We all pray for the moment we see our sisters and brothers back home!"
Mike Huckabee, who has been named as Trump's next Ambassador to Israel, wrote, "This is my President! There must be serious consequences for holding any hostage but America needs to exact severe consequences for kidnapping and murdering AMERICAN hostages."