“We’re hopeful there’s going to be a deal that’s struck towards the very end of Biden’s administration.”
Vice President-elect JD Vance on Sunday warned that the incoming Trump administration would enable Israel to “knock out” Hamas unless a deal is reached to free dozens of hostages.
Vance made these remarks on Fox News Sunday. While acknowledging the challenges of negotiating with Hamas, he stated that Trump’s threats to allow Israel to obliterate the group would likely compel its leaders to strike a deal and release hostages as early as this week.
“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 anchor Shannon Bream.
“We’re hopeful there’s going to be a deal that’s struck towards the very end of Biden’s administration, maybe the last day or two, but regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas,” he added.
Vance emphasized that failure to reach a deal would result in severe consequences for Hamas.
“I think number one, it means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership, which Donald Trump did very well for 4 years,” Vance explained.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Israel over the weekend to press for negotiations between Hamas and Israel regarding a ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages. Witkoff has advocated for the deal to be concluded before January 20, when Trump takes office, according to Axios.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas—mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S.—are reportedly nearing an agreement, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
“The final draft of a ceasefire agreement was reportedly presented overnight. A deal between Israel and Hamas could be just hours away to start a process that would see Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, followed by an end to the war in Gaza,” Yingst reported Monday morning.
