"Hamas is required to release the hostages. President Trump put the emphasis in the right place, on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary (elsewhere)," Netanyahu said. Other Israeli leaders also hailed the pledge that there would be "hell to pay" in the Middle East unless hostages held in the Gaza Strip were released ahead of Trump's inauguration. The reaction in Gaza was less enthusiastic. Responding to Trump's post, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sabotaged all efforts to secure a deal that involved exchanging the hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel's south, massacring some 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Of the hostages, 100 are still held captive by Hamas terrorists and their associates in the Gaza Strip.