Breaking: Trump vows "hell to pay" against Hamas, captors over Gaza hostages

Comments come in the wake of evidence that a Long Island native, and captain in an IDF battalion, died in fighting, and his remains were abducted into Gaza.

[This report will be updated as events dictate. Meanwhile, please feel free to share this post, subscribe, and help support my efforts to bring you accurate, sourced reporting, and close-up-and-personal slice-of-life scenes here in northern Israel and our Life on the Border - thank you for your consideration]:

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(Reuters) - "U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said there would be 'hell to pay' in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not released prior to his Jan. 20 inauguration.

"'Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,' Trump said in a post on social media."

Israeli President Issac Herzog thanked the US President-elect:

The IDF has found compelling forensic evidence that a Long Island native, Capt. Omer Neutra, 21, died in fighting on or after Hamas’ Oct 7th, 2023 invasion and massacre of Israelis in over 20 communities bordering Gaza, and his remains were abducted into the coastal enclave.May he rest in peace, and his family gain a measure of closure until his remains are swiftly brought back for burial in Israel, along with all of the remaining captives, alive and deceased.

Neutra was an "adopted" lone soldier at Kibbutz Kfar Hanasi, located in the Upper Galilee, by a family who were close friends of his parents, according to an interview with Army Radio.

His parents spoke at the Republican National Convention held on Jul 18, 2024:

“Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American who was taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 attack, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday..."

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"Edan Alexander, 20, grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey and joined the Israel Defense Forces out of high school. He was seen alive in a new propaganda video released by Hamas on Saturday." [see CBS reports:

”Netanyahu's office said in a statement Saturday that he has spoken with Alexander's family after the release of the "brutal psychological warfare video."

"The Prime Minister said in the conversation that he felt very well the agony going through Edan and the hostages and their families, and promised that Israel is working with determination and in every way to return them home, along with all the hostages who are in the hands of the enemy," the statement said.

“U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said the White House has been in contact with the Alexander family. He said in a statement on Saturday that the propaganda video is "a cruel reminder of Hamas's terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own."

Oh, and a personal, note: How’s about we make sure, when we're done, to ensure that anything related to Hamas is conclusively wiped off the face of the earth.

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This report will be updated as events dictate. Meanwhile, please feel free to share this post, subscribe, and help support my efforts to bring you accurate, sourced reporting, and close-up-and-personal slice-of-life scenes here in northern Israel and our Life on the Border - thank you for your consideration:

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David Bender

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