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US President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be inaugurated in January, threatened there would be "all hell to pay" if Hamas did not release captives held in Gaza by the time he takes office on 20 January.

Trump made the explosive comments on Monday, despite promising peace in the Middle East throughout his election campaign.

"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," he wrote.

"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!" he continued.

The post, published on Truth Social, did not entail any further details on what exactly would happen if the captives were not released by the deadline.

His post also seemed to make an apparent hit at US President Joe Biden and his inability to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

"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!" he wrote.

This comes just days after US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said the US was "working actively to try and make it happen" regarding a ceasefire.

"We are engaged deeply with the key players in the region…there will be further conversations and consultations, and our hope is that we can generate a ceasefire and hostage deal, but we're not there yet," he said.

33 captives killed

Meanwhile, Hamas issued a statement late on Monday stating that 33 captives have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza during the over-year-long war on the enclave.

The group blamed Israel for the killings, calling it a "crazy war" and stating "you could lose your captives forever. Do what you have to do before it is too late".

The group did not specify the nationalities of the captives killed but added that other captives had gone missing.

In a video published by the group, they accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has an arrest warrant against him for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, for being to blame for the killing of the captives.

Hamas has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, but a deal has repeatedly stalled with Israel not agreeing to conditions set out by the group, including a total withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Strip.

Netanyahu has vowed that the war on the enclave will continue until Hamas is eradicated.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 44,502 Palestinians and wounded over 105,454 others since 7 October 2023. The attacks on the enclave have levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis.