Hamas will "play everything in its book" to sabotage the ceasefire and hostage release agreement, and questions remain about what will make it release the remaining hostages, lay down their weapons, and leave Gaza, retired Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi told Newsmax on Sunday.
"This is a huge challenge," Avivi told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend," commenting on the release of four Israeli hostages this weekend. "When President [Donald] Trump said there will be hell if they won't release the hostages, now we have to translate this to action and explain to ourselves and the administration together what hell exactly means."
Israel, he added, won't let Gazans return to the northern part of the region unless civilians are released, and meanwhile, "We have to really make sure that Hamas adheres exactly to what the agreement says. I'm hoping that we'll manage to really do the whole first phase and release 33 hostages."
Meanwhile, Israel is releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the handful of hostages being released by Hamas, and Avivi said that is a "dangerous situation."
"In the last two months, there was the sense and the strong feeling in Israel of a six-day war or a big victory against Hamas and Hezbollah and the fall of Syria," he said. "Now, as we are releasing the hostages, it seems like there is some setback. We are releasing terrorists. We are releasing them to the West Bank, to Judea and Samaria, and also to Egypt and other places. We see Hamas regrouping. This makes people worry."
However, the IDF is also using this time to launch operations in the West Bank against terrorist infrastructure, to rebuild its army, and is readying itself to launch another attack on Hamas, said Avivi.
"Israel is intending to win decisively on all fronts," he said. "This war is not going to stop until Hamas is eradicated as a governmental and military entity, and until we bring back all the hostages. We're in one step of a long campaign where prioritizing now, bringing back our hostages. This is very important for us. But we are not forgetting we need to win this war."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.