While Israel has expressed interest in continuing the cease-fire deal in place so Hamas will release hostages they took in the Oct. 7 raids, it's not certain if the other side will agree for that to happen, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said on Newsmax Sunday.
"We're taking it every day as it comes," Lerner told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "I think if we've learned anything from the last two days here in Israel is that we can't really plan for much beyond every day."
The release of hostages "goes hand-in-hand" with the Israeli goals for the war along with removing Hamas from control of the Gaza Strip, "so if we can bring them home this way, and if it can continue, then that is something that we need to try and maximize for the families that have been torn to pieces."
Meanwhile, it's also "concerning" that Hamas has been preventing humanitarian aid from traveling from south Gaza to the north, said Lerner.
"This was one of their claims yesterday, that they didn't do that but for that reason, they postponed and delayed the transfer of the hostages yesterday," he said. "We're watching very, very carefully, but we are prepared and making the preparations to bring them home."
However, Lerner said that he "can't say" that in the last two days that any of the humanitarian aid meant for the people of Gaza has been commandeered by Hamas, "but it's a possibility."
"We are coordinating with the international humanitarian organizations on the ground like the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Program, and the World Health Organization that are bringing in the goods," he added. "They're responsible for the distribution. So there is some level of control over it."
However, "if a terrorist with an AK-47 comes to the truck driver and says I'm taking their truck, that's going to be a problem," said Lerner. "We're following it very closely. We are concerned, and that is why we're working very closely with the international humanitarian organizations in order to make sure the humanitarian aid actually reaches the people that actually need it."
Lerner also on Sunday rejected claims by Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran army, who said while referring to the cease-fire that the "collapse of Israel is clear," according to Israeli media.
"I don't want to relate specifically to Iran," said Lerner. "Obviously Israel is a strong nation. We are a strong military. Hamas is being pursued [for] their mistaken action on the 7th of October. They basically signed their own death warrant.
"They determined their destiny, and we are very, very determined to make sure this terrorist organization never controls the Gaza Strip as a governing authority and an authority that can build a terrorist army to abduct murder, massacre, and rape Israelis ever again."
Iran, he added, is concerned that Hamas, a "terrorist enemy" is "a $100 million-a-year investment of Iran so they're concerned mostly for their investment. It's going to be a wasted investment, of that I can assure you."
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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.
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