Warning of Hamas ‘psychological terror,’ IDF says hostage deal may face curveballs

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari gives a statement to the media in Tel Aviv on October 16, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari gives a statement to the media in Tel Aviv on October 16, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warns that there may be changes amid the hostage deal with Hamas, and that the terror group will attempt to use “psychological terror” against the Israeli public.

He says officers have contacted the hostages’ families and notified them who is being released, “with the necessary reservations.”

“These will be complex days, nothing is final until it actually happens. And even amid the process, there may be changes at any moment,” he says.

“It is important to note that Hamas is a ruthless enemy. Difficult days are ahead of us, joy mixed with sadness,” he says.

“Hamas will try to use the days of the deal and the pause in fighting to spread fear, disinformation and psychological terror,” Hagari warns.

He says that the deal is not “the end of the process, but the start.”

In answer to a question, Hagari adds: “We have [overall] goals that must be attained — to demolish Hamas; to bring home the hostages; to organize the borders to ensure that they are secure, and to create deterrence in the region.”

“This stage,” of the current deal with Hamas, he cautions, “until it happens, it doesn’t happen. If it indeed happens [from] tomorrow morning, it is a finite period in which we are going to bring female and male hostages home. After that, we will continue with the fighting. Returning the hostages is in stages, and the military campaign is in stages.”

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