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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Two Dead In Car Explosion On Bridge At U.S.-Canada Border; Buffalo Airport Closes To International Flights; Source: Hostage Release, Fighting Pause To Begin At 3AM ET; Growing Hope, Anxiety For Families Of Hostages After Deal. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 22, 2023 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We only have about 30 seconds, but I'm just wondering from your perspective, Hamas carrying out these terror attacks and then striking this deal, does it not seem to you that their plan worked?

REP. ANDRE CARSON (D-IN): Well, I think there were a series of events leading up to this. Of course, I condemn the acts that happened on October 7th. But the antagonistic stratagem that came from the Israeli government throughout this, the expansion of settlements, the mistreatment of Palestinians in the ground, in the West Bank, in Gaza, have certainly created an atmosphere of hostility and now we're seeing what happens when folks aren't listened to. We're seeing what happens when we get foreign aid without accountability.

Yes, Israel has been a strategic partner in the region, but I think we have to reassess our relationship with Israel given our taxpayer dollars with no accountability.

SANCHEZ: I think they would argue that what Hamas did was excusable. Nevertheless, but we do have to leave it there. We're out of time.

Thank you so much for being with us.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Congressman, thank you so much for the time. We should pick up this conversation at a later time.

THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Bianna Golodryga, in for Jake Tapper.

We start with breaking news. The FBI is investigating a car explosion at the U.S.-Canadian border near Niagara Falls. Two people in the car died. This happened just a few hours ago at the Rainbow Bridge connecting New York and Canada. According to law enforcement sources, the car for some reason accelerated on the U.S. side then went airborne and crash landed, exploding near a checkpoint. In response, authorities quickly shut down all four land border

crossings between the U.S. and Canada near Niagara Falls.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Brynn Gingras.

Brynn, law enforcement officials from Canada and the U.S. are now looking into this. What more are we learning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a lot of law enforcement on the ground there, Bianna. I want to get right to some video that we just got into our newsroom. It's surveillance video showing the point of impact when this explosion occurred. And I do want to warn you, you that you may find this video disturbing as we play it for you.

But what we have learned from sources telling our John Miller that what they know right now, again, a lot of questions still being answered at this point, is that a vehicle was crossing from the U.S. side at the border and at some point had a high acceleration of speed, hitting a curb, causing the vehicle to go airborne and then crashing into a checkpoint area of this crossing, causing that giant explosion.

And as you look at the video right now, you could see all of this smoke, all of the flames, this is at what point that investigators are sort of working with as they try to figure out exactly what happened here and what was the intention here. Was it something sinister? Was it something else? That's the answers they're trying to get.

We know that two people were inside of that vehicle and sources are telling us that those two people have died.

As you mentioned, Bianna, four of the border crossings are now shut down. A number of security precautions are now in place in that area. But also in this part of the country, in that area, we know that the airports have heightened security to the point that they are now doing extra checks on passengers in the airports on this busy travel day. There are bomb-sniffing dogs checking cars. There are a number of other checkpoints happening.

And we also know there is increased security in other major cities. We learned that is happening in D.C. We also learned that NYPD is sending resources to that area to help with this investigation. So a lot of the answers still need -- a lot of questions still need to be answered but investigators federally and locally and in the state on the ground trying to get those answers, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Brynn Gingras, thank you.

I want to turn to CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.

John, what are your sources telling you about how and why this might have happened?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, as it's developing, they are looking at the videos from the scene, which show the car exploding there. But they're also able to identify from parts of the vehicle that they found a registered owner. So they know who the car belongs to. They've traced the car's movements backwards through other videos.

It appears to -- before the -- before the car mounts the divider and goes airborne, it appears to leave a nearby casino. And they are now trying to find friends and family members of the registered owner of the car to learn more. They're also working with that casino to get video to see if they could see what is the person associated with that car before it leaves.

[16:05:04]

But, in the meantime, it is looking like in the original assumptions that caused this immediate reaction, that it was a car that exploded after being directed to the secondary screening area, so we know those things aren't the case. We know that the car wasn't directed to secondary screening, it's where it landed after it flew over the divider. That would be very hard to do intentionally.

So, this is a very fluid situation. As you know, the bridges have been shut down between the United States and Canada. Airports security has been increased. So we've seen a quick reaction. But as this appears to look more and more like some kind of car accident, whether it was a medical issue or a driving under the influence issue or something else, I guess the questions will be asked at what point are we overreacting?

GOLODRYGA: Well, we know now that at least one of the passengers has died. How does that impact the investigation, John?

MILLER: Well, there is the operating theory that the person who the car is registered to is likely the one who was operating at -- who is likely the one who was operating the vehicle, likely the one who was at the casino. But those all are investigative theories that need to be confirmed through investigation and so on.

It is also less clear that there were two people in the vehicle, in that the vehicle was so completely obliterated on impact, and the parts and the victim or victims were obliterated by the impact as well as the fire, it is not entirely clear whether there were two people. Human remains were found in one location and another location which spurred the theory that there may have been two passengers. But at this point, as they've gotten deeper into the scene, it's just as possible that that was the individual who was driving and may have been by himself.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. And I mean it just is a reminder how fluid this situation is right now. Investigators are fortunate in that the fact that they have quite a lot of surveillance video that they can comb through given the location of this incident.

MILLER: Interesting. I mean, if you do anything at any of these checkpoints coming from earth side of the bridge, the surveillance video is plentiful and high quality. But the best video that we've seen so far comes from one of the check points. But it is basically, it is almost off camera. It is a video that you'll see soon where you could see the vehicle kind of in the upper left -- upper right-hand side of the scene traveling at a high rate of speed and going over the wall and then you see the explosion afterwards.

But that is on a local road, on the U.S. side of the border. And it is a road where if you're on that road, you're not committed to crossing in Canada. But once he flies over the divider, he ends up at a secondary screening location where you would have been directed if you were coming from Canada into the United States.

Some of the confusion about whether he was headed to Canada or headed to the United States was borne out of the fact that the side of the road that the car landed on would have been the direction coming here when actually there is no indication he ever left the United States.

GOLODRYGA: All right. John Miller, thank you. Please keep us posted on anything you learned in the hour.

I want to turn to CNN's Pete Muntean who is tracking how this explosion is impacting holiday travel.

Pete, how are airports responding to this?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we're going, Bianna, into one of the busiest pre-travel -- pre-holiday travel days of this Thanksgiving rush, we're hearing this just now from the FAA, that the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is now closed to all international arriving flights and international departing flights. This is significant because it is a huge port of entry for private flights that come in from Canada into the U.S., a third busiest airport in the state of New York. They had 5,000 flights last month, 2 million passengers a year.

We're also hearing this from the authority that oversees that airport. They say their screening cars in addition to passengers that are coming into the airport and they're trying to get the word out on this huge holiday travel day for passengers to factor in some extra time into their trips, flights domestically are still arriving and departing there, but the TSA says it is in a heightened state of security posture, something that it has been in due to the situation in Israel.

And I spoke to TSA Administrator David Pekoske about this just the other day. He says there are things that you may see that are different, things that you may not see and he told me that they always need to be alert. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PEKOSKE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: You're always looking at the threat. We're always assessing the risks that occur across the entire system, not just here in the United States but also at last point of departure airports internationally.

[16:10:02]

And so, we do things that passengers might not even notice. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Things are relatively situation normal here at Reagan National Airport. We are going into the evening rush, and the TSA says that by the end of the day, we could anticipate 2.7 million people passing through security at America's airports. Still an unfolding situation as this impacts travel -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Pete Muntean, thank you.

I want to bring in Andrew McCabe. He served as deputy director of the FBI. Andy, good to see you.

So we know that the Buffalo FBI is now taking the lead in this investigation. Talk to us about what they're assessing at this moment and how does an investigation like this even begin?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Sure, Bianna.

So, of course, it starts at the scene, right? You have all sorts of tactical assets and S.A. bomb technicians that respond to the scene in order to render it safe. They want to make sure there is not an explosive device or another device there that could hurt any of the first responders. Once they do that, it's -- we bring in the evidence response teams and they know how to basically disassemble everything that's taken place there, document what we have for evidence and really maximize this significant investigation of that stuff on site.

At the same time, you have teams of analysts and other agents who are working back in the Buffalo field office and they are trying to exploit every piece of information that we could get from this vehicle. So we know who the vehicle was registered to. We tried to identify those people, to identify their family members and associates. And then we have agents out in the field contacting those individuals to try to help us identify who was in this car and what might have motivated them, what they might have been doing that day and or what might have led to this either horrible accident or intentional act that could have caused loss of life and a lot of damage.

And then, of course, there is a very robust exchange going on with our Canadian colleagues. We work very closely with Canadian law enforcement and intelligence and I'm sure they are shoulder to shoulder working through these issues.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we were taking a press conference with their transportation minister on this issue.

As you look at the scene and images, what jumps out to you first and what do you make of the fact that the car apparently accelerated before it crash and exploded?

MCCABE: Sure. So the acceleration, when we learned about the acceleration, that is the first thing to me that jumped out against the theory that this might have been sort of an intentional detonation of an explosive device. It is not consistent with the way that terrorists or operatives work. If you had a vehicle that was rigged up to explode, you wouldn't draw that sort of attention. You wouldn't have to attack the place before you detonated the device.

So those -- those two things didn't seem to be consistent. It certainly still looks like an intentional act. But it could have been one that could have been a mistake, now that we know they were on a separate road and actually landed where they did because they crossed the barrier in air. That introduces all sorts of questions as to exactly where was this vehicle going, what were they trying to accomplish before they ended up on fire and upside down on the border.

So I think it's -- as we've gotten deeper and been able to put more facts around what's happened, I think that the question of why and what was the motivation and the intent here has gotten muddier and less likely to be an act of terrorism.

GOLODRYGA: Would there be a search for residue or explosives here?

MCCABE: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think those -- some of those initial responders would be special agent bomb technicians, they have the technology and the devices and robots an all sorts of ways to conduct that search for explosive trace residue without putting people in jeopardy. I'm sure that's probably already happened by now.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Andy McCabe, thanks for joining us. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Ahead for us --

MCCABE: You as well.

GOLODRYGA: -- the other big story, the most significant moment of the Israel-Hamas war since the initial Hamas attack on October 7th.

I want to bring in my colleague, CNN's Kaitlan Collins who is live for us in Tel Aviv -- Kaitlan.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Bianna, right now, we are less than 11 hours away from what we expect to be the first pause in the fighting that has happened, the first serious one since October 7th, also potentially the first release of those hostages to be released that were taken on October 7th by Hamas into Gaza.

Ahead, we're going to talk about how this process will go down. Also, ask the question what if one side does not keep its word. Does the deal collapse? We'll speak to a spokesperson for the Israel defense forces right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:51]

COLLINS: We are live here on the ground in Tel Aviv, Israel, where we are just about 11 hours away from the beginning of a planned temporary truce. It is expected to result in the release of at least 50 hostages that are currently being held by Hamas as a part of this deal that has been negotiated, a pause in the fighting is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. here, 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time tomorrow. That's what we're hearing from sources as the White House believes at least three Americans will be part of this group of 50. That's one toddler and two women leaving ten more Americans still unaccounted for.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is here with me in Tel Aviv.

And, Oren, we just heard from the war time cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the details, the first real time we've heard from them since they -- this was signed off by the Israeli cabinet last night.

What are their expectations for what this will look like tomorrow morning?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: First, it's clear they expect this to happen. Even if there is continued fighting in Gaza right now, we are not a point where the pause starts and the expectation from the war cabinet and from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is that this goes into effect at 10:00 in the morning.

Now, they didn't give many specific details. Most of the details have been from sources outside of Israel.

[16:20:02]

But first, they expect it to go into effect. And also, Netanyahu acknowledged that in hostage rescues, sometimes a military option is possible. Here it wasn't. It required diplomacy. He thanked President Joe Biden for his effort, especially to improve the terms of the conditions and then opened up the possibility as we've reported that it could continue beyond the first batch of 50 Israeli hostages and the 150 Palestinian prisoners if the deal holds, if the agreement remains in place and the terms are abided to by both sides here.

COLLINS: But he was asked what if this doesn't hold, what if there is a breach in that cessation of hostilities. He didn't make clear, though, you know, what that -- he didn't draw any red lines of what that would look like if something does happen.

LIEBERMANN: Right. He was asked what happens if a soldier is shot, a pretty clear incident, but he wouldn't say yes, that's the moment where the agreement breaks down. He simply said the forces in Gaza, the Israeli troops there know how to handle themselves. They're ready for this in and position for this and effectively said, we'll handle this as it happened.

So he didn't want to put a red line on it and have to be committed to a point where the deal falls apart.

COLLINS: Yeah, we'll wait to see what that looks like. Obviously a lot of unknowns here.

Oren Liebermann, thank you for that.

Of course, there are major questions of what this is going to look like once this is expected to start at 10:00 a.m. local here, 3:00 a.m. Eastern.

For more on that now, I want to bring in Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus.

Thank you so much for being here, Lieutenant Colonel. What role is the IDF going to be playing in this hostage exchange based on what you know?

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON: Good night, Kaitlan. Thank you for having me.

What we will be doing is to execute government policy and directives, and to facilitate the safe transfer of Israeli hostages, women and children, after 47 days of Hamas captivity back home into safety. We will do so while remaining very vigilant on the ground, mindful of the fact that we're dealing with a hateful terror organization that has a proven track record of violating cease-fire agreements on the ground.

COLLINS: And are you worried that they could violate this temporary cease-fire that you've agreed to?

CONRICUS: We are definitely mindful of their ability to do so. And we remember what happened in 2014 when there was a U.N. brokered cease- fire, which was violated by Hamas and they killed and abducted an Israeli officer, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, and had been holding on to his body ever since. So, we are mindful of the fact that this is definitely a possibility, which, of course, indicates that we have to be very vigilant and be dynamic in our posture, ready for any eventuality.

I think our intention is very clear. We want to see our hostages back and if there is this diplomatic effort that could be successful, that is a good thing and Israelis will be repatriated and returned to their loved ones. But if Hamas tries to take advantage of the pause and use it for tactical activity, we'll be ready to respond in kind.

COLLINS: And has the IDF been told when the military should stop firing? Have you been told 10:00 a.m. local tomorrow?

CONRICUS: So, we are aware of the official 10:00 a.m. guideline. And we are conducting operations accordingly. We will wait for final orders and directives to be given from the government, from the cabinet.

But we are -- that is for planning purposes as of now, we'll see how things develop during the night and we'll see what the situation is. And then we will wait for final instructions and we're ready to walk back.

COLLINS: We just heard from the prime minister about the Red Cross being able to reach all of these hostages including those who were not going to be in that initial group that is being part of that exchange.

How realistic is that that the Red Cross will actually be able to access the rest of these hostages? CONRICUS: Well, we definitely hope that efforts will be made by the

Red Cross in order to execute and implement the responsibility as the leading humanitarian organization, chartered exactly to provide that service to hostages during war time. We're hopeful that it will happen. And we will, of course, try to facilitate it. How realistic it is, I cannot comment on it, but it is definitely our expectation that it will happen.

COLLINS: I heard from the former prime minister of Israel earlier today, Naftali Bennett, who said that he's worried this essentially will allow Hamas time to regroup. He equated to knocking down your opponent and then helping them get back up. Are you concerned about what this pause will allow Hamas to do?

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CONRICUS: Yeah, one would hope that Hamas would use the pause in order to care for the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population. But I think that would be a naive way of thinking. I think that what Hamas will use, the time will be for the military purposes. They will try to regroup, they will take a breather from relentless IDF pressure on them.

And from a tactical point of view, I can understand that this will be beneficial. Hamas has been asking for this. Of course, they are interested in having a pause in operations.

But I'm also equally confident that the moment, the minute that the deal is concluded, hopefully successfully, we will go back to military operations and we'll continue to bring pressure upon Hamas, upon the leaders, their infrastructure, and the combatants and the entire system that supports them and to bring to their demise military and political so that never again will we find ourselves in that situation where Israelis are held hostage by a terror organization from Gaza.

COLLINS: What is the IDF been told to do during this four to five-day pause initially if Hamas violates it, if they do fire on Israeli forces that are in Gaza? You have been told what your orders are for that or do you wait until that happens and then ask for them?

CONRICUS: No, as I said in the beginning, we are preparing ourselves for various tactical scenarios on the ground. We, of course, are going to honor the agreement and the commitment here and we're not going to initiate tactical contact. But if we will be fired upon, we will defend ourselves and take all necessary measures and in order to ensure troop safety and if there is any hostages that are jeopardized, then, of course, to ensure they're safety.

And that will be our posture. It will be a defensive one. Not an aggressive one. And hopefully for once, Hamas will honor an agreement and actually implement what they have said that they're going to implement.

COLLINS: Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, thanks for your time tonight.

CONRICUS: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: Bianna, back to you.

GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Kaitlan.

Up next, the U.S. responds to all of this with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. He's making his way over to our White House camera right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:31:56]

GOLODRYGA: We are back with our world lead. Families of hostages are anxiously waiting to see whether their loved ones will be released in the coming hours or days. That excruciating uncertainty is creating a new set of anxieties and even tensions among some families. Just adding to the miserable nightmare so many of them have been living through since October 7th.

CNN's Clarissa Ward talks with some of those who were trying to keep their hope alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as the first batch of hostages is poised to be released, they are not backing down.

Look in their eyes, this protester says. Tell them that every day you are doing everything that it takes.

For 47 days, friends and family and members and supporters of the estimated 240 hostages have demanded the Israeli government prioritize bringing them home. Here they gather in support of Hadas Kalderon whose children, 12-year-old Erez and 16-year-old Sahar were taken on October 7th along with her ex-husband.

Tell me what you're going through now? Are you hopeful? Are you anxious? Are you in denial, denial?

HADAS KALDERON, MOTHER OF HOSTAGES: I smile and a laugh and then I cry and then I --

WARD: You have heard anything?

KALDERON: Nobody knows anything. Nobody. Nobody. No information. I have to pay. We have to pray.

WARD: Kalderon is not the only parent desperately waiting and hoping for news that has yet to come.

Nine-year-old Emily Hand's father Thomas was initially told his daughter was killed on October 7th only to get the news they may be alive and held in Gaza. I want to jump through the roof with hope, Hand told us today about

the possibility prospect of Emily's release. But I also have to keep a level head emotionally.

It's a challenge Kalderon is all too familiar with.

KALDERON: Every day is tough. All day is tough. I don't want to think, I don't want to think because it's too painful.

You know, when they start to ask me and interview like you, show me the picture of your child and tell me what was last thing they told you, it breaks my heart because the last thing they told me was, mom, be quiet. I love you. He was worried for me.

WARD: When you think of, God willing, your babies come home and are part of this release, do you worry about how they will be changed by what they experienced?

KALDERON: They are changed. They won't be the same. They got -- they have been kidnapped and away from their beds, from the house where it is a safe place. They kidnapped the infant.

WARD: At the central hostage square in Tel Aviv, prayers for those who will come home over the next few days and a promise to keep pushing for those who will not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:35:09]

WARD (on camera): Now, Bianna, everybody is anxiously awaiting that list that is supposed to come tonight that will give the names of the estimated 10 hostages who will hopefully be released tomorrow. Qatari officials saying they do believe that this list will come out and they are confident it will happen in the next few hours.

But you could imagine, Bianna, just what an emotional rollercoaster this is for these families who are desperately waiting, hoping, trying not to let themselves hope too much. And wondering in reality even they do get their loved ones home what kind of changes they will see in those loved ones as a result of the traumas that they will undoubtedly have experienced, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: And this evil nightmare, those are the fortunate ones who are able to leave and come back to their families. Forever changed.

Clarissa Ward in Tel Aviv, Israel, for us -- thank you.

Well, joining me now from the White House is national security spokesman John Kirby.

Admiral Kirby, it's good to see you.

So, is the White House confident at this point that this pause and hostage release will go forward as planned in just a few hours from now? JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC

COMMUNICATIONS: That's certainly our hope and we're watching this very, very closely. Big deal to get these two sides to agree to this particular negotiation, yesterday, but now it comes to execution and implementation and making sure that all sides meet their commitments and we're dealing with Hamas here, a terrorist organization that's not exactly known for keeping all of its commitments.

So we're going to be watching this very, very closely.

GOLODRYGA: And our reporting shows that Hamas had gone into the dark the past few times during these negotiations as they've reached a turning point. What makes you confident that that won't happen again?

KIRBY: Well, we're not going into this with hubris or arrogance or ultra confidence. We're grateful that we were able to get this deal secured but as I said, it all now comes down to execution and so we're -- nobody is doing any touchdown dancing here. There is still work to be done and a long way to go.

We're hoping, hoping that implementation will start sometime in the next 24 hours or so, and then continue for the next few days. Both days of a pause where there'll be no fighting so humanitarian assistance can get in at an accelerated rate, and, of course, getting all those 50-plus hostages out. Now, they'll come out in increments, they won't come out together and that's why this is a multi-day process.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, your colleague Brett McGurk says three U.S. hostages are expected to be released in that first tranche of the 50. Can you confirm that? And what about the other American hostages?

KIRBY: So we think the total population of Americans that are being held hostage is somewhere in the neighborhood of ten. We know there is ten unaccounted for Americans. We don't know that all of them are hostages. But that's the assumption that we're making.

So, somewhere in that neighborhood. We know that of that population of about ten, there are three Americans that would qualify for the stipulations of this particular deal. Two American women and one little toddler, Abigail Mor Idan who is going to turn 4 on Friday.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

KIRBY: Lost her father in this terrible, terrible attack on 7th of October and was rescued by some neighbors. We obviously want to see her get home to her family as quickly as possible as those two other American ladies. And so, we're hoping that those three Americans, those two women and little Abigail will be in at least one of the increments of these hostages that are coming out over the next few days.

But we'll have to -- we'll have to watch. The truth is, we won't know for sure until we start to see people moving.

GOLODRYGA: Do you have concrete proof that all of these American hostages are alive?

KIRBY: Our information is limited, about all of the hostages, including the remaining American hostages. So I can't tell you definitively that we have proof of life on all of them. But I can say that we have no indication to the contrary. So, we're going to continue to work on this as hard as we can. We want to see them all home with their families.

GOLODRYGA: You said just moments ago that the U.S. support for Israel is not going to waiver following this hostage agreement. Does that mean that the U.S. supports what Prime Minister Netanyahu stated would be a resumption of its war on Hamas in Gaza?

KIRBY: We believe that Israel still has a right and responsibility to defend itself against Hamas which means we could expect them to continue to conduct operations against Hamas. And I tell you something else -- it also means that we're going to continue to provide them the security assistance that they need to do exactly that. The threat of Hamas is still real, still viable and it is still quite frankly existential to the Israeli nation and to the Israeli people.

So, we have every expectation that they'll continue these operations. That said, we continue to advocate for these humanitarian pauses like the one that we're about to enter into, which will not only help hostages get out but help aid get into the innocent people who also victims of Hamas.

[16:40:01]

They didn't ask for this conflict.

GOLODRYGA: All right. John Kirby, we are praying for good news and that little Abigail can celebrate her birthday in the arms of her family members.

KIRBY: Yeah.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you so much.

KIRBY: So are we. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, one of the youngest hostages held by Hamas is a 10- month-old baby. Take a look at this picture. That child's family will be here, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: We're back with our world lead.

Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that formed into response to Hamas' attack on October 7th, lists at least 201 Israelis believed to be alive and held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The youngest on that list is 10-month-old Kfir Bibas seen here with his 4-year-old brother Ariel and their parents, Yarden and Shiri.

[16:45:00] All of them are hostages.

Joining us now is Yosi Shnaider. He is Shiri's a cousin.

Yosi, thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, especially given the moment right now.

Has the Israeli government told you whether your relatives are on this list or what to expect if they might be?

YOSI SHNAIDER, COUSIN OF FOUR HOSTAGES HELD BY HAMAS: No, actually, we still have zero information. As much as we know, the head of the Mossad gave the list of the ten people that should be released tomorrow, they didn't publish it yet. They want to make sure first of all that all of the people that are on the list is really been released and then they're going to announce the (INAUDIBLE). So until then we have zero information (ph).

GOLODRYGA: And you're just waiting for that call. What was your reaction when Israel approved this deal?

SHNAIDER: I can divide this question, this answer because there are two things that I thought about. One of them, with my stomach and of course, I want everybody to come back as soon as possible and I want my family back. And I want to give everything that they want just to release all of the hostages. And everybody will be here safe and sound mentally and physically.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: Are you satisfied -- go ahead.

SHNAIDER: When I think with my head and realize exactly what we're dealing with and I know that Hamas is radical terror organization, that lies time after time and will do whatever it can to try to halt (ph) our soldiers in the four or five days of cease-fire. And we'll regroup and in those days and that means that the next negotiation would be postponed.

And the people that will have to stay there and instead of being released in the week from now, for example, they're going to release in a month or two months from now. So I'm very concerned about that if people are going to stay there.

GOLODRYGA: We know that among this first tranche are mostly children and women. So that could include your 10-month-old cousin and his mother. But obviously, that doesn't include their father. And I'm wondering if you've come to terms with that?

SHNAIDER: It doesn't include his father. It doesn't include the same children up to the age of 18. But if you ask me, there are children in the age of 19 and 20 that have -- that are found in the -- in this captivity. And it's not easy to leave people behind, especially when you don't know exactly what their situation is. We are very concerned about each and every one of them. Also, the Hamas announced that for the children, but know only where

the location of only 30 of the children, that means 10 children will not come back in this deal because Hamas doesn't know where they are. So --

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Yosi Shnaider, we're praying that you receive that phone call with good news. And of course we'll be covering this until you do. Thank you.

SHNAIDER: You have to not just pray. You have to be with us and support Israel and tell the world to stop judging us and blaming us for everything. And really establish support for us, because I told you the last interview that we did, I know that Europe and the U.S. and everybody else and other countries, you have radical Muslim cells in you're country.

And unfortunately, it can be you -- you could be the next one that will experience the same thing that we're experiencing the 7th of October. So we need to wake up and start supporting us and be by our side.

GOLODRYGA: Yosi Shnaider, thank you for your time.

SHNAIDER: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:47]

GOLODRYGA: We are back now with breaking news. Israel's National Security Council now says that no hostages will be released before Friday. The first exchange was expected to take place at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time tomorrow morning.

So let's go straight to CNN's Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv. Oren, what's going on here? What are you learning about this change?

LIEBERMANN: We just got a very short statement from Israel's National Security Council. They gave very few details, only saying that talks to release hostages are advancing and ongoing. The beginning of the release will be done according to the original agreement of both parties and not before Friday. So very little information in that statement, making it clear that we are not expecting a hostage change tomorrow.

The other thing that's interesting to note is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the war cabinet held a press briefing just a short time ago in which they mentioned no details of the timing on the agreement. So it seems likely they knew this wouldn't happen before Friday, even as our expectations and it's worth noting those are from sources outside the country said this may begin as soon as tomorrow.

Now, it's unclear if that affects the beginning of the pause in the fighting, which is still expected for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. But it's certainly something we'll keep track of as we watch the movement of the release of hostages in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, as well.

[16:55:00]

GOLODRYGA: So, this news coming from the Israeli Security Council, any news coming from the Qataris who played such a critical role in mediating this deal?

LIEBERMANN: We haven't seen a statement at this point from them. It's possible they will release one or they'll simply rely on this and acknowledge that Friday is the day we'll be looking at.

GOLODRYGA: Just another day these poor families have to wait to see if their loved ones come home.

Oren Liebermann, thank you so much.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: We are standing by for a news conference in New York after that car explosion at the border of the U.S.-Canadian border. This happened this morning at the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls. The eruption and fire so severe that authorities tell us they do not know exactly how many people were in that car. We do know that at least one person has died.

We're also following major news overseas. We've just learned from Israel's National Security Council that there will be no hostages released before Friday. We had initially anticipated hostage releases to beginning around 3:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

Keep it here for more on this developing story.

Meantime, our coverage continues now with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" live in Tel Aviv.