Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Israel Considers Deal To Release 50 Hostages Held By Hamas; Cabinet Meeting Underway To Discuss And Potentially Approve The Agreement; Proposal Includes A 4-5 Day Pause In Hostilities And Exchange Of Prisoners; Families Of Victims Have A 24-Hour Window To Appeal To The Supreme Court; Israeli Government Spokesperson Emphasizes Ongoing Pressure On Hamas For Full Hostage Release; Hostage Families Express Frustration Over Lack Of Communication But Hope For Positive Outcome. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 21, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:01:06]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We are monitoring breaking news. Right now, the full Israeli cabinet is meeting behind closed doors, going over a deal that could bring home dozens of hostages taken by Hamas. The well-being of those hostages potentially hanging on this decision. It comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met earlier today with key officials about the negotiations. The deal would end the torment of so many of these hostages and their families who've been demanding their safe return for more than a month now. Let's get the latest from CNN. Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt has been tracking these developments and the makings of this deal along the way. Alex, how soon can we see a deal announced?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Well, I think, Boris, that could be actually quite soon. We believe that the ball is in Israel's court, that they are going through their legal and political process to approve this deal, that on the Hamas side of things, it has been approved. So, an expectation, once all is said and done, is that Israel would announce that they have agreed to this deal, but it would also be announced by Qatar. And they have been the key mediator on this because they have a direct conversation, direct line into Hamas.

They also speak with the U.S. and Israel as well. So, these are the broad strokes of what we expect the deal to entail. An immediate group of 50 people being released from Hamas custody, all civilians, all women and children. This would take, of course, over 4 to 5 days, during which time there would be a pause. The fighting would stop. Israel would stop. Fighting against Hamas. Hamas would stop firing against Israel. In theory, the guns would fall silent.

Now, what's also interesting is this will be a swap if this happens, in that for the 50 women and children who we understand are Israeli or dual national, so they're all Israelis, but some have other passports as well, around 150 Palestinians would be released at the same time from Israeli prisons. There is a possibility, Boris, that if all of this goes according to plan over this 4- or 5-day period, the pause could be extended and more of these hostages could be released by Hamas, and in turn, more of these Palestinian prisoners could be released by Israel.

SANCHEZ: The key, if it goes according to plan, a tenuous proposition, right? You and I, from early on, were trying to figure out exactly how many hostages were being held by Hamas. And as the stories played out, we've learned that it's not just Hamas holding onto hostages, but other rival factions, potentially even criminal enterprises. What do we know about the exact number of how many folks are being held in Gaza right now?

MARQUARDT: The numbers have been all over the place for the course of the year. The past few weeks, the fluctuations have changed as the Israeli authorities and other countries like the United States have figured out, essentially, who is still missing. So, the number that has been settled on right now is just shy of 240 hostages in Gaza. It's 237. Again, it's a mix of all different kinds of nationalities. You have Israelis, you have at least 10 American citizens are missing as well. There was -- there's that three-year-old toddler who is being held. She has -- little Abigail, has American citizenship. We understand that she's going to turn 4 years old later this week on Friday.

There's an expectation that she would hopefully be part of this first batch of hostages to come out again, some 50 of them. But there are also other nationalities, Nepalese and Thai. There are a lot of migrant workers from Southeast Asia who go to Israel to work. Right now, Boris, what is not being mentioned is the release of any of the men. And I think a major question is what Hamas intends to do, particularly with the Israeli men who are of fighting age. If they're not IDF soldiers, they could be reservists, in which case Hamas would almost certainly be looking to trade them for a large number of likely men in Israeli custody.

SANCHEZ: As we've seen happen before, play out in 2011 when one Israeli soldier represented a thousand some odd prisoners that Israel released. There have been hostages in Gaza released, though. Tell us about that

[14:05:09]

MARQUARDT: Right. So, if we see these 50 released in the coming days, this would be the third group of hostages, by far the biggest. And that is something that Israel really wants to see. They said if we are going to agree to a pause, a real stop in the fighting, that you, Hamas, have to release a large group of prisoners. That's why we believe it's going to be at least 50 in this first wave. But there have been releases already. Two, in fact. Natalie and Judith Raanan, they are American citizens. They were the first to be released by Hamas on October 20th. Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, older Israeli women who were released three days later on October 23rd.

The way that they were released was that they were handed over by Hamas to the International Red Cross. They were then taken to the border crossing, handed over to Egyptian and Israeli forces. And then taken to doctors to get a medical checkup. It's unclear the mechanics of how we understand this latest hostage release to unfold, but it may happen in a very similar fashion.

SANCHEZ: Potentially a preview if this deal ultimately goes through. Alex, also tell us about the Palestinian prisoners that Hamas is aiming to get released in this deal.

MARQUARDT: So, there's a huge number of Palestinians who are in Israeli prisons in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem, in Israel proper. The vast majority of them are men. And again, we're not talking about the release on either side of men right now. One important note, Boris, is that of the 8,300, 3,000 are being held in what's called administrative detention, which is this in-between area where they don't know what the charges are against them. They're being held without trial. They can be held for months or even years. And that can be extended for reasons unknown to them.

But the Palestinians, the ones that we're talking about right now to be released are, again, the women and children. There are, at last count, some 463 women and children who are being held by children. I mean, mainly teenagers who are under the age of 18. And those are the ones who would be released in exchange for these Hamas hostages. Again, 3 of them for every 1 to be released by Hamas. Yeah, we'll keep an eye on how it plays out. Again, the full cabinet in Israel meeting right now to discuss the details. Finalizing the deal. And potentially this swap. Alex Marquardt, thank you so much for the reporting. Of course, CNN is covering this from every angle.

So, we want to take you now live to the region with CNN's Oren Liebermann, Matthew Chance and Becky Anderson, all of them live with the very latest. First, Oren, to you, we don't know exactly how Israel's government is going to vote on all of this, but there have been indications at least two far right groups of the government saying they will vote against this deal. How do you see this playing out?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, 2 of the far right groups are saying they will vote against this deal. How do you see this All right, members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government have come out against the deal, but they don't have the numbers to sink this on their own. And it's very much in Netanyahu's interest to make sure this gets across the finish line. He is well aware that he is deeply unpopular here. And if this falls apart because of his coalition, he will get even more unpopular.

We have also heard from families that were in a meeting with the war cabinet yesterday. They say they were promised if it gets to this point, that it will get over the line. Ministers in the government said, once it gets to the point where it's in front of them, they will make sure that this gets approved. So, with that promise, they are more confident than they've ever been before that they will see a prisoner release here or a hostage release, I should say, announcement perhaps sometime imminently here.

So, it's already gone through a couple of the stages necessary here. First, the war cabinet, which is just Netanyahu and a very few others. Then the slightly wider security cabinet, which includes other critical ministries. And now it's at the full cabinet. And that's the last step in the approval process that's necessary because of what this deal entails. And that is the release of Palestinian prisoners, which can't simply be done unilaterally by the prime minister. He needs the support of the government. And that's why this is critical. There is there is a bit more.

There is then a 24-hour window in which appeals can be filed at the Supreme Court to try to stop this. So that also has to start that that clock also has to start ticking. And that starts right after the government vote, which we should expect here fairly soon given that the full cabinet is meeting right now again, that is the final stage in the process here as this moves forward to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as far right coalition parties coming out against it. But Boris, they don't have the numbers to make sure to stop this from going through here.

The family's eagerly waiting for word. Even if they don't know who will be released, they say this is a critical first step to get that ball rolling. One hostage deal, they say, hopefully leads to many more in the near future.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, Oren, thanks so much. Stay with us.

[14:10:09]

I want to go now to Matthew Chance who has been talking to family members and in fact is there with the mother of a 13-year-old hostage. Matthew, I know this has been a very frustrating process for a lot of these families who say they haven't gotten a lot of information. What are they saying to you now that we're on the brink of the deal?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I think it's fair to say that feelings are very mixed here tonight in central Tel Aviv with many of the families and the sympathizers of the families who have loved ones who are still held hostage in Gaza tonight. Mixed feelings because obviously there's some excitement and happiness that some people may be released if this deal gets through the Israeli government, but also some bittersweet feelings about the fact that so many of the 240 hostages inside Gaza will not be part of this first wave of hostage releases, which is something in the order of 50 or so people, according to the Israeli government officials that I have spoken to.

I'm joined by --I mean, it's very difficult to present this. You can understand it's absolutely tragic, but I'm joined here by Reuma, who is a mother of --

REUMA TARASCHANSKY, MOTHER OF GALI: Gali.

CHANCE: Gali. And this is your son, 16 years old, but he's no longer with us.

TARASCHANSKY: He was murdered.

CHANCE: And so, he's no longer with us. But your daughter, who's 13 years old, she's a hostage in Gaza. TARASCHANSKY: From the 7th of... October, yeah.

CHANCE: How optimistic are you, if I can use that word, how optimistic are you tonight that your daughter, at least, may be able to come home?

TARASCHANSKY: It's the most -- I have nothing else to believe in, just the way that she will be back soon. The hope is keeping me alive now. And I believe that she will come back.

CHANCE: I was speaking to your family members, who are also here tonight, some of them, and they were saying she's very strong. They're very optimistic that she's going to get through this. Is that --

CHANCE: Ghali is a strong young girl. She's 13. And she's very -- She's an optimistic girl. She's always happy and energetic. And you can't not notice her when she's around you. So, I hope that she's strong.

CHANCE: Yeah, and I hope so, too. I hope she comes out alive and well. Let me just ask you very briefly. There's a government meeting underway right now.

TARASCHANSKY: Yes.

CHANCE: The Israeli cabinet are discussing whether to approve this deal or not. Do you think the Israeli government has handled this tragedy, this crisis, properly? Have they handled it well?

TARASCHANSKY: It's also -- I'm hoping so, because I don't have anybody else that managed this country. It's them.

CHANCE: Yeah.

TARASCHANSKY: But I can say that for a month and more, nobody's spoken with us from the government. Yesterday --

CHANCE: Nobody's spoken with you?

TARASCHANSKY: No. Just yesterday, we met with the cabinet, all the families. It was the first time we spoke with them eye to eye. And it's supposed to be much before. Not after a week, a month and a half.

CHANCE: Does that make you feel that --

TARASCHANSKY: I'm angry.

CHANCE: You're angry. Does it make you feel that the plight of you, the plight of your families and the 240 other -- You know, the families of 240 other people. Do you think that was -- You're not the priority of this government? Or you haven't been up until now?

TARASCHANSKY: We wanted them to say that this is the priority. The hostages is the priority. The first priority of the war. And we didn't heard it from everybody. But now, today, they said it. Finally. So, I'm optimistic now. Because they said it. Finally. CHANCE: Well, I'm glad. And again, I'm so sorry for your loss. And, you know, I wish you the best --

TARASCHANSKY: Thank you.

CHANCE: For your daughter. Thank you very much, Reuma.

TARASCHANSKY: Thank you.

CHANCE: Well, there you have it. As I say, you know, some optimism being expressed there. And some relief that some hostages may finally now come out. But, again, very mixed feelings about the way this has been handled. And about the fact that so many people, no matter what happens over the next 5 or 6 days, so many people are still, it seems, at this stage, going to be remaining as hostages inside Gaza.

DEAN: Yeah. Yeah. Matthew, thank you so much. And, of course, next time we see Roma, we hope it's with her 13-year-old daughter, who has been brought back to her. Stay with us. We'll get back to you in just a moment. I want to go now to Becky Anderson, who's in Qatar. It's of course one of the key countries that helped broker this deal. Becky, how did this start to coalesce and come together after all these weeks of negotiations?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: The parameters have been very, very, very similar to those that we understand to be in this deal or truce that is expected to be announced very, very soon.

[14:15:09]

It's just been getting both sides, Israel and Hamas, to agree specifically to some of the really thorny details on this. And I think from the Israeli side, it's been about the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli prisoners, for Israeli hostages, sorry. Just how many would be exchanged at this point. The deal, as we understand it, has a 3-for-1 sort of ratio. For every 1 Israeli hostage released, 3 Palestinian women or teenagers will be released. It was also, you know, there was much to and from about just how long the truce would be, the period of pause before these hostages would be released.

And then who these hostages would be. For many weeks now, it's been quite clear that these negotiations have really prioritized women and children. That certainly sounds like what we should expect to hear in the hours to come. I have just received a statement from Qatar, and let me read it to you. The proposal for a humanitarian pause and the release of hostages was delivered to the early hours of this morning. And just to be clear, it's now that was following weeks of continuous negotiations, the statement says. The state of Qatar is now awaiting the result of the Israeli government's vote on the proposal.

So, let's be quite clear about what this proposal, this truce in the Gaza siege, as we are likely to see the wording of this deal. What does that look like? It's 50, 60 hostages. Women and children likely mostly children. As we understand it, there are at least 40 children being held hostage at this point. That would be in exchange for something like 150 Palestinian women and teenagers being held in Israeli jails. The pause, the period of pause, hostilities, a pause in hostilities on both sides would be for a period of 4 days, possibly as long as 5.

What would happen during that time. These hostages would be released in groups of approximately 10. You would also see the opening of the Rafah crossing to some 300 trucks worth of aid a day. That has been a demand by Hamas and that is something as we understand the Israelis have also conceded to. An end or a truce or a pause in the hostilities between Hamas and Israel on the ground and in the air. This is an important point because the Israelis have been flying surveillance drones over Gaza trying to locate where these hostages are.

Those drones would only fly for periods of 6 hours at a time. So, these are the main parameters of a deal which if it if it is announced in the next few hours just after the Israeli cabinet who is expected to agree on this deal then it would be the biggest breakthrough, diplomatic breakthrough, since the beginning of the war since October the 7th, that awful massacre on the Israeli side, 1,200 dead, so many taken hostage. Since then, of course the subsequent death of 13,000 Gazans, mostly women and children. This would be not a ceasefire by any stretch of the imagination. That is not what this is. It is a pause or a truce of a period of days in order to at least allow out some of the civilian hostages.

So as Matthew was explaining, he was speaking to the mother of that 13-year-old child. I mean clearly, he is hoping that her daughter will be one of those released, that is clearly an incredibly emotional time for all of those involved. And for the hostage families who have young men or slightly older men, but of serving age are being held, it is very unlikely that those men will be releases at this point anytime soon. No ceasefire, just a truce at this pace just 50 hostages. But at least it is a start.

DEAN: Becky Anderson, that language so important, a pause, a truce, no ceasefire right now, but on the precipice of what could be such a significant moment. Becky Anderson for us in Qatar. Thanks so much for that reporting. And we're joined now by Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy. Thank you for making time to come on. A source telling us now that that full cabinet, as we know, is meeting to discuss this hostage deal, which Becky Anderson just laid out. My colleague Alex Marquardt reporting that the ball is really in Israel's court now. Where do things stand right now?

EYLON LEVY, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: That's right. The government of Israel is meeting at this hour to discuss the proposal after it was discussed by the war cabinet and by the security cabinet. If and when the government approves the deal, there will be a 24-hour period in which families of victims of the terrorists who may be released as part of that deal are able to apply to the Supreme Court.

[14:20:00]

There is a measure of judicial review here. And then we very much hope that we will be able to begin to bring hostages home. You know, it's been nearly 50 days. No one's been sleeping in this country. We can't begin to imagine what a 3-year-old girl whose father was murdered in front of her has been going through over 50 days as a Hamas hostage in a tunnel. Has she seen daylight? Who's feeding her? Who's washing her? Who's bathing her? Who's been hugging her? Who's been playing with her?

So, we want to bring them back. We hope to bring them back. And we hope to continue, and we plan to continue until we bring all 240 hostages home. You were reporting there the number of 50. Let's remember. Let's remember that's only a fifth of the total hostages inside the Gaza Strip. And this war will end with us bringing all of our hostages home and removing Hamas from power so it can never abduct our people again.

DEAN: And I just want to clarify what you just said. I want to make sure I'm understanding it properly. You're saying that if they -- if the cabinet agrees to this deal, then there would be 24 hours in which it could go to the Supreme Court there. And then after 24 hours is when we could potentially see some movement. Am I getting that right?

LEVY: Correct. Because we are talking about prisoners who have been convicted on terrorism charges, not directly on charges of murder, but on terrorism charges. And there are families in Israel who have lost loved ones because of those acts of terrorism. And they have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the release of those prisoners. We hope that as and when those hurdles are overcome, we'll be able to bring our hostages home.

And then we'll be able to continue putting more pressure on Hamas in order to get the rest of them out. Let's remember, this isn't happening because Hamas is not going to be able to do anything. Hamas has suddenly decided to be nice humanitarians or Boy Scouts. It's happening because we've been putting unrelenting military pressure on Hamas. Hamas has been begging for a breather because it's getting clobbered. And it's that military pressure that has brought it to a position where it's willing to release some of the people it abducted on October 7th.

DEAN: And on that note, if this deal is approved, it's likely going to include this four to five day pause in the fighting. Do you think that -- I know you all are saying you want to go and further these discussions to free more of these hostages. Do you think that sort of pause will become standard for releasing future hostages or future releases? And how will the IDF manage through this? You all have said it could give Hamas a chance to restock, restock, reload for potential future attacks.

LEVY: I think let's wait until the government passes that decision if it votes to do so. And then we will be able to make proper announcements when decisions are made. And we will be able to make proper announcements when decisions are made. On the details at the moment, this is still a proposal that is under discussion. Nothing has been officially announced just yet. And we hope that after we bring hostages home, we'll continue putting pressure on Hamas, because that is the only thing that is going to convince the terror organization that burned, beheaded, tortured, mutilated and raped so many people on the 7th of October to release hostages. Not because they suddenly have pangs of conscience, not because they suddenly realize that it is evil to hold a 10-month-old. They will not be able to keep the hostages, but because of pressure, because they'll beg for another breather. And we're going to continue putting more pressure on Hamas until it releases everyone.

DEAN: I want to talk about these hostage families. My colleague Matthew Chance just interviewing a mother there who's waiting for word. Her 13-year-old daughter has been taken hostage. Her 16-year-old son was killed. A lot of these families have told us and said publicly that they have not gotten any, very little if any, exchange with the government. They have not been kept abreast of many developments. And some of them are angry at that lack of communication from the government. I know that a group of them met with the prime minister yesterday, but it was the first time for a lot of them that they were meeting with him. Why hasn't there been more communication with these families that are so desperate for information?

LEVY: First of all, they're absolutely right to be angry. They're absolutely right to be furious with the failure on October 7th that allowed their loved ones to be abducted. This was a crisis that overwhelmed the state of Israel. Israel didn't have institutions in place, contingencies for what to do if Hamas murders 1,200 people in a day, what to do if Hamas abducts over 240 people into the Gaza Strip. Both systems were not in place, and that's a system that Israel has been trying to put together on the move as we literally pick up the pieces and the body parts from the October 7th massacre.

All our hearts are with those families. We embrace them. We hope that soon we'll be able to bring them good news. And we know that it's going to be the start of a very long process for those people who come out of the Gaza Strip, who are going to be severely traumatized. We're hoping that they are healthy and safe.

[14:25:09]

But, of course, we know nothing about their condition because Hamas has refused to give them access to the Red Cross. And once we bring them back home, it's going to be the beginning of a very long rehabilitation process. And we hope and we expect the state is going to be there to support them in the very difficult road ahead.

DEAN: I hear you. But to the families that are watching that haven't heard from you or have a hard time getting information, can you pledge to them there will be more information going forward as you all go through this process?

LEVY: We are constantly working day by day in order to improve the flow of information, the lines of communication. And I hope and expect that we will continue doing that and do everything we can to bring the hostages home and to offer all the support that those families need and that they deserve.

DEAN: All right. Eylon Levy for us. Thank you so much for making time. We appreciate it. Thank you. We're going to have much more on our breaking news ahead, including what the White House is saying about this potential hostage deal when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We are back following the breaking news out of the Middle East. I'm Boris Sanchez alongside Dana Bash and Jessica Dean. Israel is potentially in a crisis.