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Caskets with Remains of 4 Hostages Arrive at Israeli Forensic Institute; Trump, World Leaders Sign Gaza Ceasefire Deal; Rubble Cleared in Gaza as Trump Says Now the Rebuilding Begins; Trump to Meet with Zelenskyy at White House on Friday. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 13, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: We are looking at live pictures now, I believe it's in Tel Aviv, outside of the Forensic Institute there, where those gathered are waiting now for the remains to arrive. Four coffins, of course, were released by Hamas. They are now in Israeli custody and they are being brought there, the remains of the deceased hostages, again to the Forensic Institute there in Tel Aviv.

An incredibly somber moment at the tail end of a day, of course, that began with such joy and jubilation as 20 living hostages were freed. Again, now these remains are making their way and now in Israel as well.

[15:35:00]

I also am joined now by Gil Dickmann, whose aunt and cousin were killed by Hamas. Another family member was taken hostage October 7th and later released.

Gil joining us now. Gil, we appreciate you taking the time to be here with us today. I see you still have your number on -- 738 days since that horrific moment. How are you feeling tonight in this moment? 20 living hostages returned earlier today.

GIL DICKMANN, RELATIVE KILLED BY HAMAS: Well, I'm joyful. I'm excited because 20 hostages are finally here and it's what we imagined. It's what we wanted.

It's what this people, the Israeli people wanted for such a long time. We wanted the hostages to come back. That was the most important thing for us.

We wanted this war to end for a very long time. Netanyahu did not want to end this war and he was actually willing to sacrifice the hostages, including my cousin, in order to prolong the war.

But finally, Donald Trump came and said, enough is enough. The end, the war is now over. 20 hostages who are still alive came back. None of them was murdered like my cousin.

So for me, it's a very, very exciting day. And the remains of the hostages of 20, 34 hostages, that's what we assume, are still in Gaza and we're waiting for all of them. You know, four are now being identified and 24 more.

We're still fighting for all of them. That's why I still have the number.

HILL: Yes, and it makes sense because they are not home yet. And it is so important, I know, to have those remains so that they can have a proper burial for their families as well, to have that moment. You mentioned, you know, your cousin's wife, Yarden, was taken hostage, released in November of 2023.

Have you had the opportunity to speak with her at all today? And can you give us a sense of how she's feeling in this moment?

DICKMANN: Well, I've spoken to many family members, including some of her brothers and including her in the next, in the last few days. We're all very excited that the people that, all the hostages that came back and their family members were all, you know, being sent back to these very moments at the end of November when Yarden came and the moments at the beginning of January 20 with 25, when other hostages were coming. It's a very happy moment for us.

And, you know, the only thing that, you know, breaks our heart is the fact that Carmel is not here because she was supposed to come back on the eighth day of the ceasefire, the November ceasefire. She was hours away from getting back. But on the morning of the eighth day, the ceasefire collapsed, went back into fighting, and she never came back.

She was murdered in captivity. Forty-three hostages were murdered in captivity, kidnapped alive and murdered in captivity and will never come back. And that's such a tragedy that this war was prolonged for political purposes and not -- and hostages will never come back.

HILL: It is, it's unthinkable, frankly. You noted earlier how grateful you are to President Trump in this moment. What is your message to President Trump today?

DICKMANN: Well, I think President Trump needs to know that we really thank him. And it was hard for us to say it in advance because we couldn't really believe that was true. Twenty hostages are actually coming.

All of them are alive. All of them look good. And the fact that he made it, he promised and he kept his word and hostages are here is just amazing.

And we want to thank him for that. And what I think he should know is that the people of Israel trust Trump way more than they trusted Netanyahu and that they want this war to end. They want all the hostages.

We don't want more death on either side of the border. You know, my cousin, Carmel, was murdered and her mother, Kineret, was murdered on October 7th. So we're full of pain because of their loss.

But we don't care for revenge. That's not what we care about. We care about bringing people home, about bringing hostages home and about investing life on both sides of the border.

What we care about is that life is coming back to this region that we love and that we live in. And I think Donald Trump should know that and that his plan for promoting peace is exactly what this region needs right now and not more extremists prolonging wars.

HILL: And are you hopeful that that peace will endure, that the ceasefire will hold and that the next phases of this plan that the president put forth can in fact be implemented?

[15:40:00]

DICKMANN: It's hard. And that's why I guess it wasn't signed before then, because it's been hard to achieve that. And it's right -- it's very hard to implement that. But I was in a meeting with Witkoff and with Kushner, and they said that the USA is going to be very, very active, not only in signing this deal, but also in the implementation.

And I'm telling them that's exactly where we need you. Because extremists in Gaza, like Hamas, the terror organization that made October 7 and hurt so many people, are going to try to sabotage the deal. And extremists on the Israeli side, like Beggars and Smotrich, they're dreaming on the day when they sabotage this deal as well.

They don't want people to live their lives on either side of the border. They want to hate each other, and they want the war to resume. And that's where we need the USA.

That's where we need the world so we can actually end this.

HILL: Gil Dickmann, we appreciate you taking the time to be with us today. It is a good day to have your voice with us. Thank you.

DICKMANN: Thank you.

HILL: Still to come here -- still to come here, we're continuing to follow these historic events in the Middle East, the emotional moments of return, like these Palestinian detainees in tears as they are greeted by massive crowds following their release from an Israeli prison. We'll discuss the humanitarian crisis that territory is now facing, and also what's ahead. Stay with us.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: With the deadly bombing now stopped, rebuilding in Gaza can begin. And the amount of money and resources needed to do that are enormous.

HILL: The World Health Organization estimates the reconstruction of Gaza's health system alone will cost $7 billion.

Joining us to discuss is Dr. Thaer Amad. He's a board member of the Palestinian American Medical Association. Doctor, it's good to have you with us. I mean, that number is mind-boggling in many ways. Before we tackle that, can you just give us a sense of how you're feeling in this moment and how Palestinians in Gaza are doing today?

I'm not sure who you've had a chance to speak with, but getting to this moment was no small feat.

DR. THAER AHMAD, BOARD MEMBER, PALESTINIAN AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: Yes, absolutely. I mean, there's this tremendous sigh of relief, just a deep exhale that you don't have to hear the sounds of fighter jets dropping bombs on neighborhoods and displacement camps, and that you don't have to worry about an offensive in Gaza City that was going to create an even worse catastrophe from the humanitarian crisis that we were experiencing.

I'm talking to a lot of my colleagues, and many of them are hopeful, but they still are very nervous. I mean, it was only a few months ago where we had a ceasefire deal in place. Many are saying that there's no difference between this deal and the one that was earlier in this year, but it was violated by the Israeli military in an effort to create an offensive that deepened the humanitarian crisis.

And so they're worried that things may resume, and they really want to get to work. They want the supplies to be able to enter so that they can start treating many of the people who have been suffering, and they want a chance at life.

They want the kids to be able to go back to school. They want to rebuild the homes that have been destroyed. They want to make sure that life can resume in Gaza, because for the last two years, that was what was under attack. Life was under attack.

KEILAR: You volunteered to work in Gaza hospitals throughout the war. What aid is needed right now in those hospitals and throughout Gaza immediately?

AHMAD: Yes, I mean, it's basically everything, and what I mean by that is we need to make sure that we can repair the water infrastructure so that people in Gaza can have clean water. We've seen disease run rampant through displacement camps because of the lack of clean water. We need fuel, diesel fuel, to be able to enter so that these hospitals can keep the lights on, and so that the operating rooms can continue to treat the wounded and the injured.

We need medical supplies to enter. I'm talking about things like insulin for diabetics, blood pressure medications for hypertensives. We need food to be able to enter.

This is -- we were talking about catastrophic levels of hunger just a couple of months ago. That has not gone away. Acute malnutrition is on the rise, especially amongst vulnerable patients, and who am I talking about?

I'm talking about six- month-olds. I'm talking about pregnant women, breastfeeding women. We need to make sure that they have a chance at eating some nutritious foods, because all that they've had for the last year is bread and now a lack of exposure to all of the food groups. And you know, that's the major question here is, will the Israelis who

hold all the cards with respect to aid entry, are they going to allow the trucks that are waiting at the borders in? Are we going to open up the crossing between Rafah and between Egypt and Gaza, Egypt and Palestine? If we can do that, then you have organizations like the Palestinian Red Crescent, the World Food Program, World Central Kitchen, all of these different organizations that are ready right now to deliver all of these life-saving materials.

And I do want to mention one thing. We are going to approach winter, and there are over a million Palestinians who are living in makeshift tents. If we're not able to bring in the supplies that are needed for appropriate shelter, these people will freeze to death, there will be infections that are going to be running rampant, and it's going to be another catastrophe.

So for all intents and purposes, the humanitarian crisis on the ground has not changed. What has changed is that the bombs have stopped dropping, and I hope that we can capitalize on this momentum, and that we can get the leadership that's needed, because right now what's preventing relief from entering are political calculations.

[15:50:00]

HILL: Which is the last thing you need, is the politics getting in the way when the need is so great. So much of what you've outlined is, are the physical scars both on the people of Gaza, also on the infrastructure there that we see. There are also the wounds that we can't see, and this lasting mental health, the trauma that so many will carry with them.

Addressing that as well in this moment will be key. How much of that is a focus for you?

AHMAD: Oh, it's, it's a top priority, but I have to be honest about this. I mean there's not a lot of experience with how you tackle mental health crises after a genocide. What are you supposed to be able to say to people who've lost all of their children?

What are you supposed to be able to say to families whose loved ones are still trapped beneath the rubble? It's a very tough predicament for mental health practitioners, for people who are involved in emergency response, because we've not dealt with this sort of cruelty in inhumane nature before. I mean this is something that's sort of unprecedented, and it's a top priority, and it's not just for people who've lost loved ones.

You're talking about health care workers, for example, who have either been abducted or have had to watch children being brought into their emergency departments. We're talking about people who've had to be displaced from their home seven, eight, nine times. I mean it is absolutely disastrous on the ground, and I think you bring up an important point here, is that these scars, they're not going to go away in an evening.

They're not going to go away in a couple of months. We're talking about generations of people who will be affected by this, and it's something that is very concerning for me. Because I wonder about the more than nearly 1 million children on the ground in Gaza who haven't been able to go to school for two years, who've had to watch family members be killed or wounded or abducted. And I wonder what chance at life do they have, and how are we going to be able to provide them with that comfort and the security that they need to thrive?

And really it's about making sure that the ceasefire is maintained. It's making sure that we can move on to stability for them, and if we cannot do that, then we will absolutely fail at being able to address all of their needs, including the mental health needs, including the physical and nutritional needs, and I really worry about that. I mean I'm glad that we're at this point, and I think a lot of people are ready to move, but there's still this degree of anxiety and tension that this will all fall apart, and that we will have taken one step forward but two steps back, and so I think everybody's thinking the same thing.

We really hope that the peace can be maintained, and we really want to be able to support the Palestinian people on the ground. And I will say one thing. The best way to do that is to make sure that Palestinians, the stakeholders themselves, are involved in this process, involved in the relief work, involved in the reconstruction. Their voices cannot be absent.

If they are, we will be inefficient, and we will not be able to address the vulnerable people on the ground, because again, they have to be a part of the equation.

KEILAR: Dr. Thaer Amad, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.

AHMAD: Thank you.

HILL: Emotional images to share with you now from outside the National Institute for Forensic Medicine. This is in Tel Aviv. A convoy of vehicles carrying the remains of four hostages arrived there moments ago.

We'll continue to update you on the other side this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: As President Trump hails a ceasefire deal in the Middle East, we are learning this week will end for the president with a visit by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy.

KEILAR: That's right. CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us at the White House, and Kristen, ending the Russia-Ukraine war has been something the president has wanted to do since day one, but has eluded him. What are you learning about the meeting?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so the Ukrainian president is going to be here on the ground, going to meet at the White House with President Trump. We also heard that he might be meeting with other lawmakers while he's in Washington. But he told a group of reporters that he wanted to talk to President Trump about air defense and particular long-range missiles, getting access to those long-range missiles to put pressure on Russia. Here's why that matters.

We heard from President Trump recently saying that if Putin didn't end this war in Ukraine, that he might consider allowing these long-range Tomahawk missiles to be shipped to Ukraine, which of course would allow Zelenskyy and Ukrainian soldiers to fire deep into Russia.

Here's the other part of why this matters. We've talked a lot today about momentum, momentum in getting these peace deals done, going to the next phases of these peace deals.

Well, if you talk to a number of administration officials, they believe that it's not just momentum in the Middle East. It's momentum all around. It's momentum when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine.

It's momentum possibly for an Iran nuclear deal, for the facilitating of Abraham Accords. And this part of all of that, obviously, as you have mentioned and said and will be reporting since January, that this was a huge goal of President Trump's. He has been unable to end this war in Ukraine, despite saying that he'd be able to do so in 48 hours.

So now what you're seeing is him trying to put up the pressure but also trying to build off the momentum that they have coming out of this peace deal to try and put more pressure on Vladimir Putin.

HILL: And we'll see if that -- if that pressure actually works, as we wait to see toward the end of -- the end of the week there. Quite a week, though, for the president.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly. But there is this question. Trump seems clearly to have enjoyed this process.

HILL: Yes.

[16:00:00]

KEILAR: Today, the accolades that he is getting, and I think there are a lot of people -- we talked to Leon Panetta today, who thinks, you know, perhaps there is something to be learned. And we'll see if Trump can carry that forward and do so --

HILL: Yes.

KEILAR: -- when it comes to Vladimir Putin.

Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for that, live for us at the White House.

HILL: We'll see if, as Kristen noted, if that momentum can, can in fact sustain.

KEILAR: That's right.

HILL: Nice to be with you as always, my friend. KEILAR: It's so good to be with you.

HILL: It's always a pleasure.

KEILAR: I love it. All right, "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END