Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Israel And Hamas Agree To Hostage Deal, 4- Day Truce; Netanyahu: The War Will Continue Until We Achieve All Our Goals; UNRWA: Almost 1.7M People Displaced Amid Conflict In Gaza; Children's Lives Forever Changed After Injuries In Gaza; Putin Addresses Virtual G20 Summit; OpenAI Rehires Ousted CEO Sam Altman. Aired 8-8:40a ET

Aired November 22, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:31]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London.

Just ahead, we're live in the region as Israel and Hamas have reached a deal for the release of 50 civilian hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a four-day fighting truce.

Then Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to address virtually Western leaders at the G20 summit in New Delhi. We'll have the details.

And Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI after his tumultuous exit. We'll discuss what his next steps might be.

After nearly seven weeks of war, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary truce. The complicated deal is being greeted with hope and anxiety by the hostage families, and it's getting a positive reaction from the international community.

Qatar delivered the proposal following weeks of intense negotiations. An Israeli official says the truce is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. local time Thursday. Under the deal, Hamas will release at least 50 women and children who were abducted during the October 7th terror attacks.

The Israeli government signed off on the deal after a six-hour long cabinet meeting. In exchange, Israel will pause its campaign against Hamas for four days. 150 Palestinian prisoners, also women and children, will be released from Israeli jails as part of that deal.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Tel Aviv and joins us now. We've got a better sense now, Oren, of the timeline.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Max, we're understanding how this will play out after the full cabinet voted last night. We knew there was a 24-hour period, according to Israeli legal and political process, where people against the deal can file an appeal against it at the Supreme Court.

That timeline, which is already ticking, will end tomorrow morning, and then the ceasefire will take effect, or rather, the pause in fighting will take effect at 10:00 a.m. So just about 19 hours from now.

In the meantime, we have seen pictures from northern Gaza, we have seen explosions in northern Gaza. So it very much looks like the fighting will continue up until that point. And frankly, that's not a surprise. We have seen Israeli strikes and rocket fire up until a ceasefire takes effect in the past, and that's very much what we expect now.

In terms of how the hostages are released, we know it'll be 50 Israeli women and children that will be released in stages over a four-day pause in the fighting. We don't know exactly how or from where they will come out of Gaza. So that has yet to be announced.

And then we know in exchange for those 50, it'll be 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails. Now, we also know, according to the Israelis, that there could be a continuation of a pause in the fighting for every 10 Israeli hostages. Another one day pause.

Max, it's interesting to note that Israel released a list of 300 names of Palestinian women and children. So it looks like they're opening up the possibility of a much longer pause in the fighting if Hamas releases Israeli women and children who are hostage in the days following the initial four-day pause in the fighting.

FOSTER: Oren, thank you.

And in just a few minutes, we'll speak with an Israeli woman who has six family members being held hostage by Hamas. We're expecting to find out today when exactly that four-day truce will begin. Actually, we've just had those details, but a bit more about the logistics.

Right now, the war continues with explosions rocking northern Gaza earlier. If the pause happens, it'll be the most significant break in fighting since October the 7th. And it does look as though it's set. And Hamas could potentially expand the truce as well, as Oren was saying. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that doesn't mean a ceasefire will take place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: And I would like to make it clear here again, the war continues. The war will continue until we achieve all of our goals, to eliminate Hamas, to return all our hostages, to ensure that the day after Hamas, Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us live from Beirut. This is a truce agreed on both sides. What are the risks to it, because I was speaking to someone earlier suggesting someone who used to advise the Israeli government, suggesting that if rockets come from Gaza, it'll be over as soon as that happens?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, obviously, this pause is very delicate. If either side starts opening fire, then it could simply disappear and it would be going back to the fighting.

[08:05:10]

But in the meantime, certainly the hope is that it will stick, at least for the four days that have been announced and as we heard from Oren, could be extended if Hamas continues to release captives, that it's holding, approximately 240, we believe.

And in that time, it's hoped that, for instance, there will be, you know, more relief supplies, medicine, food going into Gaza, perhaps fuel. And, of course, let's keep in mind that according to the U.N., 1.7 million residents of Gaza have been displaced.

And according to Hamas, they are -- say that there will be free access along the Salahuddin Road, the main road linking the north with the south for people to go back. Let's keep in mind that according to multiple reports from Gaza, there are thousands of dead bodies, we believe, trapped under the rubble there.

And clearly, because of the intensity of the Israeli bombardment, nobody could get heavy equipment to perhaps save those who are still alive under the rubble, and of course, now to retrieve the bodies as well.

Now we heard from Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, saying that they're going to mobilize all capabilities during this pause to try to get as much aid as possible in and perhaps to sort of attend to the needs of all of those people who are more or less homeless at this point.

Even going back weeks, we were hearing reports from, for instance, our producer in Gaza, Ibrahim Dahman, talking about small apartments with hundreds of people taking shelter inside in the southern part of Gaza. There are many more who simply sleeping under tarps.

And we've seen that the weather has been rather inclement of late, not perhaps today. So they desperately need to find some proper shelter. So there's lots to do and lots to lose in the event that the season, with a pause, the agreement to hold fire breaks down. Max?

FOSTER: Ben, could you just explain some of the dynamics on the Hamas side, because the hostages aren't just being held by Hamas, are they? There are other groups involved as well? And could there be tension between those groups? How do you think -- just explain those dynamics.

WEDEMAN: Well, for instance, Islamic Jihad has come out with a statement saying that they don't hold any civilians, they hold only soldiers, and they will only be released when a ceasefire, a permanent, rather, a ceasefire, is announced.

And we also know that in sort of the chaos of the morning of October 7th, there may have been other groups that grabbed Israelis, and perhaps even not even groups, individuals or just groups of people who grabbed Israelis and took them back to Gaza.

So it's also been difficult under this bombardment since the 7th of October for Hamas to even know where some of its people are holding the captives as well. So this will allow the possibility, perhaps to get a better idea, or Hamas to get a better idea of where the captives are being held, who's holding them, and the identity of the captives.

Let's keep in mind that, you know, the women and children, the elderly are one thing, but military combatant prisoners being held by the Palestinian groups, that's a whole different category as far as those groups are concerned. Max?

FOSTER: OK, Ben in Beirut, appreciate that. Thank you.

The destruction in Gaza has displaced nearly 1.7 million people, according to the U.N.'s main relief agency there. As Ben mentioned, around 930,000 of them are sheltering in overcrowded U.N. facilities, showing one shower for every 700 people on average. Some are just children trying to escape the danger with their families, their lives now forever changed by the war.

More now from CNN's Nada Bashir. And a warning, her report contains images you might find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Bandaged and sore still healing from emergency surgery. For 11-year-old Asef Abu Hadi (ph), this wound is a constant reminder the trauma he and his friends have faced. They had been playing outside near his home in Gaza City when they say an airstrike hit.

I was walking with my friends and then suddenly the missile fell, Asef says. I found myself on the ground, lying on my right side. I kept trying to stand up, but there was rubble on top of my leg. When they removed the rubble, I saw that my foot had been ripped off.

[08:10:07]

A huge soccer fan, he played at the local academy and had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player.

I've been watching and playing soccer since I was a little boy. It's still my favorite sport, Asef tells us. Now, the Israeli occupation has destroyed my dreams.

Down the hall is 12-year-old Malek al-Kafadna (ph). His family fled their home in Beit Hanoun after receiving a warning from the Israeli military. They moved from city to city, searching for safety, followed each time by yet more airstrikes. I wanted to take photos to become a photojournalist, Malek says. How can I hold a camera now with one arm? My whole life is ruined. All of my life, I haven't had a chance to live happily.

Whilst some here are now slowly coming to terms with their new reality, more wounded children arrive at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital every day. It is now the main working hospital in Gaza. Others left in a state of complete collapse.

Just Monday, more wounded were rushed to this hospital after a U.N. run school used to shelter displaced Palestinians at the Bureij refugee camp was hit. The resulting death toll still unknown. It's unclear who was responsible for this specific attack. Hamas claims the Israeli military bombed the school, though CNN cannot independently verify this claim.

The IDF yet to respond to CNN's request for comment. But as airstrikes and shelling intensify in the north, Gaza's children are, as is so often the case, paying the highest price, with thousands wounded or killed, and hopes for the future lost.

Nada Bashir, CNN in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: More on this story as the program goes on, but right now, Russian President Putin addressing the virtual G20 summit. This is the first time in months Putin's attended any G20 meeting since the onset of the war in Ukraine. Back in September, he was absent from the summit in Delhi, you might remember.

Clare Sebastian is going to be looking at that. I mean, what are you looking for in terms of Ukraine? And might he say something about the Middle East?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is really significant, Max, in itself, because it's been two years since he has attended a G20 summit, virtually or otherwise. So he hasn't done since the start of the war in Ukraine.

He hasn't addressed Western leaders directly, although of course you can assume that pretty much everything he said has been indirectly targeted at the west. So it will be really significant to see how he couches the situation with the war in Ukraine.

But I think it's safe to say that this is a moment when Putin might feel the wind in his sails, right, because there's much less international scrutiny of what Russia is doing in Ukraine because of the situation in Gaza. It has been 12 months since Ukraine has made a significant breakthrough on the battlefield.

Now, Russia hasn't either, but at least they've managed to hold off Ukraine. And that's how Putin will see that. And I think, you know, with the situation in the Middle East, we don't necessarily expect him to address that today. He did address that yesterday in a BRICS summit, saying that he called for an immediate ceasefire. He blamed the U.S. for the situation, the humanitarian situation on the ground. But in a sense, that does work in Putin's favor as well, that situation, because he can try to present Russia as an alternative mediator to the U.S. And, of course, it distracts from what's happening in Ukraine.

So we'll be watching for any hints, any changes in his tone around Ukraine, and, of course, the optics of this critically important, you know, Russia, trying to show that it is not isolated because of this war.

FOSTER: And in terms of where it sits with Israel versus Hamas, it's been an interesting dynamic change, hasn't there, because before the war, they were actually building relations with Israel --

SEBASTIAN: Yes.

FOSTER: -- but very much pulled away from that?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I think, in a sense, that undermines Putin's efforts to try to show himself as a mediator in this conflict, because before the war in Ukraine, in particular, he was able to sort of balance relations with Israel, with his relations with the Arab world.

But I think it's clear that the war in Ukraine has pushed Russia closer, well, further away from Israel. Israel has not looked kindly on suggestions that Russia is denazifying Ukraine. Plus, Russia now needs Iran and by extension, you know, its relationship with Iran's proxies more than ever because of the arms relationship it's now in with Iran supplying drones for the war in Ukraine.

So I think you do see that in play. It took Putin nine days to call Netanyahu after the October 7 attacks. He has yet to overtly condemn those attacks. So it is a shift in dynamic that we see here.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you.

Still to come, with a deal in place, the hope and anxiety is growing for the families of hostages in Gaza. We'll speak to one of those family members after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:06]

FOSTER: More now on our top story. Israel and Hamas have agreed on a temporary truce starting Thursday at 10:00 a.m. local time and a deal to release at least 50 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. An Israeli official says the humanitarian pause will begin 10:00 a.m. then on Thursday, Qatar delivered the proposal following weeks of negotiations. The Israeli government backed the agreement after a six- hour long cabinet meeting.

The hostages to be freed are expected to be women and children. In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly male teenagers aged 16 to 18, as well as women. They'll be released from Israeli jail. CNN's Clarissa Ward joins me now live in Tel Aviv. I mean, there must be a mixed reaction there, because it's great news, obviously, that some of the hostages are being released, but the families don't know which ones.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it really is a moment of profound anxiety in many ways, Max. I mean, just as you said, of course, there's the hope for so many of these family members, many of whom, I should add, have been camped out here and in other informal areas around Tel Aviv, demanding for information about their loved ones, demanding that the Israeli government push for the release of their loved ones.

And now they finally have this news that we will likely see over the coming days, some 50 hostages released. But they don't yet know if their children or their wives, aunts, mothers, sisters will be among those released. And what's super interesting, Max, when you talk to family members and we've been talking to a few of them, is that they found out about this deal by watching television, by watching news, by looking on their phones.

They did not get any information, and they have not yet had any information. The families that we've spoken to from the Israeli government as to who will be on the list, where the releases will take place. And also, crucially, they haven't had information as to what conditions their loved ones are being held in, whether the Red Cross has been able to visit them, whether they are even alive in some cases.

We spoke with Thomas Hand. You may remember, he was an Irishman and the father of nine-year-old Emily lived in Berri kibbutz, was initially told that his daughter Emily had been killed. And then weeks later was told that they think she's actually alive, that she's in Gaza.

We spoke to him a short time ago on the phone, and he told me, I want to jump through the roof with hope, but I also have to keep a level head emotionally. I can't let myself get too far ahead. And the question he had, and the question that was also echoed by Hadas Calderon, who we spoke to, two of her children are being held hostage inside Gaza is, what children, even if they do come home, who is it that will be coming home?

Is it the Emily and the Eras (ph) who we last saw? Or will it be children bearing the hallmarks of profound trauma after the experience that they've been through?

[08:20:20]

And even more pressingly, are our children OK? Are they physically in good shape? Have they been given food? What kind of conditions have they been held in? And so you have this kind of whirlpool of emotion that you see, Max, when you talk to these families who are, on the one hand, desperate to embrace this glimmer of help and on the other hand, consumed and trying to control themselves a little bit in terms of getting on that emotional roller coaster with so little clarity still at this stage about what the next few days portends.

And by the way, of course, what could go wrong? A lot of moving parts to this agreement, a lot of things that potentially could scuttle the deal or scupper the deal altogether. So that is what families here on the ground are grappling with, and everybody, of course, desperately hoping and waiting for that glimmer of good news, not just for the 50 that have been announced, but, of course, for the others, 240 in total, who are still believed to be held. Max?

FOSTER: Clarissa in Tel Aviv, thank you.

Well, we're joined now by Yifat Zailer, who has six family members being held hostage in Gaza. Our thoughts are very much with you today. What information are you getting?

YIFAT ZAILER, COUSINS KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: Basically, like you said before, we received the news through the media, and then we received some confirmation from the government, but the deal actually was signed late last night. So for now, there's no new information. There's no list of names from the Hamas side.

We only heard that they don't know where all the children are as well as ours. My cousin was kidnapped with her two young boys, Ariel and Kfir. Kfir has only 10 months, and her husband as well. Her husband is not going to be part of this deal, as much as we can understand.

So our family is torn, and we're trying to remain cautious about, you know, everything because it's a roller coaster, and we don't know until I don't see them in my eyes and see that they're OK and alive. We can't say it's a joyous day today, or, you know, we're not celebrating it -- anything.

And you've, obviously, already had bad news because two of your family members who you assumed I was going to say hoped, but assumed was -- were kidnapped, you actually found out, had actually been murdered in that terror attack.

ZAILER: Yes. My aunt and uncle, Shiri's parents. Two weeks after, we received the news that they found their bodies. Initially, they said that they were kidnapped, and, yes, they were murdered in Nir-Oz on October 7, but it took two weeks to find them.

And yesterday marked the 30th day from the burial. And in Judaism we go to the graveyard and we see the headstone for the first time. And then we started receiving the news about this deal. So everything was very emotional and very mixed together. A great sorrow with some hope.

FOSTER: You've had the night to sleep, if you have slept on this deal, what do you think of it?

ZAILER: What can I say? It's really hard to -- it's a start. I think it should have happened before the ground invasion. I think that children don't have time in captivity. Their life is at risk. I think it's horrible that fathers will need to stay behind.

[08:25:05] Families are torn. I wish all of the hostages will be back here. It's a very complicated situation, as your colleagues mentioned before. I hope it starts. I hope it's the start of an end to all of this.

FOSTER: Clarissa was pointing out that, you know, it's a delicate truce, isn't it? It does require both sides to stick to it for the --

ZAILER: Yes.

FOSTER: -- hostages to continue being released. So how are you all supporting each other, you and the other families, in this, you know, impossibly anxious time?

ZAILER: We speak with each other. Everyone is being very, let's say, very, very -- some are happier, some are destroyed. You know, there are injured people and elderly people that are not going to be released this time.

All of them, I know, most of them I know from kibbutz Nir-Oz, I recognize their faces and we try to support each other as families, but it's really, really hard. I know how they feel, all those families, that their loved ones are going to stay captive. I felt that way when they released the two elderly women and when they released the mother and her daughter at the beginning of this, hoping it will be my cousin.

So I know that you want to be happy for other families, but you are heartbroken that your loved one, some of them severely injured, are still there. So it's a lot.

FOSTER: It really is. Yifat Zailer, I really appreciate you spending your time with us today and telling us your story.

ZAILER: Thank you very much.

FOSTER: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Another surprising turn in the stunning story of who's in charge of OpenAI, the company behind the groundbreaking ChatGPT program. Just days after the company's board fired CEO Sam Altman, he's being rehired and a new board has been installed at the company. Sources say Altman and the old board had differed on how fast to push AI research, with Altman wanting to be more aggressive with it.

Altman, who briefly joined Microsoft before returning to OpenAI, said, "Everything I've done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together".

[08:30:02]

Anna has been trying to track this whirlwind of change in the AI world. And we should point out this is a key player in an industry which is going to transform all of our lives probably in the next few years. And Microsoft already had a pretty big stake in it. ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Microsoft is the biggest investor and a really important partner for them as well, because it brings great computational power to this company. So this has been a very strong partnership and has been really important to how OpenAI develops.

But it had a legacy board, an old board from when this was purely a nonprofit company. And frankly, it felt like that board hadn't really kept up with the evolution that had happened at OpenAI. They didn't maybe like the direction it was going. They fired Sam Altman on Friday and they did that without any communication with Microsoft, the biggest backer.

FOSTER: Or its staff.

STEWART: So it's caused a lot of upset. And over the last few days, we've had all sorts of developments. This one perhaps the least surprising of all, he's back.

FOSTER: Yes. And just briefly, what do you expect him to do based on that strategy he had before?

STEWART: I think he will continue to do exactly what he planned to do, which is to work on commercializing artificial intelligence, create new products. But Microsoft was already a big partner but I think they will have an even bigger role. I think they may even have a seat at the table or some sort of governance role going forwards so they're not blindsided again, Max.

FOSTER: We know who the winner is in this one. Anna, thank you.

Coming up, we'll update our top story. We'll look closer at the details of the deal that's been reached between Israel and Hamas. We're live in Doha, where the deal was actually negotiated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: An Israeli official says a four-day truce agreed on in a breakthrough deal with Hamas is slated to begin tomorrow morning. Under the deal overwhelmingly approved by the Israeli government, Hamas will release at least 50 women and children who were abducted during the October 7th terror attacks.

In exchange, Hamas says Israel has agreed to let 150 Palestinian prisoners, also women and children, out of jail and pause fighting in Gaza for four days. Israel is holding about 8,300 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including many who don't even know what the charges are against them. That's according to the non-governmental organization the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

CNN's Nima Elbagir spoke with one mother who's hoping she may soon see her long imprisoned daughter again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the past eight years, Susan Bakir's (ph) daughter, Mara, has been held in an Israeli prison. She was just 16 when she was arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Honestly, at the beginning we thought it was a nightmare. Then it became necessary to stand strong on our feet because we have other children besides Mara. We have Musa (ph), Nor (ph) and Hala (ph).

Of course, the most important one right now is Mara because after all, she is a child and she's so innocent.

[08:35:07]

ELBAGIR (voice-over): She says that since Hamas's deadly attack on October 7th, Mara has been moved into solitary confinement and communication cut off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are really worried about Mara. The situation of the women prisoners is really hard. They confiscated all the electrical devices and clothes.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, 83 Palestinian women and 380 teenagers under the age of 18 are being held in Israeli prisons, more than half of whom have been detained since October 7th.

Night after night in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli forces have been arresting Palestinians in their homes. Some, the IDF say, are accused of being members of Hamas, but many others are detained without trial or stated cause.

MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: Israel today is in the mood of revenge, and this mood of revenge also is combined with a mood of humiliation. This is very simple. Israel is preparing for an exchange of prisoners and they are arresting as many people as they can simply because they are preparing for such a deal.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Palestinian Prisoner Society says that in the past six and a half weeks, several thousand Palestinians in total have been detained by the Israeli Defense Forces. If there is to be a hostage deal, it's not yet clear how many people might be freed or who would be included even so.

For Susan Bakir (ph), it presents a small glimmer of hope that she may soon see her daughter again.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN's Becky Anderson joins me now live in Doha, Qatar. You spent a lot of time there, Becky, because this deal has been a long time in the coming.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: It has. And I've just spoken to the lead negotiator from the Qatar mediation team who has described the past 45 days as intense, as difficult at times, really, really complex and complicated. But they are pleased in principle that they've got to this point.

So what's the point that they've got to? Well, this is a humanitarian pause, lull, truce, call it what you will. It's not a ceasefire, but it is a pause which will allow for, on the one hand, the release of these first hostages, civilian hostages, women and children being held by Hamas, and we'll talk about that momentarily.

And secondly, allows for the increase in humanitarian aid, the quality as well as quantity of humanitarian aid getting into the Gaza Strip. What do I mean by that? Well, it includes fuel, fuel for humanitarian infrastructure, schools, hospitals across the strip, both in the south and the north. And that is -- that's a key accomplishment in this deal because that's something that is absolutely critically needed.

Let's talk about the hostages, because obviously, this is a key pillar of what has been achieved. I asked Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, the lead negotiator, how they are going to make this deal work. This deal 50 women and children over four days in the first instance for the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, women and teenagers held in Israeli prisons. How's that going to work? And more importantly, how are they going to monitor that both sides are keeping to this agreement, committing to it? Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED AL-KHULAIFI, QATARI MINISTER OF STATE: Within the four days pause, in each day, there will be an obligation in each side, an obligation on the Israelis, and an obligation on Hamas, making sure that they're going to fulfill those obligation in each day. So in each day, we aim to have a number of releases because the number is big.

So we've managed to get the parties to agree on the releases systematically. In other words, there will be an organized schedule allowing the releases in each day, and each party is quite familiar now with their obligations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What do those obligations look like? Well, we know the names because it's been published. We know the names of the 300 Palestinians that Hamas once released from Israeli prisons. Israel has published that list. What we don't have is a list of Israeli and dual nationals, women and kids, who will be released by Hamas over this next four-day period, likely starting around 10:00 a.m. local time.

[08:40:07]

As far as we can tell from the conversation I've just had, that list should be released every day. So that's absolutely clear to the ICRC, to the Red Crescent, to the mediators here who have set up an operational room here to monitor this, who it is that we are likely to see who we should expect to see coming out from Gaza every day.

So at the moment, we don't know whether we're going to see, you know, many of those 40 children, for example, that Hamas is holding released on that first day. The obligation is at least 10 hostages every day. If they see that working, there is an opportunity to extend this truce period.

The hostilities have to stop. Israel and Hamas understand that, and the border crossing needs to be free for this fuel to come in and this other aid. So I think, importantly, what the mediators have been able to achieve is to bake in these obligations.

As he explained it, these obligations are very clear to both sides. Should they not be committed to those, should it be clear that they haven't committed, then clearly this deal is going to fall apart. We're not going to see the release of the soldiers. We're not going to would see the release of the young men.

But the mediator told me that they hope that this is the start of more to come and that down the road, you know, those hostage families who pretty -- they're going to know, they're not going to see their loved ones who were serving soldiers or men of serving age. But at least in principle, this leaves the door open for something further down the road.

So a start in principle at least, you know, the mediators have got this off the ground. Now it's a question of just ensuring that both sides are committed. Max?

FOSTER: Becky with the very latest in Doha, thank you so much for joining us.

And thank you for joining me on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)