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Awaiting Release Of More Israeli Hostages On Day 2 Of The Truce; Palestinian Prisoners Expected To Be Freed For Hostages. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 25, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: So many families who are hoping for their loved ones to return.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOAM ALON, GIRLFRIEND KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: Days now, 50 days are the worst days in my life in embarrassment. So for anyone who know invites (ph), it's a disaster. We just want to see her with us again, to hug her. It's -- I cannot imagine what she have been through in October 7 in the next following 50 days. It's really -- I cannot sleep.

And you know, every moment since then I tried to do everything to bring her back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Israel says that it is expecting 14 hostages to be released today, but a list provided to them by Hamas only has 13 names on it. And in exchange, Israel is prepared to release up to 42 more prisoners. CNN has learned that no Americans are expected to be released today. Under the deal, Israel is freeing three Palestinians from jail for every Israeli hostage allowed out of Gaza, but Palestinian officials are warning of what they call a possible crisis in the deal. They say that Israel is not following the terms of the prisoner release deal as it relates to seniority.

The truce also allows the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. More than 78 trucks entered Gaza today through the Rafah crossing, carrying food and water and fuel and medical supplies. CNN is covering the developments with Arlette Saenz, Jeremy Diamond and Larry Madowo. They're live with us. But we're going to start with CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins.

So, we have seen one day of a successful exchange, several more to go. What are we expecting over the next few hours, Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Officials really here in Israel are hopeful but not confident because they know that they are dealing with Hamas here. And so they are waiting to see that this exchange actually happens, Victor, to make sure before they even come close to celebrating the fact that they are hopeful that a second group of hostages will soon be reunited with their families. And we are approaching the time yesterday when we started to see this process begin to take place where the hostages were handed over in Gaza by Hamas to the Red Cross. And from there, they were taken in those ambulances and that dramatic scene really where we saw them going through the Rafah crossing into Egypt. They were there before they met with Israeli forces, and then were brought here to hospitals throughout Israel.

And so what we're hearing today is a little bit of confusion over the number on this list. What we are told by multiple sources, Jeremy Diamond and I, is that 13 names are on that list that was handed over to Israel last night. They get the names the night before, they start to call the families to let them know that yes, their loved one is coming home or no, they don't expect them to be coming home. We are told, however, that Israel had been expecting 14 names to be on that list and instead there are only 13. What we are told is that in the last several hours there have been continued discussions over what that ultimate number is going to be. We know whatever it is on that list, it's in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners who will be released from prisons here in Israel for those Israeli hostages that are expected to be released given we know no Americans are slated to be on this list today.

So all of this remains to be seen. Right now, though, we are expecting 13 names to be on that list. We'll see if that changes throughout the day. Of course, we have reporters covering this all over the ground. Jeremy Diamond is in Kerem Shalom. I want to start though with Arlette Saenz.

Arlette, obviously, White House officials have been watching this just as closely as officials here in Israel have been, we heard from President Biden yesterday. What's their reaction to your reporting that no Americans are expected to be on this list today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, the White House remains hopeful that ultimately there will be at least three Americans who are released as part of this larger hostage negotiation. But for today's expected release, there is not expected to be any American citizens released as part of that group. That's according to a U.S. official. Now, President Biden himself yesterday had been unable to provide details about exactly when he believes these Americans will get out. He simply said that it's his hope and expectation that they would soon be released.

And a White House official this morning is saying that they remain hopeful that they will ultimately be released as part of this larger deal to release at least 50 women and children out of Hamas and hostage custody. Now, what the White House is pointing to this morning is the fact that President Biden had previously negotiated the release of two Americans, that was Judith and Natalie Raanan, a mother and daughter, who are both American citizens who were released in October. And in a statement, a White House official that this morning said, quote, "The President secured the release of two American citizens as the pilot to this larger release of hostages. We are early in the process that will see at least 50 women and children released during the first phase of the agreement. We are hopeful that that will include three dual national women and children who are American citizens.

This will unfold over the coming days. We will not comment on individual cases as the process is underway." Now it is the hope and expectation that those three American citizens will include two women as well as four-year-old Abigail Edan. President Biden has specifically spoken about her saying he is keeping his fingers crossed that she will be part of this larger release. But for the time being, Americans back at home, these families continue to wait to see the release of their loved ones, that the President's hopes will come in the coming days.

[09:05:28]

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. Everyone is hoping for that. Arlette Saenz, thank you.

Jeremy Diamond is in Kerem Shalom where he's been near the Gaza border watching all of this as we anticipate. Jeremy, that we'll start to see some movement soon of these hostages theoretically if it goes as the way we saw it happen yesterday. But I think what we're learning in this discrepancy in the how many people are going to be on this list is that a lot of officials here in Israel that are I mean, obviously anyone except for Hamas, they're just now learning more about the condition of these hostages, there's been so little insight into who potentially could be produced by Hamas as a part of this deal.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And the fact that, Kaitlan, we are learning that there are still at this hour ongoing discussions that appears as late as this morning going on about the number of hostages and other details. The Palestinian official earlier today raising issues about the number -- the type of Palestinian prisoners who Israel is releasing in exchange for these hostages. It just shows you how fragile and tense this situation still is. And that is why Israeli officials have really been taking this day by day and making clear that issues could arise and will arise in the process.

The hope and the expectation is still though, that we will see a release of hostages today and that those issues, outstanding issues will be resolved. But I want to show you a little bit of where we are right now because as you can see there's Israeli military vehicles, there's Israeli military personnel all around us. This is actually the road where those hostages yesterday who were released, newly freed, traveled down this road. I want to take you with me here. This is where we expect that if they do indeed cross into -- through the Kerem Shalom crossing, they will come down this road and straight down.

This is the route towards that Hatzerim Airbase where they then went to make their first phone calls to their families and then be helicoptered over to Israeli hospitals. This is the road that they took down here, which would take them to the base. Yesterday, we were at an overlook point where we saw that convoy of ambulances actually drive down this route. There were also helicopters waiting in a field nearby. In case of a medical evacuation, in case that would be necessary for any of these hostages, that ultimately did not appear to be necessary yesterday. We know that there were two of these hostages who were taken by ambulance directly to hospitals rather than stopping first at that airbase. But they were not in a grave enough medical condition, it appears for them to be actually medically evacuated by helicopter. But everything is being prepared as you know, Kaitlan. There has have been so many preparations in terms of the medical support, the social support, the psychological support, financial support that all of these newly freed hostages and their families might need. And so that effort is obviously continuing even as we understand that there are still some ongoing issues in the negotiations to resolve for today's hostage release.

COLLINS: Yes. And we should find out who is on that list just a short order. Jeremy Diamond, we'll continue to check in with you on the ground. And of course, what's important to remember about this deal is that it's not just a trade for the hostages or the Palestinian prisoners who are being released. It also allows for no fighting to happen in Gaza right now.

It's been incredibly quiet there, compared to what the last several weeks have looked like. It also calls for an increased amount of aid going into Gaza, aid that is so desperately needed by the millions of people who live there. CNN's Larry Madowo is tracking this angle of the temporary truce from Cairo today.

Larry, what have we been seeing so far as to how many trucks had been going into Gaza? Is it more than we saw on day one of this temporary agreement?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far, it's not more than day one, Kaitlan, but it's still progress. Seventy trucks have come into Gaza today from the Rafah crossing in Egypt. These are 70 trucks of bringing food, fuel, medical supplies, and other essential supplies that people there badly need. And this is according to the spokesperson for the Rafah border crossing telling CNN that there's still an effort to try and get more trucks to come into Gaza to hit that quarter. The quarter is 200 trucks coming in every day, about 130,000 tons of diesel fuel and four gas trucks of cooking gas. So far, some of these 70 trucks that come in today include about 150,000 tons of fuel and the food trucks of gas, but it's still an effort to try and get it to that 200 quarter.

Yesterday we still had the 37 trucks come in according to the U.N. That was the largest humanitarian convoy to come into Gaza since October 7. It's still a drop in the ocean compared to the need that is so great there. Before October 7, about 455 trucks came in every day. Right now with Hamas displacement, we have seen 1.7 million people displaced. The need is so far greater than this small amount that's coming in.

[09:10:13]

And aid organizations say this truce should go on longer and more aid should be allowed in so that they can reach as many people as possible because so many people are desperate. Listen to this one man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EZZEDDINE ABU OMEIRA, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): Gas cooking is essential for everyone in Gaza. Nobody can cook or do anything without gas, we hope that they will provide us with some gas in the next two days. So, all the people are hoping and ready for it to make their lives easier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: So far, a lot of this aid is coming in, especially to the fuel just to maintain the infrastructure to support the humanitarian operations there, so hospitals and facilities like that. So people like him might not necessarily get it, but so badly needed. At the same time some of the wounded are making it across the Rafah crossing Egypt, at least 16 have made it so far today. And some Palestinians that were in Egypt, trapped for a couple of days, have finally made it back into Gaza, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, it's amazing to see all of those trucks go in, just compare it to what we've seen happen with this total blockade over the last several weeks. Larry Madowo, in Cairo, thank you for that.

And as we look at wait for this next group of hostages to potentially be released here any moment now, for the families of these hostages, these negotiations are coming with mixed emotions. Some relatives have been released, others are still being held. Last night, we saw several elderly women who were released while their husbands are still being held by Hamas in Gaza right now. This deal so far that has been negotiated between Israel and Hamas, it's only for women and children in that 50 person total that we are expecting to see if this truce holds.

Itay Raviv joins me now from Israel. And Itay, obviously this -- you're one of those families that I was just describing there where you had several of your family members released yesterday. I'm sure such a joyful moment for you. Can you just tell me how yesterday was?

ITAY RAVIV, FAMILY MEMBER KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: Yes, so yesterday was very exciting and very emotional. As you said, three of my family members were released, however, although my uncle, and he will -- he's still in captivity in Gaza. And with him, there are over 200 hostages still there. So, it's just the beginning. Nothing is over yet and we can be completely happy.

COLLINS: And I know of those released you know, we've been showing this this video of nine year old Ohad Munder is your cousin who was -- had this chance to be reunited with his father and seeing a video of him running down the hallway. How are they doing? What have you heard about their conditions?

RAVIV: I know that physically, they're OK. Mentally it's too soon to tell. They've been through hell, both on October 7, and during the captivity time for 50 days in the hands of Hamas. Hamas are monsters with, we saw what they're capable of. And they've suffered through trauma, and it's going to take them time to be mentally well as well.

COLLINS: And Ohad, I mean, he turned nine while in captivity. What's it like to have him home?

RAVIV: It's amazing to have him home. It's terrible that he had to spend his ninth birthday in captivity. We waited for him for so long. And we will celebrate his ninth birthday now. It's just awful to think that a nine year old was in captivity (inaudible). It's just terrible scene. And we need all of them back. And I hope that the next few days, we see more coming back. And I hope to see the rest of the hostages back home.

COLLINS: How do you plan to celebrate his ninth birthday now that he's free?

RAVIV: Like we wanted to, with family, with friends, his friends are now visiting him in the hospital. But we're still waiting for his grandfather. So the celebration can't happen before he's back. And we need the entire family to be back together. And his uncle as well, he was murdered on October 7.

And he had to find -- to find it out. So it still says this is a another glimpse of the horrific reality we still live in. So even when they came back out of captivity, they still have to face this awful reality.

COLLINS: So he didn't know that, and your -- the family had to break the news to him about what had happened on October 7?

RAVIV: Yes. They didn't understand the scale of what happened exactly. They were there and they were abducted on that day from their beds but they didn't understand the magnitude of everything that has been going on they were. They weren't in touch with anyone for abducted on the day from their beds. But they the interest and the magnitude of everything that has been going on.

[09:15:07]

They were -- they weren't in touch with anyone for -- apart from Hamas in the past 50 days.

COLLINS: You mentioned your great uncle who is still being held, he was not part of this release. And based on what we know he would not fit in the category of who is expected to be released. I just wonder what your messages to the stakeholders involved here whether it's Israeli officials, U.S. officials, Qatari officials on the importance of getting everybody home?

RAVIV: Yes, we need everyone. We need everyone. My uncle is 78 years old, he's not in very good health. He needs to take medications every day. He walks with a cane. He has glasses.

He cannot survive in captivity for this long. We need everyone back no matter if they're women, children, men, elderly. Everyone should be back home with their families as soon as possible.

COLLINS: Itay Raviv, I know it's such a bittersweet moment for you. So thank you for joining me tonight -- today to talk about this. And we're so happy for Ohad and I hope you tell him that we all said happy birthday.

RAVIV: Thank you.

COLLINS: Of course, it's not just the first group that was released yesterday. We are now getting new information by the minute about this second potential group with Hamas preparing to hand over that next group of hostages that are being held in Gaza. It happened at this time. Yesterday we started to see this process take place. We'll walk through the logistics of what is an incredibly complicated process right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:39]

BLACKWELL: A breaking news this morning, at any moment Hamas is due to release the second group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners' release. U.S. officials say they do not expect Americans to be among the hostages released today, but they expect them to be released at some point during this four-day temporary truce.

Joining me now is former Navy SEAL commander and former coordinator of the hostage working group for the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, Daniel O'Shea.

Daniel, you are the right person to talk with -- about this at this moment. I want to start with the logistics of what happens, this very delicate handover process. What are we seeing? And more importantly, what are we not seeing that is happening as these hostages are handed over?

DANIEL O'SHEA, FORMER NAVY SEAL COMMANDE: Well, I think what they're not seeing is where the hostages are being brought out of the ground or presumably the tunneling system for obvious reasons. That's part of the logistics challenge for Hamas, because obviously, hostages are probably held together in a number of different groups spread out over Gaza. But that's what we're not seeing. But the critical piece is to date has gone smoothly, at least first day, even though the ceasefire was extended because of firefights going past the 07. So, I'm cautiously optimistic that the transfer will continue via the Red Cross to the border into Egypt and then they're being flown into Israel, and then obviously being taken into hospitals.

But the critical thing is what's going on in the hospitals, their medical checkups, and the mental health which is going to be a lasting process for all these hostages.

BLACKWELL: When you hear CNN's reporting that a Palestinian official says that there's a possible crisis here, that the Israelis are not respecting the agreement that the prisoners who would be released would have seniority would have been in prison for years, and they would be at the top of the list. Or that Israel expected 14 people -- hostages to be released, but there are only 13 names on the list. Are discrepancies like that significant enough to break this down, to end this this exchange? O'SHEA: No, I don't think quibbling over something like -- one hostage to the other will be the breakdown. My bigger concern is that there's a car driving too fast up to an IDF checkpoint that gets -- the IDF soldiers that are very skittish, that they open up, that the conflict starts again, and the ceasefire ends. That's what I think is probably what we should be more concerned. If an errant rocket comes out of the West Bank or, you know, out of Gaza itself by a splinter group. Something like that could be more counterproductive to the ceasefire.

But you know, time will tell. Let's update you guys on day one.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned that at some point, we know this is happening because we've -- we have our reporters on the ground who were seeing the video, the medical checks, these hostages are being taken to hospitals. The report is that the 13 are in good and stable condition. At what point are the psychologist and the counselors that are working with these hostages traded out for Intel agents so that they can get some information about the tunnels, about the whereabouts of potentially the other hostages?

O'SHEA: Well, that started immediately. I guarantee the -- there would have been intelligence officials traveling with these hostages and been monitoring because it's critical to get that into -- you know, what's called the debrief out immediately. So, you can be sure that the first 13 are sharing experiences about the conditions and how they were held and critically, the names of the fellow hostages so they can get a full accounting on who was taken and what is their current status.

BLACKWELL: As I said, good, stable condition for the first 13. We're waiting for the next hostages to come out. I wonder your degree of confidence or optimism that all of the remaining hostages will come out in that good and stable condition based on your experience.

O'SHEA: Well, listen, Hamas grabbed these hostages for this very reason, to force a ceasefire. They knew the IDF would respond to their attacks on October 7. Right now these hostages are the only bargaining chip that in world opinion, but without those hostages, there's nothing that will stop the IDF from finishing what they started three weeks ago, four weeks ago with the offensive. And that's why this hostage drama is going to play out over weeks and months, and potentially even longer, unfortunately,

[09:25: 28]

BLACKWELL: Do you expect that this will -- because Hamas has this leverage of these hostages, this agreement can be extended for another, I believe, it's five or six days if they continue to release 10 hostages per day, according to the agreement brokered for Israel and Hamas that this will go beyond the four day hold, is that in the interest of Hamas to continue to engage?

O'SHEA: It is and it isn't, because they have a dwindling supply of these hostages that they're going to hold on to. Let's hope that the four days go smoothly, and that it does get extended because that has been the expectation set. But again, we're really sitting on a tinder block. Hamas and Israel do not trust each other. They did not negotiate this deal across from a table with each other.

This was all done through third party intermediaries and could fall apart very easily. So, let's take it day by day. And let's hope we can get an extension. But let's get through the first four days and then go from there.

BLACKWELL: Well, we're expecting 14, 13 or 14 to be released today, Israeli hostages. The big surprise yesterday was the Thai and Filipino hostages who were released. To people at home who don't understand how there could be this really involved negotiation over the Israeli hostages, but kind of the surprise deal for Thai citizens and the Filipino. Explain that parallel track and how that could happen, and few people at least expected it would.

O'SHEA: Well, the reality is there's a calculus, every hostage is evaluated on everything from their nationality, their gender, their age, their condition, and to what value. The Thai -- the fortunate thing for the Thai and the Filipino to be -- the 10 Thai and the one Filipino released yesterday, as if there's no real strategic value to Hamas for them. There's not really a connection between the two. And that's why they were considered, they're not that valuable and that's why they were the surprise yesterday in addition to the 13 release. So, they're looking at all their hostages and holding on to them.

I mean, you notice no Americans have been released yet.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

O'SHEA: And it was largely the efforts of the U.S. diplomat commission that got this ceasefire in effect. So they're holding -- they know what hostages have more value to them. And those are the ones are going to be held on the longest.

BLACKWELL: All right, Daniel O'Shea, good to have you. Thank you.

Still ahead, Israeli officials say they will release more than 40 Palestinian prisoners today. That's after the release of 39 on Friday. Next, why that is prompting mixed emotions for some Palestinians.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:32:25]

COLLINS: One sign of the expected release of the Palestinian prisoners today is what is happening outside of Ofer prison. Several buses were seen outside there earlier. This is a similar scene to what played out yesterday where Palestinians who have been jailed here in Israel and two other locations were gathered there before their final steps toward freedom. There were 39 Palestinian prisoners who were released in total as part of this temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. Of course, more are expected today. CNN's Nada Bashir has more from outside the prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A joyous celebration as 23- year-old Malak Suleiman finally arrives home in East Jerusalem after six years in an Israeli prison. Convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison at the age of 17 for attempted murder. Police say they found a knife in her possession near the old city of Jerusalem. It is a charge she and her family have long denied.

Suleiman is one of 39 prisoners, all women and minors, released from jails in Israel on Friday in exchange for the release of hostages who had been held by Hamas in Gaza.

(on camera): We saw many of those detainees now released, those prisoners now released, rather, being carried on people's shoulders to the municipality building where a number of their family members were waiting among them. Fifteen minors who were released are being carried up this road on people's shoulders to much cheering and celebration and even fireworks being set off. We've also been speaking to people including relatives who say they didn't want to see these crowds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This celebration is not necessary. They need to be mindful of us in Gaza. This celebration is wrong. I am torn to pieces.

Have a little mercy on us. They can be joyful, but the joy is in the heart because we are dying in Gaza. Have some respect for us a little.

BASHIR (voice-over): The release of this first group of Palestinian prisoners comes as Israel and Hamas begin a four-day truce, a window of desperately needed respite for civilians in Gaza. According to Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza, nearly 15,000 Palestinians in the enclave have been killed over the last seven weeks alone.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas in response to the terror attack of October 7th, which killed more than 1,200 Israeli citizens. But in Gaza, it is civilians that are paying the highest price.

[09:35:01]

More than 8,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, including more than 3,000, according to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs, held under administrative detention, meaning no clear charges and no clear legal process. But for those gathered in the occupied West Bank on Friday night, this is a welcome moment of, in their eyes, long overdue justice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People want to gather and be together in this moment. And however folks internalize that in terms of their own emotional sort of reaction to it, that's for them to speak to. But I think people want to be here to be together, to welcome home these prisoners. And that's part of the spirit of being Palestinian.

BASHIR (voice-over): With over 100 Palestinian prisoners still set for release over the next few days, scenes like this are expected to continue, though some say at too high a price.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR: Hello, Kaitlan. We have seen now three buses entering the Ofer prison presumably carrying some of those detainees and prisoners set to be released today upon confirmation of the evacuation of those Israeli hostages being held captive by Hamas inside Gaza. As we understand it, it will follow a similar process that we saw yesterday where they will undergo checks by the Red Cross before being transported by a Red Cross convoy through the Petunia crossing and onwards for those from the occupied West Bank where they will be able to be reunited with their loved ones, friends and family. And, of course, we are anticipating seeing more crowds later this evening gathering to welcome those detainees and prisoners.

At this stage, no clear details as to who those -- who are set to be released today are or what charges they faced or if indeed they did face any charges. Of course, as we saw yesterday, amongst those 39 detainees and prisoners who were released as part of that exchange, the majority of them have been held under administrative detention with no clear information as to what they were being charged with. And, of course, we saw 15 children among those released yesterday.

Important to note that earlier in the week, we saw a list of 300 potential releases being listed. Among them many children. Of course, the concern is that we'll be able to see more children being detained over the next couple of weeks. The hope is for Palestinians here in the occupied West Bank that many of their loved ones and friends will be released today and over the coming days so long as the terms of that truce are upheld. Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes. We're waiting to see who is on that list of 42 names. Obviously, those are only released after the Israeli hostages have been exchanged and handed over. Nada Bashir in the West Bank, we'll continue to check in with you. Thank you.

And, of course, we are watching closely as day two of this truce is now in effect. And we are waiting as this is the same time yesterday when that first group of hostages were released. We're continuing to monitor this live from every angle of this story. And our coverage continues right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:19]

COLLINS: It has been an agonizing seven weeks for many families here in Israel who have had seven weeks of no communication just outright fear for their loved ones who are being held hostage in Gaza. Some of them were reunited on Friday, day one of the truce between Israel and Hamas. And today we're seeing more pictures of those reunions happening between those who have been held hostage for so long and their family members who have been waiting, including this scene.

That is nine-year-old Ohad Munder running into his family's arms. He turned nine while in captivity, I should note. He and his mother and his grandmother were finally reunited with their loved ones on day one of the hostage release.

CNN's Oren Liebermann was at that hospital where some of the hostages were taken after the release. And obviously, just seeing scenes like that play out -- I mean, you see such joy. I just spoke to Ohad's cousin who talked about, you know, yes, they're so happy he's home, but he didn't know that his uncle was killed in the attack. He had to learn things like that just yesterday.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the part that's hard for us to wrap our head around. We've been covering this for seven weeks either on the ground here or from the U.S. And we know the details, the numbers, the horror of what unfolded on October 7th, they simply haven't. It wasn't clear in the few moments before they were taken hostage what happened and they had to learn that essentially only now.

In fact, the IDF soldiers who took them into Israel, the first Israelis they've interacted with in nearly 50 days here were given specific instructions on what they could say and what they couldn't say. So, if they were asked, for example, where is my mom, where is my dad, they simply weren't allowed to answer that question and were only allowed to say, you're in a safe place now, and they would find out those answers over the process here.

Still, you can see in these videos, and we'll take a look at that one, again, the overwhelming joy as they reunited with their family. Nine- year-old Ohad Munder running into the arms of his father, his other family members there. This other video from the Asher family, Yoni Asher, the father, there holding for the first time in some 50 days his two-year-old, his four-year-old, the mother there, as well. The three of them were in captivity then coming out, reunited at Schneider Children's Medical Center. And the process of recovery begins.

And it isn't just a process that happens in a day, of course. And even as the hospitals that we have spoken with, that is Wolfson Medical Center where I was that had some of the elderly hostages that were released, Schneider Medical Center, that's in-charge of taking care of the children who were released as they are in physically good condition. There is a lot of -- the mental health question that still needs to be answered and still needs to be worked through.

It's also worth noting that even as these families are able to rejoice, they have said so many times over the course of the past seven weeks, that they have the larger family now, the other families of the hostages, and they will keep lobbying for them and keep fighting for them to be reunited.

[09:45:05]

Listen to this. These are the grandchildren of Yafa Adar who spoke earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't stop fighting. We will fight to -- for all of them. We will demand their return.

Please continue the pressure and make sure that Hamas will understand that we won't accept any other option but bringing them all back home. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: One of the places that has become such a big focus for these families is Hostages Square. There's a rally scheduled there for this evening, the 50th day. They're calling for 50,000 people to come out.

So, you can see the energy with which they carry on their mission of pressure, and the government to do what's necessary to bring home the other -- more than a hundred -- nearly 200 hostages who are still held in Gaza. That mission to them continues.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, you just look at that -- the photo of the two little girls who were finally reunited with their mother and their dad. They're finally reunited with their dad. And you see the youngest is two and a half years old. And you can just -- just to -- even hearing the conditions that they're physically OK, you can see the two and half year old though -- there, I mean, obviously there's cameras in the room, this is completely overwhelming, but the trauma for a two and half year old to spend potentially seven weeks maybe underground. We don't know what conditions they were held in is -- I mean, how do you even start to address that?

LIEBERMANN: For us, I think that's unfathomable to even begin to imagine. And two-year-old is not the youngest. There's a 10-month-old, Kfir Bibas, who turned 10 months old while in captivity. That process is something the Israeli medical system has tried to prepare for. But now it's beyond preparing. Now, it's doing the work of the recovery.

COLLINS: Yes. Oren Liebermann, thank you for that. We'll continue to see -- we do know that several children are expected to be included in the group of hostages being released in just moments from now we expect.

Right now, this deal appears to be holding. There has been some skepticism but so far it appears to unfold as officials had hoped. Right now, some Gaza residents who fled to the south amid this war are now trying to return to the north as it is quiet in Gaza right now. We'll have details on the ground right after this.

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[09:51:40]

BLACKWELL: We're learning more this morning that the released hostages did provide at least one Israeli family some proof that their abducted loved one is still alive. The freed hostages, the family stress, it is urgent reminder that the remaining 213 still captive now must be saved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOAM PERI, ELDERLY FATHER KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: I can tell you this morning that we have a sign of life from my father. We know he's alive from other people, from the community who were released yesterday. It brings a lot of hope and yet together we feel very urgent to let them all out. We don't know how much time they are going to be able to hold on there.

NADAV RUDAEFF, FATHER WITH HEART CONDITION KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: I was very happy to hear from Noam that they do have some sort of a sign that her dad is still alive. Unfortunately, I don't have that privilege. And the fact that we are still here 50 days later trying to convince and demand the communities in Israel and around the world to come forth and help us bringing the pressure for everyone to be released is very important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The woman you heard from, Noam Peri, was thankful for the release of her mother Channah yesterday. But Noam said that she has not received official confirmation about the status of her father.

There are a lot of Palestinians who are welcoming the pause in the constant bombardment in Gaza, and some of them who left parts of -- the southern parts at least, or the enclave, they're trying to get back home to the north. But that journey is still too dangerous. Jomana Karadsheh reports.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the sounds of life, not death today on the streets of Gaza. For the first time in nearly 50 days, they are not running for their lives, no bombs raining down on them from the sky. Some children can even smile again, even if only for a brief while. But there's nothing to celebrate, too many lives have been lost, so much gone, and they know there will be more.

The Israeli military dropping leaflets on Friday warning people that the war is not over. It will soon resume, and telling them to stay away from northern Gaza and its troops. Many still tried to head back to the homes they fled with nothing more than the clothes on their backs to see what's left and grab what they can find, including their dead.

We want to see what has happened to our loved ones, so many are under the rubble for 20 days, Abu Ahmed (ph) says. We need to get them out.

Who else will bury them? Who will bury our two-year-old and her father, says, Ahma (ph) Abdullah. What did she do to them?

It was a tense scene on Salah al-Din Street, the highway linking north and south. People here saying Israeli forces opened fire on those trying to head back north.

[09:55:06]

We want to get to our homes. They say this is a truce, Mahmoud says. We're civilians. They shot people. One was shot in the head and the other in the mouth.

Gunfire and the panic that ensued captured in this video geolocated by CNN. Asked about these shootings, the Israeli military says its troops are stationed along the, quote, "operational lines" of the pause in accordance with the framework of the agreement. But that didn't stop those determined to get back to what's left of their lives.

Sisters Hanin (ph) and Saira (ph) cradling their cats who have been through it all with them say they know the risks but they just want to go back home. Gazans know all too well what comes after this brief calm.

What's this truce for, to hand over the hostages? What happens after they hand them over? What happens to us, Ahma (ph) Abdullah asks. We feel like we are dead, she says. They hope it doesn't all start again, but all they can do now is prepare for a cruel winter ahead.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Thank you for joining us. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts after a short break.

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