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Awaiting Release Of More Israeli Hostages On Day 2 Of Truce; Freed Hostages Recover, Learn Full Details Of October 7th Attack. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 25, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:01:35]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you. And welcome to our continuing coverage of the truce between Israel and Hamas and the expected release of more hostages today. I'm Pamela Brown.

My colleague Kaitlan Collins is live in Tel Aviv. We're going to have more from Kaitlan in just a moment.

We're waiting and we're watching the tense situation in Gaza and Israel where a second group of hostages held by Hamas is expected to be released. It's day two of a fragile four-day pause in fighting. And we're now hearing the timing is delayed in part by the slowness of aid trucks entering Gaza.

As families wait anxiously for word, sources tell CNN that today's list provided by Hamas has 13 names. CNN has learned that no Americans are expected to be released today. Under terms of the complicated deal Israel frees three Palestinians for every Israeli hostage. As buses wait outside a prison in the occupied West Bank one Palestinian official says Israel is not following the terms of the prisoner release deal.

On Friday 13 Israelis, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino captive were set free -- this video was released by Hamas and CNN, we should note had no control over its content.

With the truce the first in seven weeks silencing the guns, more aid has begun to flow into Gaza. Dozens of trucks carrying food, fuel and water enter the besieged Palestinian today.

CNN is covering all the developments. Jeremy Diamond is Kerem Shalom, White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Clarissa Ward is at a children's hospital where we expect more of the child hostages will be taken. And Kaitlan Collins is in Tel Aviv and we go to her now. Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Pam. And of course, we're not seeing the level of activity at this point that we had by this time yesterday. I mean, it was close to this time yesterday that we were starting to see these hostages make their way across the Rafah Crossing. They are, of course, going from Gaza into Egypt. We have not seen that level of activity tonight. That doesn't mean

that this second release of hostages isn't happening. But there has been a bit of a hold-up, a bit of a delay, and what we're hearing from sources is that that was, in part, because of what we've been following for the last several hours with Larry Madowo in Cairo, that aid going in that is a key part of this entire temporary truce that Israel is going to allow a surge of humanitarian aid to go into Gaza.

Apparently, Hamas was not happy with the pace of that aid, believed it was going too slow. They were delaying the actual facilitation of the second release of the second group of hostages because they wanted more aid to go in first.

So, that is part of what is happening here when you're not seeing the level of activity right now that you had been seeing yesterday. Again, it does not mean this deal has been derailed or that it's not going to happen. It just speaks to why we're not seeing those images at the same time that we are -- that we were yesterday.

We're still waiting on those, waiting to find out who is going to be on this list, that we have now confirmed from the IDF. It is 13 Israeli hostages that are expected to be released. Iin exchange for that, 39 Palestinian prisoners will be released from jails here in Israel.

Back to the West Bank, my colleague Jeremy Diamond is following all of this from Kerem Shalom near the Gaza border where Jeremy, we saw helicopters landing yesterday, seeing this activity.

What's the level of activity right now as we're waiting to really see this exchange get under way?

[11:04:54]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kaitlan, it was around this time yesterday that we heard those helicopters beginning to land near the Kerem Shalom crossing point between Israel and Gaza, and as of now things are relatively quiet.

The Israeli military though, has blocked off this entire road, and this is where yesterday we saw that convoy of ambulances carrying those hostages, newly freed hostages, as they drove their first meters, effectively, into (AUDIO GAP) we heard they left Gaza through the Rafah Crossing initially and then they drove less than two miles to the Kerem Shalom Crossing where there is, indeed, a gate in order for -- under special circumstances to get people or goods in from Egypt into Israel.

Kerem Shalom crossing is right on the corner between Israel, Egypt and Gaza. And so it was down this road that that convoy then drove on the way to the Hatzerim Airbase in Israel, where they then were able to make their first phone calls to their family members and then from there they were helicoptered over to hospitals across Israel.

If this deal holds tonight, if it goes through, we expect that we may see that very same scene as we did yesterday with that convoy of ambulances or buses coming through this way.

But the fact that there have been delays (AUDIO GAP) in the agreement between Israel and Hamas is, it's important to keep in mind that Israel (AUDIO GAP) directly together. They are speaking via the Qatari mediators. And so the expectation was that there would be bumps in the road. There would be problems that could arise.

Israeli officials have been taken this day by day to see -- and as have the families of hostages -- as they wait for their loved ones to hopefully get out. They are obviously waiting very anxiously to see whether or not this group of 13 today is able to get out of Gaza, out of Egypt, and into Israel as smoothly as yesterday.

COLLINS: Yes, that's what everyone is hoping for. Still a bit of a delay, but we are still expecting to see that process get underway soon.

Jeremy Diamond we'll continue to check back with you in Kerem Shalom.

Once again, no Americans are expected to be freed as part of this release today. No Americans were on that list yesterday. The White House, though, is still holding out hope that ultimately those three U.S. citizens, who had fit into this category of women and children will be in the groups in the coming days before this truce is up.

Arlette Saenz is tracking all of this from Nantucket where President Biden is spending his Thanksgiving vacation. Arlette, what are White House officials telling you about whether or not they have any sense of which group that this -- these Americans could be in, because obviously, you know, this is a tenuous truce, questions over whether or not it will hold.

So far it has but I don't think anyone has, you know, a ton of confidence in this, you know, going smoothly, the entire process.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, President Biden and the White House have really refrained from putting in a specific date on the release of these expected three Americans, those two women and that young 4-year-old Abigail Edan. They simply have been saying that they're hopeful that they will be released as part of this larger negotiated deal to have 50 women and children released in the coming days.

Now, I'm told President Biden this morning was briefed at least twice by the national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his national security team as the White House is closely watching this expected second wave of hostages that are expected to be released in the coming hours.

But the president so far has really been unable to offer specific details on when he expects the dates that these hostages will be released, or how exactly that would happen.

But one thing that he said yesterday, speaking to reporters, is that he plans on maintaining contact with his counterparts in the region to ensure that this deal remains on track. The implementation of this deal has really been a key focus for the

White House as they want to make sure that all of the plans that have been agreed to will actually be carried out. And that is something that officials will be watching closely as this expected release is set to come today.

Now, the White House has said that once Americans are set to be released, they would begin to notify families once they see their loved ones departing from Gaza but it does not appear like that will be happening today. But there is still hope that those -- that those three American citizens could be released in the coming days.

The president also saying they will not stop working until they ensure that all Americans are back home with their families as well.

COLLINS: Yes. And Arlette, since Biden is being repeatedly briefed as you noted twice already by Jake Sullivan, one other comment that he made yesterday that certainly caught the attention of officials here in Israel, was when he talked about whether or not this four-day pause could open up to an extension, whether this could go on longer. Do American officials believe it's realistic that it actually could get extended or do they think it's too soon to make a judgment on that yet?

[11:09:56]

SAENZ: Well, the White House hasn't offered a specific response as to whether they think this will, in fact, be extended but President Biden yesterday said that he does believe that there is a real chance that this four-day pause could get extended into longer in order to ensure that more hostages are released.

Of course, President Biden, behind the scenes, has been pushing for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have these longer pauses, in fighting, not just to get hostages out, but also to get aid in. That is something that's started to flow in yesterday.

The president in his remarks also talking about the fact that they were sending in food, medical supplies and fuel as well. But right now, what the officials are very keyed in on is trying to ensure that the plans for these next four days are proceeding as they have outlined and the president has expressed some optimistic hope that there could be a possibility that this truce could be extended for longer, it's just unclear whether that's, in fact, happening.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.

Arlette Saenz, thank you for that.

And I should note that we are waiting for this to get under way. We are hearing from sources right now that this process has started. Of course, we saw yesterday it was an incredibly lengthy process, multi- step process that involved these hostages going from Gaza to the Rafah Crossing to Egypt to then being brought here to hospitals in Israel.

That's where we find CNN's Clarissa Ward outside of a children's hospital where some of the hostages were taken after yesterday's release. And Clarissa, we're still waiting to see in earnest that this has gotten underway.

We're hearing from resources the process has begun. We don't really have details what stage it's at right now. But we know children are expected to be on this group of 13 hostages released today.

How are hospital officials bracing, basically, for more children who have undergone deep trauma to come into their care tonight?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to officials in this hospital they're very much ready. They have made extensive preparations as they did yesterday.

And we've seen now some of the images that are starting to come out, obviously the hospital is very keen to protect the privacy, particularly, because you're talking about minors of these families, but some of them have been open to sharing images, videos of those reunions between fathers and children.

And it's incredibly moving to see after seven long weeks, these families finally being reunited. It is also encouraging to see that physically, and this is what we've heard also from hospital officials, that most of the children and the mothers as well who are also at this hospital appear to be in good physical condition.

Now that said, of course, the hospital is very much aware that the real challenge here is going to be the emotional challenge. It's going to be the psychological challenge. And so to that end they have gone above and beyond to try to ensure that they've created a very warm, intimate, not sterile, clinical atmosphere, that they have hand-picked the top psychiatrists with relevant experience in dealing with childhood trauma to be there round the clock. There are social workers here for every single family.

And we know that the families even in the run-up to the hostages being released are basically being coached every step of the way. It's being explained to them by representatives from the government, from the IDF as well, how this whole release works. The anatomy, if you will, which as you just described, Kaitlan, is multi-pronged. It can take many hours.

And so once again we're seeing a sense of trepidation in the air. Obviously, every precaution has been taken, every dot -- I has been dotted, every T has been crossed. And the hospital is very much ready in anticipation that they believe several children are believed to be on this list.

And now just comes the hard part, Kaitlan, where they sit, they wait, and you can imagine for these family members, especially having seen how relatively smoothly things went last night, what an agonizing wait it is, that that mixture of excitement, but not wanting to get too far ahead of yourself as you wait to be reunited, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, it's just hard to even imagine just how much further the road ahead for them is. Clarissa Ward, we'll continue to check back in with you now that we know this exchange is at least at the beginning of this process.

Sources are telling CNN that the reason that this has been delayed, that it is 6:00 p.m. local and you have not seen nearly the level of activity that we had seen yesterday in this process in part because of the aid entering Gaza and the slow pace at which we are seeing that aid go into Gaza today.

We've been checking in with our sources and they are telling us, you know, dozens of trucks have gone in so far, it was 137 on Friday, the first day that this truce was in effect.

[11:14:53]

COLLINS: It's expected to be up to of 200 per day, and so we are continuing to track these numbers.

CNN's Larry Madowo is following these developments from Cairo.

And Larry, basically what sources were saying is that Hamas was wanting that aid to be sped up. I know it's a painstaking process but they wanted to see more trucks actually inside Gaza before they started facilitating the release of these hostages. What are you hearing on the ground?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is correct, Kaitlan. So far, we understand that 133 trucks have gone in today, that is fewer than the 137 that the U.N. Says went into Gaza yesterday.

The Egyptians are keen to put in as many trucks as possible. There's been trucks lined up for days trying to get that clearance to go across the Rafah Crossing into Gaza. The Egyptians have a check point on this side but when they go over into Gaza, the Israelis also check these trucks before the contents can be redistributed to aid agencies that operate in Gaza, especially across the southern Gaza strip. And so that appears to be the hold-up here.

The Hamas wants more of these trucks coming in. The quota is 200 of these truck come in every day over this four-day truce. They're carrying water. They're carrying fuel. They're carrying food, medical supplies, other the essential humanitarian supplies. And there's just disappointment that more of them are not coming in on the Palestinian side and that may be the explanation for why this exchange was delayed as they try to get as many of these trucks as possible in there.

1.7 million people displaced according to the U.N. We've seen people lining up for hours trying to get just cooking gas so that they can have a way to prepare meals for their families. And whenever this aid is getting to the people on the other side, they're scrambling to get whatever little they can get their hands on.

So that is the level of desperation here which is why this rampant (ph) -- in the amount of aid coming into Gaza is a key plan in the framework for the release of the hostages, as the Israelis described it, agreed with the United States and mediated by Qatar and Egypt, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: All right, Larry Madowo. Clearly this aid has become a flash point in the second day of this temporary truce. Thank you for that report.

We're continuing to watch this as clearly the slow pace of that aid getting in has become a major issue here. We're tracking to see how much of an obstacle this is, whether or not it could derail the second day of this temporary agreement between Israel and Hamas. We'll be back in just a quick moment.

[11:12:23]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Welcome back. We have some breaking news.

We are learning through sources that the transfer of the second round of hostages by Hamas is beginning. That essentially Hamas is starting to hand over hostages to the Red Cross. It's been a little bit delayed today, compared to yesterday, and we're told through sources that is because there was a dispute about the amount of aid going in to Gaza.

Hamas wanted to see more aid going in before handing over the hostages. An IDF spokesperson said it's a slow process and indeed it is a complicated, multi-pronged process for -- everything to come together for day two of this truce, to go into play.

But we are told that the hostages are beginning to be turned over to the Red Cross. Our expectation is, it's going to be 13 hostages according to sources in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.

Let's go straight to Jeremy Diamond who is Kerem Shalom near the Gaza border. Jeremy, what can you tell us about where things stand right now with this exchange?

DIAMOND: Well, clearly this exchange has been delayed over in part at least over the entry of aid trucks from Israel into Gaza. We know that amid all of the parameters of the deal, there has been of course, this component of one Israeli hostage for three Palestinian prisoners. There has been the pause in fighting as part of that.

But there is also the entry of hundreds of trucks of aid, much needed aid in Gaza, to enter as part of this agreement as well. And it appears that Hamas is claiming that Israel was not allowing enough trucks in, in order to uphold its end of the deal as part of this -- as part of this hostage deal.

And so the question is now, how much longer will this delay go on? At what point will we actually see those Israeli hostages enter Israel? And will everything go according to plan following that delay?

We know that yesterday it took about an hour or so following the hostages being put into Red Cross custody before they entered Egypt until we actually saw them arriving here in Israel. And one of the other signs that I'm waiting to see is yesterday, about

half hour, 40 minutes or so, before those hostages actually entered Israel, we saw two helicopters landing very close to our position.

Those helicopters, we're told, were here in order to facilitate a medical evacuation of any of the hostages should their medical condition warrant it. It appears that yesterday the medical conditions of all 13 Israeli civilian hostages as well as the ten Thai nationals and one Filipino national did not warrant that.

Two of the Israeli hostages were taken directly to hospitals but they did not require a medical evacuation by helicopter. So I'm waiting to hear the sounds of those helicopters because to me that will be a good indication that we are getting close.

But once this handover does happen, and once they actually come to that Kerem Shalom crossing, it is just down the road here where you can see the lights at the very end of this road. That is where that crossing point is, at least where they will turn onto this main road.

[11:24:51]

DIAMOND: This road has been entirely shut down. The Israeli military is here. And so clearly, they are prepared for this release to potentially happen at our location.

And so for now, Pam, it appears we're just standing by.

BROWN: All right, thank you so much. Jeremy Diamond, reporting live there, in Israel.

Again, a slow process today. We are delayed compared to where we were this time yesterday but of course there is no set time for this. This is a tenuous truce, and we are keeping an eye on all the developments.

Up next, as tempered celebrations mark the release of the first wave of Palestinian prisoners on Friday, dozens more are due to be freed today as part of the hostage release deal.

We're live in the West Bank, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Right now, we are waiting to see when the release of the second group of Israeli hostages from Hamas will happen. We know the first group happened yesterday, we saw how that happened.

[11:29:55]

COLLINS: Today there has been quite a delay here. Clearly, it is now 6:00 p.m. -- half past 6:00 here local. By this point yesterday we had started to see serious movement with the hostages. We had started to see them at the Rafah Crossing by this point. But sources tell us tonight that the timing here has been delayed in part because of a dispute over the slow pace of aid going into Gaza. You've seen those aid trucks with Larry Madowo as they've been making their way in. That is still a key part of this agreement, that there is this surge

in humanitarian aid in exchange for the release of these hostages and of course, in addition to that the release of Palestinian prisoners being held here in Israel.

Right now, we're also learning more about what the makeup of the hostages that are planning to be -- that are planned to be released today, include these 13 people. No Americans among them, we are told. Later on it is 39 more Palestinian prisoners who are expected to be released.

All of this follows the initial release that we saw happen on Friday. 24 hostages in total, freed by Hamas, that was in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners then as the start of this four-day truce.

Now that we are on day two let's check in with CNN's Oren Liebermann who joins us now from Hostage Square, what is informally known as that, given there are so many families here in Israel whose loved ones are still being held hostage.

Oren, now that, you know, this is the first time we've been able to see this square as they've been able to absorb the fact that some of these hostages have made it home. What are you hearing from people there on the ground?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So there is certainly a sense of joy that some of the first hostages have made it out, and many here are eagerly awaiting any bit of news about the second group that we anticipate should start coming out in the coming hours here even with this delay.

That is what the families have been waiting for, for so long and they consider themselves one new family. They also believe that their job isn't completed yet now that the first group is out. Because they see each other as one family, they see it as their job to lobby for the release of everybody. And that's what tonight is all about.

They have dubbed it 50 for 50 -- 50,000 people they want to bring here to mark 50 days in captivity for the hostages who have not yet been brought out of Gaza. That is the clock ticking down here behind me, 49 hours -- I'm sorry, 49 days, 11 hours, 33 minutes and the seconds are ticking away, ticking down towards the 50-hour mark.

That has been here for days and it will be here for many more days until more of the hostages are brought home, the news they're eagerly awaiting.

Obviously, the TV crews, the news crews have been following all of the latest developments. And this is all about a rally to let the government know, the defense ministry, which is right across the street from us, that they're not going anywhere. They will keep rallying and keep demanding for the release of the hostages.

For them, that's the number one priority. They have heard the government say that's unequal footing with the destruction of Hamas. That's not the message they want to hear. Certainly not here on Hostages Square where there are so many displays of the missing, all the kibbutzes, all the towns they're from. The priority for them is, has always been and will be to secure the release of all of the hostages. And that's the news they're waiting for here tonight again.

COLLINS: Yes, but Oren, I mean, we heard Prime Minister Netanyahu say one of his war goals is to get all of the hostages home. But we've been speaking with many families who, you know, it's their young sons who are being held, brothers-in-law there being held, like all of these male family members, grandfathers even, elderly men -- they are all not slated to be part of this group of 50 that are expected to be released if all goes well and that's still a big if.

What are those families saying tonight when they see other loved ones of other families coming home but they know their families aren't even on that immediate list of hostages who are expected to be released?

LIEBERMANN: So we spoke with one of those families last night here in Hostages Square, a father and his son who were kidnapped, and all they can do is hope, hope that there will be a continuation of the release of hostages, hope that this will extend from the four-day pause that was initially agreed to in exchange for 50 Israeli hostages and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners. That that is extended to greater numbers and that it does come to include the men, even if -- even if there is a process here from the elderly men working down their age. That is the news they're waiting for here.

But it's not just waiting for hope. Part of the campaign here is to put public pressure on the government to act and to make sure that the government acts to secure the release of more of the Israeli hostages. So it is that function that they see themselves here making sure that the government is listening and crucially the war cabinet is listening.

COLLINS: Yes, just so heartbreaking for so many of those families. Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv, thank you.

[11:34:43]

COLLINS: Coming up, it is another anxious day of waiting, and watching. These families who were hopeful that their loved ones will be the ones released today, they've gotten calls from the Israeli government that who is on this list, the question, of course, is we are still waiting to see this actual exchange take place, waiting on that, waiting to see what happens, not just there, but also if that in the subsequent release of the Palestinian prisoners, more aid going into Gaza.

We're covering it from every angle of the story. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The first hostages to be released by Hamas and freed from Gaza are really just now learning the full scope of the October 7th atrocity and its aftermath. One of those hostages is 72-year-old Adina Moshe recovering in a hospital after she was released yesterday. Her family, talking to us about what happened, and how they're telling

her slowly what actually played out on that day because hostages were kept entirely in the dark, literally.

[11:39:55]

COLLINS: Adina's family says that she was kept in the dark for seven weeks. That her eyes struggled to adjust to seeing sunlight for the first time. They informed her that her husband was killed in the October 7th attack.

I spoke to Adina's nephew Eyal Nuri in the past hour about how his aunt is doing, how the family is processing everything that has happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EYAL NURI, NEPHEW OF FREED HOSTASGE: She's emotional. The feelings are mixed because she learned yesterday for the first time that her son Amos Moshe (ph) together with his wife Coreen (ph) and five children are alive. She had no clue what happened to them.

COLLINS: And were they in Nir Oz as well?

NURI: They're in Nir Oz as well. Their house is nearby but they survived the attack because Amos was powerful enough to hold the handle of the safe room and not let the terrorists penetrate.

COLLINS: Wow.

NURI: But she also learned that we buried her husband after she lived with him for 52 years and she learned that their house is completely burned, nothing left, no house, no town, no history.

So it's emotional. Everyone that's been under -- in the tunnel for seven weeks, to go out and first see the sunlight. And she didn't know what they're going to do with her. If they're going to execute her or release her.

COLLINS: When she was being released, she didn't know if it was --

NURI: They didn't know until they saw the Red Cross, they didn't know where they were taking her --

COLLINS: And she was kept -- you told me that she was underground the whole time in darkness?

NURI: She was in the tunnels, yes.

COLLINS: And has she been able to tell you anymore about -- we've heard about how complex these tunnels are, that they go on miles underneath Gaza.

NURI: First of all, this information is still classified. I cannot talk about this.

COLLINS: Ok.

NURI: I want to talk only about Adina and also the reason I'm here is to mention that even though my uncle was murdered by them --

COLLINS: Sa'id.

NURI: She survived and there are still families there. There are still families and we are still holding this one because we care about the other over 200 families, that their loved ones are still there. And after this interview we will go to the Hostages Square in order to support all the other families.

COLLINS: How is she processing just everything, I mean learning not -- she knew her husband was killed, but learning about what's happened to her neighborhood and also just the totality of what happened on October 7th?

You must be giving her the information, you know, just not all at once because you don't want to overwhelm her.

NURI: You are right. We don't give her all the information at once. There are a professional team that's supporting her in order to grasp whatever happened to Israel.

This is not only a private catastrophe. This is a national -- people are supporting her. She needs to get strength back physically even though her mind is very strong.

COLLINS: She's physically weak?

NURI: She's physically weak. But mind is very strong. We saw yesterday when she get out of the car with the terrorists with Hamas, the terrorist gave her a hand and she slap him on his hand, "I will walk alone". This is the spirit.

COLLINS: And that's that video we saw released by Hamas, it's a propaganda video.

NURI: Published over the Twitter, everybody can see that.

COLLINS: But they seem to be -- seeming to act like they're taking care of the hostages that they kidnapped after killing their family members.

NURI: They didn't treat her well. We know that during the past weeks they didn't feed them enough so not only my aunt, all the hostages that were free, you see them, they are skinny and their eyes are shuttered because they cannot adjust to the light after being in the tunnel so long.

COLLINS: Did she have to take an eye test? I mean what's that like when you've been kept in darkness for so long?

NURI: They are -- she's going for a thorough medical exam to check that everything is ok. The overall, she's ok, she's ok.

COLLINS: She must be so happy to see you.

NURI: She's happy to see -- I didn't met her socially yet, first she met her daughters and her son, and today for the first time -- another daughter saw her, (INAUDIBLE) I believe interviewed with CNN a few weeks ago telling about Adina as well.

COLLINS: She did.

NURI: The other family, we are giving her some space, not all at once because we are a very big family. She's not going to survive the hugs from everybody.

COLLINS: Are you looking forward to when you can give her that hug?

NURI: Yes, of course. Of course.

COLLINS: What do you -- you talked about physically her condition that she wasn't able to -- that they didn't feed them enough. Can you just see such a difference in how she was before, and how she is now after being held hostage for so long?

[11:44:49]

NURI: It's very hard to answer this one because we saw that she is walking but doesn't walk as straight as she was before. But I believe in time she will get her strength back because her mind is strong. So her body will be -- get strength as well.

COLLINS: Yes. How will -- for the family who's now with her how is she -- what's her mood?

NURI: Everybody is so happy to see her, to hug her and, you know, for her to see friendly faces After seven weeks in darkness, it's so emotional. So, it is really -- we all excited, so excited. We had yesterday Friday, dinner with my family, and my mother --

COLLINS: Her first shabbat dinner after being back.

NURI: Yes. So, my mother is the sister of Sa'id, we're all sitting next to the tv and crying and tearing and laughing and enjoying. Yes, it's an exciting moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Exciting moment for that family indeed. Of course many families are still waiting on news of what's happening with their loved ones as we have learned from sources that the timing of today's hostage release has been delayed.

Obviously right now we're watching it has not happened yet. Yesterday by this time it was well under way. That's in part because of a dispute over the slowness -- the slow pace of aid trucks going into Gaza, Hamas unhappy with the pace of the effort there.

We'll have an update on what is happening on the ground in just a moment. [11:46:23]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Right now we are checking closely to see whether this four- day truce plan between Israel and Hamas is holding now that we are in the second day. You saw day one, the release of hostages. Now we are on day two, waiting for the release of more hostages today, something that has been delayed as of now.

Palestinians are welcoming the pause in the constant bombardment in Gaza, where it has gotten much quieter than it has been ever since October 7th. Some of them who fled to southern parts of the enclave are now attempting to get back home to the north, but that's a journey that's still too dangerous and the IDF is warning against taking it.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the sounds of life, not death today on the streets of Gaza. For the first time in nearly 50 days. They're 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's 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 2-year-old and her father," say Uma Abdullah (ph) "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.

"We want to get to our homes. They say this is a truce," Mahmoud says. These are 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 on the, quote, "operational lines of the pause" in accordance with the framework of the agreement. But that didn't stop those determines to get back to what's left of their lives.

Sisters Hanim (ph) and Sarda (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 happens 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," Uma Abdullah asked. "We feel like we are dead," she says. They hope it doesn't all start again. All they can do now is prepare for a cruel winter ahead.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And our thanks to Jomana for that report.

I want to turn now to CNN's Larry Madowo who is following all these developments from Cairo. And Larry, what we're hearing from sources is the reason we are not seeing near the activity that we did yesterday as that hostage exchange is under way, is in part what you have been tracking, which is the aid trucks going into Gaza. It's getting close to 7:00 p.m. here, local.

We are still waiting to see the full amount of those aid trucks go in. And Hamas clearly is unhappy with the pace of that. What have you been seeing, what number of trucks do we know that have gone in at this point?

[11:54:44]

MADOWO: So Kaitlan, we know from the Egyptians that 133 trucks have gone in today. That number could have changed. That was from a few hours ago. But if that is the final number for the second day of this truce, that is still fewer than the 137 trucks that went into Gaza yesterday. That was the highest, the largest amount of humanitarian convoy that we've seen come in since October 7th.

And that's part of the unhappiness you see here, because this ramp up of the aid coming into Gaza was a key part of this framework to release the hostages, to swap them with prisoners. And so far, the fact that not many of them are coming in.

There's a quota, 200 trucks are supposed to come in bringing essential food, fuel, water and medical supplies to maintain the humanitarian infrastructure especially in southern Gaza but also reach so many that need it.

The U.N. says 1.7 million people are displaced and so far, we're a little behind schedule here compared to yesterday. By this time we'd already seen some movement and so far, that's not happened yet, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes. Clearly this has become a huge issue in this and a flash point in -- as we are waiting to see if day two is going to go as smoothly as day one. Clearly that is not the case given we have not seen evidence of this hostage exchange happening yet.

Larry Madowo, thank you for that report in Cairo.

We'll continue to check all of these developments.

Thank you so much for joining us for these last few hours.

CNN's coverage of day two of this temporary truce between Israel and Hamas continues right after this with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

[11:56:15]

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