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Hostages Released On First Day Of Ceasefire Agreed To By Israel And Hamas Being Cared For In Israeli Hospitals; Hostage Exchange Between Hamas And Israel On Second Day Of Ceasefire Delayed; Hamas Demands More Palestinian Prisoners Be Released From Israel; Qatari Officials State Obstacles Preventing Release Of Additional Hostages On Second Day Of Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Removed; Biden Administration Monitoring Hostage Exchange Between Israel And Hamas As No Americans Yet Released From Gaza; Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Of Ukraine War Against Kyiv; Former Israeli Ambassador To U.S. Predicts Further Delays In Hostage Exchange Caused By Hamas Trying To Elongate Ceasefire. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired November 25, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:44]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta alongside my colleague Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv. We'll get to you in a moment, Wolf.

We're monitoring breaking news in the Middle East. Tense moments right now as families in Israel await the release of a second group of hostages who have been held by Hamas for an agonizing 49 days now. And just moments ago, we learned of a diplomatic scramble happening behind the scenes as officials from Qatar, the U.S., and Egypt are pushing to sort out the current situation. Right now, Hamas says there is a delay in the handover to the Red Cross. The handover was expected to happen hours ago. They say there is an ongoing dispute about the amount of aid being delivered into Gaza and the selection of Palestinian prisoners set to be released by Israel as part of their brief four-day truce. Israeli officials had told CNN that they were preparing for 13 more hostages to be released today, but so far that has yet to happen.

For more now, let's send it over to Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Fred, thank you very much.

We have team coverage tracking all of these important late developments in this delicate hostage exchange process. CNN's Matthew Chance is here with me in Tel Aviv right now. So I know you're working your sources, you're getting some new information. There's been this delay that's agonizing for so many people who are waiting for their loved ones to come home. What's the latest? What are you learning?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Within the past few minutes, actually, just before we came on the air, the Qataris have issued a statement, and they've been mediating, of course, in this hostage deal, saying that basically the obstacles that were blocking this deal have been overcome by both sides. They played an integral part in that. And that they're suggesting that this deal will go ahead, possibly tonight, in which at least 13 Israeli hostages will be released from Gaza. So the same number as yesterday. An additional seven foreigners as well. Remember, there were lots of, particularly Thai workers, Filipino workers that were also abducted back on October the 7th, many of whom were released yesterday. Some more, the Qataris are saying seven released later on today as part of the second group of hostages.

And in exchange for that, there will be 39 Palestinian civilians in Israeli jails who will be set free as well. It's not just about prisoners, of course. Hamas, the group in Gaza, saying they wanted more aid delivery, more trucks to enter the Gaza Strip. That was one of the reasons they gave for this holdup, a delay in the amount of aid into the Gaza Strip.

They're also concerned, they said, and were kind of perturbed about the fact, they say, that the people, the Palestinians who have been released from Israeli jails were not the people they anticipated would be released. And so those issues now, according to the Qataris, appear to have been resolved. But we haven't heard back from the Israelis yet.

BLITZER: So there's no reaction yet. We did hear from the deputy mayor of Jerusalem in the last hour when I interviewed here saying that the Israeli Defense Ministry is warning that if this hostages, Israeli hostages are not starting to come back, the second group today, they have until midnight, otherwise that truce is going to go away and Israel is going to resume its strikes against Hamas targets.

CHANCE: We're waiting to hear now from the Israeli military, the IDF. There's going to be a briefing, I think, within the next few minutes, if it hasn't started already, in which we're hoping to get some clarity on those remarks and what the context was of them. Clearly, the Israelis are deeply sensitive about the idea that they are pausing their military operation against Hamas in order to allow hostages to be released. If the hostages aren't going to be released, I think there are people within the defense establishment who are itching to get back to the business of destroying Hamas's military infrastructure on the ground.

BLITZER: It's interesting, because it's now after 9:00 p.m. local time here in Tel Aviv, less than three hours until the midnight deadline, if, in fact, there is a midnight deadline, as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem suggested there is. So the clock is ticking right now.

[14:05:02]

You've got to give the Qataris a lot of credit for doing what they're doing.

CHANCE: Absolutely. It's the Qataris that are playing a key role, but also other countries as well. The United States is involved intimately, so are the Egyptians. And so this is very much an international effort to try and make sure that hostages are released, there's aid delivered to Palestinian civilians inside Gaza, that's caused a big humanitarian crisis, of course, the pounding and the cutoff of aid into that area. And so there are lots of different parties that are interested in making sure that what we saw last night, the release of hostages, the delivery of aid, the release of Palestinian prisoners, that that goes ahead again tonight, and potentially for the next several nights as well.

BLITZER: Let's see if that happens. That would be encouraging, if this deal begins to unfold as originally planned. Let's see what happens. A lot at stake. It's a delicate moment, indeed. Excellent reporting, Matthew. Thank you very much.

I want to go to CNN's Nada Bashir. She's joining us from the West Bank. She's near Ramallah out of the West Bank. Now, the Palestinian prisoners will not be handed over, we're told, until these Israeli hostages in the second part of this arrangement are released. So what are you hearing from the families who have gathered where you are?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Wolf, there's certainly been a lot of uncertainty around the release of those Palestinian detainees and prisoners. We understand, of course, that 39 were set to be released today. Just in the last few minutes we have had a new list issued by the Palestinian Prisoner Society listing the 39 names who are potentially set to be released upon confirmation that those Israeli hostages are released from Hamas captivity inside Gaza from the Gaza Strip. That list includes 33 minors, children under the age of 18, and six women.

Now, of course yesterday we did see 39 Palestinians released, including 15 children under the age of 18. The hope is that they will see those 39 released tonight, but of course there has been a lot of uncertainty, a huge amount of delay as well. And for the families who have gathered here, they are only now beginning to go through the list of those names, hopeful that they will see the names of their sons, their daughters, brothers and sisters, and loved ones.

We've been speaking to many families who have gathered at this local municipality building near Ramallah who have told us that they had no information as to whether their relatives would be released, but have come here just waiting in the hope that there would be some positive developments.

Now, of course, as we understand it, that system that we saw in place yesterday should be replicated today, if indeed we see those hostages released. We understand that those prisoners and detainees are currently being held at the Ofer Prison near Ramallah. We were there a little earlier today. We saw those three buses coming in, but those prisoners will be held at this prison until we have that confirmation of the hostages being released. Upon that confirmation, they will then be transported via a Red Cross convoy where they will be transported to their homes.

Now, yesterday we saw a huge outpouring of support, of relief from family members, from locals who came out in the thousands to celebrate the release of these Palestinian detainees and prisoners. As I mentioned, 24 women, 15 children were released yesterday. Many of them were under administrative detention, meaning no charges were laid against them. We're still getting more details about the specifics of tonight's list of Palestinian detainees and prisoners. Of course, as I mentioned, 33 children under the age of 18 are set to be released tonight.

This is, of course, part of the wider 150 Palestinians who are in Israeli custody, set to be released over the course of this four-day truce. We saw earlier in the week a list of 300, which was issued by Israeli authorities of people potentially eligible for release. Again, the vast majority of them are under the age of 18, and amongst the most common charges laid against them was throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and threatening regional security.

Again, still waiting for more details of tonight's release. Many people here are anxious. This has been a hugely unsettling night. It has been quite fluid, and of course, this is a very delicate, fragile diplomatic system that we are seeing. We're still, of course, getting more developments, as you mentioned there, more information from the Qatari side of things. We know that they are scrambling to resolve the delays that we have seen. But there is still a lot of hope here from the Palestinian families waiting to see whether or not their loved ones will, indeed, be released tonight.

BLITZER: A really sensitive moment right now. Nada Bashir near Ramallah for us on the west Bank. Thank you, Nada, for that.

I want to go to Jeremy Diamond right now. He's down at Kerem Shalom, the border crossing into Israel from Egypt and Gaza. Jeremy, the hostages once released may be passing through that border crossing where you are. So set the scene for us. What's being done there right now?

[14:10:05]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Wolf. Preparations have been underway for hours now for these newly freed hostages to drive down this road once they cross into Israel. And for hours now, we have been waiting to see if, indeed, this deal today was salvageable, if the release of these 13 Israeli civilian hostages could potentially still go through today. And now we have word that it appears that it will move forward with the Qatari government announcing that not only will 13 Israeli hostages leave Gaza, but also seven foreign nationals who are outside of the framework of this agreement, and in exchange for that, those 39 Palestinian prisoners released as well.

But I think, Wolf, if yesterday showed the promise, the potential for this agreement and what it could mean for the families of these hostages in the days ahead, today showed the fragility of that agreement as we watched as negotiators for hours today try to salvage this deal over Hamas complaints that not enough aid was being allowed, not only into Gaza, but particularly into the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which I think is really interesting. And in addition to that, there was this dispute over the types of Palestinian prisoners who were being released from Israeli prisons. Hamas arguing that Israel was violating the terms of that part of the agreement. So this has really been a day where we saw so much potentially very

close to falling apart. And, of course, amid all of this, you have the families of those hostages who are waiting, Wolf, to see whether or not they will see their family members tonight. The families of those 13 hostages expected to be released tonight, but also, of course, the families of the other hostages expected to be released in the days ahead. And that is because every family of these hostages, but beyond that, Wolf, everybody in Israel is watching so, so closely to see whether or not this deal can hold.

And, of course, in Gaza as well, civilians there watching to see whether this deal will hold because of the truce, because of the temporary pause in fighting that this deal has delivered, a brief respite for the people in Gaza as well.

BLITZER: And very quickly, Jeremy, walk us through that road that's behind you right now, that border crossing at Kerem Shalom. The Red Cross vehicles carrying the Israeli hostages, we're told, and correct me if I'm wrong, will come down that road to where you are, and then head over to an air base or a helicopter pad and take these hostages to hospitals in and around Tel Aviv, presumably?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right, Wolf. After those civilians cross into Egypt from the Rafah crossing, they then will go less than two miles away, between the Rafah crossing and Kerem Shalom. And that's that crossing right behind me here. You can see the flashing lights of a police car at the junction there. That is the junction where the ambulances, as it was yesterday, or perhaps buses if they choose to do a different situation today, will drive down this road here and head, I'm told, toward hospitals in Israel. They may skip that step altogether of going to the Israeli air force base, which happened yesterday. But this is indeed the road where we will see that convoy, if indeed this deal has been salvaged, as it appears it has been. In a matter of hours, I would expect, Wolf, we will see the convoy coming right down this road heading to meet their family members.

BLITZER: Let's hope that happens. Jeremy Diamond, thanks very much. We'll stay in very close touch with you.

I want to go to CNN's Clarissa Ward right now. She's over at Sheba hospital in Tel Aviv. Clarissa, what's happening there right now. I assume they're preparing and they're hoping to start receiving more Israeli hostages.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. So last night all eyes were on the Schneider Children's Medical Center. Tonight, all eyes on the Sheba Medical Center. This is the largest hospital in Israel, a very large compound. All eyes, really, though, specifically focused on this area, which is the sort of Children's unit, if you will. And actually, we have heard that some of the family members of the hostages who are expected to be brought here are already in the hospital, and they are waiting. You can imagine how agonizing the last few hours has been for them as there has been this uncertainty about whether this release would even proceed. As the reporters speaking before me mentioned, it appears that that is now on course. And we are seeing a lot of preparations under way here as a result.

If I step aside just a little bit, you can see behind me, this is where the ambulance is expected to bring those hostages in. And you can see at that entrance that a large screen has been erected.

[14:15:00]

That is similar to what we saw last night for those hostages as they came off of the helicopter, essentially an effort to protect their privacy, Wolf, because, a, we are dealing with minors, and, b, there are at least several children in this new grouping of roughly 13 hostages expected to be released.

But also, there are just real concerns about the psychological trauma that these hostages have been through, and how difficult it is for them coming home while, on the one hand, wonderful to be reunited with family members. It's important to remember, Wolf, for a lot of them they will just be learning that they have lost family members, they will just be learning that they have lost people in their communities, friends, loved ones. They will just be learning the full scale and scope of what happened in Israel on October 7th.

So huge amount of care being taken here. One staff member telling us that they had been drilling for this for over a month, preparing for a moment like this. They didn't know what it would look like. They tried many different iterations and prepared for many different scenarios. But they are feeling very confident and hopeful that they can provide the best possible care in the most sensitive way to those hostages who will hopefully be arriving here later tonight, Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope. Clarissa ward at Sheba hospital in Tel Aviv. We'll stay in very close touch with you as well.

I want to go to CNN's Oren Liebermann right now. He's also in Tel Aviv. He's over at a place that's become known as hostages square. Oren, what are you hearing from the people who have gathered there? Huge numbers, I take it.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there are thousands here, certainly, perhaps even tens of thousands, who have come to hostages square for what they termed 50,000 for 50. That is, they tried to bring out 50,000 people to mark 50 days in captivity. There is what is effectively a giant timer that's counting up the time that the hostages have been in captivity. It's 49 days, 12 hours and ticking. As it gets toward 50 days in captivity, and that's what they're trying to mark with speeches.

One of the things we've heard over and over again including from families of the hostages, is now, now, now, bring them home now. One of the things I'll point out to you is just over my left shoulder here, and that's on the wall here, the hostages who have been in captivity, with the words on top "bring me home now." Yesterday we were able to change 13 of those pictures as the first hostages came home, and it had a different message for the first time that those had been up there, "I have come home." So as soon as they get the word here, and they've been following this very closely, as soon as they get the word that 13 more hostages have been released, the men who operates that will change those pictures quite quickly, I suspect, to show that another 13 hostages have come home. We've had the opportunity to speak with some of the families of the hostages, including that of 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage in captivity about what it's like to be here. It's a difficult decision for him, he said. Here he explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOSI SHNAIDER, FAMILY MEMBERS HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: I came here today because my family asked me to come. I didn't want to be here, for two reasons. I don't want to look in the eyes of the other families, because I have a lot on my shoulders, and I don't want to carry other people's problems. It's not easy. And the second reason is I don't need to convince anybody to be on my side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Even with thousands here to support each other, frankly, and many here have talked about a new family they created together, all of the families as one larger family, you can see there, it is still difficult to be here, a reminder of how difficult these times are for so many. And even if there is joy in the release of some hostages, there is difficult, agonizing moments ahead for so many others as they wait for news of their loved ones who remain hostages.

It is worth noting that they are following the developments very closely here. They are waiting to hear that the transfer of 13 more women and children has begun from Hamas to the Red Cross to Egypt and then into Israel. That truly will be a moment of unbridled joy here as they call for other hostages to be released as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: It certainly will be. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much. Clarissa Ward, Jeremy Diamond, Nada Bashir, Matthew Chance, thanks to you guys as well.

For much more, I want to bring in right now CNN's Arlette Saenz. She's joining us from Nantucket where President Biden is spending the Thanksgiving weekend. Arlette, what are you hearing, first of all, from the Biden administration? And what do we know about the efforts to get American hostages freed? There are some who are still being held captive.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wel, Wolf, we're learning just right now that President Biden was personally engaged on these discussions to try to get this hostage release back on track this morning. He was briefed throughout the morning as the situation was developing. And around 10:00 a.m. eastern time, President Biden himself spoke with the Emir of Qatar as well as the Qatari prime minister to talk about some of the holdups to the deal and the mechanisms that they could put in place to try to resolve those issues.

[14:20:11]

That is according to a National Security Council spokesperson. Then throughout the morning and the afternoon, the U.S. was working with their counterparts, officials in Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, to try to work through these issues. And ultimately at around 1:30 p.m., White House officials were informed that the issues had been resolved and that the International Red Cross would be moving to try to collect these hostages. President Biden was then updated as the White House learned about this information.

And it comes as President Biden just yesterday had talked about the importance of trying to ensure that this deal remains on track. Officials have been so keened in on making sure that the implementation of this deal followed exactly what had been outlined. And even as there was a delay today, the White House and President Biden personally became engaged with his foreign counterparts to talk through ways to resolve this dispute.

Now, it comes as the U.S. is not anticipating that any Americans will be part of this release that's expected to come in the coming hours. President Biden and the White House have said that they are hopeful that there will be about three Americans, two women, and that young four-year-old girl, Abigail Edan, who will be released as part of this larger deal to release at least 50 women and children. But so far, they have been unable to pinpoint exactly which day they anticipate the release of those Americans to come, just simply saying that they anticipate it will be in the coming days.

So hopefully in the coming hours this next release will be getting back on track, and the White House will be watching this very closely as well as continuing to work to try to get those Americans home as well.

BLITZER: Let's hope they all get home and get home soon. Arlette Saenz reporting for us. She's traveling with the president.

As some Israelis reunite with their family members who were released by Hamas on Friday, others whose loved ones are still being held hostage are dealing with very, very difficult, very painful emotions. What they're saying, we'll have details right after a quick break.

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[14:26:23]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news. Only moments ago, Qatar announced a dispute holding up today's hostage release has been resolved, and now we expect 13 Israelis and seven foreigners will be released by Hamas tonight. This is very welcome news for some families who will soon be reunited.

But I spoke to some other families yesterday who remain in a tortuous state of limbo.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MALKI SHEM TOV, SON HELD IN GAZA: We are in 49 days of nightmare.

BLITZER (voice-over): As 13 Israeli hostages are released by Hamas, the loved ones of captives left behind are grappling with difficult emotions. Malki Shem Tov's son Omer is among those still in Gaza and not expected to be included in this deal between Israel and Hamas to release some women and children.

SHEM TOV: Today is a special day and a very happy day for some of the families. And, of course, we are very happy for them. But we wish Omer was maybe 18 so he could maybe on the list.

BLITZER: Omer is 21 years old.

SHEM TOV: Omer is 21 years old, so he's not part of this releasing.

BLITZER: That pain shared by Meirav Leshem Gonen who said she was told her daughter Romi would not be in this first group.

MEIRAV LESHEM GONEN, DAUGHTER HELD IN GAZA: On one hand, I'm very happy for the ones that will return. On the other hand, probably my daughter would not be, it's not today for sure, but I'm not sure for the next day, but it's a very harsh game.

BLITZER: Now she waits for tomorrow's expected release of hostages and the next days, and the next.

GONEN: Imagine she will be, she will not, she will be, she will not. It's impossible. It's impossible to live like that from day to day. She's the glue. She's light, she's in the middle. She's considered the most beautiful kid in the family. And we miss her because her energy is missing in the family.

MORAN TAYAR, NEPHEW AND WIFE HELD IN GAZA: They met about 20 years ago.

BLITZER: Moran Tayar knows the harsh reality that her nephew Yagev may remain hostage even if his wife, Rimon, is eventually freed.

TAYAR: It's very difficult to hear that probably they won't be in that place, so we still have hope at least with Rimon, but we are not sure. It's really confusing and really frustrating and painful for us.

BLITZER: The uncertainty hangs over these families.

GONEN: What are the steps, when do we meet them, and this is something which I don't know yet.

SHEM TOV: It's a long, long, long 50 days.

BLITZER: But these families still hold out hope, advocating for more releases.

TAYAR: There is still a chance and obligation of all the international community and the Israeli government to bring them back home. If not this time, it should be very, very close to this time.

BLITZER: And imagining the day they are the ones reunited with their loved ones. GONEN: I feel she's strong and she's alive. I think the first thing that I will tell her is I love you. So I think she will just -- she will run to me, because I know our connection is so strong. And I know she will come and just tell me, mother, just hug me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: There are fast-moving developments here in Israel as well as in Gaza as we await the release of a second group of hostages being held by Hamas.

Our special live coverage will continue right after a quick break.

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[14:34:10]

BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv for this special CNN coverage. And this just into CNN, we're following some breaking news. We've just learned an Egyptian convoy has begun moving to the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing.

Joining us now, CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo who is joining us from Cairo right now. So you're getting more information, Larry. What are you learning? What's the latest?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're learning, according to an eyewitness, that this convoy of Egyptian ambulances and a bus, is on the move from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to Gaza. They will then receive the hostages from the Red Cross and bring them over back to the Egyptian side, where they'll be handed over to the Israeli medical professionals and the Israeli security agency. They have been on standby for most of the day.

[14:35:00]

This handover should have happened hours ago, but as we now know, there was a bit of a holdup there, with Hamas unhappy about the amount of aid coming into Gaza, especially into northern Gaza. And after mediation from the Egyptians and the Qataris and with the involvement of the U.S., that appears to be all resolved. And now this is happening.

If this is going ahead according to plan, Wolf, it means that this handover is imminent, maybe even within the hour we should see these hostages back here on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, 13 Israelis and seven foreigners, we don't know their nationalities at this point. But it's a big moment, at least showing that the second day of this four-day truce has gone ahead according to plan. And despite those hiccups, there's still hope that more hostages will be released as part of this process, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, there are some Thai workers and Filipino workers who were working at those kibbutzim along the border with Gaza who were taken hostage by Hamas in addition to the Israelis. We're waiting for all the breaking news to unfold. Hopefully, this second wave of hostage release will begin and begin soon. Larry, when you get more information, let us know. Thank you very much. Larry Madowo is in Cairo for us.

And we will have much more on all of our breaking coverage right after this.

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[14:40:32]

WHITFIELD: We're continuing to monitor developments surrounding the hostage deal between Hamas and Israel. Tense moments right now as families in Israel await the release of a second group of hostages. A spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry said the obstacles causing a delay in the implementation of the hostage and prisoner release have now been resolved, and the hostage release is resuming. They also said 39 Palestinian civilians will be released in exchange for 13 Israeli detainees from Gaza, in addition to seven foreign nationals outside the framework of the agreement. Eight women and five children are expected to be among those released.

And then just moments ago, an eyewitness told CNN that a convoy of Egyptian ambulances and a bus to receive hostages from the Red Cross in Gaza is on the move. It is heading from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing to the Gaza side.

We're also following breaking news in Ukraine. Earlier today, Russia launched its largest drone attack in Kyiv since the beginning of the war, forcing its 3 million residents to take cover. The Ukrainian air force says its defense systems destroyed 74 out of 75 Russian drones. However, several residential buildings were damaged from the debris.

CNN's Anna Coren has more on this unprecedented assault.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russia has launched the largest number of attack drones on the Ukrainian capital ever since it launched its invasion on this country in February of last year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says this attack was a deliberate act of terror.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, loud explosions could be heard all over Kyiv as the capital's air defense systems worked in overdrive. Just after 2:30 a.m., an unprecedented swarm of drones began to attack Kyiv from multiple directions, terrorizing its more than 3 million residents. And 75 drones Shahed drones were launched by Russia. Authorities say 74 were shot down. Debris from one of the downed drones hit this kindergarten in the city's suburbs. Meters away, hundreds of residential apartments. Shattered windows, a sign of how close the war had come, too close for Yevheniya and her two young daughters.

YEVHENIYA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): I sent the children into the hallway and we're waiting for this to pass, like always. But then we had a huge explosion. We thought our house was going to be destroyed.

COREN: The residents here in Kyiv are used to hearing the air raid sirens and the explosions of the air defense systems working overtime, but nothing quite like this. For more than six hours, there was a barrage of Shahed drones targeting the capital. And this behind me is the result of one of those drones shot down.

Inside the kindergarten, one of the teachers is distraught. "All my life I've worked here." Look at the destruction," she comments.

Her colleague says "Everything is OK. We will clean this up, don't worry. Thank God everyone is alive."

Five-year-old Yaroslava looks through the fence at a playground she would frequent every day.

YAROSLAVA, KINDERGARTEN STUDENT (through translator): That's my kindergarten. I had music and dancing classes in this building. I feel sad the drone came and destroyed my school.

COREN: Her mother, Natalya (ph), in tears, thinking this was supposed to be a safe place for her only child.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's very painful to see this.

COREN: Residents in Kyiv and across the country have been expecting this. Russia has spent months stockpiling weapons specifically aimed at targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure as the temperatures plunge. And with winter now here, these people know this is just the beginning.

YEVHENIYA: We've gotten used to this, but I don't want to get used to it.

[14:45:00]

COREN: Falling drone debris damaged several residential buildings around Kyiv. The commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, General Zaluzhnyi says this is war. Back to you.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Anna Coren, thank you so much.

We're continuing to follow fast-moving developments in Israel and in Gaza as we await the release of a second group of hostages by Hamas. Our special coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're continuing to monitor the important developments surrounding the hostage deal between Hamas and Israel. Very, very tense moments right now as families in Israel await the release of a second group of hostages.

[14:50:00]

A spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry said the obstacles causing the delay in the implementation of the hostage and prisoner release deals have now been resolved, and the hostage release is resuming. And just moments ago, an eyewitness told CNN that a convoy of Egyptian ambulances and a bus to receive hostages from the Red Cross in Gaza is on the move.

I want to bring in right now Michael Oren to discuss all these late breaking developments. He's the former Israeli ambassador to the United States. He's also a former member of the Israeli Knesset, the parliament. Is it your understanding, Michael, that the deal is back on?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: That's my understanding, but, again, you never really know, Wolf, with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization. It's like negotiating with Al Qaeda or ISIS. They're going to move the football wherever they can, and they're not going to negotiate in good faith. So they could call it off at the last minute. They could have the people on that list, the list of Israeli, it could be an inaccurate list, because Hamas is dealing not just with terrorizing us physically. It's terrorizing us emotionally. And think about what these poor families have gone through the last minute.

And they're even moving the football on the United States, because here apparently no American citizens are being released for the second time, and Hamas is trying to drive a wedge between the United States and Israel, getting the United States to put more pressure on Israel to extend the ceasefire.

BLITZER: As you know, there was a very, very intense diplomatic scramble to try to resolve these late-breaking issues. What do you expect was happening behind the scenes?

OREN: Well, I think the United States was saying to the Qataris, you better produce. The Qataris are in kind of a tough bind, and they deserve to be in a tough bind. They're the primary sponsors of Hamas. They actually host some of the senior Hamas officials who live in great luxury in their capital of Doha. And so they get to play both sides of the game, typical Qatari movement. They support Hamas, and then they get credit for getting Hamas to release the hostages. But they have to produce.

So the White House, the administration was calling the Qataris and saying, you better produce. And Israel was calling the United States and saying, we're waiting for this deal to come through. We've done our end, we've gotten the aid trucks in, we're releasing these Palestinian prisoners from our jails. Where is the other side? Again, we don't expect Hamas to be an honest broker. It is not an honest broker. But the Qataris have more on the line here. They are an ally of the United States. They also host a major American naval base. So they are expected to be honest brokers here, and I think all the pressure was on Qatar.

BLITZER: Do you believe this truce is the right thing for Israel to be doing?

OREN: I think "right" is the wrong word, that's all. It's the inevitable thing for Israel to do. Israel came into being, we always say, as a democratic and Jewish state, but it also had a dual sort of security character to it, Wolf. On one hand, Israel came into being saying we are going to secure the land of Israel, the state of Israel. But the state of Israel also promised its citizens that it would secure those citizens, ensure the sanctity of their lives.

So on one hand, the Israeli army can launch a preemptive strike against Egypt in 1967 to guard the land, but it also sends commandos out to Entebbe to save Israelis who have been hijacked there. So it's that dual nature. So Hamas did both. It attacked the land and attacked the people. And so Israel in response has to do both. It has to defend the land and it has to defend the people.

So what they did, basically, was declare two goals to this war. One was to destroy Hamas. The other was to rescue the hostages. And the way Israel did this was by putting pressure on Hamas, by that ground incursion. It's important to say that without that ground incursion these negotiations probably wouldn't even have taken place to begin with. But at the end of the day, you're still going to have that contradiction, because I don't think anybody thinks that Hamas is going to give up all of the hostages, because once it does, Israel will be able to destroy Hamas. Israel will be able to say, flood the tunnels, the way the Egyptians used to, with seawater. So Hamas has got to hold on to those hostages. And at the end of the day, Israel is going to have some even more painful choices.

You and I both remember 1982 in Beirut, Wolf, when Israel had Beirut surrounded. I was there, you were probably there, and we made a deal with the PLO to evacuate the city. We put them all on boats and Yasser Arafat floated off to Tunis somewhere, right. I can see an ending of this war similar, where Hamas would hold on to these hostages to the last minute. The hostages are their get out of Gaza free card, and maybe they would float off somewhere to Algeria or Libya, someplace suitably horrible, and return the last of those hostages.

But we're still a distance from that, and the big challenge now will be for Israel to renew the combat after the end of these five days, because the pressure is going to be on not renew it after the five days.

[14:55:08]

BLITZER: So do you think -- are you expecting, Michael, this agreement that worked well yesterday, day one, will stay in place over at least the next few days and more Israeli hostages will be freed?

OREN: I expect further hiccups, because that's what Hamas does. It's going to continue to commit emotional terrorism against Israelis, against these families. Remember, the main goal, always the main goal of Hamas is the ceasefire, the ceasefire, the ceasefire. Ceasefire means Hamas gets away with mass murder. Ceasefire means Israel loses. We have 250,000 displaced people within our country who can't go back to their homes because Hamas is simply going to regroup and rearm and do it again. That's what the Hamas leaders themselves say. So at the end of the day, Israel has to not get into a situation where it is being forced to agree to that ceasefire.

Hamas, on the other hand, is going to do everything it can possibly to get the ceasefire, putting pressure on Israel internally by ramping up the emotional distress of the families of the hostages. And you see that. You've been covering that demonstration in downtown Tel Aviv, 100,000 people protesting for a ceasefire, that's internally. But then in the world, the growing calls for ceasefire from foreign governments, not from the Biden administration yet, which is very admirable, but from other foreign countries, some of them quite close to us.

So that puts the Israeli government in a very difficult bind. So I think that Hamas is going to try to ramp up that pressure every way it can, delays, also technical problems. The lists aren't going to be accurate. You'll see. This is the way Hamas negotiates. It broke the ceasefire of October 7th, didn't it? It breaks every ceasefire. So I think that that, again -- the last point, keep in mind that this ceasefire will cost us in terms of our soldiers' lives, because when the fighting does resume, Hamas will be in a better position to fight.

BLITZER: Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, thanks so much for joining us.

OREN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we'll be back with much more news on the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in just a moment. There's more breaking news developing. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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