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Israel Receives List Of Hostages To Be Released Saturday; All Former Hostages Receiving Medical Care In Tel Aviv; U.N. Announces 137 Trucks Of Aid Entered Gaza Friday; Russia Launches Record Number Of Drones; Group Of 24 Hostages Released By Hamas Friday; Ten Thai, One Filipino, Citizens Free On First Day Of Truce; War's Toll Tempers Joy For Freed Palestinians; Derek Chauvin Assaulted In Federal Prison. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 25, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thank you so much for joining us on CNN NEWSROOM. I am Laila Harrak.

We begin this hour in Israel, where 13 Israeli citizens and 11 foreign nationals are back in Israel after being held hostage by Hamas for 49 days. The four-day pause in the fighting that made their release possible is now into day two and appears to be holding.

Israel says it has received a list of Israeli hostages, who should be released sometime Saturday, and has notified their families. According to an Israeli source, several children are also on this latest list.

All of the people released were taken to several Tel Aviv hospitals for medical evaluations. And one family member spoke with CNN about his loved ones finally coming home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYAL MOR, RELATIVE OF THREE RELEASED HOSTAGES: We were fortunate enough to have those three, the dear loved ones, come back to us today. Initial updates that we got is that they are in good shape, both physically and mentally, very important, including the boy, Ohad, who turned 9, 9 years old during his captivity.

And so we are all happy that they are OK in that sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Among the non Israelis who were released were 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino. They are getting checked out at the same medical center near Tel Aviv. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now from Istanbul.

Scott, remind us again how the first day of the truce unfolded.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laila. It was 7 am local time in Israel yesterday, that the truce actually began, we're now more than 24 hours later. It was nine hours since the truce, began, before the hostages actually started to be released from Gaza.

And the prisoners started to be released from the Palestinian side -- or the Israeli side as well. The truce is holding. If you ask the Egyptians, they'll say it's because in part the Israelis have agreed to suspending their surveillance flights over Gaza.

And because there are now 137 trucks of aid that have gotten into Gaza, that's the most since the war began. Whether or not the truce holds is another question. It's expected to go on for four days, three more now. But it could go on longer than that.

There would be 10 hostages released, 30 Palestinian prisoners from Israel, released for every day that it goes on beyond the initial four. Whether that can happen is another question. The Israelis have made it very clear that this war will continue when this is all done.

Of the initial 13 Israelis who were released, all but one were from the Nir Oz kibbutz. This is the place where a quarter of the residents were either murdered or taken hostage in the brutal terror attack on October 7th.

The oldest, 85 years old; the youngest just 2 years old; they were taken to Egypt and driven back into Israel before boarding helicopters to be taken to hospitals for evaluation.

And in Tel Aviv, where at least one of those helicopters landed, people actually in the streets clapped and cheered upon seeing the ambulances carrying them drive by. This is highly emotional.

Hamas also used this opportunity to put out its own version of what happened in terms of the release. It released an edited video; there is no sound in this video. Obviously CNN had no control over the content of it. And Hamas is showing the world what it wants them to see.

But it shows Hamas fighters lifting 9 year old boy, Ohad Munder, into a Red Cross vehicle. Another Hamas fighter lifts an elderly person, carries an elderly person in his arms. And people cheered in those videos.

And Hamas has plenty to cheer about in all of this because it has very few good cards to play in this war. But the hostages are certainly one of them; 39 Palestinian prisoners also being released.

And this is also frankly a chance for Hamas to burnish its credentials in the West Bank, where it does not have control, where the Palestinian Authority is in control.

[02:05:00]

MCLEAN: On the Palestinian side, Laila, you saw prisoners taken from two prisons on Israeli territory, driven into the West Bank to a third prison located there. And from there, the release of people took place. There were celebrations in the streets. People waving Palestinian flags, Hamas flags as well. Of the 39 prisoners, there were 22 women; two of them were girls and

then there were 15 teenage boys, ranging in age between 14 and 18. In terms of who may be released from there, those numbers leave only 11 women eligible for release out of the list of potential prisoners that could be released, that Israel has put out there in the public.

So the rest would be boys, teenage boys, again, some as young as 14 up to 18 years old as well. Most people on that list or many people on that list are accused of relatively minor crimes-- throwing rocks, harming regional security. Others are accused or convicted of much more serious offenses as well.

And in the days ahead, Laila, it is important to make clear that, look, this all seems quite delicate. Everything has to go according to the plan that has been set out. The Red Cross is implementing this on the ground.

But even yesterday there were some clashes that took place outside the prison, inside the West Bank, where people had gathered to watch this release. The IDF used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said two teenagers, actually a 12-year old and a 16 year old, I should say, were shot and injured in those clashes. We have reached out to the IDF for comment. But you can bet that there are a lot of people on both sides of this who hope the fragile truce will hold, so their loved ones can finally go back home.

HARRAK: Scott McLean, reporting from Istanbul, thank you so much, Scott.

We will show you the moment when some of those hostages were released by Hamas. They were reunited with their families at hospitals in Israel.

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HARRAK (voice-over): People cheering and clapping as three of five elderly women were transported by ambulances from a helicopter to the Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv.

Eight other hostages, four children, three mothers and a grandmother, were taken to a children's medical center near Tel Aviv. Officials say they're in good physical condition and will undergo a medical assessment.

And 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino national, who were also freed by Hamas, were taken to a hospital southeast of Tel Aviv and are undergoing medical examinations.

Joining us now from southern Gaza is Pascal Hundt, a crisis response director of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Sir, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, describe the role of the ICRC in the hostage release process and in Gaza.

PASCAL HUNDT, CRISIS RESPONSE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Good morning.

The role of the ICRC in this process is quite simple. It is to implement the deal, the agreement between the parties. We were not part of the negotiation. We are not aware of the details and how and exactly what is in the contents of this agreement.

But as a neutral intermediary -- and I think this is the core of our mandate, to facilitate the release and the transfer of either the hostages or the Palestinian detainees. We are in contact with the parties and as usual, we are really here to fact (ph) the implementation on the ground.

HARRAK: Pascal, do please share with us -- and I'm very sorry. I was not able to hear your response because I'm having some technical issues here with my sound.

Do share with us what happened after the handover of the hostages.

What did the captives tell you?

What where their first reactions?

The first words?

Describe that moment for us.

HUNDT: An extremely emotional moment, as you can imagine. They were held captive for quite a while and I think that just by seeing the Red Cross, we could see the eyes, that finally there was hope for them.

So we took them, we reassured them and we were together with them throughout the journey.

[02:10:00]

HUNDT: Down to the Rafah crossing border, at the Egyptian border.

HARRAK: And Pascal, how would you describe your exchanges with the hostages?

What did you tell them?

Were you able to reassure them, that they know what was going on?

How did they strike you?

And did they share any of their experiences from being held captive for so long?

Did they tell you how they had been treated?

HUNDT: We did everything to reassure them. There was a medical doctor with our team. There was aid at the gates and four cars (ph) as you may have seen on TVs. And I think what was the most important at that time is really the proximity and the human touch that we could provide. So to reassure them and say that everything was OK, they were together with the Red Cross and they were going back home. I think we did focus on that. We did not have time to debrief them, to discuss on how were the conditions before.

And I think this is that professionals are taking care of that. But in this moment of extreme intention and crisis, I think it's important that a human being, we can show some empathy. We can reassure them, just to ensure that the journey is back.

It takes a moment to go back to normal life. And I think we should not speed up the process and we do it step-by-step. And our presence, discussing with them, I think bring them some assurances.

And we could see along the road they felt much better. They were much at ease during the transport. So this is basically what happened during the journey, when we took them, until we handed over, handed them over at the Egyptian border.

HARRAK: And I want to ask you, does the ICRC have access to the remaining hostages in Gaza?

HUNDT: Again, the ICRC is part of implementing that deal. And we believe it is of utmost importance, because the truce is fragile. At the same time these are massive needs for more humanitarian aid to come.

So I think we are mindful of the fact that this part of the agreement is of critical importance, not only for the hostages and the Palestinian detainees but for the entire population in Gaza.

When it comes to visiting the hostages or visiting the Palestinian detainees in Israel, this is part of our bilateral dialogue we have with the parties. And you will understand that I cannot disclose any details there because I do not want to jeopardize any outcome of this bilateral discussion we are currently having with the relevant parties.

HARRAK: Absolutely, Pascal, and we would not want to put you in that position, either. The ICRC plays such a crucial role also in Gaza.

Have you been able to access Gaza?

Have your teams been able to reach civilians there?

Are you able to provide, for instance, medical care during this four day truce?

HUNDT: Yes, not only during the truce but before, since the beginning of the conflict. We have increased our presence, our support here. We have a surgical team in one of the hospitals here. We do support various hospitals in the south and in the north.

We do provide, for example, solar panels to shelters, where displaced people are there so that they can have light. They can -- we also have them with water. So yes, indeed, we have increased our presence. We are increasing them.

I will take this opportunity maybe to share with you what we see here, just to give you the scope of the disaster.

We are present in the European Gaza Hospital, together with local doctors. And this hospital did play a critical role in the recent day to receive patients coming from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south. And medical triage was set up there with this report of the ICRC.

But just to give you the magnitude of the problem, yesterday, during the day, more than 800 patients came spontaneously from the north in order to receive medical care in the south, 800 patients. In my whole, entire career with the ICRC, almost 30 years, I never saw such an influx.

[02:15:00]

HUNDT: Yesterday afternoon, 107 ambulances and a bus with 50 patients came from the north to the south. And you can imagine how overwhelmed the hospitals are here. The entire aid system is about to collapse.

So we are trying to do our best, not only to be actively involved, trying to facilitate the transfer and the release of those hostages and of the Palestinian detainees but also to provide critical support to the health system, alongside with the United Nations and other humanitarian actors.

That is why it is so important that the truce is holding because, basically, we have almost 2 million people depending on the future, depending on this truce. And if this is not holding, there, even dire situation that we see every day, that we cannot even describe with our own words, will get even worse.

HARRAK: So much at stake, as you there eloquently shared with us. Pascal Hundt, thank you very much and thank you for your very important work.

HUNDT: Thank you very much.

HARRAK: And still ahead at this hour -- and still ahead this hour, another group of Israeli hostages set to be released in the coming hours. What we are expecting as the second day of the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas appears to be holding.

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HARRAK: The United Nations says 137 trucks filled with humanitarian goods were off-loaded in Gaza on Friday, the first day of the truce. It is the largest aid convoy into Gaza since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.

The U.N. humanitarian affairs office says 129,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of cooking gas were also delivered to Gaza on Friday. And the agency says the food, water, medical supplies and other essential items will help hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza, who desperately need them.

A U.S. official says American forces in Iraq and Syria were attacked four separate times on Thanksgiving. CNN's Alex Marquardt has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The number of attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria has now shot past 70 in just the past few weeks. Four attacks alone on Thanksgiving Day.

On Thursday, according to the Pentagon, rockets and drones were used to try to strike two bases in Iraq and two sites in Syria. There was no damage reported nor were there casualties, according to the Pentagon but the growing attacks highlight the concerns about a wider conflict that could draw in U.S. troops.

The U.S. has retaliated and tried to send a message of deterrence. The Pentagon says, including hitting two locations in Iraq earlier this week, which belonged to the Iran-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah, following an earlier attack by the group with close range ballistic missiles.

In all, the U.S. has now carried out four sets of airstrikes for these dozens of strikes against U.S. and coalition forces. The U.S. strikes included three in Syria against facilities tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Iran-backed proxy groups.

The Pentagon argues that the deterrence is working because the conflict has not yet spread more widely in the Middle East -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

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HARRAK: We're getting word of an unprecedented wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine. Officials said Russia launched a record number of drones Saturday morning with most of them targeting the capital, Kyiv. At least two people were wounded and there are multiple fires in the city.

Anna Coren joins us now live from Kyiv with more on these developments.

Good morning.

What is happening right now?

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Laila, as you say, this is the largest drone attack on Kyiv since the Russian invasion of February of last year; 75 Shahed drones were launched at Ukraine, 71 of them were shot down.

But the primary target was the capital. We heard loud explosions very early this morning. This all began just after 2:30 am as the air defense systems really worked overtime. You could also hear the buzz of drones in the air.

Our producer, Dasha, heard a drone fly past her home. There has been damage throughout the city, a residential building as well as a kindergarten. We understand this is from debris of the drones shot down.

Two people, as you mentioned, were injured. President Zelenskyy has spoken, saying that this is a deliberate act of terror.

Now I think what is also interesting is that this has come from multiple angles toward the capital. And it certainly was very intense. And as we have since discovered from authorities, the biggest attack launched on Kyiv.

For two months, almost two months, Laila, there was nothing. And then in the last couple of weeks, the attacks toward the capital have stepped up. But overnight, this is without a doubt the most that the capital has been attacked with.

Now Ukrainians have been expecting this. The Russians have been stockpiling their weapons, their drones their, missiles. And the whole aim is to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

This is now winter. It has been snowing the past couple of days. It might be blue skies now. But these are freezing temperatures. Russia's aim is to hit Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

[02:25:00]

COREN: Just like they did last year.

HARRAK: Anna Coren, thank you so much for your continued coverage on these developments.

And next, in a trilateral call, U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken and his counterparts in South Korea and Japan condemned North Korea's latest launch. Pyongyang claims it sent its spy satellite into orbit earlier this week.

South Korea calls it a clear violation of a U.N. resolution that prohibits the North from using ballistic missile technology. But North Korea promised that more launches are coming to strengthen its self defense.

I am Laila Harrak. For those of you watching internationally, "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is up next. And if you're watching in the U.S. and Canada, another half hour of news is coming up after the break. See you soon.

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HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and Canada. I'm Laila Harrak and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

As we await more details about the Israeli hostages being released on Saturday, we want to show you a video of the first hostages as they were about to be released on Friday.

The video was taken and edited by Hamas and is mostly without any sound. CNN has no control over the content and as we show it to you now, our Matthew Chance explains what it shows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They kidnapped and killed but now Hamas is showing its gunman releasing Israelis in Gaza. For many, these are disturbing scenes. Nine year old, Ohad Munder being embraced, as he set free, then a woman being carried by a masked man as Palestinians cheer.

For 49 long days of captivity in Gaza, aid workers from the Red Cross drive them through the border into Egypt and to freedom. Egyptian television shows a convoy of vehicles heading to the crossing.

Then the hostages including 10 Thais, a Filipino and the 13 Israeli women and children disembarking for checks. Israeli military posted this grainy video of the moment they all finally reentered the country. A step says the Israeli Prime Minister toward bringing all hostages home.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have just completed the return of the first of our hostages, children, their mothers and additional women. Each one of them is a whole world. But I emphasize to you the families and to you, citizens of Israel, we are committed to return all our hostages.

CHANCE (voice-over): Most of the hostages released in this first group under the temporary truce were taken from Nir Oz, one of the small Israeli communities near Gaza ravaged by Hamas on October the seventh. At least 38 people there were killed and more than 70 abducted.

People like Daniel Aloni and her five year old daughter, Emilia, both freed in this latest release but the relatives they were visiting when Hamas attacked remain unaccounted for as hostages.

Doron Katz Asher and her two young daughters have also now been set free but her partner remains in Gaza. Behind every release, a poignant reminder of those left behind. Like the family of Omri Almog, his brother in law and niece killed, his sister and her three children still hostages. Yet Omri is now optimistic. OMRI ALMOG, FAMILY KIDNAPPED AND KILLED BY HAMAS: The best is in front of us is going to come. Whatever happened we cannot change. Nadav is not longer with us. Yam, the beautiful girl is not with us anymore. But --

CHANCE: There's still a chance. There's still a chance for your sister.

ALMOG: Yes, yes, yes, yes. We have to bring what left, we need to bring back what's left from this family. It's a broken family.

CHANCE (voice-over): A broken family in a country of shattered lives -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Well, Friday's release included 11 foreign nationals, 10 Thai and one Filipino citizen. They were freed as part of a separate agreement. Israel says they are spending their first morning of freedom at a hospital southeast of Tel Aviv, undergoing medical evaluations. Manisha Tank is in Singapore with the details.

Good day, Manisha. Tell us about the Thai and Filipino hostages that were released.

And what has been the reaction, to the news of their release?

MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: Laila, I think as you can imagine the reaction here has been one of hope, one of relief, it's been very, very emotional. It was also a bit of a surprise to some of the families of hostages from Thailand, from the Philippines, to see their loved ones on screens, walking into a bus and then realizing that actually they were now free.

So let me tell you some of those stories. Amongst those 10 Thai nationals who were released, there was one Nitawari Muncan (ph). Her mother actually reported how she cried with happiness when she realized just by her hairstyle and the way she walks that it was indeed her daughter on the video that she could see.

Muncan (ph) has an 8-year-old daughter, who would have been extremely anxious knowing not where her mother was, realizing she was a hostage of Hamas. Let's take the story to the Filipino that has been released.

[02:35:00]

TANK: This is Jimmy Pacheco. He is a family man, he is a 33-year-old father of three, obviously great relief from his family.

But again a surprise to those who know him, that he was amongst that batch of hostages to be released today. Now you mentioned the hospital. Do realize that many of these hostages have been through absolute trauma as a result of this whole experience.

They have witnessed atrocities and it would take great time to heal. But it's interesting that it was reported that Jimmy is undergoing emotional tests as well in hospital.

You know, this is going to be something that they will be dealing with for a long time. Many of these migrants who have found themselves caught up in the horrors that we have seen in Gaza over the last few weeks.

HARRAK: And Manisha in closing, we understand that there are other Thai nationals still being held in Gaza as we speak.

TANK: That's right. We understand from Thai authorities there are still some 20 Thai nationals being held hostage; also from the Philippines, a Filipina. We don't know her whereabouts. So there is great concern as well as hope that they may come home soon but great concern about where they are, what will happen to them.

The Thai government today effectively making an appeal to Hamas, saying that it hopes the remaining hostages will be treated humanely and also released as soon as possible.

Just one last note. It is not well-known that there are tens of thousands of migrant workers from Asia working in Israel. And of those groups, the Thais are probably -- Thailand sends probably the greatest number of migrant workers to Israel. That is one reason we see such high numbers of them being caught up in this conflict.

HARRAK: Manisha Tank in Singapore, thank you very much.

And live now to Tel Aviv and Dr. Daphna Dollberg, a clinical and developmental psychologist at The Academic College of Tel Aviv Yaffo. She joins us now.

Doctor, thank you so much for your time. Among the hostages that returned, the youngest just 2 years old.

How challenging will the recovery, especially for the children be?

And what are your immediate concerns?

DR. DAPHNA DOLLBERG, CLINICAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST, THE ACADEMIC COLLEGE OF TEL AVIV YAFFO: Well, what we think and we know from previous data about war on children and natural disasters -- there is no information about captivity of such young children.

But what we know is that the younger children are actually most fragile. And unlike what we would like to think, young children do remember traumatic events.

But because their language is not well developed and they are less equipped to process and communicate what they went through, they will show their distress through bodily reactions, like maybe refusal to eat or sleep or becoming physically sick.

Or they may show their distress by behavioral manifestations and developmental regressions and sometimes even developmental arrest. We hope that whatever arrest will be temporary. But they may show it and they are definitely going to be very

confused, very scared and on guard and fearful for a long time, despite being in a safe place. They may be very hypervigilant.

And the most devastating thing, it's their failure to trust the adults around them, even and maybe particularly their parents because, in their mind, in their childish mind, the parent did not protect them.

So I suspect we'll see many signs of PTSD -- post trauma stress disorder -- and we will need a long time to reestablish a sense of safety and protection and trust in these young children.

HARRAK: It's all incredibly heartbreaking, what you outline there, and it is difficult for anyone really to imagine what hostages have experienced.

So in terms of treatment, how do you go about helping former hostages come to terms with the trauma of their captivity?

DOLLBERG: Thinking about the young children -- because this is my expertise.

[02:40:00]

DOLLBERG: To recover from trauma, the child needs, and particularly the young ones, they depend on the ability of their parents and the adults around them to support them, to talk, to listen to what happened to them and to explain the events to them in honest, trustful yet protective and age-appropriate manner.

And really, listen to what the child expresses through words or play, while the adult around can comfort them. But the tragedy in this case is that the parents, most of them were either in captivity themselves, some were murdered. We know at least about one young child, who will have to be told that she is an orphan.

So the parents are not in the best shape. And even those who are here, who are safe, went through hell in the past few weeks. So the parents and children will need a very gentle, sensitive, long-term support.

And Israel's ministry of welfare has been working in the past few weeks on sort of a multidisciplinary plan of support to the kidnapped China and their parents.

And the main thing is really helping them very gradually return to a daily routine. Basic things like deciding what to eat and when to eat or what to wear and when to talk or not to talk will have to be paced, according to each individual's ability and with the help of whoever adult is around them, knows the children and can support the process.

HARRAK: A long and difficult road to recovery. Dr. Daphna Dollberg, thank you so much for your time. Thank you.

DOLLBERG: Thank you.

And still ahead, Israel's release of 39 Palestinian prisoners prompted mixed emotions for some Palestinians, joy at their freedom yet mourning the toll of the war. The reaction from the West Bank, next.

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HARRAK: Well, 39 Palestinians are free now after they were released from Israeli prisons on Friday as part of the hostage agreement with Hamas. They returned to their hometowns and families with hugs and celebrations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. Yet, for some the joy is tempered by the suffering in Gaza. CNN's Nada Bashir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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 in 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.

BASHIR: 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; 15 minors who were released being carried up this road on people's shoulders, too.

Much cheering and celebration, even fireworks being set off. We've also been speaking to people, including relatives, who say they didn't want to see these crowds.

WAEL HAJ AHMED, GAZA RESIDENT, WEST BANK (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. 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.

UM TARIQ, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN CITIZEN: 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.

[02:50:00]

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 -- Nada Bashir, CNN, in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: A CNN team saw clashes near a West Bank prison where some of the Palestinian prisoners were released.

Before their release, the Israeli military used tear gas to try to disperse dozens of Palestinians, including some who were throwing rocks. Family members of the prisoners were among the crowds.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says a 16-year old and 12-year old were shot and injured. CNN is reaching out to the IDF for comment.

We'll be right back.

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HARRAK: A source tells CNN former police officer Derek Chauvin was assaulted in federal prison, with various reports saying he was stabbed.

[02:55:00]

HARRAK: He was convicted in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and is serving time at the Federal Correction Institute in Tucson, Arizona. Chauvin is in stable condition, according to the source. His attorney told CNN they are working on getting confirmation.

The chief of police in Minneapolis says, quote, "Violence is barbaric and tragic and should never be cause for celebration."

South African prison authorities have granted parole to the Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius. He was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013. Steenkamp's mother says she's not convinced that he's been

rehabilitated. She's worried for the safety of other women once he's released. That's expected to happen on January 5.

Pistorius was known as the Blade Runner for the carbon fiber prosthetics legs he wore as an Olympic sprinter.

Scientists say the world's biggest iceberg is on the move after three decades on the sea floor in Antarctica. It's more than twice the size of London, England; nearly 4,000 square kilometers or more than 1,500 square miles.

The huge chunk of original ice broke in 1986 and fell to the sea floor almost immediately. Scientists tell CNN it's probably shrunk enough in size to have loosened its grip from the sea floor and has now started moving.

With ocean currents, the iceberg is expected to be moving about 5 kilometers or 3 miles a day.

I'm Laila Harrak. We'll have more on the ongoing hostage negotiations in Israel after this break.