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14 Israeli Hostages Due to be Released Today; 24 Hostages held by Hamas Released on Friday; 42 Palestinian Prisoners to be Freed Today; Former Hostages Receive Care in Tel Aviv. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired November 25, 2023 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I am Kim Brunhuber.

I want to get to our continuing coverage of the Israel Hamas War. It's 5:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, noon in Gaza, where the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas is well into its second day. In the coming hours Israel is expecting Hamas to release another group of Israeli hostages just as it did the day before.

An Israeli official says 14 Israelis are on today's list. According to an Israeli source, several children are also on it.

Now, day one of the truce saw Hamas release 13 Israelis and 11 foreign nationals who were quickly taken to Tel Aviv area hospitals for medical evaluations. And doctors describe all 13 Israelis as good and stable.

And as part of the deal on Friday, 39 Palestinian women and minors were released from Israeli prisons. Israel says 42 more Palestinian prisoners will be freed today.

Now, have a look here, this was the scene last night as the first of the freed Israeli hostages arrived at a hospital near Tel Aviv.

As you can hear, there are people cheered as three of five elderly women were transported by ambulance from a helicopter to the Wolfson Medical Center. The first images of the hostages as they were about to be released on Friday was a two-minute video taken by Hamas. It was edited and is mostly silent.

Now, CNN had no control over the content, but we're going to play it now. CNN's Matthew Chance explains what we're seeing and why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS 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 towards 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.

BRUNHUBER: And CNN's Scott McLean joins us live from Istanbul. So, Scott, more details are emerging about the hostages expected to be released today. What more are we learning?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. As you mentioned, Kim, 14 expected to be released from the Israeli side, including some children as well, and they will be swapped for 42 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli controlled or Israeli jails.

[05:05:00]

Now, we don't have a precise timeline of how things will go, but broadly, the expectation is that it will be something similar to what took place yesterday.

But it's also worth noting that according to a group that represents hostage families, even after yesterday's release of those 11 foreigners and 13 Israeli women and children, there are still some 35 children and 49 women, including eight over the age of 65, who are left as hostages in Gaza. That's just the Israelis.

And in order to get that volume of women and children out of Gaza, it would take a pause in the fighting of an additional five days. So, remember, the initial deal is for four days. We've had one already. Three more to come. But there is the possibility that each side could agree to extend the truce by another day, which would allow another 10 hostages to be released every day and 30 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails to be released at the same time.

Israel has identified enough Palestinian prisoners in order to make that happen. It has a list of 300, which would be enough. The question is whether or not there's appetite from Hamas and the IDF to actually pause fighting for that long. Israel has made abundantly clear that the war is not over.

President Biden was asked about this yesterday. He thinks the chances of it being extended are real in his words. There are 10 American hostages currently being held in Gaza. Three of them fall into the category of women and children. And while there were none released yesterday, President Biden was asked whether he thinks that those hostages will be released soon. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We don't know when that will occur, but we're going to be expected to occur. And we don't know what the list of all the hostages are and when they'll be released, but we know the numbers when they're going to be released. So, it's my hope and expectation it'll be soon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And of the time 10 Americans that are unaccounted for, do you know all of their conditions? Are they all alive?

BIDEN: We don't know all of their conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: It's also worth noting that even if the pause were extended another -- an additional five days, so nine days in total, to get all of the women and children, hostages released, that would still leave more than 100 Israeli men -- sorry, even if all the foreigners were released as well, that would still leave, Kim, more than 100 Israeli men as hostages in Gaza, which obviously is still a huge bargaining chip for Hamas.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate the update. Scott McLean in Istanbul, thanks so much.

Now, earlier, CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke with Eyal Mor, who's celebrating the release of three members of his family. Ohad Munder turned nine years old last month while he was being held hostage. His mother, Keren Munder, is 54 and Grandmother Rute Munder is 78. They were all part of a group released on Friday.

Mor described the scene in the hospital where the family was reunited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYAL MOR, THREE FAMILY MEMBERS RELEASED: The video was taken in the hospital where they met the partner of Keren. the father off Ohad and the brother and the sister of Rute. They all met it was very emotional. People were crying out of joy, out of excitement. It was really, you know, a scene that we've been imagining for the last 49 days. And suddenly it happens. So, it's really credible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Walter Busuttil is the Director of Research and Training for the organization Combat Stress, which provides mental health support for military veterans, and he joins us from Royal Tunbridge Wells in England. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So, what we didn't hear in that interview was when Wolf was asking sort of the condition of the family members, they said they're in pretty good condition. But, you know, we know that this -- they will face, you know, complicated trauma to cope with these first few days to help them are crucial. Take through -- take us through what they might be dealing with now.

WALTER BUSUTTIL, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND TRAINING, COMBAT STRESS: Yes. I think every time I've dealt with hostages and the POWS the first thing is a very disorienting start with when they come out. Things like, you know, they've been time deprived, they haven't been eating properly, they've been in fear of their life. They never knew, for example, whether or not they were going to be released, even though this might have been promised.

So, they initially may look really happy and of course they will be joyful at having been relieved -- released and there'll be huge relief, but some of them will kind of realize the adults, especially, that they're not -- you know, there are others -- other hostages who need to be released too. So, they might start feeling guilty, for example.

[05:10:00]

And then, the symptoms one would look out for are -- you know, are they sleeping properly? Are they fearful? Are they vigilant? Are they anxious? Are they eating? What's their appetite like? Are they -- is their mood all right? How are they adjusting? So, there are kind of subtle things that as a medical, as a psychiatrist, I'd be looking out for.

Having said that, not everybody will develop any of these symptoms. Many will not develop symptoms at all. Some people will actually grow from this experience. It would be a positive thing that have had a chance to, if you like, look at their lives while they were kept hostage and re-evaluate their priorities and think, well, actually, I need to have a better relationship with my mother or with my father or with my siblings.

So, for some, this post traumatic growth, which is a very positive thing. Of course, this can exist also with mental health symptoms. From a physical point of view, one will need to be aware that, you know, if there's been, I don't know, head injury, or a lack of food, lack of vitamins, all that needs to be checked out.

So, although, people will say, oh, they're in good physical shape, all the tests need to happen, and that's really, really important as well.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Most of the experience dealing with situations like this is with, you know, older people, soldiers, for instance, but some of these hostages, I mean, they're extremely young. How does that complicate things?

BUSUTTIL: Yes. Well, with young children, you know, say below the age of five, they'll display their negative emotions and the negative impact in their play. So, professional well-being and mental health practitioners will need to look out for the kind of games they're playing, you know, they're aggressive or violent, or else if they're very withdrawn.

The older children will display similar symptoms to adults. So, it would be the younger children, but very, very young children possibly won't display many, many difficult signs, but withdrawal would be one of the main things that one would look out for now.

Now, the ordeal lasted a long time, but it wasn't an extremely long time. So, the chances are that a lot of the hostages, including the children, will adjust quite well to their environment. Of course, there's a lot they don't know. They don't know what happened to some of their relatives. Some of their relatives who are safe or when taken hostage may have passed away. So, there are issues there that, you know, they'll need to catch up with what's been happening.

And, of course, that needs to be -- it needs to be drip fed. They can't -- they won't be able to take all this news suddenly. So, there will need privacy. And, of course, they'll have left people behind that they love who are still hostages.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. A long road of healing yet ahead, still a happy day for so many families. What about the families of the loved ones who weren't released? I mean, does this -- you know, seeing these hostages being released, does it make things better, give them hope, or does it increase their suffering because they have to watch the happy reunions while their loved ones are still captive? I mean, we still have to think about the help that these families need psychologically going through this experience.

BUSUTTIL: Yes, definitely. They would have needed support throughout. All the family member, ideally, would have had support once the hostages were taken. There are kind of issues that that would affect reunion and reintegration of the family. So, if, for example, people feel well, my husband is never going to come back and they start a grieving process, then, you know, that grief could complete -- and if that grief completes, then the reunion and reintegration within the husband who's now released back into the family could be damaged as it were. So, that could be more difficult.

Of course, for some people who are hoping that their loved ones will come back, they may never come back and, you know, that is another problem that the mental health and well-being practitioners will need to cater for and these people will need help to overcome this terrible ordeal.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Let's certainly hope everybody comes back safely and gets the help they need. Really appreciate your insights, Walter Busuttil. Thank you so much.

BUSUTTIL: Welcome. Thank you. Thanks very much.

BRUNHUBER: 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 West Bank and Jerusalem. For some, the joy of their freedom is tempered by the suffering in Gaza. CNN's Nada Bashir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[05:15:00]

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

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

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 we're waiting among them 15 minors who are released are 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 IN 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 cities. 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.

BASHIR (voice-over): With over a hundred 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 VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead, the Israel Hamas truce giving Palestinians more opportunities to assess the damage in Gaza. We'll show you some of the new pictures of destruction coming out of the enclave. That's coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: We're getting a closer look at how seven weeks of bombardment have changed the landscape of Gaza. Palestinians are inspecting what remains of their homes during the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. Now, this was the scene in the Southern City of Khan Younis on Friday, and you can see rubble from many collapsed buildings.

There are similar scenes in northern Gaza. This is Jabalya near Gaza City. Just about every building appears to be severely damaged or destroyed. Here's how one resident describes the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAHMOUD MASOOD, JABALYA RESIDENT (through translator): Gaza City has been completely destroyed. What can I tell you? Even if you find a single intact house in the midst of this destruction, you say it is all destroyed because its inhabitants are now displaced. So, it becomes a ghost house. Just like the destroyed houses. I don't know what to tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's capital is reeling from an unprecedented wave of Russian drone attacks. Officials say 75 Russian drones went after targets across the country Saturday morning, which is a new record. A majority of them were reportedly shot down, but the attacks still caused multiple fires and left damage in Kyiv.

Anna Coren joins us now from the streets of the capital with more. So, Anna, explain where exactly you are and what we're seeing behind you.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, we are in the city and this behind me is a kindergarten. The cleanup is well underway, but a few hours ago, the remnants of a drone shot down fell on this kindergarten. And you can see the extent of the debris. It's in the trees, all over the schoolyard.

And over here, Kim, just meters away, hundreds and hundreds of residential apartment buildings, many of the windows smashed out. You can see residents cleaning up. They've been doing that, you know, since we arrived, trying to get life back to normal.

But you say this is an unprecedented number of drones that have targeted the capital. 75 were launched, 74 were shot down. That number just released from authorities. But they shoot these drones down over the city. They have to do that. This is what the air defense systems do. And then, the debris falls. And some of that debris has fallen on this kindergarten.

We spoke to one of the women living in these apartments, she said she heard the sirens. She ran into the hallway with her two daughters. They lay down there. They then heard the loud explosions of the air defense systems. This is something that happens regularly, you know, here in Kyiv, residents are used to this.

[05:25:00]

And then, there was this huge, almighty explosion. She thought that her house was going to collapse. So, this is having the desired impact, Kim, which is terrorizing the population here of the capital.

I should also mention that these attacks were coming from multiple angles. So, the air defense systems were working, you know, over time. We know that Russia has been stockpiling drones, missiles, all specifically aimed for winter. And we are in winter. It is now freezing temperatures across Ukraine and here in the capital. And obviously, Russia wants to target the energy infrastructure like they did last year. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much. Anna Coren in Kyiv. Appreciate that.

And thank you very much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers here in North America, I'll have more news in a moment. For our international viewers, African Voices Changemakers is next.

[05:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

I want to get back to our continuing coverage of the Israel Hamas war. An Israeli official tells CNN that Hamas will free 14 Israeli hostages today, and Israel has agreed to release 42 Palestinian prisoners in return.

Hamas freed 24 hostages on Friday, including 13 Israelis. Doctors who examined the Israeli hostages described them as being in good and stable condition.

With the four-day truce between Hamas and Israel now on its second day, there are expectations of more aid getting into Gaza. The U.N. says 137 trucks made the crossing on Friday, along with 129,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of cooking gas. It was the largest aid convoy into Gaza since the war began.

Now, three American hostages are expected to be released by Hamas during the temporary truce, including a young girl who turned four while in captivity. President Biden says he won't stop until they're all brought home. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden welcomed the initial release that occurred of these hostages being held by Hamas. He said that this was just a start to the process but said that he believes that this had unfolded well. But it does come as Americans were not included in that initial batch of hostages that were released.

So, the president said that it is his hope and expectation that there will be three Americans coming out in the coming days. That includes two women and also four-year-old Abigail Adan. It was her birthday on Friday. Her parents were killed on the -- in the October 7th attack by Hamas, and she has been held hostage over the course of the past seven weeks.

But President Biden had very few details to offer as relating to his expectation on when exactly these Americans would be getting out. Take a listen to what he had to tell reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We don't know when that will occur, but we're going to be expected to occur. And we don't know what the list of all the hostages are and when they'll be released, but we know the numbers when they're going to be released. So, it's my hope and expectation it'll be soon. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And of the time 10 Americans that are unaccounted for, do you know all of their conditions? Are they all alive?

BIDEN: We don't know all of their conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So, still a number of unanswered questions about the fate of these American hostages being held by Hamas. But President Biden's also expressed some optimism that there -- this fight -- this pause in the fighting that's currently slated for four days, he believes that that could possibly be extended to get even more than the 50 women and children that had been negotiated in this initial deal.

Now, President Biden had been working the phones throughout the week, including to the leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and Israel. He said that he will remain in contact with those leaders, the counterparts in the region, as they are trying to make sure that this deal stays on track.

BRUNHUBER: An Israeli American couple is holding on to hope that their son will be released by Hamas at some point.

Hersch Goldberg-Polin was seriously wounded before the militant group who took him hostage on October 7th. His parents spoke with CNN's Poppy Harlow just before Friday's hostage released, and she asked if they're now getting more hope that Hersch will be back home soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL GOLDBERG, SON HELD BY HAMAS: Today, we are very, very hopeful that this -- you know, everything is very fragile. And as we say in English, you don't -- before they hatch. And I've been saying to everyone, I don't count my hostages until they're hugging their loved ones.

So, I am praying these children, and these women get back to their families today and that in these next few days that this deal can progress and that more and more children get home where they belong and start to process this trauma that they've been through. And certainly, I hope and pray that our day will come and that we will also have our have our loved one back in our arms.

JON POLIN, SON HELD BY HAMAS: Rachel talked about how fragile this deal is. Now, part of that is even the information flow. We're hearing basically what you're hearing. When it comes to who will be released, it seems quite clear that men are not likely first batch. So, in terms of, you know, when he gets home, we don't know anything.

[05:35:00]

And also, in terms of the Red Cross, it's been 49 days. The Red Cross, based on everything we have heard, has not been given any access to the hostages. We hear that access to the hostages is part of this deal, but so much of this is fragile, so much of this is unclear, and we just don't know. But we are very, very hopeful that finally, after 49 days, the Red Cross will get in, not only to Hersch, but to all of the wounded and sick hostages and ensured that they are getting every possible medical treatment that they could get, given the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, 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're spending their first full day of freedom in a hospital southeast of Tel Aviv, undergoing medical evaluations.

Manisha Tank is in Singapore with details. So, Manisha, what more can you tell us about them, the circumstances around their release, and why they were in Israel to begin with?

MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: Well, as you said, it was a separate agreement. And actually, the Thai government issued a statement. And in that statement, it thanked the governments of Qatar, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, and also the International Committee of the Red Cross for their involvement in securing it. And that meant that we saw these 10 Thai hostages board a bus and head to freedom. And as you said, they're going to spend some time in hospital.

Many of them are migrant workers. And actually, the Thai Contingent from Southeast Asia, that is one of the biggest groups of migrant workers that go to Israel to find work. Many of them coming from poor agricultural communities in Thailand and actually finding work in the agricultural sector in Israel, many of them in that southern region, near the border with Gaza, and that is a reason why so many of them from Thailand have been caught up in the atrocities over the last few days (ph).

But despite this -- the negative storylines that have been preceded all of this, today has been like a glimmer of light in the darkness for the families who have seen their loved ones board that bus and head out, head away from Hamas.

Let's just talk about one of them. This is the sister of Vetoon Phoome reflecting on her brother's release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROONGARUN WICHANGUEN, SISTER OF RELEASED THAI HOSTAGE VETOON PHOOME (through translator): I am very happy because my hope was very dim. He is a hostage. He might be tortured or killed in that tunnel. But suddenly, there is hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK: And I think that echoes the fact that many of their loved ones had no idea what situation they were in, the circumstances under which they were being held.

Now, getting back to the fact that many of them are in hospital, some of them are undergoing physical tests, but also emotional assessments. On that note, I just want to mention the one Filipino who has been released. He is a 33-year-old, father of three children. You can imagine that the family must be so relieved and overjoyed that he's finally in -- he's finally free, but also, the prospect that he may be going home and they may see him soon. But a lot of this came as a surprise to many of these families, to see their loved ones in those video clips, for example.

So, the president of the Philippines expressing that he was overjoyed, President Marcos Jr., overjoyed to see the release of a Filipino citizens. So, a great deal of relief in this part of the world for many of those nationals.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Plenty of happy reunions ahead. Manisha Tank in Singapore, thank you so much.

Now, CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke to loved ones of some of the Israeli hostages left behind in Gaza. Still to come, how they keep their hope alive. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Doctors who examined the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Friday described their condition as good and stable.

People cheered as three of five elderly women were transported by ambulance from a helicopter to the Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Eight other former hostages, four children and four women, were taken to a children's medical center near Tel Aviv. Officials say they are with their families and surrounded by medical and psychosocial teams.

CNN's Clarissa Ward spoke to an emergency room nurse about why she went to the children's hospital to see the return of some of the hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She was actually working in the ER on October 7th, and she said she wanted to come here to witness this moment. She called it "a drop of joy in a sea of sadness." And she said that while it's unlikely to change the course of events and while there is much more sadness to come and probably sadly much more bloodshed to come, she wanted to be here to witness this moment and to hold on to that drop of joy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: As some families celebrate the return of their loved ones held hostage by Hamas, many others are still wondering if that day will ever come. CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke to a few of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (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 it's a special day and 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 be maybe on the list.

BLITZER: Omer is 21 years old.

SHEM-TOV: Omer is 21 years old. So, he is not part of this releasing.

BLITZER (voice-over): That pain shared by Meirav Leshem Gonen, who says 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 one that will return. On the other hand, you know, probably my daughter will 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 (voice-over): Now, she waits for tomorrow's expected release of hostages, and the next days, and the next.

GONEN: Imagining 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 the 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 HIS WIFE HELD IN GAZA: They met about 20 years ago.

[05:45:00]

BLITZER (voice-over): 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 list. So, we still have hope, at least that Rimon, but we are not sure. It's really confusing and really frustrating and painful for us.

BLITZER (voice-over): The uncertainty hangs over these families.

GONEN: What are the steps? When do they -- we meet them? This is something which I don't know yet.

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

BLITZER (voice-over): 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. It's not this time. It should be very, very close to this time.

BLITZER (voice-over): 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. I think she will just -- you know, 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 VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: And welcome back. I want to get to some other headlines from around the world. A U.S. official says American forces in Iraq and Syria were attacked four separate times on Thanksgiving with rockets and drones. No casualties or infrastructure damage were reported. But U.S. and coalition forces have been dealing with dozens of attacks since October 17th. The U.S. says in retaliation, it's conducted four strikes on Iran-backed militias to send a message of deterrence.

Ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing a lawsuit from a former aide who previously accused him of groping her breast. Brittany Commisso filed the suit against Cuomo Wednesday under New York's Adult Survivors Act.

Commisso claims she was subjected to repeated abusive behavior, continuous sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment as the governor's assistant. Cuomo has repeatedly denied her claims. On Friday, his attorney called the lawsuit an attempted cash grab.

A source tells CNN, former police officer Derek Chauvin was assaulted in federal prison with the "Associated Press" and "New York Times" reporting that he'd been stabbed. He's said to be in stable condition.

Chauvin was convicted in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and is serving time at the Federal Correction Institute in Tucson, Arizona. Minnesota's attorney general said Chauvin should have been able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation.

Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence. The Beverly Hills Police Department says police were called just before 6:00 a.m. local time and Haddish was arrested a short time later. CNN has reached out to representatives for Haddish for comment.

South African prison authorities have granted parole to Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius. He was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. He's set to be released on January 5th. Nicknamed the Blade Runner, Pistorius ran on prosthetics because his legs were amputated as a child. 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.

For more on this, I'm joined by CNN Sports Coy Wire. This marks a new chapter in a case that held the world's attention more than a decade ago.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Kim. Oscar Pistorius first made global headlines at the 2012 London Olympics when he became the first double amputee to compete at the Games.

But early the next year, his story took a much darker turn when he shot his partner Reeva Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door of his South African home. He denied killing her in a fit of anger, saying instead that he had mistaken her for an intruder. Pistorius was eventually sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison. On Friday, authorities announced he would be granted parole in January.

In a victim impact statement, Steenkamp's mother wrote, "At this time, I am not convinced that Oscar has been rehabilitated. Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof. Nobody can claim to have remorse if they are not able to engage fully with the truth."

The now 37-year-old Pistorius will have to continue with anger management therapy as a condition of his parole, that according to Steenkamp's family attorney.

Elsewhere The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets playing in the NFL's first ever Black Friday game. It looked like it was going to be a great end to a first half for the Jets. Defense with two interceptions in the final minute, Kim, one of them being returned to the house for a touchdown, Brandin Echols. But the Dolphins said, hold my plate of turkey leftovers, with just two seconds left in the first half, New York quarterback, Tim Boyle, launching the hail Mary from his own 49- yard line. Will it turn into fail Mary?

Cornerback Jevon Holland taking it 99 yards for a pick six of his own. The Dolphins would never look back. They cruise on to a 34-13 beatdown win.

Hey, Jevon, how'd you pull that one off?

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JEVON HOLLAND, MIAMI DOLPHINS SAFETY: I had to get busy. I had to, you know, (INAUDIBLE) throw a little sugar, whatever like that. And I just got in the zone, man. I could smell it. And then once I made that cut, I knew it was there. So, I had to make it happen.

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WIRE: Now, New York fans did have something to cheer about on Friday night. The Knicks pull off an improbable victory. They reached a 21- point deficit in the second half to burn the Miami Heat, 100-98. Immanuel Quickley made a huge impact, scoring 20 points off the bench. He talked about the mindset it took to pull off this epic comeback.

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IMMANUEL QUICKLEY IT', NEW YORK KNICKS GUARD: It's a decision to mentally check out or not. It's a decision to keep fighting. It's a decision to tell yourself you got to keep fighting no matter what. I did look at the score and say, dang, when I've seen how much we was down, I literally said that. But then I got right back to it. Seeing where I was at mentally and said, let's go. Let's try to get a comeback on.

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WIRE: All right. Finally, Kim, this is video you have to see college basketball matchup between Robert Morris and Jacksonville turned into basket brawl. Punches thrown. Both head coaches needing to be restrained. They're getting in on the action. Look at the fans just kind of like, what is happening here?

The referees, Kim, would end up ejecting both teams' entire benches. That meant only the five players for each team who are on the court before the scuffle would play on, no substitutions for the rest of the game. Jacksonville would win 74 to 65.

Kim, if one of these players had gotten into foul trouble, we will be witnessing like four on five basketball.

BRUNHUBER: So, you got to wonder what sparked it all. Just crazy there.

WIRE: It was this chippy game. Both head coaches were kind of jarring it, and at one point, it was just like, it was too much, it was like. Yes, thanks -- like after Thanksgiving and your belt buckle just bursts, that's what happened.

BRUNHUBER: Ugly stuff. All right. Coy Wire, thank you so much.

WIRE: You got it.

BRUNHUBER: Really appreciate it.

Now before we go, we want to show you this, the first time ever NASA picked up a laser beamed message from nearly 10 million miles away.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, 1, engine ignition. And liftoff. Liftoff of Falcon Heavy and Psyche on a mission to a metal asteroid in deep space to study the building blocks of our planet's inner space.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: As you heard there, it's part of an experiment on the Psyche mission which launched last month. The probe sent data from far beyond the moon to the Hale Telescope in California with an invisible near infrared laser. The technology could be used to communicate with astronauts exploring Mars, and it could also lead to discoveries about the origin of the universe.

All right. That wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. "CNN This Morning" is next with our continuing coverage of the Israel Hamas War.

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