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Third Day Of Ceasefire In The Israel-Hamas War; Third Group Of Hamas Hostages Released; President Biden Talks To Family Of 4-Year-Old Abigail Edan; Thirty-Nine Palestinian Prisoners Released; Seventeen Hostages Freed On Day Three Of Truce; Three Palestinian Students Were Shot In Vermont. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 26, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But we do know that preparations are being made, in the event that he does show up, for him to be able to come.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Yeah. They were married 77 years. Incredible reunion. Eva McKend, thank you so much.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta along with my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, who is in Tel Aviv. Our breaking news coverage continues with Alex Marquardt and Kaitlan Collins.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Alex Marquardt in Washington. My colleague Kaitlan Collins is in Tel Aviv. Jim Acosta is off tonight. Thank you very much for being with us.

We do begin with breaking news in what is now the third day of a temporary pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas saying tonight that it does want to extend this temporary ceasefire into a -- beyond the original four-day deal. A source is telling us that Israel's war cabinet is discussing that possibility.

Today was yet another emotional day for families in Israel. A third group of 17 hostages who were held inside Gaza since early October were finally freed. These are the 13 Israeli women and children released by Hamas. They range in age from four to 84. And for the first time in this temporary truce, an American is also among the freed hostages. Four-year-old Abigail Edan, you see her right there. Her family celebrating saying, quote, "there are no words to express our relief." I want to hand it off to Kaitlan in Israel for more on these breaking developments. Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Yeah, Alex, of course, we're monitoring all of this very closely because not only did we see the release of these additional Israeli hostages tonight, we also saw another group of Palestinian prisoners also released, 39 teenage boys, all 18 and younger, we are told. They were released from Israeli jails as a part of this agreement between Israel and Hamas to release hostages and release these prisoners. That pause in fighting in Gaza, it has been very quiet since Friday.

It has also allowed more than 300 aid trucks to go into Gaza, many of them going into north Gaza where it's desperately needed. It's got aid, food, water, baby formula, medicine on those trucks, we were told. And for the first time since the war began on October 7th, Prime Minister Netanyahu Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops inside Gaza today as you saw him here in a flak jacket of dressing those forces, talking about Israel's war goals.

We are covering the story tonight from all angles here in Israel and in the United States. As the White House says, President Biden has not only spoken with the family of that four-year-old Abigail Edan, she also is now believed to be at the Children's Hospital near Tel Aviv. President Biden also speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I want to bring in Stanton's Matthew Chance because, Matthew, you were outside the hospital tonight where a lot of these hostages were being brought in a remarkable moment is the helicopters, military helicopters were truly landing as you were standing there. What did you see when you were there?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, I mean, it's stunning because these are huge military transport helicopters, there were two of them ferrying the Israeli hostages or the former hostages to Tel Aviv including a group of nine children. Some of them with their families, some of them not. Abigail Edan was one of them, the four-year-old Israeli-American girl. She turned four on Friday when she was a hostage inside Gaza.

Her family, as you mentioned, issued a statement ahead of her arrival at the Schneider Medical Institution Center there, just on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, saying that no words could express their relief and gratitude, also thanking President Biden and thanking the Qatari government who played a key mediating role in all of this, but also saying that they continue to stand with the family of all those hostages whose loved ones are still captive.

And so yes, scenes of happiness. Of course, there were many, maybe 100 or more local bystanders came waving Israeli flags. A troop of Israeli scouts arrived with Israeli flags, cheering, welcoming these helicopters as they landed. But this happiness, of course, is tinged with the ongoing tragedy in the country and the sadness, there are still about 180 or so hostages inside of the Gaza Strip, and it's Israel's intention, it says, to get them all back, just like these.

COLLINS: Yeah, and even though it is such a joyful moment to see Abigail Edan brought home, obviously President Biden is on the phone with her family, you know, I can't stop thinking about it, I mean, she's an orphan now. She came home, she has two siblings, but both of her parents were killed on that day.

[17:05:54]

CHANCE: Yes, and that's something the family have spoken about. It's a new world that she -- a new, you know, a much worse world in some ways that she comes back into after being torn out of her life on October 7th in Kfar Aza, which is one of those small little kibbutz Israeli communities near to Gaza that were attacked by Hamas so ruthlessly on October 7th.

Her mum and dad were both killed. Her dad was reportedly holding her in her arms when he was shot dead. And she then ran away, terrified, to the neighbors next door, the Brodutch family, and thought she was going to be safe there, but then they all got taken captive. They're all -- all of them together were held hostage in Gaza and all of them were released today.

So, Abigail and Haga Brodutch along with her three children, so aged 10, 8 and 4, all of them were sort of hiding from Hamas's gunmen in that house next door to her house. They were all taken captive, they were all released today. So, there's some positive news in this, but you're right, they come back to a very different world.

COLLINS: Yeah, so this is the third group of hostages. Tomorrow is day four of this truce. It's only right now slated to last four days. We heard earlier that the Israeli wartime cabinet was meeting. They talked about the possibility of extending that. It doesn't -- it's not clear that they voted on it or that they agreed to extend it. We know the conditions though. It's Hamas has to produce 10 more hostages in order to get another day in the pause in this fighting. What's the likelihood of that happening?

CHANCE: Well, I think everybody wants it. I mean, it makes, you know, it makes a lot of sense for Hamas to produce more hostages, to get more aid relief coming into the Gaza Strip and to, you know, kind of put back the onslaught that the Israeli government have promised when this hostage deal comes to an end. And of course, it's in the interests of Israel as well to try and get as many hostages out as possible.

They've got an agreement for four consecutive days of military pauses and four consecutive days of hostage releases. We've seen three of them. There's another one expected to take place tomorrow, or scheduled to take place tomorrow. There were no obstacles that delayed the transfer of the hostages this time, unlike yesterday. And so that was a real positive sign as well.

And again, the hope is that this can go on day after day until all the hostages are out. But I mean, clearly, it's going to get harder and harder for Hamas to find 10 hostages every day into the future that would kind of lead to a pause in the fighting.

COLLINS: Yeah, given they're not all being kept together. Matthew Chance, we'll continue to check in with you on the condition of those hostages who now are being kept at hospitals throughout the area tonight. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Thank you, Kaitlan. Earlier today, President Joe Biden celebrated the release of Abigail Edan, who turned four years old in captivity. He said that he is hopeful that more Americans can be released. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us for more now from the White House. Priscilla, the president has spoken repeatedly about Abigail. He, of

course, is thrilled to see her out. He has said he is expecting two more Americans to come out in the coming days. But he also said importantly today he wants to see an extension in this pause in the fighting. What else did he have to say?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And he said explicitly that his goal is for there to be an extended pause in the fighting to have more hostages released by Hamas. U.S. officials have said that Israel is prepared to release or is prepared to continue the pause in fighting in exchange for Hamas releasing 10 hostages each day and that is what the president was referring to and he said he's hopeful that that could happen. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Critically needed aid is going in, and hostages are coming out. And this deal is structured so that it can be extended to keep building on these results. That's my goal. That's our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now according to the White House, the president also spoke about this with the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier today, the two of them discussing the pause in fighting, the release of hostages, and the surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. But the president was today welcoming the news of the release of Abigail Edan, the four-year-old American who was released, the first American hostage, as part of this group, as part of this deal.

And we're learning that behind the scenes, U.S. officials had been closely working to have her released as part of this group, that today they were tracking her movements. And it wasn't until she was in Israel that Biden and his senior advisors were able to breathe a sigh of relief. And it was only in that moment that the president came out and spoke with reporters to welcome this news and celebrate it.

But of course, as you mentioned, Alex, there are still other Americans who are unaccounted for.

[17:10:00]

Two American women that the president has referenced that they are trying to secure their release and to do so if not in the hours to come in the hopes that there would be a pause in fighting that more hostages would be released in that process.

But of course, all of this remains an open question and a topic of discussion as the president and the prime minister of Israel maintain close contact over the hours and days to come. Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right, Priscilla Alvarez at the White House. And, Kaitlan, back to you in Israel. What I think is really interesting is that U.S. officials told our colleague, MJ Lee, that they were able to track in real time the movement of Abigail Edan as she moved through the Gaza Strip, presumably in Hamas's custody, and then got handed over to the Red Cross. So clearly, American officials, American intelligence, keeping a very close eye on those hostages.

COLLINS: Yeah. And we had asked officials how do they have this level of ability to be able to track them because that was a concern as part of this agreement was, no flying of drones over Gaza which Israel and the U.S. had been doing to pick up their intelligence. Clearly, they do still have a way to keep an eye on these hostages.

The question of course is how they're able to do that in this period where there is no fighting in Gaza if Hamas is indeed moving around the other hostages that it's holding. So, we are continuing to speak with officials about that and report that out.

I want to bring in Avi Mayer, who is the editor-in-chief of the "Jerusalem Post," who is here with us now. Avi, we're talking about, you know, approaching day four of this temporary truce and what this looks like. We know the war cabinet has been discussing this as of just a few hours ago, we were told by sources. Some have said that the longer that temporary truce goes on, the harder it is for Israel to go back to fighting. But is that your sense, or what is your assessment?

AVI MAYER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, JERUSALEM POST: Well, Kaitlan, Israel has said consistently that once this temporary pause ends, it will continue its military campaign to deny Hamas the capability to ever carry out a massacre like October 7th ever again. However, that may indeed become more difficult as the days stretch on. And so there will have to be a calculus made between how many hostages can be freed and whether this will impair Israel's ability to pursue its military goal of decimating Hamas's military capability in the long term.

COLLINS: Yeah, and, I mean, the factor of this is just these images that we're seeing. Matthew Chance was just talking out there of families being reunited with their loved ones. You know, multiple members of some families that are being returned as a part of this third group of hostages today. And with Abigail Edan obviously being returned, she's the first U.S. citizen that has been returned as a part of this hostage release since the temporary truce was struck.

We looked at the numbers, Avi, and if you look at what the hostages and missing family's forum says, that there are about 18 children that are still being held in Gaza tonight. That's, excuse me, a dozen children who are under the age of 18. So how does Israel balance knowing that, knowing that there is potentially a dozen more who could still qualify as these women and children group, they've been getting out so far with balancing, you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu being in Gaza today, talking about this military goal of eradicating Hamas?

MAYER: Well, Kaitlan, Israel has declared its intention to free all the hostages. That includes those who are within that category of women and children, but also those who are not. There are also elderly men who are sickly and are still held in Hamas's custody. There are people who were wounded, including an American named Hersh Goldberg- Polin, who had his arm blown off by a Hamas grenade and was seen piling onto a Hamas pickup truck. I believe Anderson Cooper showed that just on this network.

So, these are people who also need to be freed. And that is definitely a part of the calculus as Israel thinks through what might the next steps be. The youngest hostage, a 10-month-old named Kfir Bibas, is still in Hamas's custody, has not been released. And we just hope that Hamas indeed has all these people, that it's able to track them down and produce them over the next few days. I think that will be the calculus.

Is Hamas able to indeed produce 10 hostages per day, which would enable Israel to contemplate extending this humanitarian pause in order to see whether they can indeed free those hostages.

COLLINS: Yeah, and we -- were here in Israel. I mean, there is a strong sense of continuing that military campaign when you speak to people, when you speak to officials in the cabinet here. But in the U.S., you're seeing mounting protests, mounting pressure on President Biden. I mean, he's been in Nantucket and people have been, you know, protesters have been talking -- shouting the words cease fire at him as he's just walking around town tonight.

We saw a huge protest in Manhattan. I want you to respond to something that we heard from Democratic Senator Chris Murphy who said earlier that he was open to conditioning aid to Israel, saying that all aid that the U.S. gives to other countries is conditioned on those countries complying with international law.

[17:15:00]

And he said, and I'm quoting him now, "You can defeat Hamas without this level of civilian casualty." What kind of concern does that raise in Israel about what the future of U.S. support looks like?

MAYER: I think Israel does whatever it can to abide by international law. In fact, every single Israeli airstrike goes through a meticulous process of legal oversight. Every single target is preselected and approved by legal authorities within the IDF to ensure that it is indeed a military target that can indeed be struck.

I think Israel would agree that it should be conducting its military operations in accordance with international law, and it does in fact do so. But I would say that view is very much at odds with the views that have been expressed not only by the administration, but by the majority of the Democratic caucus who have said that Israel must be given the means to defend itself.

And that is what the, I think the administration and the Congress have been endeavoring to do at this time. I think the overwhelming majority of Americans acknowledge that Israel has that right and should be given the means to defend itself. We see that in poll after poll, that the overwhelming majority of Americans do support Israel's right to defend itself and to engage in this campaign against the West. I don't expect that to change any time near soon.

COLLINS: Avi Mayer, editor-in-chief of the "Jerusalem Post." Thank you for your time tonight. MAYER: Thank you.

COLLINS: We'll have much more of our special coverage live on the ground here in Israel as the third group of hostages has just been released. The third group of Palestinian prisoners also just released to the West Bank. You're in the "CNN Newsroom." We'll be back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:51]

MARQUARDT: There were celebrations again tonight in the occupied West Bank after a bus carrying newly released Palestinian teenagers arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israel says that 39 prisoners and detainees were released today as part of the exchange deal that was brokered, which saw earlier today 17 hostages freed from the Hamas side. CNN's Nada Bashir has been all over this story and joins us now from Jerusalem. So, Nada, all of those freed today were teenagers. What more do we know about the release?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORREPONDENT: It certainly were, one as young as 14 years old. Among those 39 released, Alex, 33 were held under administrative detention, again, meaning no charges were laid against them, no ongoing legal process. And what we've seen over the last three days is huge crowds in the occupied West Bank showing out to welcome and celebrate the release of these detainees, women and children held in Israeli custody.

Once again tonight, we have seen those enormous crowds showing up in Ramallah and downtown Ramallah in the occupied West Bank once again celebrating. We were actually able to speak to some of those teenagers who were released yesterday. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (voice-over): Carried through the crowds, celebrated by thousands of Palestinians. These boys are among 33 teenagers released from Israeli prisons on Saturday. This is, for many here in the occupied West Bank, a moment of hope. And for those now freed, a moment of utter relief.

I'm so happy. I can't believe this is real, Ibrahim (ph) says. I don't even know what to say.

This scene, a product of a delicate four-day truce agreement between Israel and Hamas, set to see 150 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released and at least 50 Israeli hostages freed from Hamas's captivity in Gaza.

There are many Palestinian families who will still be waiting anxiously to hear if their loved ones will too be freed. The Tamimi (ph) family, seen here on Saturday, has rallied for months, calling for the release of 17-year-old Wissam (ph). He was seriously injured by Israeli forces and later arrested in June, accused by Israel of offences, including possessing a weapon. But he was never charged. Now he and his family are finally together again.

I can't describe to you how I'm feeling right now. I honestly can't believe it. I feel like I'm in a dream, Wissam's (ph) mother, Oneida (ph) says. My son is finally with me. I thank God and pray that every mother will be able to feel this joy. I pray God grants the Palestinian people this happiness. We just want to be able to smile and laugh together.

Many of those now released are among the over 3,000 Palestinians held under administrative detention, meaning no charges have been laid against them and no ongoing legal process. Israel says some of those released were being held on terror or weapons charges, but in a list published by Israeli authorities of 300 women and children eligible for release, throwing stones and harming regional security were among the most common charges.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PALESTINIAN POLITICIAN: There are children here who have been in jail for eight years, five years, six years. It's unacceptable. Many of them have now huge psychological problems because of the torture, at least psychological torture, because of the way they were interrogated. It is a terrible atrocity that is practiced against these children.

BASHIR (voice-over): For the crowds gathered here in the occupied West Bank, this celebration, they say, is a symbol of justice. Bringing thousands of Palestinians together to share in the joy of now reunited families. But for many, that joy is coupled with grief, with pain felt deeply here for the people of Gaza.

[17:25:00]

JANNA JIHAD, COUSIN OF RELEASED PALESTINIAN PRISONER: We're extremely happy, but still overwhelmed and extremely saddened by everything going on here in Palestine, but at the same time, still resilient to keep going with whatever we can do in order to hopefully achieve a ceasefire and hopefully later on a full liberation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (on camera): Look Alex, when we spoke to some of those teenagers yesterday, many of them detailed mistreatment and abuse that they had experienced while in detention. We have now received a response from the Israeli Prison Service. They say that all those that have been released over the last three days were serving time for serious offences and that all prisoners are held under the provisions of Israeli law.

But of course, as we know, many of those, the majority of those that we've seen released today and indeed yesterday, were held under administrative detention with no charges laid against them. In fact, in that wider list of 300 women and children eligible for potential release over the course of this truce agreement, one of the most common charges that we've seen or allegations that we've seen in that list were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and threatening regional security. The question, the issue of administrative detention is deeply

controversial and has been condemned by many rights organizations. And for many families, the hope, of course, is that tomorrow, that final day of the truce as it stands now, we'll see more women and children released as part of that truce agreement. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Yeah, a very controversial practice in the Israeli judicial system. Nada Bashir in Jerusalem, thank you very much for that report. We will have much more coming up on this day three of the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, as well as what lies ahead when CNN special coverage continues in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:44]

COLLINS: A third group of hostages, 17 in total, have now been released by Hamas back on Israeli soil tonight, in hospitals receiving care as this third day of the exchange has been underway.

Joining me now to discuss is Israeli Consul General Aviv Ezra. Mr. Ezra, great to have you here. Tonight, we are told by sources that the Israeli War Cabinet met to talk about the idea of extending this temporary pause that we've seen in the fighting so this hostage deal could be facilitated. For the first time, we're hearing Hamas say that they are in favor of extending that pause. Do you believe that Israel is on the verge of doing so?

AVIV EZRA, SENIOR ISRAELI DIPLOMAT: Thank you for having me on your show. This is definitely a roller coaster, emotional roller coaster, bittersweet days that we're dealing. On the one hand, we are coping with our first number one goal, which is actually to bring back the hostages. This is the dog tag that I'm wearing and with a promise to take it off only when they're -- all 240 are back home.

You have seen all the reunions with the families, the story of U.S. Israeli citizens, including Abigail, four years old, that have come back, just to learn that she's actually an orphan, and stories of return of mothers without children, children without mothers with all the atrocities.

And to your question, we are going to continue focusing on that effort, which is to bring all of the hostages back. The mechanism that was built, four days originally, and then additional date each time when the additional 10 hostages will be released is the mechanism that Israel still believes that is the important mechanism that would actually make that goal happen.

And maybe this is the role, of course, to say how appreciative we are for the Biden administration for personally the president himself being involved in it but the secretary of state national security advisor with a strong, strong support of making it happen.

COLLINS: If Israel does decide to move forward with that, given that stated goal of bringing home all the hostages, does the war cabinet need to vote on that or simply by Hamas producing 10 more hostages? Is the temporary pause extended?

EZRA: Israel has already agreed to the concept of four days as the first mechanism and then additional day of each 10 hostages that are being released. That added, of course, to the fact that we're saying pretty clear that Hamas should mark our words over here, that the minute they stop releasing hostages, there will be an end to the cessation of fire.

We will continue with our second goal, which is not just to eradicate Hamas. This is not about vengeance. This is not about revenge, but this is about eradicating their threat towards our civilians on the borders of Israel. This will continue the minute they stop releasing our hostages. Those two goals are intertwined in a sense.

I've heard some of your speakers talk about the fact that they're conflicting. We believe that without exercising this deep pressure on Hamas, Hamas is not a humanitarian organization, they're not Boy Scouts, they would have not agreed to any of this release of hostages had we not pressured them enough, and we will continue the pressure until the last hostages is back home in Israel.

COLLINS: Okay. So, it sounds like they would not have to vote on it based on -- based on that. If the deal does continue, one thing I'm curious about, does that also mean Israel continues to release Palestinian prisoners if Hamas continues to produce 10 more hostages each day?

EZRA: The mechanism that was built, as I said, by international players, including the United States, but also other major players like Egypt and additional players, including Qatar, made it clear that Hamas will release 10 hostages each day in return for Israel releasing prisoners that were involved in either terrorism or detained for terrorism.

And also, the humanitarian angle which was crucial for us, too, to bring as many as about 200 trucks a day, to make sure that they continue to support the humanitarian situation in the Gaza because we do make the differentiation between the Hamas butchers and between the noncombatant innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.

COLLINS: Okay. So, it does sound like Israel would continue to release those Palestinian prisoners.

[17:35:00]

Do you know, has Israel gotten the list, the fourth list of hostages that are slated to be released on the fourth day of this pause?

EZRA: Well, I'm not going to go into the tactical back and forth in terms of negotiation, but I can tell you that the mechanism is built in a manner that these lists are given to us in advance, and we, of course, share them with the relevant partners of ours.

And I think in this sense, this has worked very well the first day. There were some hiccups in the second day. I think it worked pretty good in the third way. And I think this mechanism that allows us to continue bringing our innocent civilians, mind you, we're talking about 10-month-old fear, all the way to 85-years-old Holocaust survivors, we're talking about two-years-old, four-years-old, six-years-old, eight-years-old, just ungraspable, unimaginable, and unthinkable that these children are POWs for Hamas's case.

COLLINS: One thing we heard from President Biden, and obviously you're based in New York, you're dealing a lot with the U.S. government on this angle of this, President Biden has continued to say that he does believe that a two-state solution is possible here. Is that something, a sentiment that you agree with?

EZRA: Well, I think that the two-state solution requires a few things. First of all, it requires that there's somebody on the other side that we can communicate with and that is not committed to the annihilation of the state of Israel. I think Hamas obviously needs to be eradicated for this case.

Second, we need to have somebody who is peaceful on the other side, that is not in sight on an everyday basis, both in the media and in the education system, and does not teach the children because children are not born to hate, they are being taught to hate.

And last but not least, we need to make sure that -- the security of Israelis into the future. Vice President Harris was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer today. This is an element that the unfortunate Israelis are not willing to take a risk again.

We had our -- this engagement blessing in 2005, this is the kind of an experiment that we were promised that once Israel is out of Gaza, we will see the Singapore of the Middle East. Unfortunately, this is not what ended up happening. We ended up happening October 7th where all the masks were torn off.

Our delusional thought that we have somebody that we could work with in progress in going to the third millennium together, economic incentives, is not the case because they are not shy about the fact that they want to annihilate the state of Israel.

So, I think at this point, I think both Israelis at the public opinion and also governments in Israel will be very reluctant because I don't think that we have somebody on the other hand that is really showing that they have an interest to go forward to any solution.

COLLINS: Okay. Very reluctant. Aviv Ezra, thank you for your time tonight.

EZRA: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: Coming up, we're following another development that's happening in the U.S. right now, a disturbing one, as we are getting new details about three young Palestinian students who were shot in Vermont and are now recovering in the hospital. We'll have a live report right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:42:18]

MARQUARDT: A deeply disturbing story tonight with the search for a gunman now underway in Vermont. Three Palestinian college students were injured in a shooting in the city of Burlington. This is the last photo taken of the three of them before they were shot.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has been following this story for us. Polo, how are these students doing? What can you tell us about the manhunt?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, at least one of them in critical condition and the other two are stable. You just saw a photo there showing three Palestinian American students that attend school at various U.S. universities, two of them U.S. citizens, another one a legal resident of the United States. All of them are lifelong friends who had been visiting the Vermont area over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding was in close contact with the families, confirming the identities of these three young men, all of them 20 years old. Tahseen Ali Ahmed, Kinnan Abdalhamid is actually the gentleman you see on the left, and then there's the gentleman you see on the right there, his name is Hisham Awartani.

His mother is actually in the West Bank city of Ramallah telling -- actually speaking to some local support group, the head of that support group, and also of the Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank, which is where these three young men actually used to attend school before coming to the United States.

The head of that institution telling CNN that his mother, that Awartani's mother is desperately trying to make it to the U.S. though her son is stable. We understand he has a bullet lodged in his spine. So, his recovery is certainly still up in the air right now.

In the last few hours, we also heard from an attorney who had an opportunity to speak to CNN about a possible motive. Now, before you actually hear what that attorney believes took place, we have to be clear, Burlington, Vermont Police who are the ultimate authority in this case, they have not yet established a motive. They are, however, looking into the possibility that this may have been a hate crime. The attorney for the family, though, as you'll hear, says it all adds up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABED AYOUB, FAMILY ATTORNEY: The suspect walked up to them and shot them. They weren't robbed. They weren't mugged. It was a targeted shooting and a targeted crime. And they were wearing the kufi. They are known in the area, you know, for being Palestinian.

You know, that's a very well-known symbol. It's a very well-known cloth. It's very symbolic of the Palestinian cause, the Palestinian culture and history. So, the fact that they were wearing this and then fell victim to a shooter leads us to believe that played a role, their identity played a role in them being targeted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And the FBI tells CNN that they are aware of this investigation.

[17:45:00]

They are prepared to step in should it reach that point, Alex, given the rise in not only antisemitic but, of course, anti -- or at least an Islamophobic attack that we've seen in the country since October 7th. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Very troubling and wishing those three young men the best. Polo Sandoval, we know that you will stay all over the story, and we will be coming back to you. Thank you very much.

Coming up, we will be speaking with the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We have a lot to get into with him. Stay with us for more of our special coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARQUARDT: We are tracking a lot today from that shooting of the three Palestinian college students in Vermont to talk of a possible truce extension between Israel and Hamas.

[17:50:01]

To get into all of this, we have Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York. He is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us on what is really a busy Sunday. I want to first start by asking you about this horrible shooting of these three young men, these Palestinian college students in Vermont.

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): Well, you know, your adjective of horrible is just that. You know, it seems to me hate has no place in the world. That's known here in the United States and on our college campuses. And to -- obviously or it seems from what I've heard thus far for these young men, to be picked out because they're Palestinian and attacked is something that cannot be tolerated in the United States and should not be tolerated around the world. Hate has no place.

And so, my heart and my prayers go out to the three young men. Hopefully, they will all survive. But we want to make sure that those that committed this heinous act will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, their lawyer noted that they were wearing the kufi, as you can see in that photo, which is such a recognizable Palestinian symbol.

In terms of the next stage of this war, congressman, the president, President Biden has said that he does hope for an extension of this four-day pause so more hostages can come out. You know, we've been speaking with residents of Gaza who are terrified for what could follow if this fighting starts again. What do you think the Biden administration should be doing to urge Israel to do once this pause is over?

MEEKS: Well, number one, let me just say that President Biden has been doing an excellent job. We must get all of the hostages. You know there are some American hostages that are still there. And all of the hostages, whether they're Israeli, those that remain, get them all out. We cannot forget the heinous actions of Hamas.

I think that what needs to take place and what I think that the United States has said, as well as the Israeli government, is that you've got to destroy the tunnels in the network that Hamas has utilized to attack Israel and to kill and to move forward with their agenda of trying to get rid of Israel, saying Israel does not have the right to exist.

So that probably would mean continued ground gain, which I think and should mean that you can get to the tunnels, and hopefully, that will make sure that, you know, we won't have the kind of bombs that are being dropped, which will lessen the number of innocent civilians that would be in harm's way.

I also hope during this humanitarian pause, it means that many Gazans can get out of the way, particularly Northern Gaza, and get into safety where there will be some food and medicine, et cetera, that we see coming in. That's why I hope that it is extended for a few more days and more hostages are released. That's what the Biden administration is working very hard to do.

MARQUARDT: Is that something that you raised with the Israeli government? You were just there. And since you've been back, the death toll has risen to more than 14,000 Gazans. You mentioned Israel going in more on the ground rather than by air, if I understood you correctly. How do you think Israel can go about, you know, accomplishing their goal of eliminating Hamas without causing more civilian casualties?

MEEKS: Again, I think that once they're on the ground and it's riskier for the members of the IDF, but once you're on the ground and you're going door by door, you can go in, and as we've seen, some of the tunnels.

Israel has been very transparent in that ground game by allowing reporters to be embedded with them so that they can see what's taking place also. I think that the people can see also what has taken place and how they popped out of these tunnels to attack, et cetera.

But you have a better -- you know, when you drop the bomb from a foreign area as Israel was trying to do to weaken and destroy some of the time of the tunnels and to make sure that it made it easier for their members -- of the armed forces to get in and on the ground, it also causes buildings to collapse where people are living, et cetera. Being on the ground, that could be eliminated in that regard.

And I also hope that they're still talking to, you know, Saudi Arabia and Jordan and Egypt, all who are being a part of these negotiations, to talk about what happens afterwards because I think that it's tremendously important to talk to the Qatarans and to UAE and others because you can't do this alone and we've got to make sure that we're building something for the return of the Gazans back to their homes and to rebuild once Hamas is destroyed.

MARQUARDT: Congressman, we just have a couple moments left, but I want to ask you about aid for Israel. You've criticized the White House for asking for a waiver so that Congress does not have to have to be notified about that aid being sent to Israel.

[17:55:00]

I want to ask you, what conditions would you like to see on military aid for Israel?

MEEKS: No, I did not say that I want to condition aid, but when the president wants to move forward, he has to apply any president and come to Congress. That's Congress's job. I'm not going to give up the responsibility that the United States Congress has to any president that would set a precedent for someone else.

MARQUARDT: But you don't want any conditions applied?

MEEKS: Well, we have not had conditions applied to Israel aid ever until the Republicans --

MARQUARDT: But it is applied to other countries.

MEEKS: Say that again?

MARQUARDT: It is applied to other countries, for example, human rights, a country like Egypt.

MEEKS: We -- I want to continue to serve Israel and to supply weapons as we've had in the past. The president still comes to Congress. I have an opportunity to review, to make some decisions. For example, what happened in -- one of the things that was before us was rifles to go to some in the West Bank. I want to make sure that those rifles are going into the right hands.

MARQUARDT: Right.

MEEKS: And I said, I would not check (INAUDIBLE) until such time that I knew that. So, that's not a condition. It's trying to make sure that we're doing the right thing at the right time.

MARQUARDT: All right, Congressman Gregory Meeks, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much for your time this evening, sir. Appreciate it.

MEEKS: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

MARQUARDT: And CNN's special coverage of the Israel Hamas four-day truce continues in just a moment. Stay with us.

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