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CNN International: Israel and Hamas Agree to Extend Truce by Two Days; Freed Hostages Tell Loved Ones of Their Experiences; Temporary Truce Reveals Scale of Devastation in Gaza; 9-Year-Old Reunites with Father After Being Held Hostage. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Bianca is off for the next couple of days, but just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A nation celebrates once again as more Israeli women and children feel freedom. The fragile truce now extended by 48 hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Gaza City, they collect the dead. Hundreds, perhaps thousands more, remain trapped under the rubble.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A call to Earth Day, a day of action to protect the planet, and this year the theme is our shared home. As you put a focus on the crucial link between cities and the natural world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN newsroom with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It is Tuesday, November the 28th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 11:00 a.m. in Gaza, where the truce between Israel and Hamas has been extended by two days raising expectations that more hostages and Palestinian prisoners will be released in the hours ahead. On Monday, 11 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas on the 4th day of the pause in fighting. All were taken to a medical center in Tel Aviv for any care that they may need and also to be reunited with their families.

The nine children and two women released are all residents of the same kibbutz in southern Israel and all have dual citizenship. Also on Monday, 33 additional Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli prisons as part of the agreement. They included thirty teenagers and three women. CNN's Clare Sebastian following developments and joins us here with the latest. So, we don't actually know for sure that there will be more swaps as a result of the extension of the truce.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But that is the expectation, right? So, Israel has said that essentially the ball is in Hamas's court. And if they continue to release hostages at a minimum of 10 Israelis per day, then the pause will be extended for 24 hours for each of those releases. The Israelis are saying by a government spokesperson that they now have a list. Overnight, they got a list of 10 potential hostage releases. So that shows that things are progressing along the same rhythm that we've seen over the last four days.

There was a slight hitch on Monday. Things were delayed a little bit because of the list of people that that originally Israel was given. There was some concern that it included children without their mothers who were also in captivity. That was then apparently resolved. But today, apparently, they're saying they have another list of 10. So, things are progressing.

There is still some concern, Max, that going forward whether or not Hamas will have enough women and children, which we understand are still the only people covered under this agreement to continue to fulfill its side of the agreement. Whether some of them might be under the physical custody of other groups within Gaza. But Israel has said -- Mark Regev of the senior adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu, that that is sort of semantic that because Hamas is the de facto government there because they are the ones they're negotiating with, they should be able -- they should have been able to use this for us to locate enough hostages.

FOSTER: And what happens after the two days?

SEBASTIAN: So, there is potential still for it to be extended. This is open-ended as long as hostages continue to be released. This is something that the White House certainly hopes will happen. They are still waiting, by the way, for two American women who they had hoped would have already been released to be released after that. If Hamas stops releasing hostages, Israel has made it very clear that they intend to go back in and continue with the job of, they say, eliminating Hamas completely. The defense minister says, with the full force, you know, even more force than before. And they are making it very clear that they don't think that will jeopardize the safety of the hostages. On the contrary, they think it will provide a deterrent for Hamas to continue to release hostages to extend this pause.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you.

So, we know that Israel has notified the families of those relatives who are on the list of hostages who could be released today. Tal Heinrich is a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he talks to CNN earlier about what comes next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAL HEINRICH, SPOKESPERSON FOR ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: The ball is in Hamas's court right now. They're the ones holding the hostages. They are the ones who are giving us these lists. That we prioritize women and children and that we don't want to see separation of families in these batches, in these groups of hostages being released.

[04:05:00]

So again, we're at this moment of anticipation that our entire nation is waiting to see what will bring the new day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Heinrich repeated the point that for every 10 extra Israeli hostages, Israel will give another day of humanitarian pause in the fighting. But added they're waiting to see how it all unfolds.

Joining me now from near Tel Aviv is Shlomi Eldar, journalist and filmmaker and former fellow with the Wilson Centers Middle East Program. Thank you so much for joining us. Because one of the issues that appears to be bubbling up here is where the hostages are and who they're being held by. Just explain to us, first of all, the relationship between Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is the other main group, isn't it? And the difference between them and their relationship to each other.

SHLOMI ELDAR, JOURNALIST AND FILMMAKER: Yes, but we have to take to consider that Hamas is the sovereign in Gaza. It's not a problem to get the hostages from the Islamic Jihad. It's very simple for them because they can force them. It's not beginning now. I think all the time Hamas and Islamic Jihad, they are both affiliated to Iran. So, when Hamas wants to force the Islamic Jihad to give back the hostages, they can do it easily.

I think Hamas today is under pressure, not only the military pressure, but also, they hear the voices of the civilians in Gaza. I'm covering Gaza over 30 years and the first time in my career I can hear voices of civilians that saying it's enough -- enough is enough. We had enough from the Hamas and the first time I hear voices of uprising, they want to uprise against Hamas, who brought them back 20 or 30 years back. And I think that Hamas is hearing these voices. And what they want now is the humanitarian aid more than the Palestinian prisoners from releasing them from the Israeli prison. And for Hamas it's very important to get now the humanitarian aid and took the hostages from Islamic Jihad and other groups that capture the Israeli hostages.

FOSTER: That may have been the case surely before the war, but since the war it's very difficult to argue, isn't it, that Hamas has governing power over the whole of the Gaza Strip, when you know the place is in utter chaos, and surely Islamic Jihad is more autonomous now.

ELDAR: Yes, but I think they are cooperated -- cooperating together. It's not the first time even in the last -- the last invade of Gaza in the cast lead and other in cloud of pillar, they all the time Hamas and Islamic Jihad cooperated together. They had a headquarters. They joined the headquarter to fight against Israel. I think the problem is not with the jihadist Islam. The much more

difficult problem now for Israel to find the hostages that are captive by ordinary families in Gaza. I don't know where are they -- I'm sure that Hamas can find them, but it will take time. They all the time playing the term of they need the ceasefire to find the hostages. They are captivated in the these families. But they can do it. Hamas, they have the ability to find all the hostages by the families or by the Islamic Jihad.

FOSTER: Is that one of the agreements of the truce then? Perhaps that Hamas would then be more able to move around and locate the hostages. And just explain who these families are and how they ended up with hostages.

ELDAR: Yes, this families entered to Israel on October 7th. They found the border is collapsed and they found themselves in Israel and they know that Israeli citizens are worth money. They kidnap them and willing to sell them to Hamas or Islamic Jihad. I don't know exactly the number of the hostages holding by these families, but I think it's a couple of Israelis that's still hostages. They still are in Gaza Strip. But the much more group, the large group, are holding captivate in by Hamas and a small group by the Islamic Jihad.

But again, I think with Hamas need to get all the hostages back. They can do it very easily. They playing all the time now because if he's in war the leader of Hamas now in Gaza Strip. They need the ceasefire.

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They need much more time and they believe they can stop the war because they are hearing all the time the voices of the Israelis. The idea from the Israeli Prime Minister that Israel targeting Hamas and want to eliminate this group and this movement in Gaza. They believe that the ceasefire can end the war.

FOSTER: Could it be that some of the families you're -- as you described them, some people describe them as groups away from Islamic Jihad and Hamas. But they don't necessarily want money and they're not negotiating with Hamas for money, but they've got Palestinians in Israeli prisons who they want to release. And there's a separate issue there that they're negotiating with Hamas about getting their family members on the list of Palestinians to be released.

ELDAR: Yes, this family, this group wants money. It's like a gangster who --

FOSTER: But how do you know that?

ELDAR: -- would like to negotiate to get money. I know, I know. I know that. I know it's for exactly they want to sell the hostages to the Islamic Jihad and prefer to sell them to the Hamas. I think the Hamas can get them if they want to get them. Now, here he is in war and the other leadership of Hamas in Gaza Strip would like to get much more -- more time for ceasefire. And for them -- I say it again -- they can get easily the hostages from Rajat and from Islamic Jihad and from this family. The problem now that in this war and all the Hamas group would like to see how Israel stopped the war and withdraw from Gaza. They are playing with the hostages.

I think the main group that there will be dealing with will be the soldiers that were kidnapped from Israel in October 7th. They are releasing now point by point, first the children, the old people, the sick people, the injured, the Israelis hostages and the part of the soldiers are more than 30 or 40 soldiers that were kidnapped for Israel. This is will be more difficult for us, for the Israelis to negotiate with Hamas because Hamas to release the soldiers, needs to ask for Israel, request for Israel to empty all the prisons of Palestinians, Palestinian soldiers.

FOSTER: OK, Shlomi Eldar I really appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for joining us.

Now hostages released by Hamas have been describing their experiences to their families and their loved ones. Efrat Machikawa was reunited with four family members who had been kidnapped, including her 78- year-old aunt. She spoke to CNN's Kaitlan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EFRAT MACHIKAWA, HAD FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS RELEASED: Once they got to where they got down in the tunnels, she actually took the role of taking care of others, and she helped many of them. Even in the tiny little things like getting up from the mattress. They're all very old. They were old, the old, all the oldies together. So it was, it was challenging. And knowing she was there for all the others I think made her even stronger. And I think it's a lesson for all of us. We don't have to be masculine or we don't have to have special powers. There is something inside us that is growing stronger when we're in the weakest point and I adore that in her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The temporary truce between Israel and Hamas has highlighted the full scale of devastation across Gaza for the first time. Weeks of fighting and airstrikes have left entire neighborhoods levelled and have destroyed critical infrastructure. The UN estimates more than one and a half million Gazans have been internally displaced. CNN's Ben Wiedeman has more on the dire situation there.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Gaza City, they collect the dead lying in the streets and load them onto donkey carts. Hundreds, perhaps thousands more, remain trapped under the rubble. The fate of so many still unknown.

We can't contact our relatives, says Reda Al-Jamal. We don't know who's died and who's still alive.

According to the Ramallah based Palestinian Health Ministry, the death toll the day before the truce began reached nearly 15,000, two thirds of whom were women and children.

A few days of relative calm have allowed people to emerge and see what this war has wrought. Destruction on a scale Gaza, which has been through so much over the decades, has never seen before.

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According to the UN, around 1.7 million Gazans have been displaced, about 80 percent of the population. Many of those crammed into the south.

The pause has allowed people to resupply, but so far, it's only been a drop in the ocean, says the UN. All the while, people are hoping, wishing today's calm will not be followed by the storm.

We hope, says Abu Odai, the truce continues and holds permanently, and the Israelis pull out of the north so that everyone who was forced to flee can return to their homes, even if they're in ruins, even if they have to live in tents.

With winter's grip tightening, hundreds wait for a bag of flour from the UN. More supplies are getting into Gaza, but not enough.

How many days is this bag of flowers supposed to last us? Asked Sabrin Al-Najar, one 2-3 days. And how many days before this war flares again?

Ben Weidman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: More hostages then expected to be released today, but two American women are still being held captive in Gaza. What the White House is saying about their prospects for freedom Plus 9-year-old Ohad, reunited with his father after being held captive by Hamas. We hear from a relative of the family about their experience in Gaza.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Well, the Biden administration is hoping two American women still in captivity in Gaza will be freed in the coming days. The White House says it doesn't believe Hamas has intentionally held back their release. More now from CNN's MJ Lee.

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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A big disappointment for the White House that no American hostages were released on Monday. The White House had said that three American citizens were believed to be among the initial fifty women and children hostages to be released by Hamas during a four-day truce period. Abigail Adan was one of them. She, of course, was released on Sunday and then two additional American women. But day four of the truce coming and going without those two women being released.

Now we can't say anything at this point about the condition of those women, their whereabouts, or if and when they may end up being released. But this is a part of the big reason why the White House has been pushing for this truce to be extended beyond those initial four days. The longer the truce obviously means that more hostages can hopefully get out.

And what we are told is that senior White House officials on Monday made a whole bunch of phone calls to the Qatari Prime Minister to work on getting this truce extended. CIA Director Bill Burns, we are told, was also intimately involved, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan was keeping the president apprised the entire time.

So, we are about to learn probably in the next 48 hours or so, whether these two American women will end up being released as a part of the next group of 20 or so women and children hostages to be released over the course of two days. And then after that, the question of course for this White House very much turns to the seven other unaccounted four Americans. We know that there are men, according to the White House, but we again don't know anything about their condition as well.

MJ Lee, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And nine-year-old Ohad Munder was abducted by Hamas along with his mother and grandmother from their kibbutz on October the 7th. On Friday, the three were released from captivity and returned to Israel as part of the deal with Hamas to bring home the hostages. CNN's Matthew Chance spoke to a relative about the Mundo families experience in Gaza.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Did she indicate to you if she was kept in a tunnel or in a cellar or in a house?

MERAV RAVIV, RELATIVE OF HAMAS HOSTAGES RELEASED ON FRIDAY She was kept in different places. She does not know exactly where it is because they took them from place to place, but they were all together -- all of them. That's three of them were together all the time.

I can tell you that they ate -- they ate a lot of rice. Sometimes they didn't have rice, so they ate only bread. It wasn't that they were eating, you know, fruits and vegetables and vitamins and whatever things that you need. She told me that if you want to go to the toilet, you have to knock on the door and only after one a half hour, or two hours they open the door and you can go to the bathroom.

They were not beaten or tortured, they got -- they were in closed room. They weren't with them. But the room was locked and they were by themselves. And that's it.

CHANCE: Let me ask you about this briefly, because one of the images that I remember is when he was handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas gunman, and he was being held tightly by one of those masked figures. You saw that picture. What did you think?

RAVIV: I saw the faces they were so scared. They were also scared what they told me that on the way with the ambulance, the people in Gaza just were on the -- on the car, and they moved the car from place - you know, they -

CHANCE: They shook the car, why?

RAVIV: Why? Because they don't like us. They knew that the hostages --

CHANCE: In an angry way.

RAVIV: Yeah, in an angry way, of course. A citizen or whatever, I don't know exactly. She does not know exactly. She said that it was very, very scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, that was a relative of the Munder family speaking to CNN's Matthew Chance.

Another group of Israeli hostages were released by Hamas on Monday. But what comes after the troops?

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That's next on CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The truce between Israel and Hamas is now in its fifth day, extended by at least another 48 hours. And Israel has notified the families of 10 more hostages expected to be released today. That's according to a family member. Hamas freed two women and nine children on Monday, all 11 Israelis have dual citizenship, three French citizens, two Germans and six Argentine citizens.

On Monday, Israel released another 33 Palestinians, who've been held in Israeli prisons, all women and children. Many were detained but never charged. A top Israeli official says Israel has a list of Palestinian prisoners they plan to release today. And that for every group of 10 hostages Hamas releases, Israel will extend the truce for one additional day.

Dozens of hostages are still being held in Gaza, and eventually this pause in fighting is likely to end. When it does, Israel's defense minister is warning the military operation will intensify. CNN's Oren Liebmann reports from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A nation celebrates once again as more Israeli women and children feel freedom. The fragile truce now extended by 48 hours, sealed with the release of hostages. Already some of the freed hostages, like Margalit Moses, are being discharged from the hospitals.