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Netanyahu To Israeli Military: Ceasefire Will Not Begin Until Hamas Provides Names Of Hostages To Be Freed; TikTok Goes Dark In The U.S. As Shutdown Takes Effect; Trump Expected To Sign Slew of Executive Orders On Day One; Evacuation Orders Lifted As Containment Improves; Russia Launches Deadly Strike Across Ukraine. Aired 1a-2a ET
Aired January 19, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:27]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.
We are following two breaking stories.
The popular Chinese owned social media platform TikTok goes dark in the U.S.
But first, a long awaited cease fire between Israel and Hamas, which was due to take effect this hour, now appears to be on hold. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's told the Israeli military that the ceasefire will not begin until Israel has received the names of hostages that Hamas will release. The ceasefire was due to begin less than half an hour from now, at 8:30 a.m. local time.
Under the agreement, Hamas was to release three of them. On Sunday, Israel was to release 95 Palestinians. It's been holding prisoner. Each side would release more in the coming weeks. Israeli troops are preparing for a gradual withdrawal from some parts of Gaza. The agreement calls for them to move to a buffer zone away from populated areas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israel on Saturday, saying he plans to bring home all of the hostages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The cabinet and the government have approved a plan for the return of our captives. This is a war goal we will not relent on until it is completed. I know that this concern is shared by all the families in Israel. I promise you, we will meet all the goals of the war. We will bring everyone home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: In Tel Aviv, demonstrators were on the streets on Saturday night calling for an end to the war in Egypt. Hundreds of aid trucks are at the Rafah border crossing right now, ready to enter Gaza as soon as the fighting stops. Well, obviously this is breaking news. We're going to go straight to
Salma Abdelaziz live in London with more.
Salma, thank you so much for being with me.
Tell me, what more do we know right now about Netanyahu's decision?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And this is really important because we only just received this in the last few moments. A statement from Prime Minister Israeli -- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office saying that the ceasefire will not begin until Israel receives a list of the names of hostages that are set to be released. Now, there was already overnight a security situation assessment that was held by the Israeli government because of what they say is the delay in receiving this list. Hamas has acknowledged this delay, but say that it is, quote, due to a technical failure and they have reiterated their commitment to the deal.
It is difficult to really overemphasize, Ben, just how much people are waiting. Families are waiting with bated breath, both in Israel and inside Gaza, for this deal to take place. The guns should fall silent in less than 30 minutes. But, of course, with this delay, it is unclear if that will take place. Everyone, including humanitarian organizations, is gearing up for this cease fire. You mentioned that aid trucks are already waiting at the Rafah border crossing. Under this agreement, some 600 aid trucks a day will be allowed into Gaza. That is a huge improvement from the tiny trickle of help that has been coming through over the last 15 months.
You have to remember the dire conditions inside the Gaza strip, hunger, disease, a lack of medical care, all of those issues may begin to be resolved by humanitarian groups. Once that cease fire takes place. And then, of course, there is the release of Israeli hostages. Again, according to this deal, at around 4:00 p.m. local time, we should see the first three hostages released.
According to U.S. officials, those first three hostages will be three female civilian hostages. So huge moments, huge anticipation, huge hope as the clock ticks. But yet again, there seems to be this obstacle coming from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office. The statement about the list of names that has absolutely put yet again slowed down this process.
It is unclear at this time when that list will be received. Does it mean the guns will fall silent again? The statement was clear that the ceasefire will not begin, so well absolutely bring you those updates as we get them. But again, less than 30 minutes from now, guns are supposed to fall silent. But Prime Minister Netanyahu's office is waiting on a list of names before that takes place.
HUNTE: I mean, Salma, just yesterday, I was in this seat scrolling on social media, seeing people celebrating in the streets in Gaza.
[01:05:04]
And I then asked experts on this show whether they thought those celebrations were a bit premature.
I mean, what are you hearing from people on the ground now?
ABDELAZIZ: I think the desperation on the ground, Ben, is such that any respite, any sort of relief, any hope is absolutely going to be celebrated. But we must put this in the wider context of what's taking place in the Gaza strip these last 15 months of war have absolutely decimated that enclave. Nearly every single person has been displaced.
The medical infrastructure is entirely destroyed, some more than 90 percent of buildings apparently have been damaged or destroyed, meaning many people don't even have a home to go back to, Ben. So yes, it may seem ahead of time, but when you think about just how horrific the conditions are on the ground, how desperate people are, both those waiting for the hostages and those inside Gaza for any sort of good news. After a brutal 15 month war, you can begin to understand why. Just as that clock ticks, the hope, the anticipation rises.
HUNTE: Yes, indeed. We will see what happens over the next few minutes. That's what it's going to come down to.
Salma Abdelaziz in London, thank you so much. I'm sure we'll be speaking very, very soon.
Well, more breaking news. TikTok is now officially online. It is actually going down shortly before a ban was slated to go into effect.
Let's take a look at the home page of TikTok. So a message now says, sorry, TikTok isn't available right now. A law banning it has been enacted in the U.S. unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now.
The question is, what is going to happen next? Perhaps 170 million American users could see service return as soon as Monday when Donald Trump takes office. The president-elect says he will, quote, most likely delay a ban on TikTok for 90 days. But he has not made a final decision yet.
The app did threaten to go offline on Sunday unless the Biden administration assured the company there would be no punishment for violations. The White House called the warning just a stunt and said the issue now belongs to Trump.
CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on what led up to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there. Yes, TikTok has gone dark in the United States. Everyone wants to know what happens next, but to understand it, let's go back in time about five years to see how we've reached this point.
It was in 2020 that then President Donald Trump expressed concerns about TikTok, warning that the Chinese controlled app was a danger to Americans. This idea about a ban took years to really gather steam. I remember interviewing Republican allies of Trump in 2022 and in 2023 about the importance of a ban. Once it was brought before all of Congress in 2024, the House of Representatives passed this bill with bipartisan support.
This was not a close vote. There was a lot of support for this ban, and President Biden signed it into law. There are still some Republican lawmakers who support this ban, like Senator Tom Cotton. He said the other day on X that ByteDance and its, quote, Chinese communist masters, have had nine months to sell TikTok. The very fact that they have refused to reveal, quote, exactly what TikTok is. He calls it a communist spy app.
But there are so many other voices in this conversation, so many other people, including influencers and business owners who rely on TikTok, who are worried about the impacts of this ban. And frankly, their voices have been louder in recent days, while the voices warning about national security have been more muted.
I think that's because President-elect Trump has been out in front, suggesting that he will find a way to save this app. He will find a way to save TikTok, and that has caused some Republican Party members to start to quiet their concerns. We've also heard from Democrats in the U.S. who want this app to stay online. It seems that the Biden administration is just punting this issue to the incoming administration.
And that's why were in this strange in-between period right now where TikTok is briefly unavailable in the U.S., but everyone believes it will come back online once Trump takes the oath of office on Monday. And when I say everyone, that includes the employees at TikTok, here's an internal memo that I obtained two employees on Saturday night, talking about this impending ban and saying, quote, we are fortunate that President Trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.
That's the big question now. What will Trump do? How will he do it? And can he find a way to keep this entertainment and communications platform online despite all of the national security concerns?
[01:10:01]
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Well, let's dig into this story a little bit more.
Joining us now is content creator and author Joanne Molinaro, also known as the Korean Vegan. I love that name. And she joins us from Los Angeles.
Thank you so much for being with me. I'm going to skip the pleasantries. Tell me, how are you actually feeling right now?
JOANNE MOLINARO, CONTENT CREATOR, AUTHOR: Well, Ben, thanks for inviting me and thanks for asking me. I have to say, I have been rather emotional. I don't want to overstate it, but I do feel like I've lost many, many, many friends in just the past couple of hours.
HUNTE: Gosh. And tell me more about that. So what's actually behind it? You're a New York Times bestselling author, a host of a podcast. Some would ask, do you even really need TikTok? Why are those relationships and friendships not continuing beyond this ban?
MOLINARO: That's a really great question. But to answer it very succinctly, yes, I do. I do need TikTok to continue engaging with the community that I've spent over four and a half years building. It's a unique community, and it's not something that can be replicated really at all on the other platforms. Not to mention the fact that I was deriving significant income from my small business on TikTok.
So that will also be sorely missed. But right now, im just missing hearing from the thousands of people who continue to be reached by my content.
HUNTE: After all of these years of you having access to this app and I'm guessing uploading content whenever you wanted to, talk me through that moment when you logged onto TikTok and you immediately were told to close it down because the ban had come into effect?
MOLINARO: It was extremely surprising how emotional I got. I have been preparing for this for days and weeks. Ive been talking about the TikTok ban and all the things that I need to do as a content creator and a small business owner to prepare for that eventuality, with the hope. I agree with Brian. I do think that it may come back to life in just a couple of days, but with the hope that it would come back, I was making my preparations.
So as you alluded to when I logged on earlier this evening, and all of a sudden, my activity screen went completely blank, and the thousands of comments that I was trying to respond to as much as I could disappeared. I genuinely felt like -- like I said, that I had lost a bunch of my friends just in a second.
HUNTE: You are also an attorney. I just wondered if you could talk me through some of the legal options that TikTok has now. I mean, we are expecting that they're going to make a comeback of some sort, but legally, could they just challenge this and return in exactly the way that they want to?
MOLINARO: I think there are a couple of ways they can challenge the current situation. Can they challenge the law that has already been enacted? No. That avenue has now been closed thanks to a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of the United States.
There are a couple of political things and more commercial things that they could work on over the next couple of days, especially with the president, an incoming president that seems very keen on helping them, at least according to their outgoing messages to users like me. One of those things, of course, is working with Donald Trump to exert some pressure on both houses of Congress to repeal or amend the act, to give them a little bit more breathing room. The other thing that we've seen Donald Trump allude to is perhaps work with its DOJ to not enforce the ban. Now, a lot of that will then require apple, Google and the many other
suppliers that work with ByteDance and TikTok to be persuaded that they're going to be safe enough with the word of Donald Trump and his appointed DOJ to not be prosecuted. That's currently where were at right now. Apparently, some of these suppliers were not comforted by the words of Joe Biden and the incoming president.
HUNTE: What would you say to the people who are now celebrating in the downfall of TikTok? I'm sure there's people from other apps that are going to be celebrating this, but also, I've spoken to some parents who have said that they feel like they've lost their children because of this app. They feel like they can't hold their attention anymore. They feel like some teachers have said that young peoples reading abilities have reduced because of TikTok.
I mean, what would you say to those who are celebrating this?
MOLINARO: Well, I would say for every person that has, you know, lost attention span or hasn't, you know, been talking to their parents as much, there are probably at least ten, 15, 20, 100 individuals on TikTok who've learned to open their communication with their parents, who've opened themselves to new books and new cultures and new learnings. I'm included in that. I, as many millions of people on TikTok know, have really opened my relationship with my own immigrant parents as a result of TikTok, and I've learned so much about all sorts of different cuisines because of TikTok.
[01:15:03]
So I would say that, look, if you have problems reaching your children or your students, its not just TikTok. There are all sorts of social media distractions out there that are probably doing just as much harm in that regard.
HUNTE: I said some shade in there, Joanne. I called it, I called it.
Well, thank you so, so much for joining me for now. And I wish you the best in building back that community, regardless of what happens over the next few hours and days. Thank you for joining me.
MOLINARO: Thank you so much.
HUNTE: You're so welcome.
Okay, well, let's keep on going with this story. I want to bring in CNN's Marc Stewart, who is live in Beijing.
Mark, thank you for joining me again.
We're obviously still talking about this news. We're still leading on it. This is what, the third hour we're going into now. I just wonder, is there any reaction about this from China yet?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very limited reaction. Xinhua, which is the state's main news agency, CCTV, which is the main television network here, they are acknowledging that this shutdown happened. They are reporting that the shutdown occurred.
But that is it. No response from government officials. No, no additional insight there. But keep in mind that state media, these organizations are the government's messenger service.
So people here are aware that this has happened. Maybe we'll get some more insight at a government briefing that's held every afternoon at 3:00 p.m. here in Beijing. That's possible.
But when it's been brought up in recent days, the government really has been sticking to some of the past sticking points, talking points, I should say, then, like the U.S. has been acting like a bully. It doesn't respect free markets. It's wrong that there are national security concerns.
Those are the lines that we have been hearing, as of our last reporting check -- I mean, this is a platform that its Chinese owner, ByteDance, says is still not up for sale. And as we've been discussing over the last few hours, a sale is really a lofty ask because it's not about really the dollars and cents in all of this. It's about the algorithm.
TikTok's ability to try to get some insight about what you're thinking and what you might be thinking next, and that will direct you to the content that you see. And that's something that the company may not necessarily be willing to part with. In fact, it has not been willing to part with.
But then it is getting attention here. People on social media are following this. In fact, a lot of people are praising TikTok and its CEO for not backing down to this ultimatum presented from the United States.
HUNTE: Well, not backing down just yet, but were going to see what happens over the next few hours and days because everything keeps changing, Marc, what is going on for now?
Thank you for joining me. I'm sure we're going to speak again very, very soon.
Okay. When we return, the celebrations begin as Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office for a second time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:22:06]
HUNTE: Welcome back.
Donald Trump arrived in Washington on Saturday to kick off days of inauguration events. He held a special celebration at his golf club, including a fireworks show. There was also a cabinet reception and a vice presidential dinner. Trump promises his inauguration will be beautiful despite the freezing temperatures forecast for Monday, plans are still changing after the ceremony was moved indoors at the last minute. We're now learning that people will be allowed to watch part of
Trump's motorcade travel to the White House, even though thousands of ticket holders will not be able to watch the inauguration in person. Meanwhile, Trump says he plans to get to work very quickly.
CNN's Alayna Treene has more on what to expect after he's sworn in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: President-elect Donald Trump and his team are planning a slate of executive orders to be issued on his first day in office, some of which, I'm told are actually expected to be signed by him immediately after being sworn in at the Capitol Rotunda, but then more as well to be issued later in the day.
Now, one of the biggest issues that some of these early orders are going to be focused on, I'm told, is all about immigration. Now, Donald Trump has promised repeatedly throughout his time on the campaign trail to try and round up illegal immigrants in this country and deport them. And that's exactly what some of this early action is going to look like.
We're told that you should expect ICE raids through major metropolitan cities, sweeps through cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and Denver. And Donald Trump actually addressed some of this in an interview with NBC on Saturday.
He said, essentially, that he wants to begin very early, very quickly with some of these actions and some of these cities, but wouldn't say exactly where.
Now, some of the other actions, were told, related to immigration, as well as Donald Trump and his team are considering a national emergency declaration to try and free up some of the resources from the Pentagon to be sent to the southern border, as well as looking at different asylum restrictions and really rolling back some of what Joe Biden has done, some of which, of course, was him undoing what Donald Trump had done during his first time in office.
Now, we did hear from one of Donald Trump's advisers on Saturday, speaking with CNN's Jessica Dean, really walking through some of this action that is expected to be taken.
Take a listen.
JASON MILLER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP: When you go back to the campaign trail, what President Trump would talk about is that local law enforcement really knows where the criminal illegals are. And so partnering up with local law enforcement to make sure that we go and target the folks who are the really bad actors, we're talking the transnational gang members. We're talking the people that we know that are criminal illegals that are here in this country, that, quite frankly, are a danger to society.
TREENE: Now, you heard Miller tell Jessica there that really one of the big focuses is going to be on targeting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in this country. That is definitely a big focus, I'm told, for Donald Trump on day one.
[01:25:03]
But not all of those early executive orders are going to be focused on immigration. I'm told there's also going to be some orders focused on trade and the economy, as well as energy.
So, a lot that Donald Trump is planning to do on day one, just shortly after being sworn in.
Alayna Treene, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was scheduled to begin just minutes from now, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Israeli military to hold off on implementing it. We'll have a live update from Jerusalem next on CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HUNTE: The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is scheduled to begin at any moment now. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's told the Israeli military that the ceasefire will not begin until Israel has received the names of hostages, that Hamas will release. Right now, hundreds of aid trucks are at the Rafah border crossing. They'll enter Gaza as soon as the fighting stops.
Under the agreement, Hamas is to release three of them on Sunday.
[01:30:01]
Israel is to release 95 Palestinians it's been holding prisoner. Each side will release more in the coming weeks. Israeli troops are preparing for a gradual withdrawal from some parts of Gaza. The agreement calls for them to move to a buffer zone away from populated areas.
Meanwhile, Palestinian civil defense is warning people that even if the troops are gone, the areas might not be safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD BASAL, SPOKESPERSON, PALESTINIAN CIVIL DEFENSE (through translator): For those in Gaza City planning to return to northern Gaza, as well as those in southern areas heading toward Rafah or eastern regions along the border, we strongly urge caution. As is customary, Israeli forces often leave behind remnants of war in these areas, which, if disturbed, could result in fatal consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Well, CNN's Nada Bashir is live in Jerusalem for us.
Nada, this ceasefire is supposed to go into effect literally right now. What are you hearing about what happens next? NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There has been some
questions as to whether or not this will remain firmly in place, whether we will see the ceasefire being enforced as planned. As you mentioned, it is expected to go into force right now, but there have been questions around the terms of the agreement, namely the release of the names of hostages to be released by Hamas from captivity in this first initial phase, which is set to last for six weeks.
Now, we have heard reports that we have seen Israeli forces withdrawing from parts of Rafah in the south, so potentially a positive sign there. But we have heard from the Israeli prime ministers office warning that that ceasefire cannot fully begin until they receive that full list of names of hostages to be released in this first phase. Hamas officials have meanwhile said that they remain firmly committed to this ceasefire agreement. They have blamed technical difficulties or technical issues for the delay in the release of those names.
And, of course, important to remember that the exchange that were seeing taking place today, hopefully, and of course, over the coming weeks, reflects somewhat the exchange that we saw back in November 2023, when we saw that four day truce between Israel and Hamas. We saw the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Now, during that period, we also saw some delays in the implementation of the agreement in terms of the release of hostages. There were days where we would see the names of hostages and the names of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released very late into the day.
So there were some issues, some uncertainty. Details very much up in the air. So it is not surprising, perhaps, that we are seeing this now. But of course there is a lot of pressure on this deal getting to getting to work as soon as possible. A lot of questions still up in the air.
And of course, in terms of the framework, in terms of what were expecting to see today, the hope is that three Israeli hostages will be released from captivity in Gaza by Hamas following their release and their return into Israeli territory. That's when we can expect to see the release of some Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Now, over the course of the next six weeks, were expecting to see hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released. And, of course, 33 Israeli hostages released today.
We are expecting around 95 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be released. That includes 70 women, 25 men, among them ten minors under the age of 18. Important to underscore at least 30 of them have been held under administrative detention, a deeply controversial practice which essentially means there are no charges laid against them and no ongoing legal process.
But of course, this is all dependent on the terms of that agreement being upheld. And on, of course, Hamas releasing those names as soon as possible. And of course, this all going to plan, as is hoped by so many. HUNTE: Yes, indeed. Well, we're going to be following the latest. I'm
sure we'll be speaking to you very soon. Nada Bashir in Jerusalem, thank you so much.
Let's stick with this story. I'm going to bring in Zaha Hassan, a fellow with the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She joins us now from Washington.
Thank you so much for being with me. I mean, how are you feeling about all of this?
ZAHA HASSAN, FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Look, we have to be hopeful. This has been a very long road to get here. I mean, it's been 15 months of just every day bombardment of Gaza. Every day, civilians being killed, mainly women and children. So, there's a lot riding on the ceasefire, holding yet.
HUNTE: In Netanyahu's televised speech, just hours before the ceasefire was due to start, he stressed that the ceasefire was, quote, temporary and Israel reserved the right to resume strikes in Gaza. That, to me, felt like a bit of a backpedal.
I just wonder, what are your thoughts on all of that and what could be about to happen?
HASSAN: Right. I mean, I think he's speaking to his ultra right wing flank. There that has threatened to pull out from the government. And, you know, dissolve the coalition, possibly.
[01:35:01]
So he's trying to shore up confidence with that right wing and assure them that, you know, this is just really about an exchange of prisoners and hostages. And it's not a permanent ceasefire because they don't want a permanent ceasefire.
HUNTE: Well, let's actually talk about that. So the fact that this ceasefire, if it does go ahead, do you think that it will actually hold? And if it does hold, then who's going to actually enforce that?
HASSAN: Look, I -- I don't have a lot of confidence in really its going to be a permanent ceasefire.
HUNTE: Really?
HASSAN: No. Just, you know, yesterday there was a presser that was held by the minister who has responsibility over the occupied territories. This is Bezalel Smotrich, and he promised that this was not going to be a situation in which the Israelis leave Gaza. He said the idea is to make Gaza uninhabitable for Palestinians, thereby forcing them out.
So there is no -- there is no world in which that ultra right wing is going to stay partners with Netanyahu, unless Gaza is back on the table in terms of re-colonizing, it. HUNTE: I have to say, its sad to hear you speak in negatively, but I
get this. This is real, right? This is this is months and months and months of planning. What does this mean for the future of the Palestinian authority and the Israeli government, too?
HASSAN: I mean, I don't want to leave on a -- on a negative note because I want to really recognize just how joyful Palestinians were at waking up today and not hearing the sounds of drones and quadcopters above them. This was the first time in 15 months, but we have to be realistic about the situation.
The Israeli government is intent on pursuing annexation of the West Bank. They're taking steps to diminish and degrade the Palestinian Authority. It's bankrupt and unable to function, and they don't want them coming in to take over Gaza because they have plans and designs on Gaza as well. And so I think we have to just be really sober in thinking about what the future is going to hold.
HUNTE: As you said, there are people were celebrating this just yesterday. I was saying earlier that we were seeing people in the streets celebrating in Gaza, and it seems really jubilant, really joyful. It did take over 15 months to reach this agreement, and it feels like President Trump or President-elect Trump coming in has massively influenced this, because it's suddenly come out of what seems to be nowhere. How crucial was the incoming Trump administration in all of this? Do you think?
HASSAN: Oh, Trump, the President-elect Trump was everything to securing the ceasefire. There was no doubt with the Israelis that Trump would use the leverage of the office of the presidency to compel them to a ceasefire deal. Now, we had this cease fire deal on the table back in May, end of May, and Hamas had accepted it in July. And Netanyahu then added new terms. And that that ended up delaying the ceasefire agreement until today.
And the Biden administration was unwilling to put any pressure on Israel to take the deal at that time, back in July. And so we are now in a situation in which tens of thousands more people had have perished because of it. So Trump was instrumental. He was critical in this, you know, the Israeli prime minister believes Trump will exert pressure on him and believes Trump wants to end the ongoing conflict and wants to see a deal. Ultimately, that brings in the entire region.
And so I think it can't be understated how influential Trump was on Netanyahu getting to this point.
HUNTE: Interesting. Well, I'm going to wrap that for now. Thank you so much. Zaha Hassan in Washington. I was going to say thank you for joining me. And, staying up late for me, but I'm sure you're not going to be going to bed any time soon as you wait and see what happens next. But thank you for now.
HASSAN: Thank you.
HUNTE: So welcome. Families of Americans held in Gaza met on Saturday with U.S. national security officials. They spoke with members of the Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration. A source tells CNN that family members shared concerns about ensuring that the hostage agreement is carried out. A Trump official told them its a top priority for Trump's team. Hamas is believed to be holding three Americans in Gaza, and it has the remains of four others.
Earlier, CNN political and foreign policy analyst Barak Ravid spoke with CNN about Mr. Netanyahu's relationship with the U.S. under Donald Trump and his political future at home.
[01:40:10]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: Netanyahu is in is not in a good political situation. The vast majority of Israelis think that he is responsible -- he's one of the main people responsible for the failure of October 7th. In almost every poll, the majority of Israelis say that Netanyahu needs to resign and that early elections need to take place.
Donald Trump knows that very well, and he knows -- Donald Trump knows how to -- how to deal with people that he sees politically fragile. I think this will have a lot of influence on the relationship.
And in 42 days, Netanyahu will have to decide if he's moving to phase two of this deal. And this means that he will have to choose between Donald Trump and his ultra nationalist coalition partners, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, and at any juncture until now, since the beginning of the war, Netanyahu chose Ben-Gvir and Smotrich over the president of the United States. I'm not sure he'll be able to do that with the incoming president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Threats from wildfire have eased in Los Angeles, but coping with the devastation is just the beginning. That story, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:45:17]
HUNTE: Welcome back.
Donald Trump says he'll probably go to California in the next week after being sworn in as president. This as containment has improved for the Eaton and Palisades Fires. About 41,000 people were still affected by evacuation orders in Los Angeles as of Saturday. That's down from more than 170,000 at the height of the wildfires. And as conditions on the ground improve in Los Angeles, many are now faced with what to do in the aftermath of such devastation.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more from Altadena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than ten days after both the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fires started, in some areas that were previously under evacuation are now open to residents.
Still, 41,000 people across L.A. County under these evacuation orders and warnings. But in Santa Monica, some good news the Pacific Coast Highway is open to local traffic and all curfews and evacuation warnings are now lifted as these residents begin to come home or to what's left of their homes, many will need help to rebuild, sometimes entire neighborhoods.
Governor Gavin Newsom announcing on Saturday that five major lenders will provide a 90 day grace period on mortgage payments for California wildfire victims. That kind of assistance is coming not just from government and from neighbors, people helping each other, but also institutions that are beloved by Angelinos like the L.A. Dodgers and other sports teams that together raised more than $8 million for both victims and frontline workers.
And on Friday had an event where they gave out essential items to families that were in those evacuation areas. We caught up with one of them.
JENNIFER SIEFERT, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: The kids, their schools burned down, Little League burned down, Altadena musical theater burned down. My business creativity used to do all my festivals in Altadena because that's where I live, and that's where we raised our children. It's all gone. It's all gone.
JONES: How does it feel to not be able to be in your house and without standing?
SIEFERT: it's a really -- it's bizarre, actually, because it's a survivor. It's a survivors guilt.
JONES: And authorities are saying that families like Jennifer's might be able to come back to look at their properties and survey any damage as early as next Thursday.
Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Altadena.
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HUNTE: We have more breaking news from Gaza for you. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli military has recovered the body of an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza more than a decade ago. Oron Shaul was captured and killed during a battle in 2014. Israeli troops found his remains on Saturday night.
We'll be right back.
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HUNTE: Russia is calling its latest deadly attack on Ukraine's capital retaliation for Ukraine's use of Western missiles, including U.S. made ones. On Saturday, Russia launched a massive air attack on Kyiv, killing three people in the center of the city. Three more people were wounded.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that residential buildings, a metro station and other civilian infrastructure were damaged. Ukraine's Air Force command says Russia launched 39 drones and four missiles overnight. On Saturday, officials in the city of Zaporizhzhia say a missile attack killed one person and wounded 11. The head of the regional military administration posted this video you're seeing now on social media showing the destruction of businesses and residential buildings there, and the governor of the neighboring Kherson region says two more people were killed by Russian attacks there.
A South Korean court has extended President Yoon Suk Yeol detention for up to 20 days, citing concerns Mr. Yoon may destroy evidence relating to his own insurrection case. Sunday's court ruled sparked violent protests. Hundreds of supporters stormed the court in the middle of the night, smashing windows and assaulting police officers, according to local reports.
President Yoon is facing a criminal probe into his short lived declaration of martial law that happened last month. He's the first sitting president as South Korean president, even to be arrested. The embattled president has already been impeached and stripped of his powers.
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(CHANTING)
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HUNTE: That's the sound of protests in the U.S. capital. Thousands marched in Washington, D.C. on Saturday to express their anger at Donald Trump's policies and his return to the White House.
But turnout at Saturday's peoples march was smaller than the women's march in 2017. Still, many people wore the pink hats seen at previous anti-Trump marches. Demonstrators walked past the White House and onto the National Mall for a rally. A few women spoke with CNN about why they were participating.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to be back as a witness, that we are not happy with who's going to be coming into the White House.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to be working with and for the people that the Trump cabinet and presidency is going to be affecting. And I'm talking about immigrants, LGBTQ. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can make a difference if we just keep coming out and speaking up and doing our homework at home and out here and every way we can.
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HUNTE: Two massive winter storms will have much of the United States facing serious freezing weather for the next few days, and that includes Washington, D.C., where the presidential inauguration is set to take place.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the forecast.
[01:55:02]
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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The inauguration is set for Monday in Washington, D.C., and it is expected to be bitter cold. The high temperature only likely making it up to 25 degrees when you factor in that northwest wind. It is going to feel like it is only in the single digits.
This would make it the coldest inauguration since Ronald Reagan's second inauguration back in 1985, when the temperature was only in the single digits. Now all of this cold air is coming in behind the cold front that's expected to bring rain and snow along the east coast as we go into the day on Sunday, and that cold air is really going to drop.
Look at Minneapolis. These are low temperatures, not the wind chill. The temperatures themselves -17 in Minneapolis Tuesday morning. It's going to get down to 11 degrees Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C.
The high temperatures not much better. Even some southern cities like Atlanta, for example, is barely going to make it above the freezing mark as we head into the early portion of this week. Now, the rain and snow component to that front mostly rain on the south side where those temperatures will be mild at least on Sunday. Further north, that cold air is in place.
You're going to see snow for portions of the mid-Atlantic as well as the northeast. And yes, that does include Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and even Philadelphia. The snow itself will be out entirely by the time we get to late Monday morning, but that cold air sweeps in behind it, which means any of the snow that likely falls is going to be there for quite some time.
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HUNTE: All right. Well, that's all I've got for you. Thank you for joining us for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.
It's been heavy, but it's been real. Let's do it again next Saturday. Until then, feel free to come and join me on social media @BeninLondon. And CNN NEWSROOM will continue next. See you next week.