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Hostage Release Expected to Begin in Coming Hours; Hamas Reasserts Control in Parts of Gaza; U.N. Says, Real Progress in Humanitarian Operations in Gaza. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired October 12, 2025 - 22:00   ET

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

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[22:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to you here in the United States and around the world. I'm Sara Sidner in New York.

We begin with breaking news from the Middle East. We are getting ever closer to a huge moment. In a few short hours, Israeli hostages taken by Hamas more than two years ago are expected to be released.

There have been celebrations, as you see there, in Israel where families are now anxiously awaiting their loved ones returned. An Israeli official says, 20 living hostages are expected to be released to the Red Cross. A source says the hostage families have been told there will be three sets of releases. A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office says, once the hostages cross back into Israel, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released and driven into Gaza.

U.S. President Trump now en route to Israel, where he's set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the families of hostages before addressing the Israeli parliament.

Here's what we said earlier, when asked about the war between Israel and Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The war is over, okay? Do you understand that?

REPORTER: Mr. President, is the ceasefire going to hold? Are you confident the ceasefire will hold?

TRUMP: Say it again?

REPORTER: Are you confident that the ceasefire is going to hold?

TRUMP: I think so. I think so. I think it's going to hold I think people are -- a lot of reasons why it's going to halt, but I think people are tired of it. It's been centuries, okay? Not just recent, it's been centuries. I think people are tired of it. Yes, the ceasefire's going to hold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN correspondents are covering all the developments from around the world. Julia Benbrook is standing by at the White House and our Nic Robertson is live in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Nic, it's good to see you again. You have been watching this process of trying to put together this permanent ceasefire for many, many months, and now you're seeing the final throes of this. We just heard from Donald Trump saying, look, the war is over. Is that how it is being seen from the perspective of those and the many countries who have been working on this and come to some kind of agreement for phase one?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think the sense is that there is a ceasefire and that this is a moment that can be used to try to build and use the momentum from getting this ceasefire, the hostage release, the prisoner release, to take this into an arena where there can be a peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking just a few hours ago said we still have enemies, and, essentially, this may not be the end yet. He said all along that there's an easy way -- there is an easy way and a hard way to do this. So, the hard way is obviously if this ceasefire doesn't hold. The implication is that the military would go back into action. The IDF would go back into action, and that's what the IDF, chief of staff has told the troops as well.

But as far as the peace summit that will be held here in a few hours' time after the president makes his speech to the Knesset in Israel, and does a few other things in Israel, details, we're not quite clear on at the moment. He'll come here. And that's where the leaders here want to translate the momentum of the ceasefire into a real peace.

And the core of that is going to be an international stabilization force. Its size, scale, scope, mandate, U.N.-backing, all of those have a question mark on them at the moment. Perhaps we'll get more meat on the bones of that and the other points in President Trump's 20-point plan. But unless that 20-point plan begins to materialize quickly, the idea of having a solid, lasting piece, that will begin to evaporate.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, those are points that need to be made. And we are in this sort of phase one. As you know, Nic, things can get really complicated. We don't know how all of this will play out exactly, the timing, you know, it can be very fluid at this point.

And you talk about the next phases of this when it comes to phase two. I've been reading some of The New York Times reporting as well and looking at some of your reporting.

[22:05:02]

And there's some real sticking points that seem to, at this point, be sort of pushed to the side. Do you see those coming up again anytime soon, or do they really want to see how phase one goes first? ROBERTSON: I think there's a perception on the Palestinian side, for sure, that Israel is looking for an opportunity to restart to the war to completely defeat Hamas. Now, that there's a moment here where the 20-point plan, the international community, the Brits, the French, the Germans, Italians, the Canadians, the Emiratis, the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Qatar, the Turks, the Indonesians, the Pakistanis, all of here -- all of whom will be sending leaders here to arrive later today, that they can use their -- they can -- that they can find a way to put into effect what is envisioned in the 20-point plan, and that's a stabilization force.

But the key question -- I alluded to the scale, scope mandate, but the key question from an Israeli perspective is, is this international force really going to be able to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the whole of Gaza? And the realistic answer as you sit here today is that seems like a very, very big ask. But we don't know the mandate is that force is going to be asked to do and the timeline they'll be working on, and the patience that Israel will have for that process. Israel has said that Gaza cannot be a threat to the security and stability of Israel, but Israel is likely to interpret any re-strengthening, reconstitution, reconstituting, re-arming of Hamas as a potential threat.

So, when we've seen on the streets of Gaza already Hamas policemen armed with AK-47s, part of the instruments of governance in Gaza by Hamas, not less the sort of militaristic group that were hiding in tunnels and fighting the Israeli government, something on the streets at the moment that Gazans are used to. It's going to be also the interpretation of what is Hamas and what is their role. And Hamas say, we're not going to be banished, we're not going to hand over our weapons, we're not going to be vanquished as a political entity because we weren't defeated. That's how they see it.

And those two different visions of Hamas' vision of their role in the future and the 20-point plan calls for them to be disarmed, calls for them to have no role in the political future in Gaza, there's a real crunch there between Israel's expectations and patience and the international community's ability to implement something that Hamas is already indicating they're going to resist. And these are the trigger points where things could unravel and a ceasefire that was aspired to be a peace unraveled.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, you make some really good points. Your reporting has been excellent. So, seeing stuff from Tim Lister and Ibrahim Dahman on the fact that Hamas has reasserted control in parts of Gaza, and they are out in the streets, as you mentioned, well-armed and masked. It puts a real spotlight on the trouble that could be ahead.

Julia Benbrook, to you now at the White House, and thank you so much, Nic Robertson, for sticking with us through all of this for hours and hours and hours as we watch this all unfold. Let me go to Julia, who is at the White House right now. Give me some sense of how the White House is seeing this as President Trump heads to the region and what you're expecting to see from him.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara. This has obviously been a long process to get to this ceasefire agreement that so many hope will turn into a permanent end to this conflict. But we saw a lot of momentum towards this over the last few weeks. It hasn't been long since President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here at the White House. The two sat down for bilateral talks, and then following that held a joint press conference, where Netanyahu endorsed Trump's 20-point plan to end the war.

Just days later, after receiving pressure and a deadline from Trump, Hamas said that it would immediately start negotiations to release all of the hostages. We now expect that to happen within hours. Hamas and Israel did go into indirect talks, and that led to an agreement on the phase one of Trump's proposal.

Trump was asked about what's next while speaking with reporters on Air Force One, as he heads to the region now to really mark this moment in history. And when he was pushed on what's next, the reporter specifically referenced some comments from Netanyahu earlier in the day where he suggested that the Israeli military operations may not be entirely over.

[22:10:06]

Trump was adamant in his response to this question, saying, quote, the war is over.

This is a big moment here, but it is important to note that there are sticking points that you all alluded to as well, that in Trump's address when he said that this had been accepted, there were sticking points that were not addressed, including Hamas' armament as well as the future governance of Gaza.

So, as he goes on this trip that quickly came together and will take place quickly, he won't be there for long. He arrives in Israel. He will meet with some of the hostage family members and then address the Israeli parliament. He'll then travel to Egypt, and that portion is focused on these next steps, including what security and stability will look like in the region going forward, and still a lot of questions there.

SIDNER: Yes. This is extremely, excruciatingly complicated. But for the families who are waiting for their loved ones, it is pretty simple. All they want to do is see them home.

Thank you to you both, Julia Benbrook there at the White House and our Nic Robertson there in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

All right, joining me now from Washington is Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for the State Department. He's also a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

I have to start with just the enormity of what is about to happen. I think this is the most hostages that we've ever seen taken into Gaza and at the same time released. Give us some sense historically when you look at what is happening right now, how big of a moment this will be if all goes as planned, Aaron. AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: I mean, it reminds me, Sara, of the human dimension of this. October 7th, Hamas' attack, the willful indiscriminate killing of 900 civilians, the sexual predation, the mutilation, the taking of hostages, the willful execution of hostages, including an American, and then the Israeli response. Prosecution law against Hamas, which expanded the numbers of civilian casualties and deaths, the Israelis were prepared to tolerate in an effort to see if they could destroy Hamas as a military organization. And now the devastation in Gaza, you saw the pictures of folks returning to Gaza City in Khan Younis, when in fact they're returning most of to rubble.

I think it's an extraordinary moment, but a moment. This is not a peace agreement. There is no guarantee that a first phase will lead to a second nor the inexorable end of the Israeli-Hamas war. But I will say this. The first phase of this addresses the three reasons why October 7th and the last two years has compelled the international community, the U.S., the region, number one, the hostages of those that remain out of the 252 that were taken, 131 returned through negotiations, November 2023, January 2025. 45 to 50 died in captivity, the 20 that are returning alive, 28, that issue is going to be resolved, which leads to the second, hopefully the second dimension of this.

The justification of Israeli military activity to basically continue to hammer Hamas is going to lose much of its credibility. You heard what the president said. The war is over. I'm not sure that is the case. But what is going to end is the massive major comprehensive Israeli military ops, which have claimed so many Palestinian lives. And that should lead to the third issue, which is if you can create an environment where there's no conflict, you can expect the U.N., World Food Programme and others to begin to surge and flood the zone with humanitarian assistance.

So, hostage situation resolved, military activity reduced, humanitarian situation improving, those still are very, very serious. You can begin to actually see how this might actually work.

SIDNER: Yes. I do want to talk to you about what is happening on the ground. So, first of all, you know, part of this plan is that Israel's military is still in basically half of Gaza and sort of, you know, which leaves room for a response and a reaction. And now we are getting reporting from our Tim Lister and Ibrahim Dahman that Hamas has reinserted or reasserted its control and is in parts of Gaza that are not occupied by Israeli forces as the ceasefire has taken hold.

[22:15:05]

And there are images of Hamas there, their faces covered, but with their weapons out. What do you take away from sort of seeing this dynamic play out? Because, as you mentioned, you know, in phase two there is this demand that Hamas de-arm or disarm, and that they take their hands off of any control politically, never mind militarily.

MILLER: Look, I think, and you talk to Israeli intelligence analysts, none of them believe that Hamas can be destroyed as a political organization. And I think what you're watching on the streets, including the president's attitude, even though he has talked repeatedly of Hamas being removed, and the plan does call for the elimination of its senior leadership through an amnesty and extrication from Gaza, I don't think that's realistic.

I think that somebody sold the military commanders who are making decisions, probably key Arab states and maybe the external Hamas leadership, that the hostages were no longer assets, that the way to preserve Hamas control as an organization is to free the hostages, which as we're going to see is going to make the kind of comprehensive military activities. Israel's now an occupation of 53 percent of Gaza. That's the first withdrawal. The second occurs presumably tied to the decommissioning and demilitarization of Hamas as an organization, including the tunnel structure, Sara, infrastructure, which still, even if the Israelis destroyed 30 percent of it is probably, still almost half the length of the New York subway system.

The odds that an international stabilization force is going to deploy with Hamas still control and the Israelis still in Gaza, the notion that this ISF would shoot Palestinians or actually preside while Israel kills Palestinians, it's completely untethered from reality.

And I think Nic laid it out well. The real reason this war has persisted for so long is that the fundamental impasse between the government of Israel and Hamas are mutually irreconcilable. Israel wants Hamas gone as a military organization. They want it to influence decimated or destroyed in Gaza, so there'll be no resurgence. Hamas, on the other hand, wants to keep its weapons, maintain itself in Gaza as a preeminent political actor in an effort to continue its effort to take over the Palestinian national movement.

That impasse will not be reconciled by phase one. And, frankly, Sara, I mean, it's extraordinary what's happening here, but I think we have to be very sober about the prospects of getting an end to the war and reconciling that Israeli Hamas contradiction, I mean, we have to be pretty sober about the prospects for that.

SIDNER: Yes. Aaron David Miller, it is always such a pleasure to talk to you because you have such a breadth of information that it's so important. There is a lot of complication that happens in this region that has happened for dozens and dozens of years, and if not a millennia. So, it is a pleasure to talk through this with you. Thank you so much.

MILLER: Much appreciated, Sara. Thank you.

SIDNER: Still ahead, aid trucks are finally entering Gaza. We will take a look at how the humanitarian operations are unfolding in the enclave just after the break.

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[22:20:00]

SIDNER: The United Nations says, quote, real progress is being made in humanitarian operations across Gaza. Since the ceasefire took effect, hundreds of thousands of meals have finally been distributed to displaced families. You see the images there. There is sheer desperation with people who have been waiting for aid for some time. The latest aid shipments also include medicine, cooking, gas, and supplies to build shelters.

The U.N. confirmed Israel has approved additional shipments. You can see dozens of aid trucks there lining up in Egypt, waiting for the signal to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.

Now, the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it plans to reach and assist nearly every resident of Gaza in the coming days. You see the destruction there.

Joining me now to discuss from Washington, D.C. is Ahmed Alkhatib. He is a director of Realign for Palestine and a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. Ahmed, thank you so much for being here.

Can you just speak to the moment and how you see the phase one of this agreement playing out and what it means to Palestinians who have been under bombardment for the past two-plus years?

AHMED FOUAD ALKHATIB, DIRECTOR, REALIGN FOR PALESTINE: Well, good to be with you. I am delighted by the prospects of this being an anchor upon which lasting stability can commence. However, I'm also concerned that what we've seen the last couple of days with Hamas re- establishing its grip on power throughout the Gaza Strip today. We had fierce clashes between the terror group and local clans in Gaza City. Hamas has been going after suspected opponents.

I'm concerned that Hamas is reasserting its presence in a way that brings us back to some of the dynamics that were there before October 7th. And that'll have all sorts of implications for the humanitarian scene for the inability to reconstruct Gaza and really, more importantly, initiate political transformation that can rejuvenate and revitalize the coastal enclave to the benefit of its population that's been battered by two years of war.

[22:25:00]

SIDNER: You brought up a point at some of our reporting from those who've been in the region for decades. Talk about the fact that Hamas is reasserting its dominance in some areas where the Israeli military is not, and then the Israeli military for its part is occupying about 50 percent or more than 50 percent of Gaza. I mean, how do you see this playing out? Because there is the words from President Trump that, you know, the war is over, that we are now in a time of peace. Is that how you see it? Is that how Palestinians see it when you have these two groups there that could easily turn into just an utter war again?

ALKHATIB: Well, and I certainly appreciate the efforts of President Trump, and I'm truly delighted by the release of all Israeli hostages. I've been an ally of the hostage families and their cause since day one. And I'm very happy to see the closure of that horrific chapter come to an end. And at the same time, I'm also in touch with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. I have siblings in there. I have family members. I lost family members. I lost my family home. My brother is in there as we speak. He's the field director for a major international medical NGO. I speak to activists and humanitarian workers.

And so my understanding is from both the angle of the policy component, but also from how that impacts the people on the ground, the way I see things going at this current rate is that we could see some sort of stagnation after phase one is completed whereby Hamas has said they are not going to disarm. They don't want an international security and stabilization force. They don't want Trump's board of peace. They don't want an internationally managed transitional process, even though Hamas said they don't want to directly rule. And I believe that because they want to reign but not directly rule. That's the Hezbollah model. It's actually much cheaper. And so that's going to once again hinder the ability of Arab and international players to invest in Gaza's recovery.

And then you have the Israeli side. We saw today statements from Defense Minister Israel Katz, who spoke specifically about how Israel is going to dismantle Hamas' network of tunnels that is still largely intact. An estimated 70 percent of it is still intact. And I agree with my previous guest and colleague that it's not likely that an international force is really capable of taking on this tunnel issue.

And so at any moment, we could see the reigniting of some sort of the war, even if it's not in its original shape. And we're talking about a civilian population that's stuck between Hamas and the Israeli military with no way out.

SIDNER: Ahmed Alkhatib, thank you for talking us through that. There are so many complications. But at this moment there are, you know, several dozen families in Israel waiting for the moment they've been waiting for two years. And there were celebrations on both sides of the border in Gaza and in Israel for the ceasefire. We will have to see what happens going further. But it is so complicated and, as you said, at any moment things can change for the worst. Thank you for being here with us this evening.

We'll have much more to come from the Middle East in just a bit, including the latest on President Trump's trip to Israel. He is en route now and his high-stake summit on God's future. All of that and more when we return.

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[22:30:00]

SIDNER: We continue to following breaking news for you from the Middle East where all eyes are on the anticipated release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza. They're expected to take place in just the next few hours. It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is now on his way to Israel. He's expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the families of the hostages, and then address Israel's parliament, the Knesset.

The president will then head to Egypt along with leaders from more than 20 countries for a summit on Gaza's future. He was asked about his plan for the enclave while aboard Air Force One a bit earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: If the ceasefire does hold, how long until we get to the part of the 20-point peace plan where developers can go in and make Gaza the Riviera of the Middle East?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know about the Riviera for a while because you take a look at what you have. You have to get people taken care of first. But it's going to start really, essentially, immediately. I mean, they're going to have to start by removing a lot of the structures that you see that are down to the ground. I mean, it's a very -- it's blasted. This is like a demolition site almost. The entire site is -- so you have to get rid of what you have there.

You have structures that are very dangerous. They're falling down. If they haven't fallen, they're going to fall down of their own volition. So, that process, Peter's going to start pretty much immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: After two years of war, a ceasefire does appear to be holding after Israel and Hamas agreed to the U.S.-brokered deal last week, phase one of that deal. Israel will also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the first phase of the agreement.

Joining me now from Tel Aviv is former Israeli Military Spokesperson and retired Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. He is also a senior fellow now at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Thank you so much for being here.

Look, this is, as you well know, an unprecedented number of hostages that are expected to be coming across that border, 48 in total. At the beginning, we will -- only 20 of them are believed to be alive. And the rest are going to be coming over, the bodies being sent over.

[22:35:00]

I'm just curious, we have seen this happen twice before, but with a much smaller number of people. How will this play out in your mind?

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS (RET.), FORMER IDF SPOKESPERSON: Yes, good morning. Thanks for having me on. A very emotional day here in Israel and I think around the world for everybody who cares about freedom and justice. And, yes, it has happened and your numbers are right. I think the only thing I would add is that we have early indications from Hamas that in terms of the bodies of murdered hostages that will be returned, we will be a few people short.

Now, it's supposedly, allegedly, according to Hamas, a single digit number. It's not many that they cannot find, but we understand that at the end of this day, we're anticipating to have all of the live hostages back in Israel and the overwhelming majority of the murdered ones. And then there will be additional work, which will require additional time to get back all of the remains of the murdered ones. And the system, you know, it is in place and it is ready to really take care of the amount of Israelis that will be brought back. It's going to be three different locations in the Gaza Strip where Hamas hands them over to the Red Cross, and then the Red Cross immediately will identify if there are any urgent cases that need immediate medical attention. If so, they will be flown, helicoptered to nearby Israeli hospitals. If not, then they would be brought to a triage point and actually brought into a military base where they will meet family for the first time and then they'll be able to change clothes and shower. And from there, they will be taken by helicopter to the nearest to one of the three designated hospitals to meet with extended family and to undergo significant processes.

SIDNER: Yes. I just want to reiterate the extreme emotion that is pouring out from these families. We are looking live at Hostages Square there in Tel Aviv, and they have pictures of hostages. They have been there all this time over the two years on a daily basis hoping for this moment and waiting for this to happen. And I do wonder from your perspective just if you know anything about the condition of these hostages. Because you yourself saying, look, the Red Cross will be the first, as they have been in the past, to have the hostages handed over to them. And then from there, they will be assessing just what state those who have survived this horrific two years, what state they're in.

Has there been any sense of just how many hostages may have injuries from two years ago, never mind what has happened to them since?

CONRICUS: Yes. Well, Sara, we anticipate pale, starved or extremely malnourished and wounded Israeli hostages that have endured horrible Hamas torture in some of the most difficult conditions underground, and that for two years. So, we -- the medical staff anticipate very difficult situations. We don't have specific intel as to what exact medical condition each and every live Israeli hostages in, but if history is any guidance here, we've seen Israeli hostages, especially the men who were kept in captivity for a longer time, some of them emerged in extremely malnourished situation, having lost 30 or 40 percent of their body weight and even more.

So, the system here, and luckily we have experts that are in place, medical professionals, both for the physical aspect and very importantly the mental aspect. And there's a lot of experience to go by because we've already had more than 150 hostages released already, almost 200 hostages released already. So, therefore there's a lot to build on here. And, you know, most importantly, I think families there will be a familiar face, an Israeli familiar face for the hostages to see, and I think that will be extremely important.

SIDNER: Let me turn now to the situation that is happening in Gaza. We are seeing humanitarian trucks being led in in numbers that we have not seen before. But I want to ask you about what is happening militarily. Israel still has about 50 percent. It is occupying about 50 percent of Gaza. And we are now seeing images from a great reporting from our team, Tim Lister and Ibrahim Dahman, showing images of Hamas reasserting its control of the parts of Gaza that are not being occupied by the Israeli military. [22:40:11]

When you look at this and you consider there is a phase two of this, do you see this, as Donald Trump says, the war is over, or do you see this as something that is going to turn into something that could quickly turn into -- going right back into a conflict, a war between the two?

CONRICUS: Yes. Well, if we land this on the -- on reality here, then what we have is a ceasefire, which hopefully will bring back Israeli hostages and, unfortunately, release Palestinian murderers from Israeli prisons. That is what we have so far in a real context here.

On the ground, very worrying scenes of what Hamas is doing. They are establishing themselves, re-establishing, and they are, simply put, executing people, anybody that they have had issues with. They're closing or settling scores in any place that they can, and they've been quite frank and public about it. They haven't been shy. They've issued statements saying, we are coming for families such and such. And if we have -- if you're on our black list, then justice, as they say it, retribution will be swift and we've seen it with typical Hamas brutality of executing people in the town square.

And that is very worrying because the part of the whole deal here is that Hamas isn't allowed to continue to govern the Gaza Strip and that it must disarm. Now, it's pretty simple and straightforward. From an Israeli perspective, if Hamas doesn't disarm on its own, then it'll have to be disarmed. If it is disarmed by others or by some political will, great. If it isn't what that -- where that puts Israel and the region and Gaza is back to that square where that will be necessary to do by Israel.

Now, Israel definitely hopes not to find itself in that situation, and I hope that the Qataris, the Turks, the Egyptians will make clear to Hamas that their days are done, their days of terrorizing the Gaza Strip of holding them hostage are over and that they need to hand over their weapons. If they don't, Israel is definitely ready to do so.

But today, we focus on getting the hostages back.

SIDNER: Yes. I do -- I must ask you though, because you're talking about, you know, how Israel would go about, or I want to ask you, but how would Israel go about disarming Hamas? Because already, the devastation in Gaza, there are no words. I mean, it's 70 percent of buildings about are estimated to have been bombed. We're talking about homes and businesses, you know, as well as places where Hamas would hide but hospitals and schools, there is so much devastation. There is so much life that has been lost there in Gaza from Israeli bombardments.

Are you talking about going back to that sort of action where people are already in dire straits, the sort of the residents of Gaza, the civilians of Gaza? I mean, what would that look like and how devastating would that be for the Palestinians?

CONRICUS: Yes. Well, this war that Hamas started on the 7th of October two years ago has indeed been very costly for Gaza. As Hamas was hiding in their tunnels underground, Palestinian civilians above ground were exposed to the consequences of the fighting that Hamas started. And they were used by Hamas as human shields.

And I think Israel has said pretty clearly, the military and most of the political establishment, pretty clear that we don't desire to go back to fighting. We want to end this with the return of the hostages and with a disarmed Hamas.

But, of course, Israel cannot be anticipated to agree to a situation where Hamas doesn't deliver on what it has agreed to do. And Hamas has agreed to hand over its weapons and to hand over control over the Gaza Strip. If that doesn't happen, as per President Trump's agreement, which the Qataris, the Turks, the Egyptians and other Arab nations vouched for, then, of course, other tools need to be used in order for that to happen.

At the end of the day, Israelis are not safe as long as Hamas is in power in Gaza. And I think from an Israeli perspective, as long as Hamas is there, the war isn't over.

Now, the best way would be for Hamas to be dismantled, disarmed, if it happens internally. But if it doesn't happen internally, then Israel, I think, is poised and ready and has already gone so far that it won't stop short of actually achieving what it needs to do in order to save Israelis and keep Israelis safe, and that is that Gaza will not be under the control of Hamas.

[22:45:07]

SIDNER: Jonathan Conricus, thank you so much. I know we will be speaking to you again in the coming hours as we get closer and closer to the moment that all the families are waiting for and have been waiting for two years that the full release of the remaining hostages in Gaza will finally be handed over to the Red Cross and then back to Israel.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: All right. U.S. President Donald Trump is receiving praise from his own party and from many Democrats for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly saying President Trump should get, quote, a lot of credit and that this was his deal.

Trump is on the way to Israel as we speak, where on Saturday his name was cheered by Israeli hostage families and supporters in Hostages Square, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a very different reaction when his name was mentioned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: President of the United States Donald J. Trump that made this peace possible.

To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: In case you couldn't hear that, there were cheers for Donald Trump, there were boos for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

[22:50:09]

Let's bring in CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings, a conservative columnist, of course, a former senior adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell and was special assistant to President George W. Bush. He joins me now from Washington, D.C.

Scott, I know you spent some time in Israel. You were there as the rockets were coming in from Iran. As you watch this all unfold, politically speaking, when you see what happened at Hostages Square where the response from the Israelis was very clear that they were very happy with what President Trump had managed to do when it comes to the first phase of the deal and then the reaction to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, how do you square those two?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, it's good to be with you tonight, Sara, on a great night. I mean, this is a -- people have been waiting for over two years now to get these people back. They were never -- they never did a thing wrong. I mean, these hostages were out enjoying their lives. They were at a music festival. They were in their villages, wherever they were, and they never did a thing wrong. And so I'm so glad the 20 that are living are coming home.

You know, the internal politics of Israel are interesting. When I was there this summer, I mean, certainly Netanyahu has his supporters, he has the governing coalition. It's a democratic country. They have elections, they elect their government, and they're supposed to have another election next year. But, obviously, the conduct of the war, how long it's gone on, plus other internal issues in Israel have made him something of a polarizing figure, and he certainly does have political opponents there.

I'm not surprised at all to hear them cheering for President Trump because I think they know what we know, and that is, I'm not sure anybody else could have pulled this off. I mean, he's got a relationship with Netanyahu, which was necessary. He has built relationships with these Arab states and bringing them into this so they can basically hold Hamas' feet to the fire here, that was necessary. I mean, Trump was a unique player here, and I think everybody there and everybody here knows without Trump, this just simply doesn't happen. So, I'm not surprised at all that he's getting the applause that he deserves.

I do think it's a mistake for us in the United States to try to dictate to Israel what their internal politics ought to be. Netanyahu's future ought to be decided by the people in Israel. And if he wins another election, so be it. And if he loses, so be it. But I do think the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu, you know, was necessary here to get this deal done and get these hostages back. SIDNER: I'm curious if you were surprised to see pretty much bipartisan support and that Democrats who have absolutely no love lost for President Trump coming out and saying, you know what, this is a win for the president, and they were unabashed about that.

JENNINGS: I am glad they did, because not only is it a win for President Trump, it's a win for the United States of America. This is what it looks like when you have an engaged, strong American president willing to get involved on the world stage. The president of the United States of America, when he acts like this, when he engages in tough situations, when he puts American prestige in the middle of a situation, we can make things happen. It just takes a strong leader, honestly, to get it done.

And so I like it that Democrats are supporting the president on this. Of course, Republicans think President Trump has done a magnificent job. But what that tells me is, is that this is transcending politics. This whole issue, you know, has been on our minds for two years and I think all Americans, whether you support Trump or you oppose him, or whether you support Netanyahu or you oppose him, or wherever you are on the spectrum, you want it to end. You want peace. You want the hostages to come home.

And so for the American president on the world stage to be the singular figure brokering this deal, it makes me feel great as an American. And, of course, I'm glad as a Trump supporter that that he's getting the credit that he deserves.

SIDNER: Yes. There are a lot of steps that still have to be done. The president saying the war is over, that is being disputed in -- by many people in Israel. They're like, this is a ceasefire for now. It is supposed to be permanent, but there are a lot of things that can happen in the interim. But the biggest story of the night really is of the hostages expected to be released in just a couple of short hours here. The world is watching and waiting for that.

Scott Jennings, I do appreciate you. Thank you for staying up late for us tonight. I appreciate it.

We'll be right back.

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SIDNER: Our special coverage continues, but we do want to keep you updated on another story that we are watching. A powerful storm is slowly moving up the U.S. East Coast. The storm is bringing heavy rains, gusty winds, and coastal flooding from the Carolinas to New England. Roads have been flooded in some coastal areas already, and flight delays are stacking up at major airports. Officials are warning conditions are expected to worsen through Monday.

Now, CNN's special coverage of the hostage release in Israel continues after just a quick break.

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