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Seven Hostages Released By Hamas; President Trump To Meet With Prime Minister Netanyahu; First Seven Hostages Cross Into Israel As Trump Arrives. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired October 13, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Kaitlan Collins here in Tel Aviv alongside my colleague Wolf Blitzer as we are watching breaking news playing out here in the region in Israel as our sources tell us that the first seven living hostages held by Hamas for more than two years, 738 days, have now been released to the Red Cross.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, they are Gali and Ziv Berman, Etan Abraham Mor, Omri Miran, Matan Angrest, Alon Ohel, and Guy Gilboa-Dalal. These are the developments that are being met with a rush of emotion and excitement here in Israel, especially in Hostages Square where large crowds have been gathering for hours in anticipation of the release of these hostages as was expected this morning.
The families of the hostages ha0ve traveled to Re'im in southern Israel where they are now anxiously awaiting to be reunited with their loved ones. The U.S. President Donald Trump is on his way here as he's actually expected to arrive any moment here in Israel. And once he is here on the ground, he's going to be greeted by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the families of the hostages before he then addresses the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
The president was actually asked about the Israel-Hamas war and whether or not it is actually over now in his view as he was on his way here on Air Force One.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, has not gone so far as to say the war is over. In your view, is the war between Israel and Hamas over?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDNET OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The war is over. The war is over, okay. You understand that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And we're covering all of today's historic developments. Joining me here is of course, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, also Jeremy Diamond and Clarissa Ward are all here with us. And Jeremy, we are now hearing that the seven hostages have been transferred to the hands of the IDF. They've been passed over to the Red Cross and now are in the hands of the IDF. What else do we know about their status right now?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Kaitlan. These developments unfolding very rapidly. It was just a short time ago that we learned that those seven first Israeli hostages had been handed over to the Red Cross. And now we can confirm, according to an Israeli source, that those seven hostages are now in the hands of the Israeli military. That transfer presumably took place inside of the Gaza Strip.
And from there, they will be driven by the Israeli military, accompanied to this Israeli military base that is right behind me. This is the Re'im Military Base, and it is in the area of where Hamas carried out its attacks more than two years ago on October 7th, 2023. And today, though, it is the site of something very different. It will be the site of the reunions that these hostages will be having after more than two years of captivity, reuniting with their families and reuniting more broadly with an Israeli public that has been waiting together -- waiting for their release.
And you can see some of those Israelis who are here behind me. They have come out with Israeli flags. They have come out with yellow flags as well that have come to symbolize the struggle and the fight to secure the release of all of the more than 250 Israelis who were taken hostage on October 7th. The first seven of the remaining 20 living hostages have now been released, are in Israeli military hands and arriving here at the Re'im Military Base very, very shortly. Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Yeah, Jeremy, I mean just to think that we are just a few days past the October 7th, the second anniversary of that fateful and tragic day, and that as the release of these hostages is happening right now, that you are so close to where that Nova Music Festival was and where so many of them were kidnapped that day and taken into Gaza is quite a moment.
DIAMOND: Yeah. And you know among the list of the first seven individuals who -- or the first seven hostages who have been released now there are several who are at that Nova Music Festival on that very day.
[02:05:00]
They include Alon Ohel for example who was taken from the Nova Music Festival, Eitan Mor as well as Guy Gilboa-Dalal. So three of the seven hostages who have just been released by Hamas are now in the hands of the Israeli military.
They were taken -- they were killed kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival, which is really, you know, less than a mile up the road here, about half a mile up the road, I would say, where we saw some Israelis who were coming here today on this day to mark the moment at that Nova Music Festival as well. And then, of course, the Israelis who are out here today to welcome them along this route, where we've been seeing the families of many of those Israeli hostages arriving here at the Re'im Military Base.
And again, any moment now, we expect them to arrive at this base and to have their very first and very emotional reunions with their families. You'll recall, Kaitlan, from the previous releases, once we see those videos released by the Israeli military, those are some of the sweetest moments that you can possibly imagine, made all the more sweet now, after more than two years of anguish for these families to finally be able to embrace their loved ones.
Of course, question marks still exist around the condition of some of these hostages. We know that in the past, some of them have emerged with quite traumatic injuries or some of them have been severely malnourished. So there will be medical staff on hand here at the Re'im base to give them an initial medical evaluation and then of course at those hospitals in the Tel Aviv area to which they will be flown to a more thorough medical evaluation.
Of course, they will likely remain in those hospitals for at least several days if not several weeks in order to recover physically and mentally from their traumatic ordeal.
COLLINS: Yeah, you think of people like Omri Miran who has not seen his six month old daughter in two years and will finally get the chance to do so. Jeremy Diamond, we'll continue to check in with you as we watch for those moments of those emotional reunions. And obviously there are people far beyond the loved ones and the family members of these hostages that are celebrating their return. CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Hostages Square. And Clarissa, obviously the crowd is in building there watching this moment. What have you been seeing and hearing from people?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The crowd has just been erupting in cheers like this every few moments, Kaitlan, particularly when they heard the news that those seven hostages are now in the hands of the IDF. We heard everybody here, and they anticipate that there's about 50,000 people, and counting that number, expected to continue to go up, everybody cheering.
And then they have been watching on Israeli news behind the images of some of the family members of those hostages actually talking to their loved ones describing that Hamas gave them phones to call their loved ones. And you could hear these emotional scenes of one mother particularly saying, finally, finally, your home, it's over. We love you so much as they now make their way for that in-person reunion.
But certainly, Kaitlan, here in Hostages Square, which has been the beating heart of the movement to bring the hostages back. This is a historic moment and for all of Israel, people around the world watching today to see this moment play out. And there's definitely been, I would say, a mixture of emotions here. On the one hand, the elation, the jubilation as they hear that the hostages first in the hands of the Red Cross, now in the hands of the IDF as they see scenes of family members talking to their loved ones over video phone.
But there have also been moments of somberness. There have been moments of sadness. There have been moments of quiet, grief, and a lot of people here holding up posters for the hostages who will be coming back potentially today in coffins, who were deceased. Twenty-eight deceased hostages to be released as part of this deal. But already we understand that all 28 of them will not be coming out today.
We have heard from Israel's leadership that it is anticipated it could take quite some time to try to locate their remains and get them out. So you have this kind of dueling emotions of joy, of celebration, of sadness, and really just a nation letting it sink in the magnitude of this moment.
[02:09:57]
The very real possibility that for Israel at least, a very dark, very ugly chapter is finally coming to an end, Kaitlan. And now everybody just desperately waiting to see those first images that we have seen before in other hostage releases, those moments where they are reunited with their families and where people around the world will get a sense of what those hostages look like, what kind of shape they are in. Of course we have seen before some of the hostages coming back completely emaciated.
You can hear the crowd going wild. It looks like there's a photograph by the -- is that of a reunion?
UNKNOWN: I don't know. I don't think it's from now, but it's from a phone where they were speaking to.
WARD: This is from one of the phone conversations and video phone conversations, Kaitlan, that have been taking place between some of the hostages and their families as they make their way back home, back into the arms of their loved ones on this historic occasion.
COLLINS: Yeah, just an emotional moment all around. Clarissa Ward, thank you for that. And Wolf, you know, seeing that sign behind Clarissa that says they're coming home just reminds me, you and I were here actually in November after the attack happened in 2023 when the first hostage release happened, the first time anyone was released by Hamas. And now seeing this moment, the final survivors of that day coming home to their loved ones is --
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's so powerful, so moving. And I'm sure those family members especially are really ecstatic. They're worried, but they're ecstatic about reuniting with their loved ones. It's going to really be powerful. We're have special live coverage throughout the day of all of these developments. And I got to tell you that Clarissa Ward and Jeremy Diamond are great reporters and we will stay in constant touch with them because they'll get initial word on what's going on with these moments.
It's really a very, very historic, dramatic day and no doubt that all of this is unfolding and we will have special coverage of all of that as well. We're going to continue our special coverage. We'll take a quick break. Much more right after this.
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[02:15:00]
BLITZER: We're tracking all the breaking news here in the Middle East. Just as President Trump is set to arrive in Israel very, very shortly. His visit comes at a truly crucial moment in this ceasefire deal. The release of Israeli hostages is still being held in Gaza. Seven of the 20 living Israeli hostages have already been released to the Red Cross, who will then hand them over to Israel. Those seven are now being en route to various locations in Israel right now, including the Re'im Military Base in Israel, not far from Gaza.
While in Tel Aviv, the President plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as with hostage families. This will be a very emotional, moving moment for the President the United States. And as the hostages are beginning to return to Israel, will no doubt ah be with an overwhelming sense of relief, of emotion and joy as these hostages come back. Joy and relief, which is so, so important as we watch all of this unfold.
I wanted to talk right now with someone who works in this area very, very closely. Joining us now is Einat Yehene. Einat is the head of rehabilitation of the Health Division of the Hostage Families Forum. Einat, thanks so much for joining us. Tell us what's going through your mind right now as these first seven Israeli hostages are being brought to Israel by the International Red Cross. They've been handed over from Hamas.
EINAT YEHENE, HEAD OF REHABILITATION, HEALTH DIVISION, HOSTAGE FAMILIES FORUM: Yeah, so this is a very historical moment and actually a very symbolic in which we are about to receive hopefully all the 48 hostages back home, the 20 alive hostages for rehabilitation and recovery and the others for proper burial. We have worked very, very hard. And when I say we, I mean, primarily the hostages who endured inhuman conditions in captivity and perhaps even lost their hope over time that this moment will actually arrive.
Also the families, given their relentless oscillation between hope, fear and despair, which we need to bear in mind that they were bombarded all the time with all kinds of psychological terror tactics and movies and announcements and talks about potential deals and disturbing information coming from released hostages who brought a lot of that signs of life, but also a lot of worries and fear and even I would say, the governmental negotiations which really didn't materialize into something more complete over time.
I would say that with that is also the communities for which those people were taken, from the kibbutzim and from the Nova Festival on the day of October 7. And I would also say that the public, the entire public, this is something we have actually demonstrated in our research that almost 50 percent of this quest that the entire public has experienced over the last two years had to do with this collective trauma of mass kidnapping, which really affected their psychological and mental well-being. So this is a moment we all hoped for. And hopefully from this moment from now on, a full recovery would be possible for the returning hostages and their families after this fight and ordeal.
[02:20:05]
And also for the public and the entire nation who was anticipating and, you know, demonstrated so much solidarity I don't know if you have covered this, but over every weekend and Saturday for the last two years, 100,000 of people were rallying and advocating and really supporting the families with a lot of solidarity, not leaving them alone, and also endured these cycles of hope, fear and despair, pleading for the return. So this is definitely a moment we have fought for and it's a joint effort.
And I also want to say that this is a joint effort also for, you know, the soldiers who really fought hard and we need to say something very important, which is the mixed feelings. Right after October 7th, there were -- the community of the hostages' families had 151 missing people. Over time, unfortunately, we got all kinds of different statuses. Some were murdered in captivity, some were rescued through operations and some were released through the sequential releases. So we don't have like a unified reaction.
Some families uh were opening bottles of champagne in the Hostage Square the day that the deal was sealed. Others are sitting at home right now, not knowing whether ever they will really have the opportunity to bring their loved one for burial and have this closure that they are yearning to have, afraid that they will become missing. And therefore, I really put all of my hope in Trump's, you know, speeches because he mentioned three things.
Number one, he understood the necessity of one deal and not sequential deals which were detrimental to the society and primarily to the released hostages, putting a lot of responsibility, sense of, you know, survival guilt and the need immediately instead of recovering, go and advocate for the remaining brothers and sisters that they left behind.
And Trump also mentioned the necessity to bring the deceased for burial and how much this is important for the families to give life to the families of the dead hostages. And number three, he saw the rallies and the, you know, generally speaking, climate in the Israeli public and how much everybody is pleading to bring the hostages back and end this war.
BLITZER: I know, Einat, that these Israeli hostages, once they're back in Israel, one of their first stops will be various hospitals here in Israel where they'll get some medical examination, psychiatric examination. What are you going to be looking forward to? What are you going to be seeing? And what points of potential interest will you be searching for as you begin to see these hostages and how they're doing?
YEHENE: I have to say, you know, that we didn't -- never -- this is like an unprecedented event. We didn't have any protocol, medical, psychological protocol. And also, we don't have a social script or a cultural script. We are writing it as we move on. I can tell you that our underlying work assumption is that the longer the hostage is spending in captivity in the tunnels and enduring these inhuman conditions, the longer the rehabilitation will be. We could see it from the releases that occurred after 50 days in
November 2023. We can compare it to the releases in January and now after two years. So, I can tell you that the hospitalization of the immediate acute stage, which is really about stabilizing them medically, you know, in terms of their immune system, in terms of the deficiencies of vitamins. The purposeful starvation and everything is being taken care of and monitored primarily, and also the psychiatric screening after which, you know, a program, a tailor-made program is being made for each and every one of them.
[02:24:50]
Definitely returning hostages need a multidisciplinary program, you know, a rehabilitation, not just the psychological one, but also treatments like physical therapy, some of the needed operations, serious ones, and also the family, which is part of this ordeal, and the social context in which everything is taken care of. Long term and hopefully those who are returning right now, we really not have to go and advocate for those who are left behind. And hopefully we will have the last hostage here for burial.
They will be in a need to really have a long term multidisciplinary. And I think that the nation itself also needs a recovery and the national rehabilitation program as well. I can tell you that the trauma is still not processed. That's for sure. We see all kinds of signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, complex trauma. Returning hostages are afraid to be alone. They need somebody from their family to accompany them all the time. They are startled from every noise, triggered.
I mean, this is like in general, each one of them and his own captivity conditions and his own reaction, but there is a core element. And I think that's all the recovery is still on the halt, even for the families who still didn't reap the loss of the loved ones. And I assume that once the condition will mature, and this is where the war and the general collective trauma should end, things will start to roll into their place and everybody will have their own space to really process and integrate this trauma. I mean, it takes time.
BLITZER: All right, Einat Yehene, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks so much for all you and your colleagues are doing to help the hostages and their family members. We really appreciate it. Einat Yehene, thank you so, so much.
Right now, I want to bring in CNN anchor and chief U.S. national security analyst, Jim Sciutto. He's following developments from Washington. Jim?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST & ANCHOR: Wolf, that's right. We're waiting now for President Trump's arrival, as you know, in Israel. We're told, based on Kaitlan Collins reporting, that he's been watching these releases and the reaction in Israel on Air Force One as he's on his way. His plan once he's on the ground is to meet the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as meet hostage families and then address the Knesset. I've been speaking with one of the hostage families as they await to
meet the President. This is the family of Itay Chen who is one of the deceased hostages, Ruby Chen. And he's made the point that he still has not been given information as to the status of whether his son's remains will be returned in this release. There's still a lot of questions here, and this has been ongoing question as to how many remains of the deceased hostages that Hamas still has in their hands and can return as part of this hostage exchange and ceasefire deal.
Just an agonizing wait for those families as well because there are still questions here. Enormous, of course, relief and happiness for those who are going to be able to welcome home their loved ones still alive, especially with that first group of seven that's already been handed over to the Red Cross. But you do have families here who have been waiting for more than two years for news. And they, those who still have, well, who have the sad news that they're loved ones are most likely deceased, don't know for sure if they're going to get their remains home.
But from the president's perspective, as he prepares to arrive there, to what will be a warm reception. President Trump, very popular there when I speak to my Israeli contacts, and they see him as having engineered this deal, put pressure on the Israeli prime minister and on Hamas that previous U.S. presidents were not able to. And he's going to get quite a reception I imagine in the Knesset when he addresses it later.
The Knesset chair, Ofir Katz, said, we are eagerly awaiting to thank the president for everything he's done. He is the best friend of the state of Israel. It will be a special session of parliament in Trump's honor. After Israel, we should note, as we were reporting earlier, Trump will travel to Egypt to co-chair that Gaza Reconstruction Summit with the Egyptian President el-Sisi and of course a gathering of a number of leaders from around the world.
And I imagine what will be a moment of, well, triumph for this president who has worked for months now to bring about an end to this war, at least a ceasefire in this war and bring those sausages home, Wolf.
[02:30:05]
BLITZER: Very dramatic developments unfolding right now. And only to come, Jim Sciutto in Washington, thank you very, very much.
We're going to have much more coming up on the hostage releases, a very dramatic, emotional day underway here in Israel right now.
We'll also follow President Trump as he visits here in Israel, gets ready to address the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The very high stakes summit on Gaza in Egypt will take place as well. Lots more coming up when we return.
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BLITZER: We're back now with our breaking news on the ground here in Israel, as the first release of the seven first living hostages released by Hamas has happened. They now are with the Israeli military and on their way to the Israeli border. Obviously quite a moment here, because after that border crossing, they'll then be taken to the Re'im military base where they're going to undergo their first medical checks before then being taken to a hospital, where they'll be further evaluated to see, of course, how they are, what condition they've been in after these two years, but also in a moment that we're going to be watching closely here as they prepare to be reunited with their families.
This all comes as President Trump is about to land here in Israel any second now, as he has been on his way here from the United States, he's scheduled right now to be greeted by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the airport, as well as then go meet with the families of the hostages before he addresses Israels parliament, the Knesset.
All of these moments, we are watching very closely as also keeping an eye on Gaza, where aid is flowing in once again as Palestinians, as you can see here, swarmed around trucks, people tossing boxes of food to the crowds below. These are deliveries that started after that cease fire took effect. And of course, expected to continue as we are watching it very closely.
[02:35:01]
Those trucks showed up at a very different Gaza than the one they left. Much of the city has been destroyed in the fighting over these last two years. Neighborhoods have been leveled and many buildings have been reduced to rubble. Earlier, we heard from a spokesperson for UNICEF who described what it was like to go into Gaza again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TESS INGRAM, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON: The destruction shocked us all when we arrived. It was like driving through a skeleton of a city. No life, stripped of color, just bones, and it becomes hard to tell where you are because there are no landmarks left. I was with colleagues who were from the neighborhoods and we got lost, and you could see the emotional toll it took on them, as well as the people we were speaking to who told us they had come back with almost nothing, including one mother, Hannah, who said to me, I have two children and two jerry cans, and that's it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And of course, we'll continue to check in on what's happening in Gaza and the status of that aid. As you can see, it's so clearly needed. Wolf, we're here in Tel Aviv. I should note, I don't think people can hear it, but air force one is actually passing along the beach right where were stationed right now, as the president is arriving here in Tel Aviv. We can actually see Air Force One, I should note, as of this moment.
BLITZER: It's coming across the mediterranean, coming into Israel, then heading to Ben-Gurion Airport, which is not far from Tel Aviv. And this will be an historic visit by the president. COLLINS: Yeah, it's literally flying over our heads in this moment.
And the president, I should note, Wolf, as he's been making his way here over the last hour or so as those first seven hostages were released, has been watching the release of those hostages on his way here.
BLITZER: He watches a lot of television, and he's been certainly thrilled to see all the enthusiastic support he's been getting from the folks in Israel as a result of his dealing and achieving this 20- point ceasefire proposal.
COLLINS: And, Wolf, I should note, obviously, as part of this process, we monitor each step very carefully. First, we had the hostages released to the Red Cross, then handed over to the IDF. We have now just gotten word those first seven hostages have crossed into Israel, have crossed the border. Obviously, that is the moment when really so many of these families can finally feel relief once they are actually back here on Israeli soil.
BLITZER: Especially the family members, the loved ones, the mothers, the fathers, the brothers and sisters, the kids of these hostages can finally hug someone that has been missing from their lives for two years. It's so, so emotional, so powerful.
COLLINS: Yeah, I was speaking with Omri Miran family yesterday. His wife has been fighting, you know, for two years, advocating for his release. They have those two daughters. One was just six months old. One was two years old when they were kidnaped. He was kidnaped into Gaza.
And so, she's going to greet him today, and then he'll be able to be reunited with his children as well. It will be a powerful moment, of course.
BLITZER: And what they'll be doing is very quickly they'll be brought to Israeli hospitals, including the Ichilov Hospital here in Tel Aviv. I was there yesterday where they'll be fully examined for conditions, and they'll have malnutrition, which can cause all sorts of other problems.
And what a lot of people don't realize, those tunnels where they've been for two years, they're very low. And you really can't stand up tall. And that's going to result in their muscles and their development being hurt, and they're going to be going through a lot of treatment over these coming weeks and months.
COLLINS: Yeah. Because obviously, Wolf, I was watching that that piece in that interview you did, and it was so moving because it was you think of the psychological obviously impacts immediately of being away from your family, of being held underground, but really just the physical deterioration that can happen from not having sunlight, not having regular nutrition, not having any medical assistance for two years. And a lot of these people were injured when they were being kidnapped in Gaza.
BLITZER: Yeah, I spoke to the chief psychiatrist there, emotionally, too, can you imagine, two years without seeing your little kids, seeing your family, your wife, your, your parents and everything else? It's just a very, very traumatic, powerful situation that's unfolding.
COLLINS: Yeah. And then just being brought back into life, obviously in the two years so much has happened in those two years.
Obviously, Wolf, we'll continue to monitor all of this and watch to see what condition these hostages are in. And of course, their families are just so grateful to be able to hug them and to see them again.
Jeremy Diamond, you've also been covering all of this as we're watching, as this process is playing out, unfortunately, a process that Israel knows all too well as they have done this before on previous hostage releases. But now, we're seeing one of the largest ones play out before our very eyes right now.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's exactly right, Kaitlan, and I do also have news to report about the status of those first seven Israeli hostages released by Hamas. We had reported earlier that they were in the hands of the red cross, that they were on their way to meet Israeli forces. Now we can report that those first seven hostages have crossed into Israeli territory. The first -- their first time back on Israeli soil since they were kidnaped from this very same area more than two years ago, and they will shortly be arriving here at the Re'im military base, which is right behind me.
This base is less than five miles away from the Gaza border, so they should be arriving here really any moment now. And in addition to those first seven Israeli hostages who have now been freed, we've also been watching some other interesting developments related to the other hostages who are about to be released at any moment now as well. And that is that we've been seeing several of them be able to place video calls to their loved ones, it seems, while they are still in Hamas captivity, meaning that it seems that Hamas is giving them a chance to call their loved ones with a video call before they are actually freed from captivity, before they are handed over to the Red Cross.
That is something that we have not seen before in previous releases. Of course, one of the major differences this time is that we're not seeing any of those release ceremonies, which really turned into propaganda shows for Hamas during the last two ceasefires, where you saw, you know, the hostages brought on stage, there was a signing ceremony with the Red Cross, all of that being used for propaganda effect that was barred from happening this time under this latest agreement between Israel and Hamas.
But it seems that Hamas has chosen to do something else here, which is allow the hostages to speak with their families on a video call while still in captivity. You know, I don't want to speculate on the motivations for that right now, but obviously that is something different, something that we haven't seen before.
And we've seen several, you know, Alon and David Cuneo, who were kidnaped from this area. They were able to speak with their partners via video call -- I've also now seen a video, a photograph, I should say, of Vicki Cohen, the mother of the Israeli soldier Nimrod Cohen, also being able to have a video call with him. So that seems to be ongoing as we await the release of the other hostages.
COLLINS: And just so everyone knows, what we're watching right now, this is live footage of the convoy returning, carrying those seven hostages here to Israeli soil, as they were crossing the border. Obviously, that is a critical final step in the actual facilitation of the release of these hostages, back to Israeli soil.
DIAMOND: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, this is a moment again, just to speak to the emotions here. This is a moment that this country has been waiting for, for two years.
I've heard so many Israelis tell me that today, in some ways feels like October 8th, meaning that they have been living in that day of October 7th for more than two years now, living in that horrific day, both in terms of the massacres that were committed by Hamas on that day, but also the kidnaping of so many Israelis, more than 250 people who were taken hostage on that day.
And finally, people are hoping that they can turn the page on that day today, as the remaining hostages are released. We should note, however, that for some families, there will still be a wait because we believe that not all of the deceased hostages' bodies will be released today. Israel -- Israeli intelligence has confirmed what Hamas has also told the mediators, which is that they do not know the location of all the bodies where they have not been able to retrieve all of the bodies.
We understand that a process will get underway after today in order to try and retrieve those bodies. With the involvement, it would seem, of the Red Cross and other international partners.
COLLINS: Yeah, and obviously we are watching air force one. It has just touched down at Ben-Gurion Airport here in Israel. Thats the president arriving as he just flew over the beach here in Tel Aviv, Jeremy, where we are.
Obviously, the president has been watching this release of the hostages play out while flying over here to Israel, where he is going to be greeted by the prime minister here at the airport. We're going to watch that moment closely because, of course, remember, it was 11 days after October 7th when President Biden visited here in 2023. He greeted Prime Minister Netanyahu with what was essentially a huge bear hug, as the two were arriving in what was clearly an emotional moment for both of those world leaders. Now we'll be watching it in under a very different dynamic, playing out now.
And, Clarissa Ward, you're at Hostages Square, where so many of these families have been gathered as President Trump was flying here over the beaches, activists had put this giant banner on the beaches of Tel Aviv that said, thank you and home. It was right outside the Tel Aviv branch of the U.S. embassy, basically thanking President Trump. And it just speaks to how these hostage families feel about the president's role here and facilitating the release of their loved ones and brokering this ceasefire. CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kaitlan. I
mean, there are posters of President Trump all over Hostages Square, and at the moment that that Air Force One made landing here, you heard the crowd again erupt into cheers. At one stage, they had a split screen between that convoy of hostages, finally back on Israeli soil, and the split screen between that convoy of hostages finally back on Israeli soil, and the presidents plane as it was touching down here in Israel, which I think gives you a feel for just how deep the gratitude is for President Trump.
[02:45:18]
And, you know, we heard Jeremy talking about those incredible video phone calls between parents of hostages and loved ones, as they were literally being transferred by Hamas. There was one with the mother of Gali and Ziv Berman, where everybody in the crowd here is watching. And she's asked by the interviewer, tell me about the conversation.
And she says, Kaitlan, honestly, I don't remember anything about it. I just saw him. I saw his face. I saw their faces, and that was enough for me.
So, suffice it to say, emotions running incredibly high in this crowd and everybody now watching Air Force One and waiting for president Donald Trump to disembark. So many here feel that really the credit for this historic moment goes to President Trump, that he is the one who has kind of pushed this through and brought us to where we are today. A historic moment that, frankly, few dared to dream of in some of the darkest hours.
And now, finally, here we are, waiting for those hostages to be reunited with their loved ones, and for President Trump to arrive here and deliver his remarks to the Knesset, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yeah. And I remember President Trump's first visit here to Israel after taking office. It's hard to imagine how different and how much Israel has changed since then following the October 7th attack.
What we're watching right now is the simultaneous release of these hostages, who are now on Israeli soil. Those first seven living hostages to be released since the ceasefire was brokered on Thursday night, announced by President Trump and also President Trump landing here in Israel at the same time as we are watching this release play out.
What we're about to see, Wolf, at the airport where the president is on the left side of the screen, you can see there's the red carpet rolled out and people ready to greet the president. We know Prime Minister Netanyahu will be among them, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, as well, a huge ally of President Trump's. In this moment.
And what will you be watching for as Netanyahu greets Trump?
BLITZER: Well, it's going to be a very powerful, powerful moment for the U.S.-Israeli relationship, which has been strained in recent years a little bit. And I think that this will underscore the very close relationship that has developed specifically between the current U.S. administration and the current Israeli government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, even though there are some strains, even though Netanyahu had a squeeze, the Israelis to accept this deal. And he did, and it achieved it.
But remember that this follows other achievements that the Trump administration did in helping Israel in the first term. There was the so-called Abraham Accords, which resulted in Israel fully establishing diplomatic relations with several key Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates.
COLLINS: There's Jared Kushner, I should note, and Steve Witkoff, who have been here on the ground, Wolf, in the Abraham Accords.
BLITZER: And Kushner was very much involved in those Abraham. He deserves a lot of credit for helping that. And Kushner and Witkoff deserve a lot of credit in achieving this current ceasefire. And they spoke about it at Hostages Square last night. Very powerful address from both of them that we were all watching live here on CNN at the same time.
So it's going to underscore the nature of the U.S.-Israeli relationship right now. Israel is very dependent on U.S. military assistance. The U.S. provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, weapons, aircraft, other equipment, every single year.
And that's so important to Israels survival, as we all know. So, a lot of this is unfolding as we speak right now. Let's see how this develops in the next hour or two.
COLLINS: Well, and we see Sara Netanyahu as well there standing next to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Mike Huckabee, the ambassador, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, obviously, this huge delegation there to greet the President Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner there. They've been here for several days as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were in Egypt hammering out the final details of that agreement.
BLITZER: The two of them deserve a lot of credit for this arrangement.
COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, they were the ones sitting down at the table meeting with the Qataris, the Egyptians, the Turks, just everyone in terms of trying to hammer out this deal and get everyone to come to the table and get Hamas to also say yes.
BLITZER: And the one of the main reasons that Hamas has agreed to this arrangement is because the other Arab countries, the Muslim countries, squeezed Hamas and told Hamas, you got to do this. And that was very significant. And another factor that was very significant was when the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, that so-called 12-day war, and that convinced Hamas that, you know, they better make a deal.
[02:50:05]
Otherwise, they're going down completely. And the Israelis were pounding them, as we all know. So, all of these factors resulted in what we're seeing today.
COLLINS: Yeah. And obviously, you know, even the even the future of the fate of Prime Minister Netanyahu, which, you know, obviously had been facing massive protests even before October 7th happened. Has stood so closely to President Trump during this and hewed so closely to him. I wonder what you'll be watching for when President Trump goes and speaks to the Israeli Knesset.
BLITZER: I think he's going to get standing ovations. He's going to be interrupted with applause. The folks 120 members of the Knesset of the Israeli parliament, they may be divided on a whole bunch of issues, but when it comes to us-Israel relations and what Trump has now achieved, they they're pretty much united in supporting Trump.
COLLINS: Yeah. And we're watching this moment. We're waiting for President Trump to climb down the stairs of Air Force One, where he has been making his way here watching this hostage release play out in real time.
Jim Sciutto is also here with us.
And, Jim, obviously in this moment, this is expected to be a quick ceremony. I should note at the airport, only a few moments once President Trump gets off, off of Air Force One. But obviously, in this relationship between the two of them, how they have brokered this and what this has looked like, we're now watching it play out with President Trump here on the ground in Israel.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Listen, President Trump was able to apply pressure on the Israeli prime minister that President Biden was not right, and not just with this deal. But if you look back to the deal in January, when 30 of the living hostages were released, eight of the deceased again, the format of the ceasefire and the hostage exchange were similar. The framework was similar to the Biden administration plan.
But during the Biden administration, they weren't able to get it across the finish line, and President Trump now has managed to get two ceasefire hostage release deals across the finish line and a good portion of that appears to be the pressure he was able to apply successfully to the Israeli prime minister to put him into a corner to some degree, to bring about, an agreement that the prime minister was reluctant to make, right? And he has his own political challenges from his right flank to make any sort of deal.
But president Trump was able to apply pressure and then get that deal across the finish line. And it does seem that there was pressure. I mean, Wolf mentioned rightfully that Arab leaders put pressure on Hamas to take part in this deal where Hamas had certainly resisted in the past. But also, President Trump threatened Hamas quite publicly and said, if you don't do this, all hell will break loose. I forget the exact language he used, but the implication was that he would allow Israel to strike even more, even more decisively than it had over the four of the past two years of this war, two years, and a few days of this war. So, as you see, the Israeli prime minister marched down the red carpet
towards the plane to greet the U.S. president, remember that relationship between Netanyahu and Trump, key. And the pressure applied from Trump on Netanyahu key in getting the cease fire deal across the finish line.
Now, there are multiple open questions for the latter stages or phases of this deal that remain open, disarming Hamas, Israels continued military presence in Gaza pathway, if any, established towards a Palestinian state that will require more pressure from the U.S. president on Israel, Hamas, all the players. But for this portion of the deal, that relationship has been key. And the president got, in effect, what he wanted. He wanted this first phase of this deal, and it's happening.
COLLINS: Yeah. And to think about, you know, what President Trump said on the way here when he was asked, is he confident the ceasefire will hold? A question that so many people have had? And he said, yeah, Jim, that he is, because he said that he got assurances and guarantees from the parties involved here. And he said, I don't think any of them want to disappoint me, which I thought was a notable choice of words from Trump in terms of what this would look like. Did it not hold.
SCIUTTO: No question. I mean, Trump, as you know, you've covered him for a long time, personalizes these things and you know, he certainly personalizes this deal. And listen, he got the deal across the finish line, there's no question. And we're going to see him in a moment like this, that red carpet, literally and figuratively, from Israel, welcoming him to put the finishing touches on this deal in effect.
And I imagine we're going to see similar in Cairo, where you'll have a larger meeting of leaders from around the region and Europe and elsewhere. The president taking something of a victory lap for this first phase. We should not diminish the challenges that remain for the latter stages of these deals, because that's always been the difficult point, right?
[02:55:07]
The two sides have proven the ability to engineer a ceasefire, release hostages. This one more lasting, and all the hostages coming home. But those other questions are ones questions on the future of Hamas, the future administration of Gaza, what security presence you'll have in Gaza going forward. Will those 200 U.S. forces already on the ground in Israel stay there to oversee that peace? Will there be any public commitment to a path to a Palestinian state?
The president's most recent comments on that have been noncommittal. Those are the those are the harder questions going forward. And we'll see. Can Trump engineer those relationships with the Israeli prime minister with Arab leaders? Pressure on Hamas to bring about those stages? That's the open question.
But the moment now is one where the U.S. president arriving in Israel to celebrate what is a significant moment. And there he is. COLLINS: I mean, the timing of this as we're watching President Trump
here in Israel, his first steps off of Air Force One, you can hear the honor guard on the tarmac in the background. The timing of this. I mean, he truly landed moments after those first seven hostages made their way into Israeli territory as he's now descending the steps of Air Force One to greet the prime minister of Israel, who is at the bottom of those steps waiting for him.
And there he is, putting his arm around Prime Minister Netanyahu.
(INAUDIBLE)
SCIUTTO: Kaitlan, just watching this moment. And you and wolf have been covering this war since October 7th. There have been few happy moments during that two-year period and several days, few and far between, right? A few hostage releases, short term ceasefires.
But there's been so much tension and heartbreak and loss and just human losses. The human losses of this war on both sides have just been enormous. To see that light moment is a reflection of where we are with this ceasefire. It is quite a change. There's the U.S. ambassador, Mike Huckabee, as well.
COLLINS: Yeah. And President Herzog also there in the background, I believe, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, there he is standing to the left waiting to greet President Trump, someone who obviously has been the voice for Israel in Washington and working closely with the Trump administration as they hammered out this deal, he was actually there the day at the White House just a few weeks ago when President Trump unveiled his 20-point peace plan, and they had been going over it all day inside the White House, then came out and did something they rarely do, which is not take questions from reporters, at least for President Trump. Thats extremely rare. At a press conference style moment.
But that is a moment that led up to what we're watching right now. Just before 10:00 a.m. here, local in Ben-Gurion airport, as you're watching the president.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. There haven't been a lot of reasons to smile these past two years by any means. And after just an exhausting, devastating war, a rare moment, a rare moment of peace.
COLLINS: Wolf, tell me what you're thinking in this moment as you're watching President Trump greeting the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ambassador Leiter right there. Ivanka Trump is just to the left of the camera frame.
BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, and he's been very well- received here in Israel ever since he arrived. He's very, very pro- Israel. Mike Huckabee always has been. And he plays a key role, Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States has flown over here to Israel to be here. Normally, he's in Washington now.
