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Day Four of Truce Between Israel and Hamas Sees Delays in Hamas Releasing Further Hostages; Israel Complains Hamas Not Releasing Mothers with Children as Per Ceasefire Agreement; Family Member of Hostages Released by Hamas Interviewed. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 27, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: -- in store sales only up about one percent. That's not adjusted for inflation, though, according to Mastercard.

And CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.

Good morning, everyone. We are so glad you're with us on this Monday. Right now, we are in the final hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas. A source tells CNN, a slight issue, though, has come up that could delay today's hostage release. The White House tells us it is unknown if anyone Americans will be in the group released today. Both sides are talking about extending the truce, which would allow for more hostages to be released in the coming days.

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LT. COL. PETER LERNER, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESMAN: We are taking the necessary steps in order to be prepared for a new mobilization, a renewed attack against Hamas and its strongholds, wherever they are holding out. They are still holding over 100 -- around 200 hostages. Ten people a day, that could be 20 days. So we need to keep that in mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at the women and children who have been freed from Gaza since Friday. We've been seeing celebration and emotional reunions in Israel. Here you can see a cheering crowd greeting a convoy of buses carrying released hostages. We're also proud of well-wishers waving Israeli flags outside the hospital where the former captives arrived in military helicopters.

HARLOW: And yesterday we did see the release of the first American hostage, there she is, four-year-old Abigail Edan. President Biden says that Abigail is getting the care she needs in Israel after 50 days in captivity and witnessing Hamas murder both of her parents during the October 7th terror attack.

Look at this, we also saw nine-year-old Emily Hand, released and reunited with her family. Her father says that he was originally told that Emily had been killed on October 7th, but there she is. She was at a sleepover at a friend's house when Hamas attacked.

Let's start our coverage this hour with Kaitlan Collins. She is live in Tel Aviv. Those images, Kaitlan, of those little kids getting to come home is everything. What about today, the slight delay that may happen? Do you have any reporting on that?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we actually do have new reporting on what's going on. Obviously, this is day four of a four-day truce. The big question is whether or not it's going to be extended. But part of the issue is still just getting through this day in and of itself and this fourth list of hostages that are set to be released.

And my colleagues, Alex Marquardt, M.J. Lee and I are hearing that right now there are basically these ongoing negotiations between the U.S., Israel, and Hamas that is being negotiated -- or mediated, I should say, by Qatar. And it's an issue with what today's list looks like. And one of those main issues I'm told, and what's part of these ongoing negotiations is that there are no mothers on this list. That is what I'm hearing from an Israeli official. And of course, part of this agreement, Israel says, is that any children who are in captivity with their mothers must be released with those mothers. You've seen a number of children who have been released by Hamas in the last three days come out with their moms, if their moms were in captivity. There was one moment on Saturday, on day two, when there was a major delay in the release of the hostages where one of the hostages was released without her mother. Hamas claimed that they could not find her, they could not locate her. Her uncle later came out and said that she told them it was just two days before that she had been with her mother and they were separated. So that's still an outstanding issue.

And it appears to be an issue that has resurrected itself with today's list. We are hearing that there are no mothers on this list, though there are still several moms, we believe, being held by Hamas. Now, whether that's an issue if Hamas is playing games, if they don't want to turn them over, if they genuinely do not know where those mothers are, that remains to be seen at this point. But this is appearing to be what is a sticking point in these talks today, in this issue.

And obviously, it's a major one, because it's typically in about an hour or so from now that we would start to see the exchange of those hostages get underway. That, so far, it's still a major question whether or not that's going to happen today.

MATTINGLY: To that point, Kaitlan, there's all of this talk about a potential extension, all the parties seem to agree that he would they would like to see an extension. If this doesn't get figured out, what does that mean for any talks about a potential extension?

COLLINS: It's not clear that it means that there won't be an extension. You're right that it does seem Israel, obviously, seems to be in favor of an extension, a brief one. It's not clear how long they're in favor of doing this. Hamas for the first time came out yesterday and said that they favor an extension, as well. But I do think there are a lot of questions about how long that could go on for and whether or not Hamas can continue to produce hostages to allow that extension to go on, or whether they obviously ultimately want to give up the hostages, because the hostages have been Hamas's leverage here. And so that is still a major issue.

And so I think right now, before they decide whether or not this extension is going to play out, something that the Israeli war cabinet did discuss last night during their meeting, I was told, it's a question of what today's list is going to look like. And whether or not they can work through these issues with the fact that no mothers are on it right now.

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The other question, of course, we know there are two more Americans that the U.S. believed would be eligible. I heard you talking to John Kirby about whether or not the U.S. knew that they were on the list. It didn't sound like they did know. And that's still an outstanding issue as of this point. I've been asking sources if any of those Americans are on this list. They don't know yet. So a lot of issues with what today's list looks like, in particular.

And I will say, I spoke to an IDF spokesperson last night about what Hamas has been doing in this pause in the fighting in Gaza, and they said that they did have evidence that the group is moving around some of the hostages. It's not clear to where they're moving them, but they clearly want to make sure that they know where they are, that Israel does not, as these negotiations are ongoing.

MATTINGLY: All right, Kaitlan Collins, stay close. We'll be back to you, shortly.

HARLOW: A mother and her three children among the hostages released yesterday. Chen Goldstein Almog along with her daughter Agam and two sons Gal and Tal, they are waking up this morning in Israel at a hospital after a 51-day nightmare. Here they are in the hospital, finally, together with their family. Chen and her three children are also returning to a shattered family. Her husband, Nadav, and their 21-year-old daughter Yam were murdered during Hamas's attack on October 7th. They used to be a family of six, look at them there, and now they are four.

This morning, Chen's brother said his sister knew that her husband and her daughter was murdered while she was being held hostage by Hamas. Their home is one of the Israeli communities right near Gaza where so many were murdered and abducted. That horrific day, Hamas terrorists entered their safe room, murdering Nadav and Yam and abducting Chen and three of her children.

And joining us now is Nadav's cousin, Galia Mizrahi she was born in Israel. She did also serve in the IDF. And thank you so much for joining us this morning. I am deeply sorry for your loss, but also so happy for you that those members of your family are finally safe.

GALIA MIZRAHI, FAMILY MEMBERS RELEASED BY HAMAS, TWO KILLED ON OCTOBER 7TH: Thank you. Yes, we are very relieved. We feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted over our hearts. It's been very difficult for me to witness this from far away. I was in Israel for Nadav's funeral and his daughter's funeral, for Yam. It was a devastating double funeral. And I've been here for the past two weeks, holding my breath, and yesterday was finally able to get that big sigh of relief out when I saw them on the screen.

HARLOW: Of course. The fact that funeral was held on Chen's birthday as she and her three children were still being held captive. How do the boys look, nine and 11 years old? I know you haven't been able to physically hold them, but how did they look to you?

MIZRAHI: So, just like most families who live far away, we were just staring at the screen yesterday and looking at every detail. When they were in the Red Cross envoy, I was able to see Chen's shoulder and my kids and I were trying to get a glimpse of them. Family photos show them very pale, very, very pale and frail, but outwardly in good condition. There are no wounds, they weren't shot. There's no visible physical wounds.

In terms of emotional healing and what that will look like, we'll know in the coming days, and potentially even coming years. There's really no playbook addressing kidnapped children at such a tender age. And so, the word's out on that. But we are so very grateful that we were reunited with them yesterday and that, unlike potentially other families, Chen, the mom, and the three kids were able to get out of there as a family unit.

HARLOW: And I know that you had also said that they didn't appear withdrawn to you. And the fact that Chen is a social worker, you think, is a benefit given all that they've endured for this family.

MIZRAHI: Correct. The family calls Chen lioness. She's a lion, she's a fighter. She's the kind of gal you would want to be with in any time of crisis. Both Nadav and Chen are super detail-oriented, strong, loyal people, the best people you're ever going to meet. So I am very confident that she did everything she could while they were in 51 days of captivity to make sure that her daughter and her sons were as best adjusted as they could possibly be.

HARLOW: The lioness of the family. I think that says everything. What has the impact been more broadly on your family? Because there's the joy -- there's the deep pain of your loss and then this joy, and then your anguish for the other families waiting for their loved ones.

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MIZRAHI: Yes, we are now a very big extended family, all the 240, you know, families, we all kind of know each other, whether it's in person or social media. Everyone attends everyone's families. Everyone's connected. So the advocacy, the talking, the Challa baking, the prayer doesn't stop just because we got our loved ones back. We're going to push on. And so, yes, so it's -- one person said in the family, one eye has a twinkle in its eye laughing, the other eye still has a tear in the corner. So it is mixed emotions. And we really, really pray and we hope that a good resolution is forthcoming for all of the affected families.

HARLOW: One extended family, all of you, united through this tragedy. Galia Mizrahi, thank you very much.

MIZRAHI: Thank you very much. MATTINGLY: Well, this morning, Israel and Hamas signaling they are

both open to extending the temporary truce that is set to expire later today. Sources now telling CNN that the lack of mothers on today's hostage list is delaying the expected release.

HARLOW: More than 100 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Israeli prisons as part of this deal. More set to be released today. We have reporting on that, next.

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COLLINS: Good morning from Tel Aviv, where it is day four of that temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. We are still waiting is to hear more about the fourth list of hostages that are expected to be released today.

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We know Israel got the list overnight, but there appear to be ongoing issues with that list and who exactly is included on it?

We know part of this agreement Israel says is that children who are being held in captivity should be released alongside their mothers. That is part of the agreement that the IDF claims Hamas has already violated when it released one hostage on Saturday night without her mother. Her mother, who they did believe was being held with her in captivity in Gaza.

It still remains to be seen who is on this list today, including if there are any Americans. So far, 58 hostages, 40 of them Israelis, some who are dual nationals. I should note, 17 Thai citizens and one Filipino have been freed.

Joining me now is AXIOS political and foreign policy reporter, Barak Ravid who is incredibly well sourced here in the region.

Barak, what's your understanding of one, what today is going to look like before we even get to whether or not there is going to be an extension to this agreement?

BARAK RAVID, AXIOS POLITICAL AND FOREIGN POLICY REPORTER: Good morning, Kaitlan.

Well, I think we saw a pretty similar situation to what we see today on Saturday when the release of the second group of hostages was delayed because of all sorts of small misunderstanding between the parties. I think that this is what we're seeing now.

And Israeli officials I spoke to just minutes ago said they're cautiously optimistic that this mini-crisis will be solved within the next hour or two and that the fourth group of hostages will be released today.

COLLINS: Okay, so they are cautiously optimistic. We will continue to watch that. The next decision that they'll have to make obviously, Barak, here is

whether or not that extension is going to happen. And I know you reported last night that the War Cabinet had been discussing that. There wasn't a vote. It doesn't appear on whether or not to proceed with that.

What's your sense of whether or not Israel is going to move forward with an extension to this temporary truce?

RAVID: So I think the Israeli government is totally open to such an extension of a truce. Israeli officials tell me that there is already some sort of -- I don't know, if we can call it a proposal, but let's say a talk about an extension by two days with the release of 20 hostages, 10 hostages each day. The Israelis are totally open to it.

And I think that also Netanyahu in his conversation with President Biden last night, told him pretty clearly, if we get another 10 hostages, additional 10 hostages to what we got, we can do another day. If we get an additional 20, we can do two days, three days, four days, as long as we get hostages.

COLLINS: What is the sense of how long that could go on? That extension though? Because we know that there are more women certainly being held in captivity, more children, as well. But is there basically a time limit on this for Israel before it resumes its military operation in Gaza?

RAVID: Well, there is a technical time limit to it, because the Cabinet decision that approved the deal in the first place, spoke about the maximum of nine-day pause. And so you know, this means you can extend it by five days and buy 50 more hostages and to get to an overall number of 100 hostages. This is what the Israelis assess that Hamas has, these women and children.

But I think that if we'll get to those 10 days, and this is, you know, we're not there yet and there will be more hostages that Hamas will be ready to release, I'm sure the Israelis will be happy to do another extension.

COLLINS: And your sense is that if this extension doesn't happen, that Israel would almost immediately begin its military operation, not just resume it, but the part that they've been pretty clearly telegraphing, which is extending that military operation from not just the north of Gaza, but also to the south as well. Is that right?

RAVID: Yes, totally. I think that let's say if by the end of day today or by midnight today, there is no deal on an extension of the pause, we will see tomorrow resuming of military operations and Israel will not go to the south just yet because they have the neighborhood of Jabalia in northern Gaza that they still want to operate there.

And what we will see in southern Gaza is going to be very, very different than what we saw in northern Gaza. Smaller units, more raid- like operations, and not this massive assault by thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers as we've seen in northern Gaza. COLLINS: All right, Barak Ravid, we are obviously going to be

watching all of this closely. You say that there is cautious optimism that that fourth list of hostages will be released. We will continue to check in with that.

Thank you, Barak.

Phil, Poppy, obviously still an ongoing situation here as we are waiting to see what is going to happen here. We should see some movement within the next hour or so.

But on Saturday, when there were issues with the list, there was a multi hour delay. And obviously that's just anguishing for these families whose loved ones are on the list, who had already gotten calls from the Israeli government, and then just had to essentially wait to see what was going to happen.

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MATTINGLY: Yes, it's such an important point as we talk about an extension, they still have to finish today, which is still very much something that's up for negotiation.

Kaitlan Collins, we will be back with you in a little bit.

Also this morning, Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel as part of that agreement, returning home to emotional celebrations in the streets of the occupied West Bank.

Some were paraded around on people's shoulders as other crowd members waved Palestinian flags. One hundred and seventeen Palestinians, mainly teenage boys had been released in the first three exchanges for hostages held in Gaza.

One final exchange, as Kaitlan was just talking to Barak about is expected today, as hopes are growing for a longer truce and potentially more hostages to be released.

Israel's prime minister has said he welcomes the possibility, but at some point, he says Israeli operations in Gaza will resume with full force.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: One an arrest has been made overnight in the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont. The suspect set to be arraigned in two hours, more on that, and also an update on the condition of those victims, next.

And this morning, Israeli officials met with Elon Musk after Musk share that antisemitic conspiracy theory on X. You even see him with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more on that ahead.

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HARLOW; This morning, a 48-year-old man is in custody for the shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent. This happened Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. They are all just 20 years old.

Here are their names: Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed. That picture was taken by the way just before they were shot, they were all wearing the kufiyah, the traditional Palestinian scarf at the time of the shooting.

The suspect is set to be arraigned in two hours' time at 10:30 AM Eastern Time, and joining us now is their attorney, Abed Ayoub. He is working with the three victims.

He is also the national executive director of the American-Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee.

Thank you for being with us, and as we wait for the arraignment of this suspect, is it your understanding that this was motivated by hate given the conditions you know about the shooting?

ABED AYOUB, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN-ARAB ANTI- DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE: Good morning, and thank you for having me on.

You know, from our understanding and then from our read of the facts, hate in the ethnicity and the race of these individuals did play a factor in them being targeted. And I think as the investigation plays out, and as we get deeper into, you know, the suspect's mindset, we're going to clearly see that this was a hate crime.

But we do also want to thank law enforcement for acting quickly to apprehend him -- find and apprehend him and ensure that the public in that area is safe.

MATTINGLY: What was your reaction when you saw that an arrest had been made?

AYOUB: Relief. I think many -- the family is relieved that the suspect -- you know that an arrest was made. I think many in the area in the neighborhood are relieved as well.

This individual poses a danger not only to the three victims that he shot, but possibly others. So we didn't know much about him. Now, we're getting a clearer picture of who he is. And it's -- you know, it's an important step in this process, and one that puts everybody you know, at ease that is involved in this.

HARLOW: Can you share with us what that clear picture of the suspect is telling you about him that the public may not know yet?

AYOUB: Well, I think we'll learn more again, after the arraignment today. We'll let law enforcement speak. I know they have a press conference scheduled, so we don't want to talk in front of them. But we'll let them get into it, but I think a picture is going to start being painted about what happened that evening, who this individual is and why these three young students were targeted. MATTINGLY: The three young students, these three friends, can you

talk about their relationship. They were in Burlington for Thanksgiving, how they got to know each other? What the extended friendship was?

AYOUB: Well, they have known each other for years. They've known each other from their time in Palestine together and the families know each other. So they've been friends and they are just like millions of other young college-age students this past weekend, trying to get a break, visiting old friends, visiting family over the holiday. It unfortunately ended up in this tragic situation.

So there they are like millions of other college-age students in this country.

HARLOW: Yes, Hisham, a student at Brown University, Kinnan, a student at Haverford College, Tahseen at Trinity College, as you said, just trying to go enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

Our understanding is in the hospital now, two of them are in stable condition; one is in critical condition. Is that the latest that you know as well?

AYOUB: Yes, that's the latest we know. The family did ask for privacy, so we don't want to say who is leaving soon, but you know, one of them is in serious condition and one of them will hopefully be released soon and another one is on his way to recovery.

MATTINGLY: Do you have any information about there have been some discussion of family members or any family member being able to make the journey over to the United States whether or not that has actually come to pass?

AYOUB: We do have family members on the way to the US. So that's being arranged as well. We are working with the family members and trying to arrange to travel here, but they do want to be with their children just as any other parent from any other community would want to be with their kids.

HARLOW: Of course, they do, and we hope they are able to make that reunion. Thank you, Abed, please keep us posted as you learn more.

AYOUB: Thank you will do.

MATTINGLY: Well, for the first time in nearly two months, we are seeing glimmers of hope as hostages taken by Hamas are slowly being reunited with their families. New details are emerging about how they were treated in captivity.

HARLOW: Also Thomas Hand spoke with CNN when he thought his little girl had been murdered. Look at that. Now, she is back in his arms. Their remarkable reunion, next.

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