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Inside Politics

Families Celebrate Return Of Hostages After 2 Years In Captivity; World Leaders Gather In Egypt For Peace Deal Signing; Hamas Frees Final 20 Living Hostages After Two Years; Trump Calls Middle East "A Region Transformed"; Trump Celebrates Ceasefire, Hails "Dawn Of A New Middle East". Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired October 13, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Dana Bash in Washington. And we begin this hour with a miracle and a blessing. Every living man and woman held by Hamas terrorists is now free.

(PLAYING VIDEO)

BASH: Eitan Mor is 25. He's the oldest of eight siblings. He was kidnapped from the Nova music festival. His mother (inaudible) as you see there and you heard her saying, we lived and sustained. He is just one of the 20 hostages who were freed today after a 738-day nightmare, being held in captivity by Hamas.

(PLAYING VIDEO)

BASH: That is 37-year-old, Matan Zangauker, hugged by his mother, his grateful mother. In between tears of joy, she says, my life, you are a champion and a hero. Gali and Ziv Berman are twins. They were kidnapped together and then broken apart. They had spent every day since October 7, separated, according to others who were held with them in captivity.

Now, as you see, they are reunited, chairing a helicopter ride home while holding a handwritten sign that says, thank you for everything, the people of Israel live.

Moments later, applause and cheers of joy erupted in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square as that helicopter carrying the Berman brothers flew over. Thousands of Israelis who have been waiting in that square for days. The last time the world saw Evyatar David, it was Hamas propaganda video of him digging his grave.

Look at him now. He is a free man. In a helicopter on his way to see his family, including his brother Ilay, who spent countless hours, including on this program and elsewhere, keeping his brother's cause alive. Also today, Israel freed nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

That's part of the ceasefire deal that as of this hour, is still intact, even as what comes next remains deeply uncertain. The politics of peace appear far more complicated than the politics of war. But the American president in Israel to celebrate a deal he made to stop the bombs, broadcast a clear message to the world. He believes the war is over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms. You've won. I mean, you've won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: CNN is reporting from across the region, as we have been all night long. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Sharm El-Sheik in Egypt, and Kaitlan Collins is in Tel Aviv. Kaitlan, I'm going to start with you. And President Trump, he, of course, was greeted by ovations in the Israeli Knesset. Now he is in Egypt. No question. This is the best day of his presidency so far, and he is understandably reveling in it.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR & WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It's definitely a momentous day because ever since they had been feeling that they were getting closer and closer to an agreement, to this moment where this ceasefire was going to be brokered.

In the last two weeks, I was talking to a lot of administration officials, Dana, who felt incredibly bullish and optimistic, but still a little cautious, until -- actually we saw the moments that happened here, truly minutes as Trump was landing here in Israel, was when those first seven hostages had been released and freed from Hamas captivity and handed over to the IDF, that was as Air Force One was touching down here.

[12:05:00]

So, to see that split screen moment of the president arriving and hostages being released was certainly something for this White House. And then the president went and met with other families of hostages that are either already released or whose loved ones have been killed and are still being held in Gaza and still want their bodies back, just as much as the other hostage families wanted their loved ones back.

And then, of course, President Trump delivered that speech to the Knesset. And he got an incredibly warm reception here in Israel. I mean, he's obviously more popular even than the prime minister here, and you could see that as he was inside the Knesset earlier, lavishing praise on Netanyahu, who was doing similar to him at one point, Dana.

And then just those moments, though, of these families reuniting, these are families that have been hosted inside the Oval Office that were in Washington last week, some of them, including Omri Miran's family. His wife was actually in Washington last night, last week having dinner with the commerce secretary.

And so, the White House had had conversations with these families and knew that they weren't sure if they'd ever get to embrace their loved ones again. And so, seeing those videos obviously just drives home what's at the heart of all of this.

Now you're right that obviously there are the questions about what comes next. And the president made clear he has not done just with ending this war in Gaza, as he feels definitively that he has done. He has his eyes on the broader region and what that looks like. He made that clear during his speech to the Israeli parliament earlier, where you were hearing that quote there, he was basically telling Netanyahu to take the win here and focus on peace now.

BASH: Yeah, no question about that. Kaitlan, thank you so much. I know it's been a very long day and night, but a very happy one, at least today. Nic, I want to go to you and pickup on Kaitlan's last point there. So now it's about Egypt and the leaders from the region who are gathered for a signing ceremony, except that the leader of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, is not there. Representatives of Hamas are not there.

So, explain what is being signed. And you're looking -- as you talk, I just want to tell our viewers that there is a video that we're playing from moments ago with the world leaders who are gathered. Go ahead, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. It won't have the sort of historic moment that the Camp David Accords did when I can begin show hands with Anwar Sadat the Israeli Prime Minister with the Egyptian president, or when President Bill Clinton in 1993. The White House oversaw a handshake between Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader at that time.

You won't have that sense of hands coming together in the symbolism of peace. But what you will have in that room will be the symbolism of leaders that are committed to trying to get the two sides closer to a place of enduring peace.

Now, precisely what is written into that document that's being signed isn't clear. We know that Steve Witkoff spoke about as soon as the ink had dried on the first phase of this deal, the ceasefire, the prisoner or the hostage release, all of that. He said he was already working with Jared Kushner on the next phase.

And President Trump spoke about when he was asked about, how do you go from phase one to phase two? He said, look, I think the phases are intermingled. So, this is -- this is an ongoing process. I suppose one of the thoughts that I have at the moment because President Trump leans in to the regional leaders here to sort of pay the way for this implementation, the rebuilding, the secure international stabilization force to go into Gaza.

One leader that's noticeably absent to my mind is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, literally just across the Red Sea, one of the closest leaders is not here, Faisal bin Farhan is foreign minister. He's a very able, a very capable diplomat, very skilled, very hard working. But he doesn't carry quite the same weight as having the crown prince here, when so many other leaders are here as well. So, I think that's indicative of, you know, a sense, perhaps, in the region that still, even with all the momentum created, they're not, quite yet in a position to really push the ball forward.

BASH: Yeah. That's such an important observation that MBs, as he is known in Saudi is not there, because, of course, in order for what the president declared today to actually come true. You do need the leaders in the region to step up in a way that they haven't been willing to do for generations, and get in and help the people of Gaza rebuild into the place where Hamas can be eradicated and powerless if people have the kind of sustained and self-sustained future that that everybody says that they need and they certainly deserve to have finally have peace in the region. Thank you both for your amazing reporting.

[12:10:00]

I now want to go to Aviva Siegel, who was taken hostage on October 7, spent 51 days in captivity before being released during the first ceasefire deal. Aviva's husband Keith spent 484 days as a prisoner in Gaza. Aviva, thank you so much for being here. Just how are you feeling at this moment? Knowing that you came out, you started fighting for your husband. Your husband was finally released. And then the two of you continued to fight until everybody alive was out and now that moment is here.

AVIVA SIEGEL, HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS FOR 51 DAYS: I am exploding from joy. It's been the best day ever to see Gali and Ziv, the two twins from kibbutz Aza, hugging their mom. And to see all the hostages getting together with their families. For me, it's the best ever. I'm just so happy. I'm happy for Keith. Keith spent quite a long time with some of the hostages that came out today, and they free, and Keith is going to be free too.

I'm going to be free. And we've just had two years of such a horrible, horrible two years, so much sadness, and it's been terrible to go through it. So, I want to thank President Trump, and I want to thank Witkoff -- Steve Witkoff for all what he did. He gave me hope all the time. He answered every time I spoke to him or messaged him. He gave me hope to continue to get up in the morning and fight for the hostages. I've been fighting for two years. And the day came. The good one and the hostages are home. What a joy.

BASH: Yeah. And you mentioned that your husband, Keith, has already spoken, I think, by video conference with Matan, who is one of the 20 released in the past few hours. There you see. We're showing it right now to our viewers. I know Keith was held captive with Matan. Keith told me for about 67 days. Do you have any report from your husband about how that call went?

SIEGEL: I was with Keith.

BASH: Oh.

SIEGEL: And I videoed it.

BASH: OK.

SIEGEL: So, I'm just so happy. I was exploding with happiness. And I just want to say that when Keith finished talking to him, he burst into tears of joy. And Matan is home. Gali and Ziv are home, and Omri, the four hostages that were with Keith. And we've been carrying that with us all the time, trying to think, what more can we do to get them out? And we did everything we could, and they're home, and we're happy, and everybody's happy.

And I want to say that I'm sure that all the Jews all over the world are the happy as people in earth, because the good one. And we are good people, and we want good for everybody in this world. And I want to thank President Trump, and I want to ask him, please, just make this world smile and that there won't be any wars anymore ever again. It's not worth it.

It's just so sad and so many people lose their lives. There's so many soldiers that were killed just because of the hostages in Gaza, they wanted them out. And Hamas was responsible to not letting them out for two years, but they're out and they're free.

BASH: Could you share what Matan said? Did he -- I'm sure it wasn't a very long call, but did he seem OK? You know, almost 800 days in captivity, I can't even imagine.

SIEGEL: He seemed so happy to talk to Keith. And they spoke about moments that they shared there, and the hug that they gave each other at the end, when they had to separate and they just love each other. Keith became a kind of a father for him and supported him for 67 days. That's a long time.

They were locked in a room and had to beg to go to the bathroom and beg for food and water. But they did that, and they were together as a team. And I'm just so proud of Keith, because what he did for these youngsters is amazing. It's just what I did for the girls that I was with while I was with Keith. We did everything that we could to help each other, and that's what Keith did with Matan.

BASH: Aviva Siegel, again, you were taken on October 7, 2023, held captive for 51 days and spent every day after that fighting for this day to come. And I appreciate you coming on and sharing this moment with us.

[12:15:00]

SIEGEL: I want to say thank you. Thank you to all the people that helped us that this day will come true and the good will win. Thank you, everybody so much.

BASH: Thank you, Aviva. And up next. We are going to look at what this day means more broadly for one of the people that Aviva just talked about, the president of the United States. The politics of peace, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back. Let's get right to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt and listen to the president of the United States. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And it's just an honor to be in parliament. We're going to be signing a document that's going to spell out a lot of rules and regulations and lots of other things, and it's very comprehensive. But we've already signed documents in the Middle East and having to do with Israel and Hamas and just about everything else.

And it's really working out incredibly well. The hostages, as you know, let go on time, on schedule. The very sad situation of bodies, which was always a sad situation, and they're being sought out and they're working with many different people, finding some were brought in and some were not. And they're working out to find out where those bodies are.

It's hard to believe that you even have to say something like that. It's so sad. It's so sad. But what's not said is that we have finally, after, I guess they say 3000 years. I've heard from 3000 years to 500 years, but whatever it is, it's a lot. But this was the one, this was the granddaddy of them all.

And frankly, I thought this was probably going to be the toughest, and maybe in many ways it was, but we had a lot of good talent. Steve Witkoff, Jared and Marco and Pete and General Kane. He's so great. John Ratcliffe was incredible. We had an amazing array of talent, and we were helped by in particular, the countries represented at this table.

[12:20:00]

I will say to me, you were fantastic, and your country is unbelievable, and I don't believe they give you a fair shake. They talk about you as though, you're not a nice person, and you happen to be a nice person. You happen to live in a little tough neighborhood. You're surrounded by everybody, and without you, this wouldn't have happened.

And I just want to thank you very much. That's Qatar and thank you. He's an amazing leader. And another man who's been a friend of mine for a long time. I don't know what it is. I like the tough people better than I like the soft, easy ones. I don't know what the hell it is. It's a personality problem, I suspect.

But this gentleman from a place called Turkey is -- has one of the most powerful armies actually in the world. It's much more powerful than even let's known. If you look at some of the recent conflicts, he was at the top of them and he was winning them, and he did win, and he doesn't want any credits, he doesn't want anything. He just wants to be left alone. He's a tough cookie, but he's been my friend. And every time I've ever needed him, he's been there for me.

So, I just want to thank President Erdogan, because he is difficult. They called me, they said, would you do me a favor. Can you speak to Erdogan? And I do -- and he never fails us, right general, he never fails. He's amazing. So, I just want to thank you for the first year. It's great. Thank you very much. And then, of course, we have the host tonight, and I just want to thank you very much. It was a reason we chose Egypt because you were very helpful and very, very helpful. Everybody wanted to have this, but we really thought it was appropriate. And you are a great leader. We have heard of the crime. We have problems that other countries don't have. And of course, nothing's perfect, but the job you do is amazing, and I want to thank you.

Another one. We've been my friend, right from the beginning, during the campaign against crooked Hillary Clinton. Have you heard about him? And we were both downstairs waiting to go up to meet this gentleman who has a place called Egypt. The oldest civilization. They say 6000 years. China is 5000 years. You're actually number one, 6000 years. Can you believe it?

But the oldest, they say civilization. But so, I went up to meet him first, and we like each other so much that she waited for about an hour and a half, and I think your meeting lasted about two minutes with them. So, I always remembered that, but that was our first meeting. We had great chemistry together, and he's a fantastic man and a fantastic general, by the way, but he's a great, great president.

And I want to thank Egypt and all of your representatives for treating us all so well. Representatives of a whole group of nations, and they're sitting behind us. And you know, most of them, I can tell you, this guy's got so much money. They all have so much. It's more money and power sitting behind us. I love that they're behind us.

We've never been sitting behind anybody before. This is a very unique position for them, but they are -- seriously they're among the most powerful countries in the world, the richest countries in the world, and there's never been really an assemblage like what we have today. I don't think that I've never seen it anyway.

And I want to thank everybody for being with us. So, if the war for him, answered by John. We fought for 32 years. Well, I want to thank everybody for being here. Italy, she's a very strong ruler. We're actually going to be making a speech after this. So, this is just a very important signing, but we're doing a signing, then we're doing the speech, and then I may stay behind with the leaders, just to talk about that some things would--

I want to thank the media for very -- you've been so respectful on this year. You know the importance of the deal. And I really -- it was so pleasant to watch. I was on the plane for quite a while, listening to the various newscasts, and they were all fair. They were talking about how incredible this is. This is an incredible day for the world, let alone the Middle East.

So, I just wanted to thank the media. They really treated it with respect. I wish you could be like that on other things, but that's perhaps too much to ask for. But on this tremendous, everybody feels the same, just tremendous respect and we appreciate it very much. Can we get the documents, please?

[12:25:00] OK. This took 3000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it, and it's going to hold up too. It's going to hold up. OK. Thank you. You can use my pen and use mine. OK.

BASH: OK. As we are watching this situation happen, a remarkable situation, if you look at just the visual of it and the imagery of it. Kaitlan, I'm going to come to you now. You're still in Tel Aviv. The president of the United States, sitting in the row with leaders from the Middle East, but there are other really important leaders of the world, including the Middle East, like the King of Jordan sitting behind him, and they're all waiting for their turn to sign this document.

I guess the first question that people are probably wondering is, what exactly are they signing? Do we know the answer to that yet, Kaitlan?

COLLINS: We haven't seen the exact document, Dana, obviously waiting to see here what else -- what else President Trump is saying.

BASH: You could go ahead. I think he's just saying, we're going to go and meet privately.

COLLINS: Yeah. And obviously, Dana, as you see, who's at that table with him there at the front. Those are the key leaders who helped broker this deal, and that is why they are seated at the table with the president, leaders from--

BASH: All right, Kaitlan, let's go back and listen to what the president is saying.

TRUMP: Some of the greatest people you'll ever meet and people that really care for their countries. And why this happened is they all came together, and they wanted to get Gaza straightened out. They wanted to get the whole thing straightened out. It got to a point where it was just crazy.

And once they got together and once we started talking, it went really to me, it went smoothly. It went so smoothly. It was such a big help. But it went so smoothly that nobody could even believe it, that we're sitting here and getting this all certified out and all done, and everybody's happy about it. Everybody's happy about it, like I've never seen before actually.

I've done other deals, and people don't care as much. Big deals. I think they're big deals. But this is something that's taken off like a rocket ship, and it did from the beginning. And I've heard for years, this is the biggest deal. It will never happen for years, long before I ran for office, that this is the Middle East.

It's the biggest, most complicated deal. And also, it's the place that could lead to tremendous problems like World War III. They always talked about World War III would start

[12:30:00]