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Red Cross Vehicles Arrive ahead of Gaza Hostage Handover; Hamas Expected to Release Four More Israeli Hostages Soon; Hamas Hands Hostages to Red Cross in Gaza; Israel to Release 620 Palestinian Prisoners; Aired 5-6a ET
Aired February 22, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And we begin with breaking news in the Middle East. We want to give you a live look at Nuseirat, Gaza, where we're waiting for a second hostage handover by Hamas. More than 600 Palestinian prisoners are expected in return.
Meanwhile, two other Israeli hostages released a short time ago have now arrived at a military base in southern Israel. They'll undergo an initial medical checkup and be reunited with their families. I want to bring in CNN chief diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, live in Tel Aviv.
So Nic, as we watch these images of the Red Cross vehicles, waiting to take those Israeli hostages to be released, walk us through what we're expecting here and what we saw earlier today.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I think one of the things that we're seeing, witnessing here today, I mean, look at the crowd behind me here in Hostage Square. certainly a lot more people here than last week.
It's a rainy, dull day today. Last week it was sunny. There's way more people here now. And part of that is because people understand today is the last known, agreed and planned handover of living hostages.
Of course, it is hoped and aspired that there will be more coming. But this is the last one that is planned at the moment.
What we've seen today, Tal Shoham being released, 40 years old, looking weak on his feet, looking thin. Avera Mengistu being released. He, too, looking very weak, dazed and confused, even on the stage, almost sort of held upright by the two big Hamas fighters at his side.
Handed over to the Red Cross, driven away out of Gaza, handed over to the IDF, cheered by crowds as they were driven up the road to a nearby military base where their families were waiting.
We've seen images of their families waiting, cheering, absolutely, singing even in some cases, as they're seeing their loved ones now finally getting their freedom. And we understand that, right about now, those families will be -- or some members of the families will be reuniting with those two men.
Long awaited moment, 11 years for Avera Mengistu; wandered into Gaza in 2014, held hostage ever since; 505 days for Tal, held hostage. The other hostages we're expecting to be released today, four of them being released.
The stage set in Nuseirat behind us. You can see on the screen here, on your own screens there, the Red Cross vehicles lined up and waiting. Typically, that does indicate that the handover will be happening soon.
But it goes off in a very formalized, propagandized way by Hamas; signatures by the Red Cross, the men taken to the stage, sometimes, as we saw with Tal Shoham today, forced to give speeches before they're actually handed over.
So this is the formula we're expecting here. But those being released in the coming hours will get the same thing. They'll get in the Red Cross vehicles and that will formalize that moment that ends their captivity.
They really turn into free men, I guess you can say, when, a few minutes later, they get driven out of Gaza by the Red Cross and handed over to the IDF.
And that's really when they can be free and begin that process of connecting with their loved ones, re-becoming themselves.
Getting back to their lives and going through that hellish process of trying to struggle, recover, be helped through the process of unwinding and unraveling through those nightmarish days and nights in the tunnels and in captivity.
All the other hostages that have come out have talked about the uncertainty, the shortages of food. And that's, of course, a great concern. Waiting here for everyone, waiting to see the condition of these hostages coming out. Two weeks ago, the hostages released looked really emaciated.
Is that going to be the picture again here now?
Certainly Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu both had lost weight. But you don't know. Each group of hostages seems to somehow be treated in a slightly different way. And that's what the crowd now is waiting to see, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. That's right. All right, listen, Nic, we'll come back to you if we see any movement there of the hostages being released.
In the meantime, I want to bring in Gershon Baskin, former hostage negotiator and Middle East director at the International Communities Organization. He joins us now from Jerusalem.
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Thank you so much for being here with us. So as we wait for this second group of Israeli hostages to be released, imagine, you know, again, looking at these pictures, Hamas presumably wants this to go smoothly after the debacle of returning the wrong body.
Your take on what we've seen so far and what we're expecting.
GERSHON BASKIN, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR; MIDDLE EAST DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES ORGANIZATION: Well, this is the last release of living hostages in this first phase of the deal. And there will be another release next week of bodies of other hostages.
Hopefully, they will take the precautions to make sure that they are delivering the right bodies next time, unlike what they did with the body of Shiri Bibas. I proposed, in the name of families, to the Qataris and the Egyptians, that an international forensic team be sent to Gaza to avoid the kind of mistake that was made with Shiri Bibas.
This is really important. But the most important thing now is looking forward to the stage two of the deal, which is supposed to release the rest of the hostages and lead to the end of the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
But the big question that's in front of us is, who's going to control Gaza when this war is over?
Because if Hamas remains there, the war will not end. Israel will not withdraw from Gaza and maybe all the hostages won't be returned. This is really right now in the hands of the international community, the Arab world.
The Arab leaders have been meeting over the last day to discuss the united Arab position on putting together a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza. Without the Hamas leadership there, it will go to the Arab League.
And it's really meant to be an alternative to the kind of ethnic cleansing plan that was presented by President Bush -- president Trump, sorry.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. That's right.
I mean, more immediately, in terms of phase two, I mean, they were two weeks late in starting to negotiate that. And we've heard from Hamas that they're willing, apparently, to release all of the hostages in one go if Israel withdraws from Gaza.
Will prime minister Netanyahu go for that?
BASKIN: Yes. It's important to note that this is not a new Hamas position. This is -- Hamas has been saying this since last September. But the Israeli side has rejected it on the refusal to end the war as long as Hamas is in power.
There is no clear statement from Hamas about who's going to control Gaza afterwards, although the Hamas leadership outside of Gaza seems to understand that, as long as Hamas is in charge of Gaza, there won't be a single dollar of reconstruction money that will enter Gaza.
So there is a dilemma here. The problem is that the young Hamas fighters, who have taken over Gaza in the absence of political leadership there -- and now we're holding on to their guns, making these Hollywood production shows every week with the release of hostages.
Trying to convince the Gaza public that they're still in charge and no one should rise up against them, which won't happen as long as there is no viable alternative there. So we're really kind of in this dilemma.
How do you convince Hamas that they need to clear the area in order for Gaza to be rebuilt, in order for the more than 2 million homeless Gazans to get housing, to a infrastructure to be rebuilt?
Well, Hamas is feeling strong now, empowered by these weekly shows that they've done over the last six weeks.
BRUNHUBER: What about the role of the U.S. here?
I mean, one expert last hour told me, essentially it just comes down to president Trump. If he wants Netanyahu to take this to phase two, it will happen. If not, it's dead.
Is that too reductive?
BASKIN: No, I think it's exactly the case. We saw this with phase one being done. President Trump, before he entered the Oval Office, three weeks before he told the Israeli prime minister, get this deal done before I enter the White House.
And it was done. While the deal had been on the table since May of last year, presented by President Biden, nothing happened during that period. No real negotiations took place.
But in the last three weeks prior to a Trump entering the White House, Netanyahu got the message and it was done. The same thing remains the case now, with president Trump to put the pressure on Netanyahu and say, you have to end this war. We got to get it done.
It will be done. But the problem is that we have president Trump, who has presented this fantasy plan of evacuating more than 2 million people from Gaza, where no countries in the region or in the world are willing to take them.
Essentially, the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the diminishing of the Palestinian right to self-determination. This is something which is unacceptable to the most of the world, especially to the Arab world.
And yet there is no alternative yet on the table. And here comes the role of the Arab countries in the neighborhood to present a coherent plan to president Trump. That's an alternative to his ethnic cleansing of Gaza plan. BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's absolutely right. And just I want to highlight
the shot that we're seeing right now, which is really interesting. We're seeing two very different crowds.
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If we could bring that split screen back up. One, almost a celebratory crowd in Gaza, as we saw the fighters, heavily armed fighters parading past them.
And then on the other split screen, Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where those anxious, anxious faces are waiting for any sign of those hostages that we're expecting to be released.
All right, Gershon Baskin, thank you so much. I really appreciate your expertise on this.
And here at CNN NEWSROOM, our breaking news coverage continues as two former hostages return to Israel. So we'll have more on all of that coming up.
Plus, U.S. president Donald Trump is dismissing his top general in a Friday night Pentagon purge. CNN's military analyst will help us break it all down next.
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BRUNHUBER: More on our top story. This is a live look at Nuseirat, Gaza, where we're waiting for a second hostage handover by Hamas. Want to bring in CNN chief diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, who is live in Tel Aviv.
So Nic, as we await this hostage release, we don't know how many exactly will be released here.
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But we are learning that one of the four hostages due to be released will be handed over at a different location. So walk us through what we're seeing and what we're expecting here.
ROBERTSON: Yes, Hisham al-Sayed has been held for 10 years; went into Gaza, walked in 2015; taken captive, held hostage by Hamas ever since. His wait for release has been so long.
The hostages who we're watching and waiting, looking at the space where they're expected to walk into, 505 days of captivity. The final phase is the final countdown, the last of the hours, the last of the minutes ticking by.
Right now, the Red Cross vehicles are in place. Vehicles have come in that appear to be Hamas vehicles, are under their escort, that we would expect -- and as we've seen from previous hostage releases, that's where the hostages will be, inside of those vehicles.
Of course, the concern and that sort of expectation here is the condition that those hostages will be in. The two hostages we saw released earlier, Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu, both looking thinner, both looking weak on their feet.
But this is the process, the propagandized process that Hamas uses in this, in these handovers. That's set to it, looking set to sort of be about to begin. Precisely when, we just don't know. This is all in Hamas' control.
The longer the cameras remain on these locations for Hamas, it reinforces to the population in Gaza that they have control there. It reinforces to the Israeli government that Hamas is still a presence, is still able to control things and effects on the ground.
They may not be able to rain missiles down on Israel as they were before but they are a presence. And that is a problem going forward for Israel, to get the other hostages released, to get into the so- called phase two negotiations, to get to the permanent ceasefire.
The fact that Hamas is still present and has determined itself to be present in Gaza in the future and that's not the vision that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has. And that is one of the big thresholds to getting to a point of knowing when there will be a next round of live hostages released.
As far as we know, this is the last one that's agreed of live hostages to be released. That's part of phase one. So the stage, if you will, very much set, waiting for Hamas, on their clock, to step through the events here right now inside of Gaza.
BRUNHUBER: All right. And before I let you go, Nic, as we await this release, presumably, of Israeli hostages, just give me a sense of the mood there in Tel Aviv as you're in Hostage Square.
We can see the pictures of all of those anxious faces who are who are just waiting for any news of these hostages. Give me a sense of how people are feeling there.
ROBERTSON: You know, there are moments of elation. We heard rounds of clapping when we saw the two hostages earlier today. Then there was the Mengistu family on the big screen, clapping, singing in jubilation that he had been released.
OK. And the crowd here was clapping, clapping and the mood was up. But moments like this, it just feels a little bit more subdued. There are way more people here this week than last week. The sun is out now but it wasn't before.
Way more people here this week and that sort of subdued moment, when the moment of truth, of the wellness of these hostages, 505 days, most of that time, we've heard from other hostages spent in tunnels, spent in dire conditions, spent short of food.
Some of them described not being able to wash for months at a time, sometimes by themselves, sometimes with only, you know, one or two of them there, in the darkness at times.
I went in one of those tunnels a year ago at 20 meters down. When the lights go off, it is oppressive. It is hot, it is steamy. You can -- you just get that psychological feeling that the roof can cave in at any moment, that the sand can pour down on you.
These men have been through that for 505 days. That sheer psychological pressure, in of itself, not knowing if they would perhaps be bombed, not knowing if Hamas would decide to execute them or do something else with them.
All of those things they've been going through. So the idea that I think anyone here in this square right now can understand that, they certainly empathize and feel for it but nobody can really reckon with the hell of their experience over the past year and several months.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. It's just such a harrowing moment for them, for their families and all the Israeli public as they watch here. You talked about the stage.
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I mean, literally being set. If the previous handovers are any precedent, we might see some of those hostages being paraded up on stage again, depending on their condition.
And one thing I found interesting, I was listening to you earlier and you were talking about how the hostages who have been released already might have some insight into the condition of some of the hostages who are still being held right now. Take us through that.
ROBERTSON: Yes, that's one of the really interesting things. If you can sort of pick apart this and make things interesting as opposed to just sort of dire and desperate for the hostages there, as more hostages have been released, there's more opportunity for the IDF.
And therefore the families to maybe get snippets and just glimpses into the welfare of those that remain behind. They might have shared a tunnel with them. They might have shared being held in a building with them.
They might have had a fleeting opportunity to exchange a couple of words; the details we don't really get to know. But what we do know is that the IDF and the families, in some cases, are able to build up something of a picture of their loved ones.
And I was talking with the mother of Edan Alexander. He is the last living American hostage still held; 19 when he was taken hostage. 21 now. His mother told me -- and she said information she got back from other hostages who were released early toward the end of 2023, was that her son was trying to help the Thai hostages.
Trying to get the -- trying to negotiate between them and Hamas, to get the Thai hostages released. He was a moment and a person of support for other hostages who came out and talked about it and said he was giving them hugs. And that gave his mother such a feeling of strength, that he was --
that he was being strong, that he was bearing up under these conditions. And albeit that information was over a year old now, that gave her the sense that her son was being strong and therefore was going to have the best opportunity of getting through this terrible ordeal.
But, of course, his trouble now, because he's sort of deemed a phase two release, he -- there's no schedule for that. There's no agreement for that. And that's something that she worries about.
So she is strengthened and lifted by that knowledge of how strong he's been. And that's from witness testimony of other hostages. But, of course, uncertain about when she can actually see him again.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, just so hard for so many families who are watching this. Nic Robertson, stand by. We'll bring you back once we see more movement again with the hostages expected to be returned here.
In the meantime, I want to bring in H.A. Hellyer, who's a senior associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies and he joins me from Cairo.
Thank you so much for being here with us again. We've spoken through a couple of these hostage handovers so far, despite all the problems, and certainly we have to highlight the returning by Hamas of the wrong remains.
All of those problems, put those aside.
Do these generally successful handovers, the fact that we are progressing through this, does it generate any momentum toward that crucial phase two, do you think?
HA HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE AND SECURITY STUDIES: Well, thank you very much, Kim, for having me on the program.
So I think that there's a quandary here, which is the momentum for getting to phase two depends entirely on both sides wanting to go to phase two. When you have the hostages being released, that is a crucial component as to why the calculus in Israel continues to be continuing with the ceasefire/hostage negotiations. Right.
But once they're gone, once all of the hostages have been released, then that impetus frankly disappears. And the concern that I think many have, and quite rightly, is that, as we get closer and closer to the end of phase one, we see a successful completion of phase one but without, really, much impetus for going toward phase two.
And certainly not a lot of commitment to phase two when it comes to the Israeli side. When it comes to Hamas, Hamas has a lot of interest in going forward with phase two, because going, frankly, any other direction would be catastrophic for Hamas.
But when it comes to the Israelis, the Israelis have made it very clear that they see it as quite likely that they will resume war.
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Trump made that very clear also yesterday, the day before yesterday, where he indicated that he thought that, you know, Netanyahu was very close to just resuming the war and, crucially, did not say this would be against American interests or against the ceasefire proposal.
So there isn't that much commitment to phase two actually coming into play anyway.
BRUNHUBER: It strikes me, as we are watching there in Nuseirat, as they, erected that huge Palestinian flag flying, that there's so much propaganda value in these hostage releases that they've been doing sort of bit by bit.
As well, I mean, it is Hamas' leverage if they were to return all of the remaining hostages, as they've promised to do as part of phase two.
Where would that leave Hamas?
HELLYER: So I think that Hamas is committed to doing so because they're committed to getting into phase two. Phase two is where you have a much better situation for Hamas, as opposed to returning to war.
If war were resumed, then that's a much worse situation for Hamas. So they have the incentive, they have the impetus in that regard.
But what -- But again, once, once all the hostages are released, right now, there's public pressure in Israel, on the Israeli government, to not resume the war, in order to get all the hostages back.
But once all the hostages are back, then that pressure essentially evaporates. And you already have quite a number of forces in the -- on the Israeli political spectrum within the cabinet, outside of the cabinet, that are perfectly happy to go back to war.
And also, given president Trump's idea of quote-unquote, a "Riviera" plan, which, was fully endorsed by the Israeli government, which sees Palestinians leaving Gaza all together and not being allowed to return, right, so ethnic cleansing.
When you have that sort of element thrown into the mix, then, again, it just makes it very difficult to imagine that there's that much commitment to a phase two from the Israeli side and by American mediators.
Of course, if there were to be war resumed, then Hamas hasn't been able to replenish its weaponry, its infrastructure; its personnel, yes. But not in terms of the sort of hardware that is needed in order to carry out operations and respond to Israeli military prowess.
BRUNHUBER: All right. And I just want to highlight what we're seeing here, pictures live from Nuseirat. We're seeing those Red Cross workers as we seem, possibly, moments away from what we expect will be the release of several Israeli hostages.
HELLYER: I think literally moments away right there.
BRUNHUBER: I'm sorry?
HELLYER: I think very few moments.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
HELLYER: The Red Cross, getting on the stage.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, there's a certain choreographed predictability about these moments here. And this is certainly part of it, as we see the Red Cross worker with their binder. And they'll be signing some documents and then, hopefully, moments from now, we'll be seeing those hostages.
We don't know what condition of course they'll be in once they're released. As we wait for that moment, though, I did want to ask you about the larger picture here, because you mentioned president Trump and his so-called Riviera plan.
Arab leaders were gathering yesterday in Saudi Arabia. They met and discussed a plan for Gaza. Now this plan will sort of unfold in steps with another meeting that's going to come, I think, at the end of the month. But presumably their plan obviously would be in sharp contrast to what we've heard from president Trump.
HELLYER: Absolutely. But I think this is a big problem here. So the plan or plans that are being discussed by these Arab states, they're really about phase three and thereafter. OK. There is no phase three if phase two does not take place.
And phase two, of course, is where Israeli forces on the ground would leave Gaza altogether. It would mean the end of the occupation. The Gaza Strip has been occupied since 1967 uninterrupted. And the occupying power is the state of Israel. That would continue to be the case in phase two.
But troops on the ground would be evacuated from Gaza.
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If they go by the terms of the ceasefire outline that was agreed about a month or so ago, I just don't see how that's incredibly likely, especially given all of the rhetoric that we've seen over the last couple of weeks.
The reality is that there's a lot of pressure on Netanyahu to return to war. And at the same time, there's a lot of pressure to get the hostages out. So one possible scenario is that they don't go to phase two, that phase one essentially expires in reality.
But they claim that they will extend phase one with more hostage releases. That's one scenario. I'm not saying that's been agreed but that's one scenario. It's certainly the option that has been proposed by the Israeli side. You've seen that in the Israeli press. But it wouldn't be going on to phase two.
Phase two would require certain signals from the Israelis in terms of negotiations. And the teams that have been sent to begin those discussions don't really have the same mandate that they would require in order to actually seriously get into phase two.
Again, all of this is in the Israeli press. And there's no secret made of this. But again, we have to wait and see what's going to happen over the next few days. The next few days, I think, are really crucial, because that's when phase one is supposed to expire in about a week.
And we still don't have clarity about the details of phase two or any serious negotiations that have taken place on phase two. So we could be days away from the resumption of the war on Gaza.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, a very crucial next few days, exactly as you say. HA Hellyer, we appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much for speaking to us from Cairo.
I want to go back to CNN chief diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, who is live in Tel Aviv.
So Nic, as we await this, what we presume is a handover of Israeli hostages here in Nuseirat, Gaza, certain things seem a little bit different than from what we've seen previously.
What are you seeing here?
ROBERTSON: Well, we've seen the sort of multiple different locations for release today and we're not sure why that is. And perhaps it speaks to where the different men were being held captive.
But it also speaks to Hamas' ability to show itself and portray itself to have centers of gravity and control, both in Rafah, where the early handoff was today; last week it was in Kerem. It was further south in inside of Gaza.
So they choose different locations. That's the signaling, I guess, that they have the ability to be present and enforce in different parts of Gaza. So that would be a message to the local population there and, of course, to Israeli authorities.
But what we're witnessing here today is important, I think, for people, for all the reasons you have been discussing. But principal among them, this is the last scheduled live hostage release. The next ones are going to be much harder to organize.
And we're not at that point yet where that's been anywhere near close, locked into even sort of the parameters of it agreed. So this is an important day for Israelis seeing these hostages released. It's bringing toward the end the last, last live hostages to be released to the phase one part of the deal.
It's held together perhaps better than anyone had expected. The next part is unclear but the performance, if you will, of the propaganda that Hamas puts in place on days like today for these handovers, seems to be potentially even more drawn out.
And there you're beginning to see listen to the crowd, listen to the crowd.
That's the first of the hostages they're seeing. There they go, there they go. Eliya Cohen there on stage.
BRUNHUBER: Nic, what can you --
ROBERTSON: You were looking before, the pictures of him before he was taken into captivity. He's lost a lot of weight.
BRUNHUBER: And, Nic, I just want to bring attention to our viewers as we see Eliya Cohen there on stage. The other side of our screen is his family, who have been waiting for this moment.
They're all dressed in white, shaking hands, smiling, still looking very somber as you can imagine, seeing the condition of their loved one that they haven't seen for so long. And we're seeing another hostage there walking up as we show you these pictures.
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ROBERTSON: -- looks like Omer Shem Tov.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And what can you tell us about --
ROBERTSON: Yes, this --
BRUNHUBER: -- these two who are being released right now?
ROBERTSON: So we're just seeing Omar Shem Tov being brought to the stage. On the screen we have here, that the crowd behind me are watching, they have a split screen here of the before and after, if you will.
They're seeing the live hostage release and the image, Shem Tov, of the image of the hostage before taken into captivity. And it's a marked contrast, as you would expect. Both these men, young men; Eliya Cohen, 27 years old; Omer Shem Tov. 22 years old.
Both seem to be, you know -- they're in decent physical shape but they've clearly lost a lot of weight.
And this looks like Omer Wenkert. Omer Wenkert getting taken on the stage now.
Yes. He's looking a little weak. He's looking a little weak there. He's being shaken around by the guards.
Yes, yes. If you look at images of him, before he was taken into captivity, he's lost a significant amount of weight.
And they're also being given these uniforms to wear of course. You know, we were talking there about the first up on the stage, Eliya Cohen,. 505 days of this experience, about to be released. As he was separated from his fiancee, who he went to the Nova music
festival with, Ziv, who's waiting for him right now and campaigned to help get him released, Ziv had been there with him. She had taken her nephew and the nephew's girlfriend.
The nephew and the girlfriend were shot and killed. Ziv survived. The only reason she survived was because she hid under the bodies of her nephew and his girlfriend.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
ROBERTSON: That's the chaos that Eliya left behind.
BRUNHUBER: And you can see the emotion on the families there.
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BRUNHUBER: We're showing a split screen again. Just sheer delirium and relief from Eliya Cohen's family as they're seeing those pictures, as the family, as their loved ones wave to the crowd. Such an emotional moment for these families that have been waiting so, so long -- Nic.
ROBERTSON: The wait has been terrible. And speaking to the mother of the last remaining American living hostage in Gaza right now, with no schedule for his release, Dan Alexander, speaking to his mother you get a sense of what they're going through.
I mean, they love moments like this today because it's uplifting, because they want all the hostages to be freed. They feel for all the hostages. They live the same drama. They live the same hurt. They live the same living nightmare that all those families go through.
Talking to her was an eye opener on that and what those families have been going through. And the last minutes, the last minutes until they see their loved ones, it's the worst of the minutes in a way. They know that they're going to happen but they don't know what they're going to see. They don't know what they're going to see and hear.
They see their living loved one. And that's enough. He might have lost weight. He might look frail, he might be under duress. But he's there and alive and they know they're going to be with him soon.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Exactly right. And you are right to talk about their frail condition. And we showed our viewers the before pictures, where their faces looked completely different. so full, happy; now emaciated. But on the positive side, at least they are able to walk under their own power.
There had been a lot of concern about their physical condition and Omer Wenkert was reportedly in poor health and needed medication. So the fact that he is there, at least up on stage and able to walk, perhaps assisted but is able to walk, such welcome relief for his family.
We're seeing three of the Israeli hostages who have been released. Still to be released at a different location is Hisham al-Sayed, Nic.
What more do we know about that?
ROBERTSON: Yes, he's been held for about 10 years now. He walked into Gaza in 2015. Not quite clear why. Taken captive, taken hostage by Hamas. He has been very, very ill during his captivity. There was a video released at one time where he was pleading for release and he was in terrible health.
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Cheers going up here in Hostage Square as people are looking at the video of Eliya Cohen family here, just elated, sharing, sharing that pleasure, sharing, sharing that moment.
Look, it's so difficult to put into words, what Israelis have gone through since October 7th and the desperate feeling they have and the want for all the hostages to be back. So when people here who don't, who don't have a family member who's held hostage, they probably know somebody and a family who does.
But they see this, they see a family celebrating. It really lifts everyone's spirits because these are -- these are still dark days. There are still a lot of hostages that are held dead and alive. There's still an uncertainty about the future here.
So these moments are big, big moments. And that's why you see the crowd here responding so positively when they see the families of these hostages just getting a little joy.
Look, those guys have been underground, wherever, for 505 days. These families have been going through their own hell for that time, too. They didn't know this day was going to come.
Every moment trying to push for the release, pleading with president Donald Trump, pleading with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the streets of Tel Aviv in a big gathering that we've seen every Saturday night ever since then.
On the streets so many other times as well, pleading and pushing their case, keeping the spirit, the memory of their loved ones alive so that they're not forgotten, so that they are at the forefront of politicians' minds, so that they can't just be lost in the, you know, within a war.
Keep them alive, keep their spirit alive, keep their potential release alive. Now it's happened, now they're realizing it. Now you see them celebrating.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. This is a very extended photo op that we're seeing with all of those hostages being released. A very long appearance up on the stage. And now, presumably being photographed here as well before they're being taken to those Red Cross vehicles that will take them.
ROBERTSON: You know, we don't know why Hamas has drawn this one out so much. But when the cameras are pointed on them there, this is the only moment they get for the Israeli public to see Hamas, to see their strength.
What goes on in Gaza, we see on our TV screens at CNN and around the world all the time. Not so much in Israel. The Israeli public does not get to see what happens in Gaza so much. Hamas knows that, this moment, as long as they draw out this process, then all Israeli eyes are on them.
Their presence, their arms, their weapons, their uniforms, their ability to control and dominate the situation on the ground, that's the message they want to project. It's their propaganda. They extend the moment.
And that's what they're trying to do. That appears to be what they're trying to do. And certainly they're aware that another moment like this may not come around for some time.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's exactly right. And as you said before, this is presumably the last release of live Israeli hostages before we get to that phase two. So they are certainly milking every moment of this for propaganda purposes as you point out.
The other side of this equation, as we're seeing those Israeli hostages being taken to those Red Cross vehicles, is the Palestinian side, 600 or so Palestinian prisoners, to be released?
What do we know about that?
(OFF MIKE COMMENTS)
BRUNHUBER: I think we might have lost Nic Robertson there, as we're seeing yet another one of those Israeli hostages being taken and photographed again by those Hamas photographers for propaganda purposes.
Nic, if you're back, I just wanted to get your, your take on the other side of this equation, which was the release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners.
ROBERTSON: Yes, yes; sorry about that. We had trouble with the communications. Yes. This is -- these releases that we're witnessing here right now are part of an agreement. And the other side of that agreement is that, today, 602 Palestinians are being released, 445 of them rounded up, detained from Gaza since October the 7th.
So 445 men from Gaza, we can expect to be bused in, released inside of Gaza, much to the jubilation of their families.
The hugs, as we saw last week, complaints against the Israeli authorities of mistreatment is what we heard last week. The Israeli authorities say that doesn't happen. But many of the people getting off of those buses are -- absolutely attested to the conditions.
[05:45:03]
The bad conditions they said they were held in, many of them taking off the prison shirts they were given and ceremonially burning them.
So 445 detained in Gaza being released in Gaza today, as well as 50 life term prisoners, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, serving life terms for murder; 60 serving long sentences also being released today.
And 47 other Palestinians who were released back in a prisoner exchange deal in 2011, where 1,000 Palestinian prisoners were released for the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage for five years.
Some of those subsequently arrested. They, 47 of them, are being released again for a second time for them again today. So a big number of Palestinians being released.
And that also covers, if you will, if you put it in those terms, the return of the four bodies of the Bibas family and the other gentleman held with them, returned just a couple of days ago.
BRUNHUBER: Nic, as we see those Red Cross vehicles now driving off, we're seeing at least a fairly wide corridor. The large public who are celebrating there in Gaza are being kept away from those vehicles, at least in our shot. Now that may change.
But certainly Hamas seems to have better control of the crowds than they have in some of the previous handovers. And we've heard both from Israel and from the Red Cross, saying that the crowds sort of crowding those vehicles is not only just intimidating the released hostages but also possibly endangering their safety.
It seems to be a bit of a different scene here, although we now -- the shot, we can't see what's happening off frame of course.
ROBERTSON: You know, we've talked earlier today about the sequencing of the handovers. And we were talking just before about the 602 Palestinians to be handed over. We haven't seen images of those handovers so far. It doesn't mean they haven't happened.
But in terms of the phasing that we've seen in previous weeks, it seems that the hostages, the Israeli hostages get released. And when they are out and safely out, that's when we see the Palestinian prisoners -- or at least the video and still images of their release, happening.
That could be part of the sequencing. And, of course, if that were the sequencing, then that mitigates about anything bad happening to stop those Red Cross vehicles getting out of Gaza. We haven't seen that on the seven previous releases.
But, of course, that concern is an alive concern at any time like this. Those Red Cross vehicles should very soon be meeting up with IDF vehicles for the handover to the IDF.
BRUNHUBER: And then they'll be taken to the Reim military base. They'll be examined there. They'll see their family for the first time and then they'll be flown to different hospitals, perhaps in Tel Aviv. Again, if you've just joining us, we've just seen the release of three
Israeli hostages, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert.
Nic, stand by. I want to bring in now. Miri Eisin, senior fellow with the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. And she retired from active duty from the Israel Defense Forces at the rank of colonel.
Miri, thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it. As we've done a couple of these hostage releases, you and I, we saw, kisses, air kisses, waves, thumbs up from the three released Israeli hostages. They looked frail but able to stand. Your impressions as you were watching along with this very emotional moment.
COL. MIRI EISIN, SENIOR FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER- TERRORISM: I'm at the stage of looking at the terror of theatrics. It's just almost too much for me.
I look at these different things and I think, what have they done to these people inside the places that they were held, that, after over 500 days -- I want to say a year and four months.
Just they were taken from a party, they were taken from their homes, these three men and just, you know, that I hope that what they're doing is because they're freed and not because of just the horrible terror tactics of Hamas.
Look at how they stage it. I want to remind everybody, Kim, that they're not showing Hamas the release of an additional Israeli hostage, who has been held for 10 years.
[05:50:00]
We don't talk about that.
Why is he not being shown?
Because he is an Arab citizen of Israel.
So what is Hamas trying to say yet again?
This is about the Jews?
This is about all Israelis?
They took somebody and have held them for 10 years. And that one, they're not showing right now. They're, as if doing that quietly. And they need to shout that out as well.
We also saw earlier, before you showed it also, the release of another Israeli, Ethiopian Israeli, very Israeli, very Jewish, who was held also for 10 years.
Why were they held there?
Why don't we hear about that? These are all hostages. And so I'm grateful that they're home. But I'm just appalled yet again by the theatrics of Hamas.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
And just for our viewers, we're showing a split screen there of Nuseirat, Gaza, where we saw the release of those hostages. And then on the other side there, the celebratory scenes.
That is Eliya Cohen's family, who we showed moments ago, breaking into tears and celebrating as they finally saw their loved one, after some 500 days of captivity, emerge on the screen and waving to the cameras and presumably through that to their loved ones, who just can't wait to see them.
Miri, we saw two other people released earlier. This seems to have gone according to plan, although it was late. There are always problems with these things, as you know. We are slowly going toward now the end of this phase. This was presumably the last release of live Israeli hostages. So let's pivot now to phase two and this crucial phase.
Do you think we will actually get there?
EISIN: There are over two dozen Israeli who are still alive and hostages who were also taken on October 7th. I mean, in that sense, it isn't that phase one was ending the -- what Hamas had done from the beginning.
Hamas took 256 people from the beginning. They took both live and dead. And to be clear to all the viewers, in the stage two, the only difference is the Hamas difference that they defined.
The ones that they're still holding, the live ones that they're still holding as Israeli soldiers, so that they want the price to be even higher. We're talking again about those terror tactics.
I do not see any scenario where Israel says, we're not going to do anything. We need to get back not just the live ones but also, when I say the dead ones, both those that were killed in captivity and are being held but also bodies that Hamas took on October 7th, again as collateral, as a bargaining chip.
This is what we're dealing with. And at this stage, it's going to be much harsher. Hamas have already put out what they say are their conditions. They've done so throughout the last 500 -- and I've lost my sense of time -- 515 days.
How many days are we at this stage along the way?
And when we talk about that, do we have a choice?
We always have a choice. Let's impact and make sure that Hamas give them back.
Could there be other ways to pressure Hamas? There are continuously. Both Arab states, the different ones who are negotiating along the way, both Egypt and Qatar. You want to hope that Hamas is not the one who is defining the rules of the game in any way. That is not good for anybody.
BRUNHUBER: So that's the Hamas side of the equation. But there is the Israeli side as well. And there's certainly questions as to whether prime minister Netanyahu would accede to the stipulated terms -- or at least what we expect to be the terms -- in terms of Israel withdrawing from Gaza as part of phase two.
Do you think that he will do that?
EISIN: Yes. So one of those things, when I think of the country that I live in and I love and that, right now, that love/hate relationship with our own government.
I know, Kim, based here in the United States, it can seem also sometimes that when you have a government that doesn't represent who you are, I don't think this government represents me as Miri.
But right now, this is the government who is there. And I, as a citizen, hold them responsible. And this government is going to be held responsible for every single lost hostage, last hostage.
In addition, they are also, in that sense, looking at their own base. They're looking at the own people who vote for them. At the end, inside Israel, the bulk of Israelis, 70 percent need to have the hostages back. I don't think I have a lot in common with 30 percent of Israelis who say that the hostages are less important. I don't agree with them.
[05:55:00]
And I want to hope that this government that that 30 percent or certainly their base will listen to all Israelis, that we all need them back. We're drafted into the military and mandatory service.
This government needs to know that, when it negotiates, it wants the soldiers to be drafted, that they want us to all support them, that we need to both defend ourselves against horrific Hamas.
As I said, let's emphasize, Hamas is the one who did this. Hamas is the one who's playing a game. And I do hope that, in the price that we are going to have to pay, it is one that I will pay to get back those hostages, despite what this government might think.
BRUNHUBER: Well, we only have about 30 seconds left. But I did want to ask you this, because the other big player in this, of course, is the U.S. president.
And what would be your message to president Trump, who, could presumably exert much more pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to get a deal done?
EISIN: I'd like that. And, Kim, I want him to do so. But parallel, I want everybody to remember this isn't Israel; this is Hamas.
So please, president Trump, find a way to also exert pressure on Hamas, via Qatar, via Egypt, in other ways, not just pressuring Israel. We're the ones who, at the end, are both attacked and we are the ones being held hostage.
BRUNHUBER: All right, listen, always appreciate your excellent analysis, Miri Eisin. Thank you so much for being here with us as we are watching what is a heartwarming and also heartbreaking moment all at once, as we see these Israeli hostages being released.
We'll leave you with a picture of Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, as so many people were celebrating the release of those hostages here today.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for sharing it with me. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next.
