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Thousands Attend Rally In Tel Aviv Ahead Of Hostage Release; Israel's Hostage Coordinator Tells Families Release Expected To Begin Monday Morning; Israel Expected To Released Palestinian Prisoners; Aid Convoy Moves Through Southern Gaza City Of Khan Younis; Zelenskyy Sees Hope For Ukraine After Gaza Ceasefire. Aired 5-6 am ET

Aired October 12, 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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[05:00:03]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson, live for you from Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. It is here in the City of Peace, as it is known, where a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was brokered late last week.

And it is here where leaders will meet Monday for a summit to formally end the war in Gaza. After a long and agonizing wait for Israel, the remaining hostages in the enclave are set to be released. Israel's hostage coordinator says the process is expected to start on Monday morning.

Two Americans who had a role in securing their release were in Gaza on Saturday. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner visited a hostage center that will receive those released from captivity. The group also met with families of the remaining hostages in Tel Aviv. Trump's daughter Ivanka was also there.

Well, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to celebrate the ceasefire deal. Some of the hostages' family members spoke at what was the massive rally and they thanked President Donald Trump for his role in the negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHIRO SHAHAR MOR, NEPHEW OF SLAIN HOSTAGE AVRAHAM MUNDER: Today we stand at a pivotal moment. A deal is on the table. We finally feel hope. But we cannot and would not stop now. Every single hostage must come home, the living and the deceased. Every family deserves closure. Every family deserves to bring their loved ones home. Let's end this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, among those who spoke at that rally was Steve Witkoff. Many in the crowd showed their gratitude towards the U.S. and the President, but not the leader of their own country. Here's what happened when Steve Witkoff mentioned both President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, that made this peace possible. To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hello.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Steve Witkoff there paused and then went on to show support for Benjamin Netanyahu and the role that he has played. And you would expect to hear that echoed by Donald Trump when he arrives in Israel tomorrow morning.

Let's get more from our teams in the field. CNN's Nada Bashir is in Jerusalem. I want to start with Oren Liebermann today, who joins us from Tel Aviv, where we saw those images yesterday, Saturday, of Steve Witkoff, of Ivanka Trump, of Jared Kushner, of course. It is now midday with you. It's midday here in Egypt as well. Midday with you in Tel Aviv. So, what can we expect in the next 24 hours? What's the process and what are the expectations?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: And it is now officially exactly 24 hours, Becky, until the 72-hour window for the release of the hostages. That deadline expires at noon tomorrow. And so that's the expectation that the hostages will be released likely sometime tomorrow morning, although it's unclear whether it will be very early in the morning or closer to that noon deadline.

Gal Hirsch, Israel's coordinator for the hostages, sent a text message obtained by CNN to the families of the 48 remaining hostages, saying the expectation by Israel is that the release will happen sometime tomorrow morning. And so, it is a day of, frankly, breathless anticipation. And we saw that playing out in Hostages Square late last night.

Organizers say there were some 400,000 people at what was a rally of celebration and of thanks. So, often over the course of the past two years, we have seen that central square become a site of protest, of anger and of desperation, but not on this weekend, as we are about to see play out what these families and what these -- those in the square have been waiting for, for so long after just over two years, the release of the remaining hostages and an end to the war under the ceasefire agreement from President Donald Trump's 20-point proposal.

And that specifically is exactly why you saw every time the name Trump was mentioned, a roar of applause from the crowd every time U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his daughter Ivanka Trump, every time they mentioned Trump, they got that that boisterous applause from the crowd, effigies of Trump signs for him, calls for him to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, even though it went to a Venezuelan opposition leader. You see the thanks and you see it on the street there every time his name was mentioned. Here's Ivanka Trump when she mentioned Trump.

[05:05:12] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: The president wanted me to share, as he has with so many of you personally, that he sees you. He hears you. He stands with you. Always, always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: We know how this process plays out because we have seen it play out. Hamas will hand the hostages to Red Cross teams preparing for their reception inside of Gaza. Those Red Cross teams will then take them to the Israeli military inside of Gaza. They will be transported in convoys outside into Israel, where they will enter Israel for the first time in two years at a base just outside of Gaza, the military facility.

They will go through an initial medical screening and they will see their closest family and loved ones for the first time in just over two years. Following that initial medical screening, they'll be taken to the hospitals in Israel, in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area here awaiting their arrival. Those hostages -- those hospitals, I'm sorry, preparing for their arrival here. The only question now, Becky, the final timing, that timing will take place here sometime in the next 24 hours.

ANDERSON: Nada, you are reporting on the release of Palestinian prisoners, which is part of this deal and we've seen that before as part of ceasefire deals in the past. Is it clear at this point who will be freed and perhaps more significantly, who won't be freed?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Becky, we have seen a list put out of the initial 250 names by the Israeli Justice Ministry. The Israeli prison service, as we understand it, has already transported those prisoners to detention facilities in southern Israel and in the occupied West Bank preparing for that release, which is set to take place as expected tomorrow.

We have been speaking to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, which has been coordinating with family members and coordinates closely with those held in detention. And as we have seen in the past, there are questions around potential discrepancies in the names on that list.

What's important to note is that in previous instances, we have seen a large, significant number of those prisoners being released in previous ceasefire deals being women, children, many of those also held under administrative detention, meaning no charges were laid against them.

What we are expecting to see tomorrow is many of these prisoners being released are those who have been serving longer term sentences for serious offenses. Many of them are figures from various Palestinian political factions. And of course, there has been some questions around notable names that may be released. There has been questions around, for example, the detention of Palestinian healthcare workers from the Gaza Strip, who are not mentioned on that list. And of course, in addition to that 250 that are set to be released as part of this deal, we are also expecting some 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip who have been detained over the course of the war to also be released and transported back to the Gaza Strip. And it's important to note that we are also expecting to see some deportations. So, within that initial 250 figure, we are expecting at least 142 to be deported via Gaza, potentially onwards to Egypt.

But the details at this stage are still somewhat unclear. But again, important to note, again, these are individuals who have been serving longer term sentences for more serious offenses. And this is being seen very differently amongst both Israelis and Palestinians. For some Israelis, this is being seen as a very heavy price to pay for the release of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza.

Many of those who are detained and are set to be released have been accused or convicted of killing Israeli citizens. So, from the eyes of many in Israel, these are individuals who have blood on their hands. So, a very high price to pay. But on the flip side, when you speak to Palestinians, particularly in the occupied West Bank, these individuals, many of them are viewed as resistance fighters. By some, they are viewed as political prisoners.

And they are likely to be met by a significant amount of celebration. And that is certainly what we saw in the previous two ceasefire agreements, huge crowds gathering to welcome these prisoners. And what we've seen in the last 24 hours is the arrival of those buses outside the Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.

That is where we are expecting to see the majority of those prisoners and detainees to be held until those Israeli hostages held captive are finally returned and are back on Israeli territory. It's at that point that we expect the full exchange to be carried out for those Palestinian prisoners to be released. And as we've seen in the past, we are expecting these huge crowds again to gather to celebrate this release. But again, it's being viewed very differently between Palestinians and Israelis.

[05:10:17]

ANDERSON: Yeah. Nada, thank you. Nada's in Jerusalem. Oren Liebermann is in Tel Aviv.

I'm joined now by Frank Lowenstein. He is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under President Barack Obama. And it's good to have you, sir.

Frankly, Donald Trump's achievement here is statecraft, but not as we know it. Certainly not as a leader or as you knew it. His emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, using the language of business and deal-making over conventional diplomacy. How much credit do you give Trump here and this different approach?

FRANK LOWENSTEIN, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATIONS: Well, I give him all the credit in the world for getting this done. I mean, we may have a lot of disagreements politically, but he did something here on the ground that's going to save lives. And it's going to be a great benefit to Israelis, Palestinians, and also to the United States.

And honestly, I think it was his personal relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu that enabled him to really pressure Netanyahu into a deal that he did not want to take. And that's partially a function of the fact that Trump's politics are very unique in the United States. Usually, if the Israelis are unhappy with something the U.S. president is doing, they can pressure them politically, particularly through Republicans. And in this case, they really had nowhere to go, the Israelis did, to try to push back on Trump. So, yeah, I give him all the credit that he's due for this.

ANDERSON: Dennis Ross, who's been deeply imbued in diplomacy over what the last sort of four decades, and you'll know Dennis very well, said in a recent podcast, and I quote him here. Timing is to statecraft what location is to real estate, which I actually thought was quite an interesting sort of analogy, given that Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's involvement in this. And he went on to say, this is a moment we need to seize, produce momentum quickly, which will mean those who wish to derail it will find it much more difficult to do.

I just wonder, and I hear this all over the region from people that I am speaking to, it is so important to maintain momentum on this plan to get from phase one, which is a hostage release, the withdrawal of troops, the surge in humanitarian aid into the next phase, which is going to be really complicated.

I just wonder how you feel the U.S. must or can play a role in ensuring that momentum through to the next stage, if we're going to get to a point where we get an end to this conflict.

LOWENSTEIN: Yeah, you're exactly right. It's absolutely essential that the United States all the way up to the level of the Secretary of State and the President stay personally engaged in this issue. And not just when the hostages are released and there's big headlines, but as part of the long, hard work that is ahead.

And really, I think Dennis is quite right. There are two main issues that have not been resolved in this ceasefire. One is the disarming of Hamas. And second and related is the withdrawal of the IDF. So, it is essential that the United States do what we can to make sure the Israelis are approaching this in a reasonable way. And I think the Turks and the Qataris and others really need to do the same with Hamas.

I mean, I've been part of a Gaza ceasefire deal in 2014. We thought everything was in place. There were some misunderstandings. Some troops were where they weren't supposed to be. And then the whole thing blew up. So, they've got to watch every single detail on the implementation. And then they've really got to push the parties to make the kind of deal that's going to allow this to become a sustainable piece. And we're a pretty long way away from that right now.

ANDERSON: Let me get your thoughts on the U.S. coordination efforts based out of Israel at present. As we understand it, 200 sort of military assets, service members overseeing the ceasefire implementation. We know that these are sort of intelligence and engineers and logisticians. What support do you believe they should get from regional players here? What's going to be the role and the offers?

LOWENSTEIN: Well, I think it has to be a coordinated effort with our regional partners. And I think we worked very much hand in glove with them to get this deal over the line. But we have to stay very much engaged. And the coordination and communication needs to be excellent.

The most important thing I think right now is the International Stabilization Force needs to be deployed as soon as possible. The interim technocratic government needs to be on the ground as soon as possible, because right now there's a vacuum there. The IDF is pulled out, right, and the void is being filled by sort of Hamas policemen coming out of the tunnels and whatnot. But that's not a sustainable situation at all, especially as millions of people start returning to their homes. There needs to be this force in place and there needs to be some kind of governance structure to perform basic governmental services so people can begin resuming their lives.

[05:15:05]

There's a massive amount of humanitarian assistance that needs to be delivered, homes that need to be rebuilt. So, yeah, we need boots on the ground in accordance with Trump's plan as soon as possible. Again, if we do not, then every day that passes, the risk increases that this whole thing goes sideways.

ANDERSON: And that presence on the ground long term needs legitimizing, correct? And is it the U.N. Security Council with a resolution that will provide that?

LOWENSTEIN: Yeah, that would be ideal. I think the more international legitimacy there is behind this mission, the better. Obviously, there's some concerns in some parts that this is a colonial enterprise to take over. I think we need to make clear very early on that this is going to be run by Palestinians with this oversight by the Trump committee.

And again, you know, the president's involvement in this thing, as long as he's personally engaged, as long as he has a personal interest in making sure this works over the course of the next two to three years, then I think it's got an excellent chance to succeed.

So, there are some questions about the way it's set up, but I think it's necessary to do it this way, at least in the first instance, to give it the best chance to succeed.

ANDERSON: Trump will head here to Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday afternoon. That is tomorrow. It's just after midday Sunday here now. He'll sign this sort of phase one agreement. But of course, as we've just been discussing, there's still so much work ahead for the next day, for the next stage, Gaza's day after, if you will. What do you see as the key risks and challenges at this point in this agreement? What worries you most?

LOWENSTEIN: Yeah, that's a great question. What worries me the most is the International Stabilization Force. Because as far as I know, they've started training some Palestinian soldiers in Egypt, but they're nowhere near having a force that's ready to deploy.

And as I said, there's a vacuum right now until they get in there that Hamas will fill or other local militias will fill. And you can just get a sense of disorder and chaos setting in. And again, we talk about all the things they need to negotiate in this deal, right? And that's all important. But at the end of the day, what's happening on the ground is what's really going to make a difference, right?

You need to get this force to show Palestinians that they are safe, they can begin resuming their lives, that Hamas is no longer in charge. And you need to show the Israelis that there's a path forward here, where they can feel secure, where they can feel that there's another force that can take the place of the IDF.

Right now the IDF controls over 50% of Gaza. Gaza was one of the most densely populated places in the world before the war. Now, you're cutting that in half. It's really going to be inhumane conditions almost no matter what until they get the force in, the government in, the IDF back and start a large-scale reconstruction project.

ANDERSON: Frank, thank you. As you and I talk, we're looking at the coastal road, which for the past 48 hours in Gaza has just been packed in sort of, you know, in a sort of biblical image of Palestinians moving back north. And there was one stage, of course, when these plans looked as if they included the displacement of Palestinians, the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza enclave.

So, I think to many people who watched those images yesterday, and that road less -- less busy than it was over the past 48 hours, so many people have already moved north. But that, you know, is a positive move, in that at least this plan ensures that Palestinians can stay in Gaza and be part of this reconstruction.

Good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed. That has been an important red line both for Jordan and Egypt, of course, right from the outset of this two-year conflict. The red line was no forced displacement out of Gaza.

And that is certainly not what we are seeing at this point, which is I say is, you know, is something that sort of positively supports what is going on. Egypt preparing then to host Donald Trump and leaders from around the world here in Sharm El-Sheikh, just up the road, moments away from where I am here.

Still ahead details, then further details of what we can expect from that summit when we come back.

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[05:22:59] ANDERSON: Well, days after Israel reached a ceasefire deal and agreed to allow aid into Gaza, relief is gradually trickling in. We're 48 hours into this ceasefire now, almost exactly. And Egyptian media report that about 400 aid trucks are expected to enter southern Gaza as we speak today.

I'm joined now by, as part of this deal, sorry, Israel has agreed to the daily entry of 600 trucks. Well, across the territory, thousands of Palestinians displaced during the war have been streaming back home, but they are finding nothing but ruins. Since the ceasefire began, Gaza's hospitals have reported 280 people dead, most of whom were retrieved from the rubble. Here's how one woman described the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALWA SHARAB, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): Total destruction, no home left. Three or four houses piled on top of each other, and we don't know where our house is. We don't know. All our neighbors' homes are on top of ours and ours on our neighbors. My house is underneath. It is not visible at all, our home. We don't know where the house is. It is sand, just rubble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: President Trump is set to arrive in Israel tomorrow. He will address the Israeli parliament there, Knesset, before heading here to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for a summit with leaders from more than 20 countries, according to the Egyptian presidential office, Egypt co- hosting this summit. Remember, this is where the first phase of a ceasefire plan was agreed to before it was announced.

For more, I'm joined again by our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. This is known as the city of peace. I mean, back in -- you know, for the last, what, 30, 40 years, this has been a place, Sharm El-Sheikh, where deals have been cut, agreements have been forged, you know, peace has been at least discussed in principle and hoped for. What are you expecting out of this summit?

[05:25:07]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I'm expecting them to try to take the momentum. There'll be a lot of praise for President Trump when he arrives. So, the praise for Israel will still be ringing in his ears when he gets off the plane. But a lot of praise from different leaders. We know they're all going to do that. But they're going to try and leverage that praise into his longer-term engagement, which means his momentum going, continuing to go forward into phase two. And phase two, as you say, is so much harder for so many reasons. The International Stabilization Force quickly needs to get on the ground, as your last guest alluded to.

Hamas is already assuming some authority there. This is not what Israel wants to see. These are where the gaps in understanding will break down. These are the fault lines where it could all go wrong. So, momentum's key. ANDERSON: We know that in principle there is a 20 plan -- 20-point pathway, plan, initiative, call it what you will. Included in that is the fact that Donald Trump will be the head of this sort of board of peace, as they're describing it, alongside the former Prime Minister, British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Can we just discuss Tony Blair's role going forward? And it is controversial for many. There will also be many who say he comes armed with a significant amount of experience in not just this region, but in forging peace deals, not least in Northern Ireland, for example.

ROBERTSON: Yeah, in many ways he would be seen as a flawed candidate because he backed President Bush's war in Iraq and that didn't sit well at home and it didn't sit well in the region. And then of course he was the head of the Quad, which was the international body that was trying to bring peace here. And then he stepped down from that because he was partly, he wouldn't say that, but he was perceived in the region as being more pro-Israel than pro-Arab.

But what he brings to the situation is the knowledge of peacemaking. He brought peace in Northern Ireland. Our audience will probably remember the ceasefire agreement, peace agreement in Northern Ireland, Good Friday peace agreement, 1998.

When I looked at the language that President Trump used about his 20- point plan, that whole paragraph on the dismantling and getting rid of Hamas weapons was so, felt like Tony Blair language because he used the word perhaps our audience isn't familiar with, which is decommissioning of guns, not disarmament, handing them over, bending them in a metal press.

Tony Blair got the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998. It wasn't until 2005, the Irish Republican Army had eventually decommissioned all their weapons and the same language is there, decommissioned and put beyond use, which involved an international body with a big Canadian, important Canadian general overseeing it and then it involved Cyril Ramaphosa from South Africa and Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, to actually come as trusted international leaders to watch the IRA put these weapons in a bunker, seal the doors, I don't think they throw away the key, but these international leaders then didn't have to say precisely what they've seen, how many guns or where these places were. That was a level of opaqueness and it's not, this is what Tony Blair brings, that experience, it's not clear that that will sit comfortably with Israel.

ANDERSON: Yeah, no, it's fascinating. It's good to have you Nic, thank you very much indeed, Nic Robertson.

Well, we learned earlier that three Qatari diplomats have died in a car accident here who were on the ground ahead of tomorrow's summit. They were part of the Qatari Emir's administration and included a member of the royal family. This is according to Qatar's embassy in Cairo. Two others were injured in that crash which occurred earlier today when the steering wheel of their car malfunctioned. The two are receiving treatment in the city's international hospital.

Well, hundreds of trucks carrying food and supplies have been lining up to stream into Gaza. We have that story and an awful lot more when we return with our special coverage here from Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.

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[05:32:25]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. Let's check some of today's top stories for you. And the highly anticipated release of all the remaining hostages held in Gaza is expected to begin Monday morning. Israel's hostage coordinator said the 20 hostages who are still alive will be transferred to Israeli authorities. Some but not all of the 28 deceased are also expected to be returned within the 72- hour window stipulated under the ceasefire, which started Friday.

Also Monday, Donald Trump arrives here in Sharm El-Sheikh for a Gaza summit. The U.S. and Egyptian presidents will host a meeting of leaders from more than 20 countries. They'll get down to the critical work of trying to guarantee the successful continuation of what these first steps have begun. But Mr. Trump's first stop will be Israel. He's scheduled to arrive in the country Monday morning and later deliver a speech before the Knesset, the parliament there. On Saturday, a crowd in Tel Aviv's hostage square broke out, at times in chants of "Thank you, Trump," as they await the return of their loved ones.

And the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is allowing critical aid to flow more freely into Gaza. A convoy of trucks was seen moving through Khan Yunis earlier, and Egyptian state media reports that about 400 trucks carrying food, medical supplies and fuel are expected to enter southern Gaza today. Video showing the aid trucks in Egypt's border city of Rafah moving towards the enclave around six o'clock in the morning as part of the ceasefire deal. Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks into Gaza every day.

Well, Tom Fletcher, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, issued a statement this weekend saying, and I'm quoting him here, "I am writing at a moment of great hope and expectation on Gaza, but with caution at the potential challenges ahead and trepidation at the scale of the humanitarian effort required. I've been in close touch with our teams on the ground and survivors in Gaza and near Oz Kibbutz. Palestinian and Israeli civilians have long waited and hoped for this moment. And we have worked hard to get here. It must not be a false dawn," he said.

Well, Ahmad Behram is the spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. He's also the organization's media advisor for the Middle East. He's in Amman in Jordan today, and he joins us from there.

[05:35:00]

Can you just paint a picture -- thank you for joining us -- of what you are hearing from your colleagues inside Gaza right now, both about what the Palestinians are experiencing as they return home and about aid entering the enclave? AHMED BAYRAM, SPOKESPERSON, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Yes, of course,

the team that we have, we have colleagues, I was speaking to them earlier today, who have just made it to Gaza City after weeks, of course, of Israeli offensive. They say they have gone back to nothing, really nothing, even worse than they had left it. They actually could see the far horizon from where they are because of all the devastation, or they could even see Ashdod Port from -- from Gaza City, all these miles away.

They go back to huge destruction, but also empty markets. They go back to no water, very expensive food. Of course, the aid trucks that are arriving today will help, hopefully, bring down the prices, but it's a disaster zone. It's literally a disaster zone. I really hope that journalists, international media can go in and show us the real scale of damage there.

ANDERSON: What's your organization's capacity right now? What are your plans for surging aid and support?

BAYRAM: We do have a team of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has over 240 people inside the Gaza Strip. We have -- we never stopped giving, drinking water for people, even though the numbers have had to go down. But we are also waiting for over 200 truckloads to be filled up and to arrive into Gaza.

So far, we have not received the approvals needed from Israel to bring in tents, to bring in the support that children need, the cleaning items, which people tell us are a huge necessity today. So, we do have the potential to scale up. We are ready for that. My team on the ground, they have been displaced with the rest of the population, but never stopped really providing that support. But what we need now is all crossings to open and for Israel to allow aid to gush in.

ANDERSON: What do you see as the most pressing short-term challenges at this point? You've said you need the crossings to be open. You know that this aid, these supplies need to travel safely and securely to the people who need them most. What do you identify as the most pressing issues?

BAYRAM: I think anything about saving lives is going to be difficult, to be hard. The sheer number of children who are starving to -- to their very death, I think that's going to be a very big task for everyone involved. Providing clean water when there's no water infrastructure in Gaza left anymore. Everything has been decimated on that level. And also, of course, shelter. We are around the corner, you know, winter is around the corner, and people are sleeping in the open. The scale of needs, just the sheer numbers is going to be a huge task. And that's why we think we need the weight of the whole world thrown behind this mission.

ANDERSON: Well, and there is certainly massive support for the flooding of aid and supplies into the Gaza enclave. Your team published the reaction of some of your colleagues inside Gaza, and you've explained how many you have, to the ceasefire when it happened. I want to quote Haneen, the team's finance coordinator, for example. "I don't want to believe it, because I don't want to be upset again, since the sadness when things fall apart again is even worse. I know that your team works tirelessly so things do not fall apart. Recovery and rebuilding is only just beginning.

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. aid chief, has said this must not be a false dawn. What's your message at this point to ensure that this is robust, substantive, and doesn't fall apart?

BAYRAM: Yeah, our message and my team's message is don't disappoint us again and let us live. You know, today's task is about not just rebuilding Gaza in terms of structures and homes. It's about rebuilding human life, really, as, you know, human life has almost disappeared, as we know it. Every aspect of life has been affected. This cannot fail again. We cannot go back to the cycle of death and violence. It has to happen. This ceasefire has to succeed. And of course, the early stages of this are going to be probably very nervy moments for everybody.

And that's why we need the hostages back. We need the Palestinian detainees back. And we need aid to flood into -- into Gaza. It cannot -- it cannot fail. That's the message that we hear from -- from the team every day.

[05:40:15]

ANDERSON: Ahmed, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Momentum -- maintaining momentum. That is what everybody says we need at this point. Stay with us on CNN.

Kim Brunhuber will be back with more of today's headlines after this short break.

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Ukraine is hoping for some diplomatic momentum from the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, saying the progress in Gaza could set an example for Ukraine. Kevin Liptak has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump's phone call on Saturday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just underscored that for all of the success that the president has had in brokering this agreement in Gaza, the war in Ukraine still remains an outstanding conflict that he has so far been unsuccessful in trying to resolve.

In this phone call, which Zelenskyy described as positive and productive, the Ukrainian leader congratulated the president for his success in this Gaza arrangement. And he wrote on social media that, quote, "If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war," suggesting that the president's success in the Middle East could lend momentum to his efforts to try and resolve the Ukraine conflict.

That does reflect something that I've heard from administration officials over the last several days, which is that the president's deal-making success between Israel and Hamas could potentially lend further grist to his efforts to try and resolve the Ukraine war.

[05:45:00]

Now, how exactly that happens remains unclear. So far, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has shown no signs that he's ready to let up in Ukraine, and President Trump's efforts to arrange a trilateral meeting between Zelensky, Putin, and himself have so far been unsuccessful.

One thing that I think it's almost certain that Zelenskyy and Trump discussed on this phone call was Zelenskyy's requests for those long- range Tomahawk missiles that would allow Ukraine to strike much further inside Russian territory. President Trump said last week that, quote, "He had sort of made a decision on whether to provide those weapons to Ukraine," but that he wanted to hear from Kyiv first about how precisely it planned to use them.

Now, this conversation occurring as President Trump prepared to depart for the Middle East -- he's expected to leave on Sunday afternoon for Israel, where he will address the Parliament there, the Knesset. He will also travel to Sharm El-Sheikh, the Egyptian Red Sea resort, where this deal was finalized last week. He's expected to participate in a signing ceremony there.

Also on hand will be another of -- a number of his foreign counterparts, including the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron. Now, I think the sentiment inside the administration in the lead-up to this trip was probably best vocalized by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, who was speaking in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday, when he said that they were not going to celebrate that night. They would celebrate once the hostages come out.

You know, the administration acknowledges that this is still quite a fragile moment. As one U.S. official said last week, quote, "There's still just a lot of ways that this can go wrong, so certainly a sense of celebration and anticipation, but also a recognition that this deal remains a delicate one."

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Police arrested at least 15 people protesting outside an immigration enforcement facility near Chicago on Saturday, as tensions mount between the state and Donald Trump. Demonstrators clashed with police in riot gear after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly. And in this video, workers are seen installing a barricade around the ICE facility. That's after a judge ruled that a fence they installed earlier had to be taken down because it extended into the middle of the roadway. The Department of Homeland Security says the fencing is needed because

the local government is failing to control crowds of protesters. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled Saturday that National Guard troops cannot be deployed in Illinois as the court process plays out. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals also said that the troops could remain federalized for the time being.

Now, these rulings are in response to President Donald Trump's efforts to deploy the National Guard to Chicago following protests at an ICE facility. But local leaders say police have the situation under control and that sending in the National Guard only adds fuel to the fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERTO AGUAYO, POLICY CO-CHAIR, LATINO LEADERSHIP COUNCIL: Our city is under siege. Our communities are being terrorized and torn apart. And every single person who looks brown is scared because, you know, despite their claim that they're going after the worst over the worst, they're going after citizens and undocumented people alike. Reports show that over 71 percent of people that have been detained have no criminal records. They're going after families. They're going after street vendors. They're going after people just coming outside of Home Depot. And that's what we're witnessing on the ground. And that's what we're seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: This ruling is the latest in the battle between Trump and Democratic led cities and states as courts decide whether he has exceeded his authority by deploying troops to Oregon and Illinois.

President Trump says U.S. military members will get paid despite the ongoing government shutdown. The Pentagon says it has found $8 billion set aside for research and development and some of that money will be used to send troops their paychecks this Wednesday if the government doesn't reopen.

Military members were in danger of missing their first pay since the shutdown began, but redistricting the Pentagon money could face legal challenges. It's not clear if the move covers the U.S. Coast Guard, which operates under the Homeland Security Department.

All right, please stay with us here on CNN. We'll be right back.

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[05:53:18]

BRUNHUBER: Recovery efforts are underway in southern Mexico in the wake of deadly rainfall. At least 37 people died in downpours from tropical storms Raymond and Priscilla, including five people in the coastal state of Veracruz. The heavy rain triggered landslides, caused rivers to flood, and led to power outages. Forecasters expect rainy weather to continue this weekend in many states. And much of the United States is facing flooding threats. The

southwest is getting soaked by two former tropical systems. Nearly three months of rain fell in Las Vegas on Friday. On the east coast, a new Atlantic storm is expected to drench the Carolinas before heading north. The weather could disrupt major airports from Washington, D.C., to the greater New York area. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Flooding is really going to be the biggest concern up and down the eastern seaboard, but it's going to be targeted right through the Carolinas and into the Delmarva peninsula here where you can see that higher risk is possible. This is for the potential for flooding and it's a lot to do with this particular low-pressure system that's going to slide up and down the eastern seaboard ever so slowly as we finish out the rest of the weekend. And it's that slow movement that's going to allow for a lot of rain to really inundate some of these areas, not to mention the strong winds are going to push a lot of that water inland.

So, you're also going to have concerns with beach erosion and coastal flooding. Again, not just for the Carolinas, but notice the system moves up through the mid-Atlantic and into the northeast as we finish out the back half of the weekend.

Another concern is going to be the river gauges. When you take a look at this map, look at all of those purple dots that you see there. Those are the river gauges that have the potential to reach major flood stage over the next several days.

[05:55:03]

Now, they're not there yet and a lot of times with river flooding, it's more of a delayed effect. So, some of these areas won't even peak until late Sunday, Monday and perhaps even in some spots on Tuesday. Winds are also going to tick up as we go through the remainder of the evening and even into tomorrow, you'll start to see them go from 40 to 50, perhaps even in some spots on Tuesday.

Winds are also going to tick up as we go through the remainder of the evening and even into tomorrow, you'll start to see them go from 40 to 50, even up to 60 miles per hour, especially the latter end of Sunday and into Monday for a lot of cities in the northeast. And this could in turn cause some travel problems early Monday morning, especially if you plan to fly out of some of the bigger airports, places like New York, D.C. and even into Boston.

One of the other things too is keeping an eye on the high tides. Now, both for Sunday and Monday, high tides are right around that lunch hour time frame.

So, that's going to be a concern, especially across New Jersey, but really again, up and down the entire eastern seaboard, where you're going to have all of that water surging in on the coast, but you also have the rain falling from the sky, contributing both of them to the potential for flooding.

BRUNHUBER: Award winning actress Diane Keaton has died at age 79. She was famous for excelling at comedy and drama and for her quirky sense of style. She broke out on Broadway in the 1960s, moving to Hollywood with a role in "The Godfather." Keaton won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in Annie Hall. She credited the film for allowing her to take on all types of roles and stretch her creative wings. Keaton was also celebrated for her gender non-conforming style, known for incorporating menswear into her signature style. She survived by her two children.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Thank you so much for joining us. "CNN This Morning" is next.

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