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Isa Soares Tonight
Gaza Ceasefire to Take Effect Immediately After Cabinet Approves Deal; Witkoff and Kushner Arrive in Israel; Hearings Over Trump's National Guard Deployments. Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Gaza Ceasefire Plan; Israelis and Gazans Celebrate Ceasefire Deal; France Hosts Talks on Implementation of Gaza Plan. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 09, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, and a very warm welcome, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, a major breakthrough in the Middle East. Israel and
Hamas agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire plan setting off celebrations in Israel and in Gaza. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And there, you can hear and see people cheering in the streets of Khan Younis. Many in Gaza hoping, of course, this agreement will lead to a
long-awaited comprehensive peace deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHAMPAGNE POPPED)
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Champagne popping and similar scenes of joy in Israel. Thousands gathering in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square to celebrate. Among them, former
hostages and the families of those still held in -- captive in Gaza. As people begin to imagine life after war, the reality of the destruction left
in its wake will be difficult to shake across the region, our team is covering this moment of cautious optimism.
And the ceasefire is expected to take effect immediately after the Israeli cabinet approves the deal. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump
announced the sign off, and that is one week after his administration laid out a 20-point peace plan. This initial phase is believed to address four
of those points, including first of all, let's break it down for you.
The withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza to an agreed-upon line. The release of all the hostages, both the living and the dead. The release of
some Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and for crossings to open so that humanitarian aid, of course, can be sent so urgently needed into Gaza.
Earlier, President Trump detailed a possible timeline for when the hostages will be released. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages and they should be released on Monday or
Tuesday. Getting them is a complicated process. I'd rather not tell you what they have to do to get them. There are places you don't want to be,
but we are getting the hostages back on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday, and that will be a day of joy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And while the Israel-Hamas agreement represents a major diplomatic victory, of course, for Mr. Trump, there is still much to be decided on.
I'll speak -- break those down those difficult moments in just a moment. We'll go to Jerusalem in just a moment, but first, let me go to Nic
Robertson, who joins me now from Cairo.
Nic, we have seen, and we just played out there for our viewers celebrations and huge sighs of relief, of course, on both sides. But
there's also a huge lack of goodwill and trust on those both sides of the negotiating table. Talk us through the unknowns and the potential
roadblocks here.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and one of the big indicators of the lack of trust is that Hamas is saying that they want
an announcement, a formal announcement of an end to the war by Israel. They want to hear that because they believe that giving up the hostages, handing
the hostages back over is losing their leverage.
And therefore, they want the mediators, they want the United States as well to reinforce that Israel must follow through. Of course, the details that
we don't know is how will Hamas disarm? Have they agreed to disarming yet? Have they accepted the statements in the 20-point plan that they don't have
a political future in Gaza either?
How is that going to be implemented? There's -- there are a lot of things we don't know. And when you -- when we don't know them, and the public's
don't know them, there's the opportunity for misunderstanding and things to go wrong. For example, once the Israeli cabinet finishes their meeting
today, finishes their vote, that's supposed to be the time that the ceasefire goes into effect and sets the clock rolling for 24 hours for the
IDF to pull back to a yellow line, a line that Hamas and Israel have agreed to in Gaza that gives Israel control of about 53 percent of Gaza.
[14:05:00]
But what we don't know is when and how the international stabilization force, that was another point in the 20-point plan, how that comes into
existence, how quickly, and how Israel moves back its troops. And does Israel feel obligated to disarm Hamas? Is that the understanding, or is it
the international stabilization force?
So, there are so many things we don't know. But at the moment, this first phase that does seem to be on track, but we're still waiting for Israel to
agree to this first phase, and that's what's happening inside that cabinet and the vote afterwards.
SOARES: And from what I understand, Nic, that is underway right now, that security cabinet meeting. I know there are some voices, we're very much
against it. The likes of the far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich, but overall, do you foresee any problems here?
ROBERTSON: I'm sure there will be problems. And --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: The question is how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu navigates his way around those problems, and that will -- one would expect him to
have the support of President Trump. We don't quite know how it will go, but I think at the moment, informed sources are saying that they do expect,
the security cabinet, the cabinet in Israel to sign off on and support this first phase and not expecting those dissenting voices to run it off the
rails.
President Trump has said that he will come here for a signing, and I think when that document is signed, if then it's made public, I think we can
better understand precisely what Israel has agreed to, precisely what Hamas has agreed to, because even today, Hamas has still been talking to
negotiators about the names of some of the Palestinian prisoners they've requested be released.
And some of those names are not suitable for Israel. Israel doesn't want Marwan Barghouti, to name one of the sort of senior political figures that
Hamas wants released -- to be released. It's still -- the details in that plan are still active --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: And being worked on, because these are the names that will go in front of the Israeli cabinet, and if there are names there that several
of the cabinet members disapprove of, then those names would likely be struck down.
SOARES: Yes, no one knew that, no one thought this was going to be easy, we haven't even got to the first phase yet, getting the agreement. That is
the -- that's what comes next. Nic, appreciate it, thank you very much. And like Nic was saying, there's still so much as you heard there from Nic,
that we don't know about this deal in the days ahead, and many difficult issues will need to be resolved.
And among them, the disarmament of Hamas. The timeline and the conditions for an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza. We don't have clarity on that
front either. The future governance of the enclave, as well as security guarantees that Israel will not resume the war. Nic was saying maybe we'll
get a better sense of that once that agreement is signed by President Trump over the weekend.
As well as the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released also has yet to be finalized as Nic was mentioning. Negotiations are ongoing as you heard
in Egypt. And there's also the massive task, of course, of reconstruction and aid. Many of Gaza's people are starving. Vital infrastructure has been
destroyed and their homes, well, lie in ruins, as we have shown you.
And we want to turn to Jeremy Diamond, who has been following this story right from the beginning for the last two years, in fact, he joins us now
from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. And Jeremy, let me start first with the positives here. Potential -- potentially historic moment, a moment that so
many on both sides, as I was mentioning to Nic, have been waiting for.
Talk us through this first phase. I know we're still waiting for the cabinet. What are you hearing on that front? And then the timeline and the
implementation here?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Well, as far as we understand it that security cabinet meeting is indeed underway to
be followed by a meeting of the full cabinet, the government, as it is called here in Israel, where all of the Ministers will be able to vote on
this deal.
There's no expectation that any of the opposition that exists among the far-right members will actually prevent this deal from becoming a reality.
The Israeli Prime Minister has the numbers. He has the majority that he needs in that cabinet in order for this deal to go through. And once that
deal goes through, it will set into motion a very quick sequence of events.
An immediate ceasefire will take effect inside the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops will begin to withdraw to predetermined lines within Gaza, where
they will still control about 53 percent of the Gaza Strip. That will happen within the first 24 hours of this ceasefire, and then within 72
hours, we will see the first of those Israeli hostages set to be released from Gaza, date set for likely Sunday, perhaps Monday, that's been the
chatter among officials here.
[14:10:00]
As you can see behind me, thousands of Israelis have flocked here to Hostage Square in order to be able to enjoy in this rare celebration
together, the first time in two years that people have not only been able to breathe a kind of -- breathe sigh of relief with a temporary ceasefire
and the release of some hostages.
But this time, the kind of deal that so many in Israel have wanted to see for many months, and that is a deal that will lead to an end of the war in
Gaza, and that will secure the release of not some, but all of the hostages being held there. There's no question that the celebrations underway here
have been shared by some of the families of the hostages who we've seen walking through Hostage Square at various points.
You know, they're here because you suddenly hear the crowd erupt in cheers around them, shouting their names, sometimes, such as Einav Zangauker,
who's been at the forefront of this hostage movement for so long. She is now expecting to be able to embrace her son again as early as this weekend.
I should note, though, that there is still some uncertainty though, for other hostage families. I just spoke with a man by the name of Michel
Illouz(ph), his son Guy(ph) was killed and his body taken hostage into Gaza. He's expecting, he's hoping that he will be able to finally have some
closure by being able to bury his son, but there is still considerable uncertainty as Hamas has indicated that it does not know the location of
all 28 bodies of Israeli hostages that it is holding.
And so for families like the Illouz family, there is still a wait, some anticipation and uncertainty to come in the days ahead. Isa --
SOARES: Yes, so much agony, of course, after these two years. Jeremy, appreciate it. Thank you very much indeed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Another scene I want to show you of jubilation following news of the ceasefire deal. These are emergency personnel in Gaza city kneeling
down as you saw, getting up and chanting in Arabic, God is great. They even distributed sweets to eat as you see. Throughout Gaza, people are
undeniably full of hope, but are also anxious for the violence to stop.
After two years of destruction and blockades, there's an urgent need for aid to get in. The U.N. agency for Palestinian Refugees says it has enough
aid for Gaza's entire population for three months, ready to go, their words, including food, medicine and other basic supplies. Aid workers say
it's all a welcome relief, of course, for Palestinians in Gaza after all that they have lost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES ELDER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: As a -- as a Palestinian man said to me yesterday, everything's been taken from us. Our homes, our ability to
protect our children, our ability to feed our children. People ask, the Palestinians have hope? Yes, they have hope. They have hope because it's
the one thing they have agency over.
They have hope for a better future, and that better future starts with education. Education is that future. These are the things that Palestinians
will need right now. Education, nutrition, water, no airstrikes, peace, yes, it's a day of hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: James Elder there. We'll have more now from Paula Hancocks on the mix of joy and caution making its way through Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One woman's prayers of thanks that the war is ending as phase one of the Gaza ceasefire
plan is agreed. What sounds like celebratory gunfire is heard in the distance. As the sun rises, Gazan residents assess their new reality.
"I feel joy", this man says. "Two years of torment and repression, displacement, lack of food and water, I'm happy the war will end. The
bleeding we see every day will end. The nightmares we see." This 70-year- old woman says "it's true, I'm happy in the moment, but now we feel the pain of our memories. I lost my daughters, my brothers' daughters and their
children.
Most of our family died and our homes were destroyed." This man voices concern, he says, "we have seen ceasefires before that lasted two months
and then the war returned. It's true. I am extremely happy, but my joy is tinged with caution and fear." Despite the hope of the promised surge in
humanitarian aid, the harsh reality of Gaza has not changed.
Two years ago, 12-year-old Mohammed Abu Ammar(ph) was in school. He's now 14, and this is his life in Gaza. Sifting through rotten waste to find
anything that he can sell to help his family survive. "We collect wood and plastic for fires", he says. "There's nothing else to light a fire with."
Two years ago, before the war, I didn't even know what a garbage dump was.
There are 11 people to feed in his family. He says two of his brothers were killed by a drone strike after being displaced from Gaza city.
[14:15:00]
This is Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, an area the Israeli military has forced hundreds of thousands of Gazans to move to over the course of this war.
This is the area Israel calls a quote, "humanitarian zone". Hopes that peace will last this time are palpable across Gaza, but also tainted by
previous disappointments, a peace that some in Gaza have never even known. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Let's get more on this story, I want to bring in Daniel Levy, he's President of the U.S./Middle East Project, and was also a senior adviser in
the Israeli Prime Minister's office during the government of Ehud Barak, a well known face on the show. Daniel, good to have you on the show, to have
you back.
We have been seeing -- been playing out, as you've probably seen, huge moments, huge scenes of celebration and relief, of course, from Gaza to
Israel. But there's also a lot of caution as you can imagine, Daniel, and a lot of cynicism, because there are huge gaps in this 20-point plan over the
next phase.
There's a lot we do not know, and I think our correspondents have made that clear. So, let me ask you this to start off from what you've seen. Is this
the beginning of the end, Daniel?
DANIEL LEVY, PRESIDENT, U.S./MIDDLE EAST PROJECT: If I flip that, we may be closer, Isa. It could be the end of the beginning. In other words, can
this get us a ceasefire in Gaza? That -- and I'm going to add the caveat is more or less sustainable. Can we see a situation where Palestinians in Gaza
look up to the sky and they don't see attack drones, they don't see fighter jets, they don't see artillery bombs coming down on them, get aid in, no
longer mass killing displacement all the time, possible.
Will those Israelis get out of Gaza, be welcomed home by their families? Possible, probable, both of those things, Palestinian prisoners being
released. There are still details of that which need to be closed. And here's the caveat even on a day where there is the potential for great
relief.
The caveat is that there is no clear pathway for Israel to fully militarily withdraw from Gaza, Netanyahu has said he won't do that. I think it is
unlikely that under these circumstances, when you also have the continuation of the occupation, Hamas will disarm. I think it's unlikely
that you will get the kind of Palestinian governance you need.
There's the attempt to impose, including the former Prime Minister in this country, Tony Blair, and close some kind of colonial governance. And we
haven't even mentioned, and the 20 points don't mention the West Bank, where the --
SOARES: Yes --
LEVY: Theft of Palestinian land, where the attacks on Palestinians are relentless. So, we're really barely at the start line of peace. We may be
nearing the finishing line of this genocide.
SOARES: Yes, and look, as you were talking, we're just hearing that the security cabinet meeting in Israel has concluded, and now the government
will now begin its meeting shortly for the wider Knesset. We don't know whether it's passed or we heard from our Jeremy Diamond, it's expected, of
course, that it will, that it will go through.
But what we heard today, Daniel, was that Hamas had said, and I'm not sure whether you saw this, that they wanted a formal declaration in ending the
Gaza war. Kind of they're saying it's required for a hostage release to happen. And I suspect this is because they are concerned, like we've heard
from so many, that once the hostages are released, that Netanyahu will renegade on the promises and pull -- won't pull out its troops.
Do you think that Israel will provide that formal declaration, or do you think that will come potentially from President Trump, pressure from
President Trump. How do you see the next stages here?
LEVY: Yes, the missing piece, of course, is what does a guarantee look like? Right? We've been here before. Israel has broken the ceasefires in
the past. I don't think there is a guarantee. So, I think what you're getting is what I would call maximum plausibility. That is the best you
will get. If that is on the table, Hamas may still have a decision to make in terms of moving forward, especially since one can assume almost that
whatever the line of Israel's withdrawal is on the day the hostages are released, further withdrawal is going to be unlikely.
What kind of guarantees can there at least be to get the humanitarian aid in? Remember, the starvation policy is of more recent vintage, but the
blockade on Gaza stretches back almost 18 years. So, there is not going to be a guarantee. I think there is this inability really to go along with the
idea of trust me when it comes from Trump.
[14:20:00]
I think the Arab and regional mediating parties are saying, look, we've shown that we have good traction with this President. It's not January.
We're now in October. Look how well we've managed to move things forward with him. Will they put that at the disposal of the Palestinians? All that
is very open. And I would probably therefore suggest that while we're obsessing around Trump's role, and that role has been important --
SOARES: Yes --
LEVY: Don't forget the role of something else, which is pressure. Netanyahu --
SOARES: Yes --
LEVY: Did not like -- and the Israeli people did not like this idea, and he used this word that isolation was coming. Trump said, hey, you're more
popular now. So, I think that unless pressure is maintained, if we go back to impunity, if there is not accountability, remember this is genocide. You
don't simply turn a page on that. Netanyahu has an arrest warrant against his name.
I'm not saying he gets arrested tomorrow, but you will have to maintain pressure on Israel. And if it's not going to be done by the U.S., it might
have to be done by people on the streets in Europe and elsewhere, making sure their governments are pushed, because otherwise we will slip back into
the insecurity of permanent occupation and apartheid, and we don't want to see this again.
SOARES: What I'm hearing from you, Daniel, is not so much a commitment to end the war from what you're saying, but almost a commitment to pause the
war. That's what I'm hearing from you in terms of what this is likely to achieve. But -- and it brings me to what I've heard, what I read today from
Gershon Baskin write in "The Times of Israel"
He said, what we should know -- we should also know is that this deal could have been done a long time ago. Hamas agreed to all the same terms in 2024,
as outlined in the three weeks deal that I received in both -- in both written and voice messages in Arabic and English. But at that point, the
Israeli negotiators responded that the Prime Minister did not agree to end the war.
So why now? Why only now? What is different? Is it that pressure that you were talking about there, Daniel, from the United States? And of course,
how do we make sure that, that pressure continues in phase two of this deal?
LEVY: So, first of all, of course, the war isn't ended because the occupation continues. And that is an act of war. So, Israel's act of war is
again -- war against the Palestinians violations of international law will be in place the minute after this ceasefire goes into effect, if it indeed
goes into effect. Why now?
I would -- I would differ slightly, yes. There was a deal available. It might not be exactly the same as this deal, but Netanyahu has given himself
a two-year lease of life in office. He's managed to replace some of the military chiefs, he's halfway through the firing of the Attorney General.
He has gotten, I think, the ability to get the American President to support the ending of his trial.
So, he is much further along a political path that was important to him. And he has delivered for his far-right party and coalition members on the
destruction of Gaza, on the obliteration of Gaza, and he has therefore set a precedent, the precedent that mass displacement, that this kind of
carnage is possible unless he is held to account.
So, I don't think it's quite so simple to say this deal could have been done, yes, it could have been done. But that misreads what the -- what the
Israeli body politic is about right now, having manufactured public consent for this kind of cruelty. And that will have to be reversed. Israelis and
Palestinians are going to live on this land, and they will either live on this land bleeding or they will live on this land where both have equal
rights with dignity.
SOARES: Daniel Levy, always great to get your insight. Thanks very much, Daniel. We appreciate you coming on. We'll stay across the story. And still
to come tonight, officials from Europe and the Middle East are among those meeting in Paris to discuss how the Gaza ceasefire deal will actually play
out. Concerns, of course, over West Bank as Daniel was saying. We'll bring you the latest lines from those talks next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Well, Foreign Ministers from around the world are meeting in France today for talks following last night's Gaza ceasefire deal. Those in
attendance include representatives from across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Canada and the United States. They are discussing how to
help Palestinians once the war in Gaza ends, as well as how the ceasefire plan itself will be implemented.
Our Melissa Bell is in Paris with the latest developments for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This was a meeting here in Paris designed to look at the day after in Gaza. The French
President bringing together not just the Qatari Prime Minister, but the Foreign Ministers of several Arab neighbors of Israel, the Arab Quint, as
they're known, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, all of those countries that France and their European allies worked with in the run-up
to the U.N. General Assembly and the recognition of the Palestinian statehood, all of those involved, it is hoped, also now in the future of
Gaza.
The idea to look at contributions to do with security, to do with the rebuilding of Gaza and to look at its future governance. This is what the
French Foreign Minister had to say at the end of the day's meetings.
JEAN-NOEL BARROT, FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANCE (through translator): A ceasefire is not yet a durable peace. This is the first step in a long path
towards a political solution that will guarantee the security of Israel, recognizing the legitimate right of Palestinians to a state.
BELL: The importance of those Palestinian voices, and the importance of the Palestinians within the future governance of Gaza, that has been at the
heart of a lot of the conversations here today, at the heart also of why this meeting was held to continue to weigh in on the future conversations
about Gaza and how it will be run.
We heard from the French President earlier after his meeting with the Qatari Prime Minister, speaking of the importance of ensuring that a
reformed Palestinian Authority can play that essential part in the future governance of Gaza in order that a Palestinian state can exist. Emmanuel
Macron also speaking very critically of the settlements in the West Bank as a threat to that Palestinian statehood. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And still to come tonight with the Gaza ceasefire deal, President Trump continues to push for the Nobel Peace Prize, our peace research guest
gives us her thoughts on his chances as well as other possible candidates. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. We are waiting for the Israeli government to approve the ceasefire, as well as hostage release plan. All signals
point to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreeing on the first phase to end the war in Gaza.
Once that expected approval happens, the ceasefire will begin and Israeli troops will pull back to those agreed lines. That's also when a 24-hour
window begins where petitions against the deal can be submitted to the Israeli High Court.
And as some celebrate, more reaction is pouring in from the Arab world. The head of the Palestinian mission to the United Kingdom said the emerging
Gaza ceasefire deal is a welcome first step for Palestinians, but questioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to fully
end the war. And Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has congratulated President Donald Trump on his tireless efforts to bring an end to the war
in Gaza.
Well, President Donald Trump's negotiating team is in Israel. Sources say that includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law,
Jared Kushner. The two had been in Egypt participating in the ceasefire talks. Earlier today, Witkoff and Kushner met with Egyptian president, you
can see there, el-Sisi, at his cabinet meeting.
A few hours ago, President Trump said he will be travelling to Israel and Egypt as soon as this weekend, as he expects the hostages will be released
early next week. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday. Getting them is a complicated
process. I'd rather not tell you what they have to do to get them. There are places you don't want to be. But we are getting the hostages back on
Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday. And that will be a day of joy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, indeed. Well, Kevin Liptak joins us now from the White House. And, Kevin, an historic moment for both sides that has been led, of
course, by President Trump, who today has been applauded for getting everyone to the negotiating table and to this moment, which will culminate,
as you heard there from him, in this trip to Egypt and Israel. Talk us through what we're likely to see and the timeline here.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and the president offered some of the details of what he planned to do. For example, he said
he would be happy to address the Israeli Knesset, the parliament there, at the invitation of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
[14:35:00]
And he said in Egypt he would be signing some sort of official document cementing that this deal is in place. We haven't heard specific timing from
the White House. We do know it's going to be sometime after tomorrow when he's visiting a military hospital in the Washington region to get an annual
checkup.
Beyond that, we don't have the specific timing. But it does sound as if it's going to happen very quickly, which I think underscores the sense by
the president and among American officials, is that they want to sort of get this in place on paper, inked, very quickly, with the sort of
recognition that as time passes, there's more time to find some chinks in the armor, essentially, that they want to get this deal in place and they
want to get the hostages out very, very quickly.
But certainly, this has been a celebratory day at the White House, the president really kind of basking in accomplishing what he had not been able
to accomplish and what his predecessor hadn't been able to accomplish for almost two years.
The president really sort of taking a victory lap today at having secured this arrangement. And you do kind of see how over the last several weeks
the president was essentially sort of willing this into reality, whether it was sort of announcing the deal or announcing the framework and making it
public against the advice of some of the Arab countries who thought Israel had made too many amendments to it, or when Hamas agreed to it, going back
to Netanyahu and saying that this is a good deal, despite Netanyahu's reservations about what exactly had been agreed to.
You see the president kind of pushing aside the misgivings and really sort of plowing forward with the sort of recognition that momentum was what was
going to bring this across the finish line. Of course, there is a recognition by the president and by American officials that there are still
outstanding issues. Those will be in the second phase of the talks. And the president did address that sort of in passing in the Cabinet Room today,
saying that he thought that there will, quote, "be disarming," saying that he thinks Hamas will give up their weapons, which is something that
Netanyahu has said is necessary.
And he says that there will, quote, "be pullbacks," suggesting that Israel will continue withdrawing from the strip sort of phase by phase of this
deal. And so, you see how the president is projecting optimism that this could result in a much broader peace agreement that would in the end
transform the region, potentially bring the Saudis into normalization with Israel, this grand vision that he has for the Middle East.
But at least for now, it is this hostage release that he's anticipating in the next couple of days that's very much at the forefront of his mind and
his team's mind as they sort of bask in this victory.
SOARES: Kevin, appreciate it. Thank you very much. Let's stick with the peace, because the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on
Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump's work trying to get the Gaza ceasefire deal done and his claim to have personally ended seven wars. He's
made no secret, in fact, that he thinks he deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you deserve the Nobel Prize, do you think?
TRUMP: Everyone thinks so, but I would never say it.
I think I'm going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly, which they don't.
If I were named Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds.
I should have gotten it four or five times.
Would you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not. They'll give it to some guy that didn't do a damn thing.
What about the seven others? I should get a Nobel Prize for each one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: You've got the gist. He thinks he should get it. Well, Trump's supporters do back him. His detractors mock the pursuit, arguing his
controversial policies are disqualifying. So, who else could win? Potential laureates include Sudan's emergency response room, Suleyman Nayeh, the
widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
And who better to speak to about the Nobel Peace Prize speculation than Nina Graeger, the director of Peace Research Institute in Oslo. Nina,
welcome to the show. You heard there the president very much fixated on a peace prize. He's often said, and you heard it there, he would be offended
if he doesn't win it. Do you think he would make the shortlist?
NINA GRAEGER, DIRECTOR, PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OSLO: Well, we do not have him on the shortlist of PRIO, but he might have been nominated by
someone. It's difficult to know because there will be a disclosure of 50 years of whoever nominated and who the nominees are. He might not win it
this year because we are very close to the announcement, which will be tomorrow at 11, Oslo time. So, I think the chances are scarce.
[14:40:00]
SOARES: Well, let me put it to you. Alfred Nobel, the father, of course, of the five prizes named after him. He left a description, from what I
understand, of what would be the ideal candidate for the peace prize. And he writes, the person who shall have done the most, or the best work for
fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
Does Trump meet this? And if he doesn't meet it this year, would he meet it next year if the peace holds?
GRAEGER: Well, definitely and clearly has engaged himself personally and also his administration, of course, in trying to end the war in Gaza. And
that is actually the most promising efforts towards peace in a long time. I think that still it's early days. It's a very complicated and complex
situation. And there are some 20 points in that peace plan. And implementing these could probably take quite a lot of time. And a lot of
things can happen.
So, I think it comes a little bit too late for this year's peace prize. But for next year, of course, there's a possibility. And something that the
Nobel Committee would consider, I think.
SOARES: Let's look ahead then, Nina, for tomorrow. Talk us through who they may be considering, who you have in your shortlist.
GRAEGER: Yes, I'll be delighted to do that. We have the Sudan's emergency response rooms, which you also mentioned, which are grassroots groups who
are promoting peace in the way by providing life-saving aid and humanitarian support, soup kitchens, health care, et cetera, to people in
Sudan after the violence broke out again in 2023. We think they're really worthy winners because it also shows how, you know, humans and individuals
can actually contribute to peace through everyday peace building.
We also think that the Committee to Protect Journalists would be a very good candidate and worthy candidate for this year, because journalists are
being attacked and killed every day at work in conflict zones and war zones. And only last year, there were some 124 journalists killed, 70
percent of whom were working in Gaza. So, that will really, you know, draw attention to the importance of a free press and of reporting from inside
war zones, behind the front lines, and also tell the world about what's going on, even war crimes. So, those are two of the candidates that we
have.
SOARES: And you've got more. I also saw in here, and correct me if I've got this wrong, you've also got the Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom and the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. I thought that was really interesting, Nina, that you've
got those here because if they do win, what is the message that is being sent to leaders around the world? Of course, Prime Minister Netanyahu faces
an arrest warrant by the ICC, the U.S., who placed sanctions on the ICC for that arrest warrant. What would be the message?
GRAEGER: I think the message seen from PRIO would be that the world needs international institutions. We need to uphold the rule of law. And these
institutions have moral authority. It would at least highlight their moral authority, should they get the prize, the legitimacy and the importance of
prosecuting also war criminals. So, I think it's more about keeping international cooperation high, having international institutions strong
and upheld our international norms, rather than, you know, trying to offend someone with having those on our list.
SOARES: Lots and lots of worthy causes, many nominations, of course. I think the nomination was closed in July, we shall you'll find out tomorrow.
Nina, appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you.
GRAEGER: Thank you so much.
SOARES: And of course, we will bring you the decision on Friday's Nobel Peace Prize announcement live at 5:00 a.m. Eastern, that is 10:00 a.m. if
you're watching us here in London.
And still to come tonight, courtroom showdown, legal challenges in two courtrooms on President Trump's order to deploy federal troops to U.S.
immigration centers. We're live outside one of those facilities. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: A legal showdown today for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to send National Guard troops to cities such as Chicago and Portland. An
appeals court in California heard arguments over whether the Trump administration can send troops from any state into Oregon.
In Chicago, a federal judge weighed in on the legality of Texas National Guard troops already providing support in the region. President Trump says
the National Guard is needed in these two cities to protect federal agents as well as property. Officials in both cities have spoken out, as we've
showed you here on the show, against the presence of federal troops.
Joining us with the very latest from Illinois is CNN's Omar Jimenez. And Omar, good to see you. Look, I know the hearings have been underway now in
the last few hours. In fact, I'm hearing the hearing in Chicago just wrapped up. Give us a sense of when we're likely to hear -- get a ruling on
this.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, as we understand from the judge in that case, court just is now on a bit of a break, but a ruling is
expected, as we understand, in the next three hours or so on this crucial question of whether the deployment of National Guard is actually legal.
Both sides made their arguments in court today. And one of the critical sort of dynamics back and forth was this judge was really pushing the
Department of Justice to find what exactly their plans were for the National Guard deployment.
One of the questions, for example, the judge asked the Department of Justice if the location of guardsmen wouldn't just be limited to certain
locations like federal property. Could they be in neighborhoods? Could they be around schools? And the DOJ attorney said that is possible if it is
involved with protecting federal agents or property.
Additionally, the judge asked, will the guardsmen be part of solving crime in Chicago? And some of the implication has been that if they're here, it
will help drive down violent crime. And the attorney responded, the mission, again, is a federal protective one.
And as that dynamic sort of went back and forth, the judge painted a bottom line saying that we'd be in a very different position today if the
government had simply said that they're having problems on federal property, and that is what they're deploying the guardsmen for. But that
hasn't been the case to this point.
So, that is -- the reason that is so critical is because there has been so much rhetoric on social media going back and forth, but when you look at
the legal arguments, that seems to be the lane that they are pushing for in court.
SOARES: And we've been hearing as well, Omar, from the governor of Illinois, who said that the state will continue to push back against
Trump's efforts to deploy federal troops to his state. I wonder what the options are and how it's being felt there on the streets of Chicago. Give
us a sense of what you've seen.
JIMENEZ: Yes. So, well, I'll say with how it's being felt. Over the course of last night, we saw protests in downtown Chicago of the hundreds. Where
we are, we're in Broadview, Illinois, which is just outside the city limits.
[14:50:00]
Protests have been pretty small but relatively steady over the course of the day. They're outside a federal immigration detainment facility. And
that's really been the focal point of a lot of the protests we've seen in recent weeks.
Now, interestingly, we heard from the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, as part of a cabinet meeting a little bit earlier
this afternoon, who talked about wanting to purchase more facilities for ICE to use and to double down on the enforcement that we have seen. And
that's been so controversial to this point, that increased immigration enforcement we've seen in many immigrant-majority neighborhoods, some
Latino-majority neighborhoods, where those are the videos where you're seeing masked agents jumping out and effecting arrests, you know, on the
sidewalks in front of people.
So, when you talk about how the city is trying to push back, the options are actually pretty limited. It is the courthouse and the law in which they
likely have the biggest avenue. But again, we are waiting to see what the judge decides.
SOARES: I know you'll stay across it for us, Omar Jimenez. Thank you very much, amigo. Really appreciate it.
And still to come tonight, moments of joy, hope, as well as gratitude for. What this cautious optimism around a ceasefire deal means for those with
family members still held hostage, of course, and for people enduring daily bombardment in Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, for more than two years, we've brought you the moments of death and destruction throughout the Israel-Hamas war. But as the details
of a ceasefire are close to being finalized, we are all holding on, of course, to hope for some positivity.
Scenes of joy and gratitude across both Israel and Gaza, mixed, of course, with pain. These little girls in Gaza stayed up late celebrating news of a
ceasefire agreement. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why are you still awake? Are you happy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We're looking at Holillah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What does Holillah" mean?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It means a party and joy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Are you happy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Because we're going back to our homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): God willing, you'll go back to your homes. And are you happy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Swear to God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): By God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes, I'm happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why are you happy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Because of the truce. We've spent two years. And now we're starting the third, living in a war. We're
very tried of this life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And now, what will happen?
[14:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Now we want to go back. Now, if they tell us to go back, we will go back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So, if they told you to go back to the eastern neighborhood now, would you go back?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes. But they haven't signed yet. Last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): May they sign tomorrow?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): God willing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): May God make you happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Those smiles. Well, relief, too, of course, for the families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Moshe Lavi, who I spoke to on the
show, if you remember, on Monday is the brother-in-law of hostage Omri Miran. Omri was kidnapped from his home in front of his wife, then two-
year-old daughter, and then six-month-old baby. Moshe told CNN earlier today he is hopeful, but cautious until, of course, he actually reunites
with Moshe. Just have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOSHE LAVI, BROTHER-IN-LAW OF HOSTAGE OMRI MIRAN: We remain hopeful, but we're also grounded in reality, and we know war is the kingdom of
uncertainty, and nothing is concluded until we see it in our eyes. And so, until Omri crosses the border, until I see him hurriedly shy, going to his
father, Danny, his siblings, I will not believe that it's going to happen, but I will keep hoping that it will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: We're all holding on to that hope for both sides. That does it for us for tonight. Holding on, of course, and ending on a positive note. Do
stay right here, "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. I shall see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
