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The Situation Room

Israeli Troops Pull Back in Gaza; Government Shutdown Continues. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 10, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: The government shutdown is now in day 10 and expected to stretch into a third week, as Congress remains deadlocked over a funding plan.

And, moments ago, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pointed out impacts that the shutdown is having on House Speaker Mike Johnson's home state of Louisiana.

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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): More than 70 percent of the American people want to see the Affordable Care Act maintained and the tax credits extended. And, actually, our fight is for people in states like Louisiana.

Because of what Republicans have done, hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health centers in Louisiana are closing. Health care is being ripped away from people in Louisiana because of what Republicans have done with their extreme one big, ugly bill, largest cut to Medicaid in American history.

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That's what Steve Scalise has done. That's what Mike Johnson has done, throwing millions of Americans off of their health care, stealing food from the mouths of hungry children, veterans and seniors in their home state. And all of this was done by Republicans to reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks?

That's unacceptable. We can have...

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BROWN: All right, it's estimated that 1.4 million federal employees have been furloughed or are working without pay.

And, today, many of these workers are receiving their final paycheck until the government reopens. And a lot of those paychecks will be smaller than usual. And joining us now are two federal employees who are both currently

furloughed, Yolanda Jacobs and Imelda Avila-Thomas.

Imelda, thank you for coming on. Let's start with you.

I understand that both you and your husband are currently furloughed. Did you and your husband receive your partial paycheck today? And how is your family adjusting to receiving less income right now?

IMELDA AVILA-THOMAS, PRESIDENT, AFGE LOCAL 2139 PRESIDENT: Yes, thank you for having me.

My husband did receive his check, so he's been called to exempt status. So he's actually going to work. And I have not received anything yet. So I don't know what it's going to look like for me.

BROWN: So how have you been adjusting for your family with this expectation of less income and just all of this uncertainty, Imelda?

AVILA-THOMAS: Well, obviously being -- I'm a frugal person, but even more so, and just adjusting the budget, making sure that I don't use all my savings, because who knows how long this might take, unfortunately, and just cutting tutor for my daughter, things that I can make changes to immediately, obviously.

But those are -- garage sales, things that I could accumulate my little stash, so that, who knows, because there's the unknown.

BROWN: So you have had a cut tutoring for your daughter. You said you're doing garage sales.

I'm wondering, Yolanda, what this has all meant for you, all this economic uncertainty for your day-to-day? Well, what kinds of adjustments have you had to make?

YOLANDA JACOBS, AFGE LOCAL 2883 PRESIDENT: The first thing I did was, I had a conversation with two of my children that are home with me and my son that's away in college to let them know that -- sometimes, he likes to ice-skate. Well, he's not going to be able to ice-skate every weekend or so until this is figured out.

When it comes to the ones that are at home, my 14-year-old, her swim class, we're not going to pay for it for the month of October. So she won't be swimming. She won't be part of her swim team this month because we need to make sure that we have what we need to provide food and utilities, the things that that you really need to get through your day-to-day.

BROWN: Imelda, for people who might say, well, these workers will get back pay once the government reopens, what is your response to that?

AVILA-THOMAS: I think it's easy to look from the outside when it comes to that.

In the meantime, using the money we have and prioritizing how we use it, people are, rightfully so panicking in terms of medication, appointments. When I say tutoring for my daughter, she has dyslexia. So we're not talking about just additional tutoring to get straight A's. These are basic items that we need that we're going to have to make adjustments to.

So, I mean, that's the reality.

BROWN: And, Yolanda, what does that like to wake up in the morning and have that uncertainty?

JACOBS: It's stressful. It is stressful. I matter of fact needed to have some dental work done. And now that's going to be placed on hold until.

So, hopefully, nothing serious, more serious arises from it. But I know that right now that is not -- I can't afford to go to the dentist and pay my share of it, not knowing if I'm going to need this further down the line.

BROWN: President Trump, for his part, has suggested potentially withholding back pay for some workers. Speaker Johnson said recently that he will ensure that every worker gets paid. But what is your reaction to that? What kind of impact would that have on workers, Imelda?

AVILA-THOMAS: I mean, I was around for the 2013 one. And while getting the back pay is fantastic, and that's what I was provided with my furlough notice, that I would get paid my back pay, it's still not something -- I mean, we're day 10.

So it's accumulating. Every day that we wake up, it adds up. So it is -- eventually, sure, it'll be fantastic. For in the meantime, we're starting to look at unemployment. And as president of AFGE 2139, I'm helping my members look at resources.

So we're starting to look at local resources for them.

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BROWN: Yolanda, what is your message to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle right now?

JACOBS: It would be to think about the people who are most impacted. A lot of the lawmakers, when they wake up every morning, they don't have the concerns that we have. They don't have to wonder if they're going to be able to meet the mortgage, the rent, and then still have something left over for day-to-day, like, meals for the family, if they're going to have gas to put in their car.

Those are not their worries, but that's the worries of myself and many of our members.

BROWN: So what do you say, Imelda, to the everyday American who may not be feeling the impacts right now of this government shutdown?

AVILA-THOMAS: It will be felt. I think we don't see the impact currently, but whether people decide

that this is not for them, they look for other jobs, we invest a lot of money, especially, like, in the Department of Labor, which is the employees I represent. And it will be felt. It will be felt when your call doesn't get answered. It will be felt when offices that you go to are closed.

And it just accumulates. The work will accumulate for those of us that are ready and able to go to work and ready to go to work.

BROWN: And what about -- what do you say to those Americans, Yolanda? Do you agree with Imelda, from your perspective, where you work?

JACOBS: I totally agree.

And considering CDC employees have actually have just been placed through the wringer this entire year, all the way to the point of having an attacker take shots at our campus in August, so it's been one thing after another after another. The mental health of our employees is not good.

I had just one reach out to me yesterday after reading her LES, and her only words are: "What am I supposed to do?"

And when you hear those words, that that's more than just, what am I going to do financially, but I'm at the breaking point. I'm at my mental -- my mental health is not well.

BROWN: That's important to talk about. I think today is Mental Health Awareness Day too.

I mean, do you feel, Yolanda, like you and your staff are getting the support you need from leadership?

JACOBS: When it comes to -- if we're speaking as far as the administration goes, no. We have ourselves, as a local, as part of a local came together and we are providing resources and support to the members and remembering that we also need it too, because we're no good to them if we're not good to ourselves.

So we're doing the best we can, given the circumstances.

BROWN: All right, Yolanda Jacobs, Imelda Avila-Thomas, best of luck to both of you. We really appreciate you coming on to share your experience right now. Thank you.

JACOBS: Thank you.

BROWN: And we will be right back.

AVILA-THOMAS: Thank you.

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[11:47:06]

BROWN: Happening now: Israel says the cease-fire in Gaza is an effect after its military withdrawals from parts of Gaza.

My co-anchor, Wolf Blitzer, has just landed in Israel, and he joins us from Tel Aviv. Never stops working, Wolf Blitzer there for us on the ground.

What are you seeing, Wolf? What are you hearing? I know you just arrived not that long ago, but bring us up to speed.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Well, people are really happy right now because they're excited that hostages will be coming home, that the cease-fire supposedly will be taking effect.

So there's a much better attitude right now, a much better atmosphere than it was the last few times I was here since October 7. But it's good to be here. We're getting a lot of new information that's coming in right now. I want to let our viewers know we're also getting some new video from Israel's military pulling out at least from parts of Gaza right now.

Some forces will remain there, we're told, and we also are learning that about 200 U.S. military troops will head here to Israel to provide what's being described as oversight of this cease-fire plan. The 72-hour period for the release of the hostages held by Hamas has now begun, meaning this: The 48 still in Gaza are set to be returned on Monday.

At least 20 of them, we are told, are believed to be alive. Among the remains, an IDF soldier who was killed back in 2014. Israeli police confirmed that President Trump, who played a truly critical role in the cease-fire, plans to visit here in Israel on Mondays. He's been invited to address the Knesset, Israel's Parliament.

Our Jerusalem correspondent, Jeremy Diamond, is here with me right now.

Jeremy, you have been over there at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv where families have spent a lot of time. I have been there as well. It's usually very, very sad. This time there, it's a bit happier.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: A completely different atmosphere.

I mean, I have been in that Hostage Square so many Saturday nights, which was the typical protest night here in Israel, where sometimes you would see hundreds of thousands of Israelis coming out into the streets, raising their voices with tears sometimes because of how difficult and agonizing these two years have been, raising their voices in anger and frustration.

But what we have seen over the course of the last 24 hours as I have been in Hostage Square was scenes of joy, and the only tears were tears of joy as well, as we saw this collective sigh of relief here in Israel that these hostages will finally be coming back, celebrations from some of the families of those hostages who have fought so hard to see their loved ones come home, so hard to see not just a hostage deal where some would be coming out, but really they had all been pushing for a deal where all of the hostages would be coming out at once.

And that is now what we are expecting. We're now within that 72-hour window during which Hamas could release those hostages. We expect that it will probably happen as early as Sunday, but the absolute drop-dead deadline will be Monday at noon in order for Hamas to release those hostages.

BLITZER: And I'm really looking forward to seeing and being up close, and you are as well, when they're reunited with their moms, their dads, with their brothers, their sisters, their uncles, their aunts.

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It's going to be a very emotional scene for -- not only for them, but for all of us who will be watching.

DIAMOND: Absolutely.

And there are still so many unknowns, right? We do not know what conditions some of these hostages will be in. Keep in mind, last time, for example, we saw several hostages that emerged looking quite gaunt, had clearly been starved while in captivity.

We have -- I have interviewed, you have also interviewed hostages who came out of captivity who described surviving sometimes on one pita a day, one piece of pita bread a day for months on end. And so it will be difficult as well for them as they emerge, but obviously the joy will be the first reaction that we see from so many of these families.

BLITZER: It's clear people here in Israel totally appreciate President Trump's effort, the role that he has played in getting to this moment.

DIAMOND: Absolutely.

So many Israelis credit President Trump directly. I saw a lot of signs in Hostage Square thanking President Trump, American flags being flown alongside Israeli ones, and also many Israelis, particularly those who have been protesting, calling for a deal. They have felt betrayed by this Israeli government for a long time now.

They have felt like this government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu did not do enough to secure the release of the hostages. And they felt that the United States was really where they had started to turn. We saw a lot of them visiting the White House, meeting with President Trump to get this done.

Of course, it was interesting to see Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff crediting Prime Minister Netanyahu as well and the military pressure that they said helped them get to this deal. But I can tell you, from speaking to a lot of the hostage families, they see that more as kind of P.R. fluff to all of this, and they really credit President Trump over the Israeli prime minister.

BLITZER: Is it a done deal, Jeremy, that President Trump will address the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in the coming days when he's here? DIAMOND: It certainly seems that way.

The speaker of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, did put out a letter inviting the president. The White House retweeted that. We know from Israel's police that President Trump is arriving here on Monday. So everything does seem to be set in motion.

I believe he would be the first U.S. president to address the Knesset since George W. Bush. So, quite a lot of time has passed, and obviously an honor being bestowed on him because of what he has been able to accomplish here.

BLITZER: And has the cease-fire actually gone into effect? Has the fighting stopped? Have the Israeli attacks stopped?

DIAMOND: Yes, the Israeli military has now confirmed that that cease- fire has been in effect officially as of 12:00 noon today. That was the time at which Israeli troops completed their partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Remember, they are remaining inside of Gaza. Those lines of control is being referred to as the yellow line, because that was how it was looking on a map that had been released proposing this initial withdrawal line. And so that is where they will stay while this hostage release moves forward.

It is what allows the 72-hour countdown to begin. And, in Gaza, we have been seeing scenes of Palestinians beginning to return to their homes. In the last month, we have seen hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee from Gaza City, as the Israeli military carried out an offensive there, was preparing to invade the city entirely.

But that was held off, obviously, by this deal, but many of them beginning to now return to Gaza City, take stock of their homes, those that are still standing, and, of course, many -- a lot of relief there as well that finally they're getting not only a respite from the bombardment, but also much-needed humanitarian aid set to begin to surge into Gaza.

BLITZER: Yes, that's so important because a lot of humanitarian aid, food, medicine, is all of a sudden going to start flowing into Gaza, so important for the people of Gaza right now. That's part of this deal as well, and I think it's very significant that it's about to unfold, so let's see what happens.

And a lot of Palestinians being detained in Israel, Palestinian prisoners, are about to be released as well. Many of them will go to various countries. Some will go to the West Bank, but that's a significant moment as well.

DIAMOND: That's right.

There are these 250 life sentence prisoners. Some of these people are responsible for terrorist attacks, and those who are directly responsible for killing Israelis will not be released into the West Bank or Jerusalem, but rather only into Gaza or deported abroad to third-party countries.

But there are also some 1,700 Gazans who have been detained during this war, some of them held without any trial, without any charges being leveled against them. They include doctors who were serving in Gaza hospitals. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a director of a hospital in Gaza, he has been detained for months now with no clear information about his whereabouts.

So his family and the families of so many others in Gaza as well will be waiting for information. And, as of yet, they don't know whether their loved ones will be among those released, but I can tell you there's certainly a lot of hope in Gaza that they will.

BLITZER: A lot of elements in this Trump peace plan or cease-fire plan, hostage release plan, whatever it's called.

Jeremy, you and I are going to be busy over these coming days, but it's a positive development. Let's hope it stays that way -- Pamela, back to you.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, thank you. I know you will be very busy over the coming days following all of this. Thanks to Jeremy Diamond as well.

And thank you all for joining us this morning. We will see you back here Monday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

"INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a short break.

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Have a great weekend, everyone.

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Today on INSIDE POLITICS: New reporting reveals the president's TRUTH Social post demanding more prosecutions was meant for Pam Bondi's eyes only, as her Justice Department indicts another official on that enemies list.

Plus: a break from battle. The Gaza cease-fire takes hold. Israeli hostages could be free this weekend.

[12:00:02]

And the White House lashes out at the Nobel Committee for not recognizing the president with the Peace Prize.