Hello and welcome, everyone. Im Michael Holmes with the latest on the israel hamas war. An American Woman and her teenage daughter with undergoing medical e value weighs in israel after they were released by hamas on friday. They were visiting family close to gaza when they were taken hostage by hamas two weeks ago. Hamas is believed to have about 200 hostages. Back home in illinois, natalies father spoke about reuniting with her. Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time, for two weeks. I havent been sleeping for two weeks. Tonight, im going to sleep good. I spoke with my daughter earlier today. She sounds very good. She looks very good. She was very happy. And shes waiting to come home. Im going to hug her and kiss her, and its going to be the best day of my life. We have more now from cnns whitney. Reporter the walk to freedom in a snapshot. 59yearold judith and her daughter natalie are now safe after two weeks as hamas hostages. Theyre headed home after many prayers and tears. A communitys fear now replaced by joy. Our prayers have been heard for Judith And Natalie, and we are so overjoyed. They traveled to israel from illinois and having missing since the hamas attacks on october 7th. They were visiting for judiths mothers birthday. She had no idea if they would ever return. I was worried about my sister and my niece. My niece is not even 18. Shes supposed to be celebrating her birthday on the 24th of this month. We know young women are being raped and injured, and judith is shes not very, very healthy. Arer she says hamas kidnapped 11 other family members, and they are still missing, though cnn cannot independently verify that information. As you can imagine, we are devastated, and we are having quite a hard time. Reporter natalies brother said hes looking forward to hugging his sister once again and helping her recover however he can from the trauma. My sister natalie is doing well, is composed. We are ready to start this incredible journey of healing and trauma relief for her. Both Judith And Natalie are artists, kind, giving, generous souls. Reporter the office of the israeli Prime Minister said the forces met them at the border on friday, along with the International Committee of the red cross, transferring them to a Military Base in the center of israel. The families and friends of hundreds more are left to wait and wonder. Theyve gone through the most evil period of their life by people that inflicted just terror and horror to them and to so many others. Our job is to be there for them. Reporter according to the white house, President Biden spoke with them friday by phone. U. S. Officials are racing to bring home the ten other Americans Still in hamas hands. And cnns katie joins me live from london with more on this development. I know theres not a lot, but tell me what more we do know about how the Hostage Release came about and what, if anything, hamas might get in return. Reporter morning. Clearly this is a diplomatic sus s success. Israel is saying this has come about because of Military Pressure that is on hamas at the moment. Of course, this is not something that hamas would agree with. They have said they released these two on humanitarian grounds, particularly because the mother has been in ill health, something the israelis dispute, saying there is nothing humanitarianism in hamas. This back and forth is what weve come to see a lot of in this war. For the civilians and hostages as well, this is a sign of hope that things might change. Certainly, the Biden Administration have been very relieved to hear this. Have a listen to what Secretary Of StateAnthony Blinken had to say about it. We welcome the release. We share in the relief that the family and loved ones are feeling. But there are still ten additional americans who remain unaccounted for in this conflict. We know that some of them are being held hostage bayby hamas, along with an estimated 200 hostages. Obviously, those 200 are going to be the focus now, particularly the americans you mentioned, but all of them are of grave concern. This Success Story may be a sign of hope, but there are many still in danger yet. To that point, is there any sense that were getting that other releases could be in the works in the near term . Well, you would like to hope so, and slecertainly the source that spoke to cnn yesterday said thats the hope now. The u. S. Said they were involved very much so in making this happen and qatar also had a key role in made ediating. The hopes is that will happen again. Friely countries, egypt about releasing other foreign nationals. It remains to be at the scene. Clearly, we are still witnessing a dire humanitarian crisis on the ground in gaza, for all civilians, let alone the hostages that are being kept there. The situation is very concerning. Unfortunately, information is scarce. The committees involved are either not discussing the details or dont have them. Some of the families are left seeing horrendous videos online they may or may not be able to identify some of their relatives in. A really difficult time for families. There is good news, but a lot remain to be seen. Great reporting, katie. Now, the idf says it is preparing for the next stages of the war against hamas. This is tanks lined up near the border with gaza where the prospect of a Ground Incursion still looms. The spoke person said the current priority, though, is the return of all those hostages. In gaza itself, as you see there, the hospital, it says that israel has demanded the immediate evacuation of the building ahead of an air strike perhaps at some point overnight. The World Health Organization says such a demand will be impossible to carry out given the hospital currently houses around 12,000 displaced people, plus hundreds of patients. The idf explained why it could be targeted. This is another example of reading right into hamas play book. Its because hamas are using those Hospital Grounds or near those grounds to launch rockets. Again, i think any normal person anywhere in the world and in america, if they wanted to carry out a war, why would they do it from the hospital knowing the idf is going to respond . Our goal is to try to move civilians out of the way. Hamas role is to bait us into killing civilians. They win either way. They kill israeli civilians, they take it as a win. They bait us into killing their own civilians, they win. That is why they have to be destroyed and completely taken out. The u. S. And its allies are urging the country to be strategic and have clear aims with its goals. Theyve told cnn there should be a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties or any more civilian casualties from efforts on the ground to assaults in the skies now, israels iron dome has accepted another Rocket Attack an hour ago. They appear to have been aimed towards the center of israel. Nick robinson is there with more. Reporter just as that news was coming out that natalie and her mother were being released, hamas, or one of the other groups inside gaza launched a massive amount of rockets right at that time headed towards central israel. Within an hour, they fired multiple rockets towards the center of israel. They were intercepted again. In that intervening hour, they fired five salvos, that is way more theyve fired in an hour period than weve seen the past week or so. The israeli city is believed to be the most heavily bombarded in the juewish state. Its right of gaza. Reporter this is life in ashkelon, the most fired upon city in israel since hamas launched its first rockets 12 days ago. Here, fear still grips some. Others carry on. Ignoring the sirens wails. When we are outside, we are very careful. When we are inside, god is protecting us. Every missile has an address. You dont need to be afraid. Reporter in a city where 90 of businesses have closed, this supermarket is a lifeline. Theres a lot of businesses that are closed. Theyre closed. Its working because people have to eat. They have to drink. So you come like once a week or once a week. People afraid. Rocket, i was lying on the road, and to put my hands on my reporter getting to a bomb shelter isnt an option for everyone here, prompting the city to help evacuate thousands. We still have around 35,000 people that actually live without shelters. So each and every rocket, it means a direct risk for them. So we are trying to find solution for them. Reporter more than 1,200 rockets have targeted ashkelon. While most are intercepted by the iron dome, about 200 have made direct hits, displacing families from their homes, causing casualties, and shuttering businesses like this bakery. When we got here, everything was in pieces. The door was out of place. There was the smell of gun powder. Everything was destroyed. We are starting to put things right. Reporter in the basement of an unassuming building, ashkelon ceo takes us inside trying to track rockets headed into the city. Rescue, police, ambulances, everything comes from here. So before the rock even lands, you can see where it would land . We have some estimation where its going to land. Reporter until then, the First Responders wait and pray. Jeremy diamond, cnn, ashkelon. As of now, people in gaza waiting for shipments of critical supplies are still waiting. U. S. President joe biden says they should get some relief this weekend. He says trucks carrying muchneeded humanitarian aid should be able to get through the Border Crossing soon. They were supposed to head into gaza from egypt friday as part of a delegate deal. But President Biden said the trucks were delayed because the highway had to be repaved after israeli shelling there. Cnn teams on the ground say repair vehicles have entered gaza from egypt to fix that side of it. Those delays only adding to the anger. Clarissa ward was at the Border Crossing as propalestinian protests erupted. Reporter for days, they have been waiting. More than 200 trucks full of aid desperately needed in gaza, but stuck on the egyptian side of the rafa Border Crossing. U. N. Secretarygeneral Antonio Gutierrez hoped to be here for a muchneeded diplomatic win. Instead, he found himself in the midst of a protest, his remarks drowned out by the crowd. People are chanting over and over again, with our blood, with our souls, we will defend palestine. Theres a huge amount of anger and emotion, much of it directed at the west. And much also at western media, who people here fear have favored israeli voices over palestinians. A protestor started shouting at me. We invited her to do an interview with us. When 1,000 palestinian babies have died, you dont feel the seem as when i tell you one of your own has died. But these are our own. Egypt will stand with palestine. All these International Institutions are standing for israel. Whos there for the palestinians . And dont call it a war. The jargon is more infuriating. It is not a war. Its not equal footing. Reporter for many, it is deeply personal. Palestinian man holds up his i. D. I have seven sisters, and my father, grandmother, uncles, all my family is there. I cant contact with them. I dont know reporter are they okay . I dont know if they are okay or not. Reporter as egyptian soldiers stand by, the co demonstrators get more animated. Protests are normally illegal here, but today, the egyptian president called for people to take to the streets. This is rapidly becoming a very chaotic scene right now. Theyre trying to get the secretarygeneral out of here. Theyre ordered back onto buses and escorted out through the crowd back to an airport where piles of aid sit by the runway, so close to where they need to be, but held back, the u. N. Says, by complications over how to monitor the trucks that enter gaza and how to establish a continuous humanitarian corridor. When you saw the anger of those protestors, most of it leveled at israel and the u. S. But also at the International Community for failing to stop this situation, whats your response . I think whats important to say is we are doing everything we can we can, engaging with all parties to make sure sooner r rather than later, we are able to have continued aid to the population. Reporter no timeline . I think it should be as quickly as possible and with as many as possible trucks to cross in the first few days. Reporter but that is little comfort to the people of gaza for whomever day, every how is vital. Clarissa ward, cnn, ra if, a, egypt. When we come back more demonstrations in the middle east. Were on the ground as people protest israels strikes on gaza and the palestinians caught in the middle. Protests intensifying across the middle east against israels bombardment of gaza in the wake of the Terrorist Attack on the country two weeks ago. The cries of support for the palestinians caught in the cross fire is reaching fever pitch. We want to caution some of the video might be disturbing. Reporter in downtown, they are gathered for prayers. But its not just call to prayer thats drawn these crowds today. But a call to action. And solidarity for the palestinian people. This protest is a pledge, they chant, that the people of jordan will not leave gaza alone. Thousands of men, women, children, entire families, draped in the palestinian scarf. A symbol for many of palestinian resistance. You can hear how loud the crowds are. Thousands of people have taken to the street protesting against the continued bombardment, protest in kol solidarity with palestinian people. We are doing this for our families, we are dying in gaza. The least we can do is stand here in solidarity with them to support them so they know we are with them in our hearts and everything. There is palpable outrage here in jordan of israels ongoing bombardment and deep seated anger directed wards israel and israels western allies. Many here even calling on the governments to close down the u. S. israeli embassy. For days now, protests have taken place not only across jordan, but also across the wider region. In cairo, hundreds gathered into hope square. We need justice reporter hours earlier, the Border Crossing between egypt and gaza, u. N. Secretarygeneral was forced to cut his visit short after protests erupted there. Gaza has faced relentless israeli air strikes for almost two weeks now. And protests across the arab world and the wider region are at a boiling point. Iraq, turkey, yemen, and with gaza on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, this Protest Movement is only growing stronger. Cnn in jordan. Still to come on the program, u. S. President joe biden speaks with the two hostages released by hamas. How their release is increasing hopes soon more might be set free. Well be right back. The father of one of the american hostages released by hamas on friday says his daughter is happy and wanting to come home to chicago. Teenager Natalie Renan and her mother judith have been held captive in gaza after being abducted where they were visiting in Southern Israel during the october 7 Terror Attacks. U. S. President biden spoke with them on the phone the offer support. You can see that conversation there. The Israeli Military says it hopes for the release of more hostages. What is unique is these both two are american citizens. I think the mother is dual american citizen. The daughter is solely american. These are the first two, and what we know is hamas is trying to paint itself as a Human Rights Organization now after having given back two of the hostages. The rockets are reigning down on israel as im speaking to you. Lets get back all the hostages. Joining me now, aaron david miller, former state Department Middle east negotiator and senior fellow with the endowment. Always good to see you, sir. What is your read into the release of the two u. S. Ha hostages . Would hamas have released them without a deal . First of all, thanks for having me. Were in a long, dark tunnel. This is the first light. Im keeping my expectations pretty low. I think the motivation for the release had to do with pressure on one hand and propaganda on the other. Theres a statement from cutter which talks about seemed very upbeat i want negotiations to try to free the hostages, and to use their words, deescalate tensions. The external leadership has been funding hamas to the tune of anywhere from 3 to 10 million a month, subsidizing in Gaza Object Assumption that hamas was primarily interested in governing and stabilizing the situation in gaza. Thats what were preparing for, but its certainly not what we saw on october 7th. But its also propaganda. I mean, its cruel Manipulation Dribbling out the hostages, and as youll know, they released two americans. And that harks back that Selection Process harks back to where they separated the jews and the israelis from the other foreign nationals. I think its cruel ma nip alli manipulation, and i think were going so see more of it. Its often said and i think you have too, you can draw up a workable theoretical way forward on the back of a napkin. But the problem is neither side has been willing to take hard steps. Can you see those hard line positions changing any time soon . No. In large part because the events of october 7th were so unbelievably brutal savage, went beyond anything the israelis had ever experienced in all of their c conflicts. Maybe akin to the suicide tear, but this went beyond. This was indiscriminate willful killing up close. It was the taking of hostages for specific purposes. It was taking dead israelis with hamas back to gaza in an effort to bargain with them because they know how important, what a value the israelis place on redeeming their civilians and soldiers alive or dead from the battlefield during captivity. So i see no flexibility. Theres a difference between retaliation and revenge. Im curious if you think how much of whats happening in gaza now among the civilian pop ewe la population, not the Terror Groups is increasing the radicalization among what was an undeniable Terror Attack leads to more radicalization nonetheless. Gaza is already looking at people half of whom are under 1 a 5, already huge problems with Power Outages even before the israeli strikes and clean water. I dont think theres any doubt about that. Insurgence its the history of insurgency. The victimization generates from one angle. In the end, more young men and women who are willing to commit violence, sometimes atrocities, as a consequence of that rage and anger. The problem for the israelis might be they were confronted with something that was so far beyond anything they had seen before, 1,400 civilians. In 73, israeli lost 2,800 soldiers. This was half that number in 24 hours, and they were civilian. What were the israeli alternatives . The Palestinian Ministry has already killed 3,000 palestinians and have a looming ground evacuation. When it will take place is unclear. Got to leave it there unfortunately. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Michael, always a pleasure. Take care. Cheers. As a deal to normalize relations between israel and saudi arabia seeps to have stalled now, the saudi Prime Minister telling cn n n any such agreement needs to feature the palestinian cause. What it could mean in terms of a political solution for the palestinian group. Do you see normalization between saudi arabia and israel as providing an opportunity for a political horizon and a political solution for the palestinians . Is that the best option at this point . The saudis have made it very clear, the link between their future relation with israel and the palestine, its there. And that is where we feel very assured on that. Its not priceless. Its with price. Now, maybe this issue will be deferred for a certain period of time to come, but the issue the saudis have brought back the question of palestine to the table. Do you think that normalization could be the best bet for a political solution for palestinians going forward, r ironically, as some of our viewers might see it . Otherwise, because piece for piece does not work. Because you have no problem with the palestine all right. Back to square one for u. S. House republicans after a candidate for speaker fails to win enough votes for the third time. That and perspective from an expert when we come back. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. I spoke again friday morn with the israeli Prime Minister. They discussed efforts to free hostages in gaza and humanitarian assistance plans for gaza discussed earlier this week. Mr. Biden also confirmed israel ace right to contain citizens while warning of the obligation to protect citizens in gaza. This is the first known phone call from the two leaders since the deadly attacks. They met face to face on wednesday. Meanwhile, the republicans have no path forward after jim jordan failed to get enough votes. Several republicans jump into the race after the party rejected jordan, but its up clear if any can get to 217 votes needed to win. One jordan ally tried to blame it on democrats. Clearly there is another void. We are going to have a couple more days of chaos as we try to figure out whats next. It reminds me how incredibly irresponsible it was to put this house into absolute chaos without any kind of a plan for how we were going to move forward. A vacuum was triggered by a block of hardline conservative republicans. Without a speaker, the house is frozen amid conflicts abroad and a deadline next month. Michael is a president of the Global Policy institute. Always good to see you, sir. How does whats happening with republicans in the speaker chaos, lets call it, impact the president s request for more money for both israel and ukraine . Youve got internal squabbling now impacting far more than who holds the speakers gavel. Thats right. It has new implications. 17 days, no new speaker. Theyre not going to meet again until monday. They wont vote until tuesday. So theres a huge backlog of important things and some big deadlines coming up, including a potential government shutdown. But the ongoing chaos has been laid out in public display for the most part. Congress is closed for business, emotions are running high. Jim jordan kept on losing support instead of gaining support. His support collapsed faster than a Third Grade Science Project on the third ballot. What were seeing is under chaos, the question is is chaos the seintent, is that the goal. It doesnt appear that way. Donald trump is a chaos maker. But in the house, they need someone that can bring people together. And blaming democrats as your previous clip showed because democrats are sitting back saying why should we help you because youre the ones who are going to go against us in the legislature, so dont expect the democrats to help. I mean, why would they help elect somebody that is actively speaking against their own policies. Now, it seems like the House Speaker is a poison. If not jordan, scalise, or mccarthy, then who . This cannot go on. It cant go on. You can see a couple of scenarios. One, you might empower the temporary speaker. Thats not a longterm solution, but its a shortterm band aid. You might continue the debacle, and the leader would be none of the above. You might go back to kevin mccarthy. You could do like a movie sequel, go back to the second run for mccarthy. Oddly enough, some people are talking about a coalition where you might need to bring in some democrats to vote for the speaker. That seems very unlikely. Theres always the nonmember is brought in as a healer. That may be the last. Who might that be. Im curious if you think there will be fallout at the ballot box of republicans over their dysfunction, or do you think voter memories are too short . There are very few voters that are in play. The republicans have a solid base, and the democrats have a solid base. There is only about 12 at most of voters who are available for switching over. Thats a lot. Those folks will determine the next election. Do they have a longterm memory . If we have a government shutdown, i think the republicans will fair very poorly in the next election. Were in the midst of any number of global and economic crisis, but when it comes to the global ones, how does the u. S. Look to the rest of the world . Well, we look like a weak giant. We look like a fumbling giant. But i will give President Biden some credit. He went to a war zone. He displayed admirable leadership qualities. The u. S. And israel are as close as two coats of paint. But and this is an important but he also issued a warning, which is what friends do to friends. He warned the israeli leadership, they need to be clear headed, ask hard questions, and you cant let primal feelings dictate policy. That was safe advice, and theres why you can see the great contrast in objects between President Biden, who is in a War Zone Acting like a leader, and donald trump whos in a Courtroom Acting like a criminal defendant. Thats whats at stake, and thats whats going on. Yeah. Yeah. And meanwhile, heres a country that cant even run a government. Michael in los angeles, always good to see you my friend, thank you. Thank you, michael. Still to come here on the program, as israel battles hamas, children injured, dying in a war they dont understand and have no part in. Well have a report when we come back. Welcome back. Israeli airstrike aimed at hitting hamas killing people who sought shelter in a church in gaza. Damage left behind at Greek OrthodoxChurch Campus in gaza city, the israeli airstrike rained down causing one of the Church Buildings to collapse, according to cnn analysis. They thought they were safe here. The detrucks followed. Palestinian authority said 17 People Killed and cnn cannot confirm the nuchlt as the war against hamas enters its third week it seems children suffer the most as they often do in conflict and the stories are heartbreaking. This next report contains graphic images some viewers might find disturbing. Why, why have you gone my son . You wanted to be a pilot. Youre only sweeng he says, kissing his boys lifeless body. Every day of there war last brought pain, pain no parent wants to ever live through. Every 15 minutes in gaza a child is killed they say. More than 1500 killed so far in a war thats just beginning a war they didnt choose for which they are paying the heaviest price. The lucky ones still with parents to home hands. He doesnt know the strike that left help injured took his mom dad and Three Sisters his aunt the only one left to comfort hit. He wakes up, cries, they give him painkillers. He goes back to sleep. [speaking foreign language] im worried about the shock when he finds out his parents are gone. He was so attached to his parents. He used to play football with his dad and families say they heeded the Israeli Military warning and moved south thinking it would be safe but it wasnt. Injured in the hips and legs she lost her mother and siblings in an airstrike. [speaking foreign language] a girl in the third grade what did she do her aunt asks . Did she shoot israelis . We are peaceful people. We didnt launch rockets or shoot. We didnt do anything. Nineyearold mahmoud was out playing. Leases in hospital with head injuries. We were Playing In The Garden and a missile landed on us he says. Trees fell on me my mother father and grandfather are injured. Ply brother brought me unconscious to the hospital. Most of the injured in gaza doctors says are women and children. The health care they need is on the verge of collapse. Around half of gazas population are children most have only ever known life under blockade and war now in this kill box no place safe from israels bombardment. Many have flooded the Hospital Grounds. The constant buzz of military drones over head has become part of existence in gaza. Some finding little escape from this Living Nightmare no child should ever endure and they say their neighborhoods was flattened by airstrikes. We have been living in so much fear Panic Anxiety she says. Whenever i hear airstrikes i dont know what do. I plug my mom. 7yearold julia says she holds her mom and sides and theyre now living under the stairs. I get upset when i see injured here in the hospital julia says. When i grow up i want to become a doctor so i can treat them. Its a war on hamas they say, but it is the youngest who bear the brunt ensnared in violence they cant control. Cnn london. Thats for watching this hour of cnn. Im Michael Holmes. Ill be back with more on the freed american hostages at the top of the hour