signals it may restore donald trump's gag order in the federal election subversion case but loosen some restrictions. we'll tell you why the former president took the green light for some public attacks on special counsel jack smith. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm pamela brown. you're in "the situation room." we begin this hour in israel. the families of hostages held by hamas just made an urgent appeal to the netanyahu government, pushing for action to bring their relatives homes. cnn's nic robertson is following all the new developments from his position overlooking gaza. nic, what is the latest? >> reporter: there does some to be some optimism around the hostages. the reality is in every sort of hostage family that i've talked to here reminds me when i speak about the possibility of getting their loved ones home, they say you have to recognize and understand that hamas is not a state actor. it is not a rational organization. it's exploitive, uses propaganda. the families don't feel they can trust anything that hamas says and recognize the reality, therefore, of what their government is dealing with, that any potential deal that feels close can easily slip away at any moment. while those negotiations are going on, of course, the fight in gaza is still under way. the idf this evening saying they are now right in the heart of gaza city. hopes on the rise again for a potential hostage release as many of the kidnapped families gather to press the prime minister to get a deal done. >> it's very difficult and embarrassing that i need to stand in front of the camera and i need to go meet them in order to receive answers. >> reporter: even so, qatari negotiators say their confidence levels are increasing. >> their sticking points at this stage are more practical, logistical, not really something that to represent the deal. >> reporter: the reality on the battlefield is different. no sign of a deal securing cease-fire yet. another hospital under fire. this time the indonesian hospital near the jabalia refugee camp. the idf saying they were returning fire against shots fired from within the hospital. 12 people were killed, according to the ministry of health, in the area. indeed, israel is continuing to press its of fennive sive across much of northern gaza including closing tunnels it unearthed at the al shifa hospital, saying they're part of a wider hamas command and control system, that they're yet to show, that they say gives them legitimacy to take the hospital. cnn does not have independent access to the al shifa where a handful of doctors remain treating more than 100 patients too badly injured to move. over the weekend, prime minister benjamin netanyahu appeared emboldened by u.s. president joe biden's backing that a cease-fire too soon could benefit hamas, implying such a defense against global critics will buy future gains against hamas. >> translator: the third thing that has brought the achievement is a diplomatic iron dome that allows us to continue fighting until victory. >> reporter: despite netanyahu's confidence, bushback is growing from israel's arab neighbors and the u.n. >> what is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed. so this is what matters. we are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since i am secretary-general. >> reporter: on top of the dangers from shelling and missiles, another looming problem for gazans. the weather is worsening. for many of the more than 1 million displaced, flimsy plastic sheeting, all they have between them and the coming winter. for now it really does here feel like it's the guns on the ground that still do the speaking. we've had a couple of jets overhead, seen flashes on the horizon towards the jabalia refugee camp. earlier today, missiles coming out of gaza. a salvo of five missiles over this town. we haven't seen that number in a single salvo for a few days. hamas clearly able to use their rocket systems and they fired north as well towards central israel, towards tel aviv also today. you get the impression on the battlefield, if it's going to take a ses fire to get the hostages released, when you stand here and listen to it all day as we do, you just don't feel that cease-fire is close and, therefore, what hope for a hostage release. >> you're one of the few people, nic robertson, you can provide that perspective overlooking gaza and sderot, israel. thank you very much. tonight more than two dozen newborns evacuated from al shifa are receiving desperately needed treatment. here is more on their escape from the war zone and their conditions now. >> reporter: we are to safety as they make their way from chaos to calm, finally in egypt, a race against time to get them out, but a delicate process to move them. the journey to bring them here long and arduous. cries for held from the war's tiniest victims. their first stop the hospital in rafah. 28 babies made the gruelling journey from gaza. their condition, doctors say, delicate and difficult. >> we're conducting tests on all those babies. they were given fluids and needed medication. their condition might deteriorate. >> reporter: now the w.h.o. says many of them are in critical condition, and all are fighting infections. they've endured life-threatening ordeals trapped inside al shifa hospital as war raged around the hospital complex last week. al shifa ran out of oxygen, clean water and fuel, moved by hand and laid on these beds, no incubators and placed next to hot water bottles to stay warm. doctors say five of the babies didn't make it, conditions too harsh for such vulnerable patients. ultimately it was the war in and around al shifa that made they're evacuation complex and dangerous. the egyptians waiting for over a week at the border, disappointed day after day, knowing that every minute counted, but the decision out of their hands to get these babies to safety. only four mothers and six nurses accompanied the 28 babies. lubna describes her nightmare. >> translator: during the siege there was no milk. her condition worsened. she went back to zero and relied solely on artificial oxygen. >> reporter: as for the others, it is unknown where their parents and family are or if they're still alive. now in the hands of the egyptians, their life still fragile, their future forever defined by this war. pamela, a war not of their making. the mother we just heard from, she also said these are innocent babies and they are not to blame, and yet they bear the brunt of the war. the most desperate need they had was oxygen and care. in any other situation these would be the most vulnerable of patients. they would be looked after, but the conditions around al shifa made it completely impossible. it was all about getting a route to safety from that hospital down to the egyptian border. the egyptians were waiting for 36 babies. five of them lost their lives. tragically two of those died on the cusp of the evacuation on saturday night according to the world health organization. in terms of their status right now they have been moved to hospitals around egypt and the whole priority is to get them stable and healthy. >> thank goodness the ones that did make it across, they're getting the care that they deserve. as you say, they are so vulnerable and innocent. eleni giokos, thank you very much. joining us, an israeli journalist, political and foreign policy reporter for action owes. first off, what are you hearing about the status of the negotiations for release of hostages? throughout this war we've been hearing it's close and then it's not. this seems to be more ream, is it not? >> good evening. i think we're still not there yet. i don't think we should look at it as if a deal is a done thing and that it's just a matter of time until they announce it. we're still not there. there are still several things that are still open. it's sort of like watching paint dry. it's very, very, very slow, but at a certain moment, it will be a deal. and i think that's sort of -- the sort of consensus among all the people that are dealing with this thing, is that this is on track for happening, unless, again, something happens on the ground that once again scuttles the whole thing, some incident in gaza or something else. if not, i think we're on a path that would lead us within a few days to a possible deal. >> in a few days. what are the main sticking points right now? >> it's not the sticking points, as the whole package. meaning, you need certain things to come together which is the number of days, of cease-fire that israel will agree, the number of hostages that hams will agree to release on stage one of the deal and on stage two of the deal, and also smaller issues like the number of trucks that will come into gaza, or whether hamas will give a list of all the hostages in gaza. you need all of those things to come together. i'll give you another example, something that is really again not the main issue in the deal, but the deal will not happen without it. hamas demands that every day during the pause israel will stop flying drones above gaza for six hours every day. for now israel does not agree to six hours. it agrees to maybe less or maybe something else, but until they find a solution to all those small things, there's not going to be a deal. >> as you say, it's like watching paint dry. at some point it comes together, it drys. it's a matter of time. there's so much pressure that netanyahu is facing right now. he met with the familiar leaps of many of the hostages today, and they relayed their frustration of all this time their loved ones being held hostage. >> yes. one of the things i thought was apparent in that meeting -- the meeting was not only with netanyahu but the whole war cabinet. family members who came out of the meeting said that netanyahu and his minister of defense have one position when it comes to the hostages issue. and benny governor ron desantis -- two other members of the war cabinet have another opinion. netanyahu sees the release of the hostages as important, as the destruction of hamas while gantz thinks the release of the hostages is the top priority before the destruction of hamas. this may seem like a nuance. but if hamas will come back with a decision to go for a deal and it will not be exactly like the parameters netanyahu wants, then we can see a real difficulty within the israeli war cabinet to take a decision. >> thank you for helping us better understand the complexities. there are a lot of factors, different viewpoints within that car cabinet and netanyahu himself. barak ravid thank you. judges found skeptical about donald trump's gag order defense. will the appeals court muzzle trump's attack on the campaign trail? a d.d. circuit court of appeals appears inclined to restore a limited gag order against donald trump in the election subversion case. a three-judge panel held a hearing today as trump's legal team argued the gag order is violating free speech, an argument one of the judges refuted. >> first of all, not putting down everyone who speaks -- no one is shutting down and this is only affecting speech temporarily during a criminal trial process by someone who is indicted as a felon. no one here is threatening the first amendment broadly. >> with us now is cnn justice correspondent evan perez. evan, tell us what issues are the judges considering here. >> reporter: pamela, you heard from the sound bite some of the skepticism from these judges. they're grappling with an unprecedented issue. the issue is how do you preserve and make sure there's a fair trial for donald trump when he goes on trial here in the election subversion case next march versus his protecting his right as a defendant, as a criminal defendant to be able to defend himself and speak freely, especially because he is a leading presidential candidate. he is leading in a lot of the polls. so that's what the judges were grappling with, over 2 1/2 hours. a hearing that went much longer than we anticipated. they covered the issue of protecting jurors, if their information gets out there. how do you prevent threats against a judge, judge chutkan who has already been on the receiving end of some of these threats. listen to one particular exchange about the hypothetical about someone we expect to be a witness, and that's mike pence, the former prpt. let's listen. >> let's assume former vice president mike pence is going to testify, and it's the night before his testimony. couldn't the defendant tweet out, mike pence can still fix this. mike pence can still do the right thing, if he says the right stuff tomorrow. first of all, is that communicating with a witness? >> if it's just broadcasting a statement of political speech on social media, likely not. >> reporter: that's a very, very real hypothetical, of course. you know mike pence was on the receiving end of a lot of pressure from the former president during that period in 2020. we don't know where the judges in this court will rule. we expect it to come in the next couple weeks. >> that was really trefling that she used that example given what happened leading up to january 6th. evan perez, thank you very much. let's bring in norm eisen and alyssa farah griffin to discuss this. norm, evan laid out what the judges have to grapple with. how do they go about striking that tricky balance between a leading president candidate's first amendment rights but also protecting court officials and jack smith's team and his record and avoid tainting a potential jury pool? >> the way the judges are going to strike that balance is by looking to precedent. the cases that have been decided in similar criminal situations, and the supreme court has held that time and again when it comes to the judge and court personnel, to witnesses -- we heard a lot about that today -- to others who were involved in the process, that they must be protected. so the balance will fall on the side of protecting the administration of justice. >> we also know, we heard from the judge, look, the first amendment protections, they are not absolute, right? that is part of this. again, he is running for presidential office. he's the leading republican candidate. alyssa, i want to play this moment for you when trump's lawyers argued about political speech. take a listen. >> criminal speech obviously is subject to restrictions. political speech -- core political speech that's part of campaign speech -- >> i think labeling it core political speech begs the question of whether it is, in fact, political speech or whether it is political speech aimed at derailing or corrupting the criminal justice process. >> wondering what you think of that exchange, alyssa, given what you know about former president trump and how he operates. >> can we take a step back and think about how remarkable it is that this discussion is being had. this is testing our laws in the way we never have been. you have likely the republican nominee indicted on felony charges and in a courtroom while he's campaigning for president. these are questions that haven't legally been challenged. i completely understand what donald trump's attorney is trying to do here. trump, his only option this campaign cycle is basically to campaign from the courtroom with the multiple cases he has. it's going to keep him off the campaign trail with many court dates. some of these will line up right ahead of super tuesday. he needs to be able to use his social media, talk about things in a way and define the enemy, being the judge, those coming against him in these cases. he also needs to use it to look strong and appear strong. this is something he knows being silenced in these cases is a death knell for him. he needs to be strong to supporters. >> we've seen him fundraise off this and so forth. norm, the judges, they seem ready to reinstate the gag order, but with some leeway for trump to attack jack smith. what do you make of that? >> well, we've known all along that while the law favors the gag order, the place where the toughest judgments have to be made is with criticizing the biden administration and the department of justice. jack smith, of course, although he's special counsel, he's very independent. he is a part of the department of justice. i think those kinds of accommodations are reasonable. above all we have to protect the judge, we have to protect the witnesses. we have to protect the jury. if the order has to yield a little bit there, that is reasonable compromise to make sure that justice can operate smoothly in this case. >> we just heard the exchange about core political speech versus criminal speech. the judge raised, alyssa, the potential for trump's rhetoric to cause violence. they brought up the threats against judge chutkan. how real is this threat? >> we live in a moment of heightened political violence. we know that from january 6th, from situations that preceded that. that's a very real concern, and the other piece of what you played earlier, this kind of soft witness intimidation. we kind of have a sense of who the players are who are going to be likely called to testify in this case. mike pence, case in point, somebody who saying something as vague as, i hope he does the right thing, he knows tens of millions of his supporters are listening to that, and they'll put pressure in whatever way they may on mike pence. we saw how that culminated on january 6th. >> we did, in the ways they were chanting "hang mike pence."" secretetary of defefense ll auststin making g a surprisese . you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ defense secretary lloyd austin just made a surprise visit to ukraine, his second trip since the invasion. it comes as the pentagon unveiled another $100 million in military aid. >> reporter: meandering through the marsh lands of kherson is the mighty dnipro river, now the new front line in ukraine's war against russia. in recent weeks, marines have managed to cross this expand of water using inflatable boats, establishing a foothold on the bank of the river. hey, am i in vietnam asked this soldier sarcastically, a refers to another bloody conflict that ended before most of these soldiers were even born. according to ukrainian armed forces, they purnd back the russians 2-5 miles in the river front, making it difficult for the enemy to fire mortars from positions on the bank. however, russian drones, artillery and aerial-glided bombs are still landing and constantly. in exclusive access with this drone pilot, his night mission had been aborted because the russians identified his unit's position on the right bank. hunkered down in his pickup hiding under trees from russian birds above, the 32-year-old former journalist tells me they're under constant bombardment. >> what are you hearing? >> translator: explosions. there are chemicals, rockets, most likely, mortars and tanks. it's always like that here. today they're using guided aerial bombs. do you hear it, too? that's another one. i think it was a rocket. >> reporter: the job of his aerial reconnaissance unit is to provide cover for marines covering the river and to watch the enemy on the other side. >> do you feel safe where you are? >> translator: it's dangerous here, where we live and where we work. every time i enter this zone, i say goodbye to my life. but i realize my life can be ended at any moment. you get used to it, but it's unpleasant. >> the reason this left bank operation is so important for ukraine is to open the road to russian-occupied crimea and to protect the nearby city of kherson. a year ago, the russians withdrew from kherson using the dnipro river as a defendable napt ral barrier between the two sides. but in the last month, attacks on kherson have intensified to the point where the region's military governor told me there were 700 incoming rounds in one day. this is revenge and now it's more, he says, because our soldiers are already on the left bank and our civilians are feeling this reare veng. 300,000 residents used to live in kherson. now less than a quarter remain including 56-year-old ina. she cares for her invalid mother and her 4-year-old grandson. 24 hours a day it's scary. when it's quiet it's even scarier than when there's shelling. she said she lived through eight months of russian occupation and will endure this as well. our main task is to survive, she explains. that was the priority during the occupation. it's the same thing now. we have to survive. a daily struggle for a population being constantly terrorized. anna coren, cnn, kyiv. >> anna, thank you. let's get more from democratic congressman jason crow who sits on the house foreign affairs and intelligence committee. congressman, this new security assistance package for ukraine, it is one of the smallest yet. how concerned are you that the u.s. is not doing enough to support ukraine's fight against russia? >> well, pamela, as your last piece points out, time is a critical factor here. getting the right weapons and equipment and support to ukraine is important, but getting it at the right time is just as important. you can get the right things, but if they're too late, it's not going to matter for the ukrainians. that's why the clock is ticking. it's in the best interest of the american people. this is not charity. this is something that's a national security imperative for the united states, to protect our 100,000 troops in europe, to protect our largest trading partners throughout europe, to make sure there's peace and stability on the european continent, to protect the free flow of food for the entire world, including the united states. this is something we have to get done. >> how confident are you that additional ukraine funding will pass the house? >> i've learned not to take anything for granted in the united states congress as a member of the house, that's for sure. i spent a lot of time in the last week in particular with some of my republican friends including a bipartisan congressional trip on behalf of the united states congress to the halifax international security forum. spoke with a lot of my colleagues. we are still optimistic -- we're cautiously optimistic for sure we can get this done. the issue is not the vote. there's still overwhelming support within the united states congress and throughout america, frankly, for ukraine support, the problem is getting to the vote. you still have the freedom caucus that's holding up the process of getting this to the floor. and so if we got to the vote it would pass overwhelmingly. we have to get to that point. >> i want to get to israel's war. the idf released footage it says hamas is using al feef shah hospital as a cover for terror underneath. are you satisfied with the evidence israel has release sod far on this? >> i want to wait to see when i get back to washington to get the full classified briefing as a member of the intelligence committee to see what information we have. one thing i know for certain over our 20-year war on terrorism -- united states has a lot of lessons here that we learned. we spent 20 years, $3.5 trillion, over 6,000 american troops were killed, tens of thousands of civilians died during our 20-year war on terror to destroy al qaeda and isis. guess what? al qaeda and isis are not destroyed. in many places throughout the world, they continue to expand. you cannot destroy terrorism with military means alone. the military can only shape and contain and set the conditions for what must ultimately be a political and humanitarian resolution. that's why the protection of civilians in conflict zones everywhere, particularly in gaza in this instance, has to be front and center. with very to make sure that everybody is doing everything possible to protect civilians in that they -- we actually create the conditions for ultimately the palestinian people to be safe and secure and for the israeli people to be safe and secure. >> let me follow up on that. now you have israeli officials saying they're focusing more on southern gaza now for its military offensive. that is, of course, where it has been telling palestinians to go for shelter as it was attacking the north. do you think israel is doing enough to protect civilians? >> i've been pushing very hard on every front, the administration, israelis. we know hamas will do nothing. hamas is a terrorist organization. they actually intentionally kill civilians. they use human shields, they've built their infrastructure under schools rjs under day cares, under hospitals. that, as a matter of their practice they try to kill civilians. there's no false equivalence by any stretch. i'll push all of those that will listen and will engage and are concerned about mitigating civilian casualties to do more. one thing i know, it's a terrible crisis. on the verge of starvation for many palestinians in gaza. we have to do more and do it quicker. >> congressman jason crow, thank you. >> thank you. new polling on a potential rematch between president biden and former president trump. what's on voter's minds with less than a year until the election? tonight the white house is trying to tamp down concerns over president biden's age as he turns 81. the president even cracking a joke about it at today's annual turkey pardoningment let's get some analysis from scott jennings and kate bedingfield. hi to you both. kate, what do you think? is it a good move for president biden to directly address his biggest campaign liability, his age, by cracking a joke? >> yeah, i do think so. it puts people at ease. it shows that he gets it. he has said many times he understands this is a concern for people. addressing it this way gives him a chance to put people at ease and move the conversation to where he wants to go which is about his record and also about the contrast with presumed opponent donald trump who, by the way, is also going to have a birthday, his birthday is june 14th. he'll be 78. age is going to be a piece of this conversation if donald trump is the nominee, no question about it. i think for joe biden to show he is comfortable, that he understand people's concerns, but ultimately this race is going to be decided based on what he's done as president, what donald trump would do as president. that's where he can take the conversation if he heads off the age thing like he did today. >> you point out trump's age. i'll ask you about that after i talk to scott about what trump released today. interesting timing, scott, this letter from his doctor who notes that the former president lost weight, said his cognitive exams were exceptional and claims trump is in excellent health. of course, there's no supporting documentation. what do you make of the timing of this release coming on president biden's 81st birthday. >> they've obviously got smart folks running their campaign this time around. they knew the conversation today in american politics would be about joe biden's age. they want to take advantage of what the polling already shows which is that the american people have deep concerns about joe biden's mental acuity and fitness to hold the office for another term. i wasn't surprised to see this come out today. i thought it was a pretty shrewd political move. when you look at it head-to-head in a lot of the polling, people do believe donald trump is in far better shape and has a far better fitness level for holding the office of president than joe biden. i expect the trump campaign to use this as much as any other issue in the race to make the case for another term. >> why do you think that is, scott? i'll get to you in a second, kate. why do you think voters are less concerned with trump's age than biden's? >> because they have eyes and ears. they see joe biden, listen to joe biden, watch joe biden. they see donald trump. i think the american people perceive a difference between the two. i recognize it's just a couple of years, but this is not just a judgment being made by republicans. it's across the board. republicans, democrats and independents watch these two gries, and that's the judgment they're telling pollsters they've made. it could change over the next year. that's where public opinion stands right now. >> let's get to what ron desantis said about trump's age. kate, i saw your reaction to what scott said. let's listen to desantis. >> the presidency is not a job for somebody pushing 80 years old. i think that's something that's been shown with joe biden. father time is undefeated. donald trump is not exempt from any of that. >> kate, your thoughts. >> look, i would say part of the reason that people don't carry the same concern with trump, at least right now is don't underestimate the impact of the can consistent, right wing echo chamber criticizing joe biden and that narrative flooding into the press. i think people have heard over and over and over again because it's been a topic of conversation with the press, joe biden's age for a year now, because we're still a year out from the election. these are the kind of things that get talked about if you're out much and the campaign hasn't started in earnest. the other thing i would say is there hasn't been enough focus on the substance of mat trump is saying. so when you're hearing donald trump say things like "i'm going to weaponize the government against my enemies if i come back into office, that needs to be taken seriously. that needs to be given at least as much focus and attention as the fact that biden is demonstrably 81 years old. as the campaign moves forward and these issues come into focus, we'll see the landscape of the discussion shift a little bit. >> all right. thanks to you both. i wish we had more time. kate bedingfield, scott jennings, appreciate it. a major shakeup by one of the companies pioneering the field of artificial intelligence. yo the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. there's uncertainty at one of the biggest artificial intelligence companies in the tech industry after the parent company fired its ceo and now there are questions about the future of openai. brian todd is following this story and there's a lot of employees that are not too happy today. >> that's right. there are serious questions about whether it can even survive at this point. it centers around the surprising ous ouster of the company's ceo. chaos at the top of the tech world. the company, openai, one of the top players in artificial intelligence, thrown into disarray. today, more than 500 openai employees sent a letter to the board threatening to quit. >> they might have had disagreements but this is not how to run one of the most important companies. >> he was hired by microsoft to run microsoft's artificial intelligence division. a shake up that leaves their future in doubt. >> it was valued at $80 billion. the leading ai company. >> a company that created ch chatgpt, a program thank t can draft a letter, write a novel. why was altman fired by openai's board? industry watchers say it was a spotlight. >> those divisions were raging within openai. some people saw this and wanted to push forward. others were more cautious saying they wanted to be responsible for humanity. >> altman seemed to straddle both camps. some board members viewed him as too aggressive, wanting to market artificial intelligence and push it forward but also told congress about the dangers. >> if this goes wrong, it can go quite wrong. >> the potential for it to create misinformation like fabricated comments from candidates or fake news reports is a huge concern going into 2024. other worries? >> job loss and people being displace frd the economy. there are a lot of people concerned about the rise of artificial general intelligence. doomsday scenarios from ai takes over the world. >> but analysts say that's balanced over the positive things it can do like helping to address climate change and improving our health. >> it finds patterns. it can help do things like diagnose diseases or develop vaccines. >> is the federal government ready to regulate it and can it? analyst brian fong says there's a strong agreement between members of congress. >> and that is why it's such a big deal who runs openai. such a big and powerful company. coming up, a federal appears court appears poised to restore some parts of a gag order on donald trump. what it means in the case against the former president. that's next. happening now, donald trump's newest fight against a gag order is met with skepticism by an appeals court. we're going to take you inside the hearing of the federal election subversion case as judges consider whether to let trump publicly attack a special counsel and his team. also, angry hostage families demand answers from israel. during a meeting with prime minister netanyahu and his war cabinet. in the u.s., white house