>> hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. i'm paula newton, and we have breaking coverage this hour. up first, israel's temporary truce with hamas and the expected release of hostages held in gaza, now delayed. israel says that process will not start before friday. the update came just hours before humanitarian pause in fighting and the initial release of 50 women and children hostages was expected to begin. both u.s. and israeli officials point to what they say are logistical details for the delay, well one israeli official says they haven't received the names of the first hostages to be freed. ahead of the expected truth, israeli forces continue ground and air operations wednesday, striking parts of northeastern and central gaza. palestinians say areas further south were also hit. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu expressed confidence that the deal would soon go into effect, and he made clear the war against hamas is far from over. >> translator: citizens of israel, i like to be clear, the war continues. we will continue with it until all of our goals are achieved. to bring back the hostages, to demolish a mass, and ensure that the day afterwards there is no source that educates terror to children and pays terrorists. >> joining us now from tel aviv, retired colonel -- the director of the international institute for counterterrorism and rightly university. it must be incredibly intense hours there in israel. you contend that this deal if it succeeds will be bittersweet, for many reasons. the obvious one is that not all the hostages will be free. but you also say that when any terror entity uses hostages and actually gets something in return, it makes, in your words, hostages be worthwhile for taking. it's sobering, isn't it? >> one of the challenges in today's world is, what do you do in such a situation? think of it right now for both of us. two women talking to each other, where terrorists coming, and take our children, our sisters, our brothers, our parents, ourselves, use them as a bargaining card, but if we don't give something for them, we are not going to get back our families, our people. it is the worst of the situation and essentially all the countries try to avoid hostage situations. in this case, that failure of october 7th, it's also about what amassed aspires to, using people as a bargaining cards. so the bittersweet is, don't we all want to see now a nine months, i have to correct myself, a ten and a half month baby who's been there from october 7th, come home? what do we do with the three year old and six-year-old who were taken, where their parents were murdered in front of them? what do you tell them when they come back? so in that sense you need to have them back, but you know that the hostages themselves are only used as a pawn, and that's a really challenging situation. >> in fact, challenging doesn't begin to cover. it it's nearly unprecedented, the situation israel is dealing with. and yet how difficult do you think it will be for israel to continue to prosecute the war as netanyahu promises. when the majority of the hostages will remain captive? >> so now think of the additional aspect, that the hamas are using the hostages, their bargaining card, they haven't told us who they are so that we're waiting to know who will be the first ten, who will be those first 50. can you imagine now, the other 190 families whose children, parents, kids, are the ones who are not coming back? so when you say about engaging in the war, hamas is a terror organization. one of the only reasons right now that they have agreed to this pause and to bring in the hostages and to exchange some are because of the military pressure. it's not the only one. it's going hand-in-hand with additional pressures. but israel has to continue that pressure because that is, sadly, the only language that they understand a terror organization, hand-in-hand who else pressures them? perhaps qatar, a bit. maybe a bit more. probably also egypt. but they need to also understand that their military terror capabilities are also completely under threat. >> under threat and yet some contend, and the u.s. perhaps tried at this point, to make sure that perhaps israel postponed or had a more surgical approach to airstrikes. is that not a salient or lurched forward, that may be negotiations would've gone better even if all of them have been freed in that situation? >> paula, let's take this apart for a moment. i'm now the terror organization, and what you just said to me is, i know now where i'm going to build all of my defenses. i'll build them into the civilian population, and you, me, the world, will then tell israel you have to stop. you can trust the hostages. you can't even destroy the hamas terror capability because hamas built their terror capabilities into the civilian population. it's like giving the recipe of where the terrorists should build their capabilities. so i'm not saying in any way as a mother or as a human being that i am anyway want ever, that i ever will target civilians. but you have to act against that type of terror capability. you can't allow it to grow. that would be a terrible lesson, let alone right now, they won't let the hostages. out it won't let the people of the gaza strip. and i agree, the price is horrible, and there is no other way to do it. if we wanted to kill everybody in the gaza strip and find her hostages, we wouldn't have soldiers in a ground operation working slowly and systematically. they could do it and if different way. sarcasm doesn't work well on tv or any well. we are working systematically. we're telling civilians to. move you're right, civilians absolutely have been horribly hurt. this is a war. civilians in israel have been horribly hurt. but it's the only way to act against a terror organization. >> so many difficult hours, difficult days ahead for everyone there. i really want to thank you for your insights. appreciate it. >> thank you so much, laura. >> now for the families of the hostages held by hamas, they are agonizing wait. it gets ever longer. some are remaining hopeful that they'll see their loved ones soon. cnn's matthew chance has more from tel aviv. >> israelis await the release of some women and children held in gaza, the vigil for one of the hostages who may be left behind. 22-year-old was abducted at a music festival on october 7th. as an adult male, he's unlikely to be on the one of those. fried still his mother you've told me she believes her son will eventually be set free. >> i know in my heart that i want my son home and i believe this is just a start you know because if everyone had to get home then this is a stout. >> so you're optimistic? >> very. >> israel insists it's keeping up pressure on hamas. even if the agreed pause in this gaza war approaches. the hostage deal strikes like this one in -- in southern gaza will be suspended, while israel frees palestinian prisoners and israeli hostages handed over. hostage support volunteers like this one tell me they are bracing to cancel dozens of traumatized women and children with the return home. >> maybe sharon and her daughter will be released today. maybe. because the daughter and the mother. the way they are going to continue is, first of all, we have to ask for the remission permission to go inside. and to do the first step together. >> and of course a possibility that these people could have suffered terrible trauma while in gaza. >> we are so afraid about the conditions that they will come so we cannot blame the trauma program, because first we have to meet them, from the best psychologists, what is the best way to deal with, and then step-by-step, with the family, the family and a -- >> step-by-step, down a long road. matthew chance, cnn, tel aviv. >> a news conference at wednesday before the hostage delay was announced, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said as part of the deal the red cross would be allowed to offer medical support to the hostages who will remain in gaza after the initial release. the truth would also allow more humanitarian aid into each gaza. hamas meantime released a statement on wednesday saying the agreement involves hundreds of trucks delivering to the enclave in israel has been reluctant to allow fuel into gaza because since the hamas attack. some if you have been allowed into several humanitarian groups say it's not nearly enough. we're pushing to get fuel it is critical for civilians in hospitals. >> any halt in the act of hostilities is welcomed by everyone, especially by the people of gaza, who have been through over the last several. weeks if we do get the security guarantees that we need, we want to be able to go over the entire strip, the north, the middle, in the south, and for the last two weeks we have only been active in the middle and the south after the northern parts of the strip has been completely sealed. we've been able to deliver food, some clean drinking water, and to provide medical services, mostly through our mobile clinics and nine of our 25 health centers because the rest of them are in the north and it's been closed. we want to be able to scale up, to replicate, to receive more tracks, and supplies and be able to distribute them. we're currently talking about 156 shelters coasting around 930,000 people. that's more than half of those who are at this place. >> as you can imagine, gaza residents say they are ready for friday's expected troops to begin, even if it's just for a few days. the idf continued its attacks on gaza even after the truce deal was announced. explosions, flares, and smoke right across the border late wednesday. with users prime minister pledging the war will continue once the true truth visited, palestinians say they need a permanent cease-fire. >> we have been waiting for it for over a week. we have been waiting for a cease-fire every day. cease-fire, cease-fire, and nothing was happening. i do not know. >> cease-fire should be comprehensive, all over the gaza strip. sometimes the israelis make false promises and kill children without hearing to anything. we want a comprehensive cease-fire so people can get their needs for gas and flower. >> still ahead for us, potential freedom for hundreds of palestinians jailed in israel. until they are released, or mueller radio station provides a lifeline. >> more than 150 palestinians helen surely jails are expected to be released as part of israel's hostage release deal with a mass. while they wait, their family send messages through a ramallah radio station. cnn's reporter takes us there. >> >> translator: a lifeline, keeping some connection between families torn apart. collars said in a messages to the announcer. >> [speaking in a non-english language] >> this radio station has dylan dedicated his railways airways two years for the families of thousands of palestinians trying to reach out to their loved ones held in israeli prisons. the young listeners aunt, a palestinian activist, was arrested by israeli authorities along with thousands of other palestinians after hamas's deadly october 7th attack. the station is trying to support the families, so desperately waiting for any news from inside israel's prisons. we >> translator: have three phone lines to receive messages from families of prisoners. because the volume of the calls, people weren't getting through, so we started making announcements. if you can't get through, send us a voice message on whatsapp. >> in the horrifying aftermath of the hamas attack, israel not only carried out mass detentions of palestinians, but he's denying prisoners all family contract. this is the only way their families can reach out. the sheer volume of messages, evidence of the realities of imprisonment here, israeli law allowing palestinian prisoners to be detained indefinitely, without trial or stated charge. the families don't even know where the prisoners get to hear their messages, but that doesn't stop them from sending. . the israel hamas hostage swap, exchanging 150 israeli held palestinian prisoners, women and teenagers, 50 hamas held hostages, means that for now there is some help for israeli and palestinian families. >> we are going to meet a palestinian lady who one of her loved ones's coming home. but as ever in this contact, in this situation, it's never that simple. families on both sides, even those who are awaiting the return of those they love, are also dealing with the reality of those who won't be coming home. >> her sister-in-law was arrested alongside her three sons. the suns remain in prison. hainan is on the list to come home. it man said neither she nor hainan is involved in the politics of this war, yet they suffer it's consequences. >> she is saying her sons they get married so they have kids. they are waiting to see the grandmother. she has a beautiful relationship. she loves everybody. >> in the midst of a man's joy for hainan, she's beginning to hope that her husband, the longest serving palestinian political prisoner, could also be released in a swamp. >> it's a happy day for us to know that this is going to start because that means my husband will come. my husband, who is in prison now since 44 years, when he was arrested it was the first time in 1978. >> the family is revered by many palestinians deemed a threat by the state of israel. valuable enough to hamas that they were included in the 2011 israel hamas deal. among 1100 palestinians for one israeli soldier. after hamas held shall eat for five years. who else was swapped on that day? the man israel says is the architect of the october 7th hamas attack. hamas leader -- a fact that colin's every move israel makes as it negotiates for the release of more hamas hound hostages. as families on both sides wait and hope. in ramallah, the occupied west bank. >> joining me now from geneva, switzerland, professor sultan barak at, director of the center of conflict and humanitarian studies at the doha institute. as we just heard from her report, this release of 150 prisoners held in israeli prisons certainly many they are waiting for this moment. what does this deal represent to do, especially as she was explaining, a lot of those released are under the age of 18 and some haven't been formally charged with anything. . >> it's very important, i think, to include those palestinian prisoners because of the moral messages sent to the rest of the world that when we talk about hamas having taken hostage, hostages from israel, it's also important to remember that for many decades israel has had the practice of imprisoning young people, women, indefinitely, without putting them for trial or having the charge against them. and i think this is a point that -- wanted to score and has been successfully to dispose to make it because right from the beginning when we came out and tried to explain the reason for the attack with israel, he quoted two objectives, one wise the trying to prevent israelis from further attacking al-aqsa mosque, and the second was to release women and children from israeli prisons, which, of course, he was particularly concerned about, having spent months of his life in prison, and as we reported earlier, he was released only in 2011. so this is a promise that he has made personally to the palestinian prisoners. i think it will be received very well, particularly in the west bank. >> but the corollary to that is that hamas's terror attack worked. it worked brilliantly. he will be a hero and hamas will continue to strengthen in the middle east. >> i think, i'm not sure about within the middle east, but within gaza, yes, i think the original objective that netanyahu declared for himself is impossible to achieve. he went and determined to finish off a massive release the hostages by force. now 48 days later, the death toll has increased to a level where it's the traditional ratio, -- and it's becoming impossible for him to defend the objective, original object of the operation. i think this pause coming is extremely helpful to both sides, and it will offer badly needed rest bite from the palestinians in terms of assistance, and but also for israelis, it must be very welcome to have their primary members going home. >> certainly from a humanitarian point of view, as we have just heard, there is been so much suffering on both ends. on the other hand, i want to probe a little deeper, hamas is obviously the terror attack over to over seven, 1200 least killed, near least holding in gaza children, babies, toddlers, teenagers, elderly people. again, i'm just interested to get your perspective on the fight that hamas will consider this a win in that any of their attacks from the october 7th are justified. >> i don't think it's about justifying the tactics. even what has happened october 7th, the narrative has been re-visited a few times since october 7th. the recent lead supports from israeli intelligence blame their own air force for having killed few if not many of those who were at the festival. they suspected that they were driving towards tel aviv, and they suspected they would be palestinian fighters trying to penetrate israel. oliver killed on the road. the narrative that was put out about cutting the hands of children was revisited. the numbers, from 1400, 1200, they discovered the 200 of them are palestinians. which means that they were burned alongside the israelis. and there was an external force that has actually burned them altogether. so things are changing, i think. the pressure is increased on the united states and on israel, and the sympathy that israel had in the very start, which is very much in line with the fact that nobody really endorsed or condoned hamas's actions at the start is now eroding. people are starting to understand better what action took place. and i think it was all made worse in terms of the number of innocent people that have been killed in front of all of us, through killing sprees, we witnessed the way israel has devastated gaza and its infrastructure, the war that went after hospitals et cetera. >> it is clear, look the suffering in gaza is indisputable, it was also indisputable of the fact that the terror perpetrated by hamas was absolutely savage and israelis continue to hope with that. if i can infer what you are saying, you kind of agree that hamas will be emboldened by this hostage exchange and consider their brutal tactics, i'll ask you again, are they justified? is that not a dangerous president? >> i'm not sure about their brutal tactics. as far as what they have declared, the objective was to capture hostages. they understood exactly. this is been the playbook between them and israel. you cannot release your people without having someone to -- i think the regional objective was to go for these 15 security points. i'm sure things became, went out of hand and became very messy. but it doesn't justify killing civilians and taking children as hostages. no one really knows what went on on that day. what i'm trying to say is that the narrative that was put out by the israelis itself has changed so many times over the last few weeks that no one can be quite certain of what went on's. but this post does score a win more towards hamas and israel. because netanyahu was very much against any cease-fire. hamas, for it it must be a welcome respite. a >> welcome respite but i have to count your point that many eyewitnesses have video in their testimony in they saw the terrible situation that hamas perpetrated on people, on innocent civilians, again, on october 7th. so don barrack at, we will leave that there for now. >> thank you. bye-bye. >> still to come for us, the idf released what he claims to be evidence of more tunnels under the al-shifa hospital in hohospice in h hospital inin ga. more after the break. 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. >> israel's national security council says the first hostage is being held in gaza will be released before friday in its deal with hamas. israel's pause in the air and ground campaign in gaza is also delayed. hamas is expected to release at least 50 women and children over the next few days. israel has agreed to a four-day pause in fighting. hundreds of palestinians held in israeli jails are also set to be released. the white house says the delay is due to logistical details. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the red cross will be allowed to visit hostages that remain in gaza. qatar's lead negotiator says the work as hostage mediators was, quote, extremely intensive. in an exclusive interview with becky anderson, carmen or of state hailed the agreement is significant and offer more details about the hard-fought deals to free hostages and get humanitarian aid into gaza. >> within the four days pause, in each day there will be an obligation on each side, an obligation of the israelis, an obligation on hamas, making sure they're gonna fulfill those obligations each day. so on each day we aim to have a number of releases, because the number is back, so we managed to get the parties to agree on the releases systematically. in other words, they will be in organize schedule allowing the releases on each day. and each party is quite familiar now with their obligations. >> ten hostages released on day one, for example? >> a minimum of ten. >> who will be released? >> this agreement specifically focuses on civilian women and children on each side, on both sides. and we hope that within the four days we will be able to complete the release of women and children on both sides, moving to the safe side, away from this war by the first hours of the agreement we will be notified of the official list of people, and each day. having that list we will make sure that we notify either the parties themselves or even the countries that have their hostages in the gaza strip currently. >> hamas has said it doesn't have all the hostages, and it needs time to get around to gather information about hostages that it doesn't hold and find out where they are. but many have called that a talking points, a cynical ploy to buy time. >> the obligation of hamas on the first day is very clear. they need to provide us with that list. they have been granted that period of calm. not only the period of calm but also preventing any military clashes, i ground invasion, air surveillance, that will provide them with the room to provide us with that commitment. >> you described in the language of this deal, you've described it as a truce in the gaza strip. i think that language is really interesting. the use of the term truce, this is by no means a cease-fire. and the fact that this is in the gaza strip, the main pillar of which is clearly the hostage release. what happens as far as humanitarian aid is concerned. what is your commitment on both sides as far as the uptick in aid is concerned. >> this agreement has two major components. the first one related to the release of the hostages, and the second one related to providing not only a quantity but also quality of humanitarian aid and assistance as needed. one of the most interesting components within that humanitarian aid is the fuel. a fuel has been a debatable issue in the early times of the conflict. now we have managed to secure fuel being provided for a vital infrastructure such as hospitals and others. >> the israelis have been very specific. they have said this is a truce period before it starts hostilities will continue. and very specifically, once this pause is over, the war will restart. is that useful in negotiations, that sort of language? >> our work is not done. we are still going to continue to talk more to the parties, to de-escalate, to seek a longer period of the cease-fire. >> the israelis are not talking about a cease-fire at this point. they have categorically ruled out a cease-fire until all hostages are released. and at president, you are not mediating any talks on the soldiers or men being held by hamas. >> listen, becky, even the temporary cease-fire was not considered in the early times by israelis. so we remain hopeful. our effort is not going to stop at this level. our work is not done. we're going to continue working with both sides, hoping that we can secure this objective. >> if there are families of hostages watching this interview today, families of hostages who are young man of serving age, what is your message of the likelihood that those israeli soldiers will be released anytime soon? >> we are doing everything we can. as soon as both parties want to keep seeking qatar's assistance in mediating, we're gonna respond positively to that request. so we know that our mission to not finish, and our work is continuous for the better course. and our hope is really that we see a period where we can put an end to this war and let the people leave and reduce the humanitarian suffering for the pickle people of gaza. >> israeli forces on wednesday released what it is claiming what is evidence of a tunnel system under the al-shifa hospital complex in gaza. the videos shot distributed by the idf reportedly show dozens of meters of tunnel system underneath the hospital. the miss the israeli military said it also located two additional military shots near osha. cnn is unable to verify the length of and location of the tunnels, but reports from gaza's doctors, who had repeatedly denied issues accusations that there is a network of tunnels below the hospital complex. turning now to news here in the united states, kentucky has declared a state of emergency and is urging residents to stay clear of the sight of a train derailment rail meant. lucy excess railway company says at least 16 cars jumped tracks wednesday afternoon. two cars contained molten sulfur, which spilled it is now burning, which could lead to the release of sulfur dioxide. the u.s. center for disease control said the chemical can cause irritation and breathing difficulties. the railway and sent air monitoring equipment to the area. coming up for us, we visit california sierra nevada, where the race is on to save one of the largest living things on earth. he search for epic bargains one grocery store will stop at nothing to make sure you save more on the brands you love. starring produce, and...... you... as the super saver, in....bargain bliss bliss, bliss, bliss todd we talked about this. our deals are just so epic. i know, todd. i know. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market >> between 2010 and 2021 is estimated 170 million trees died across california due to drought, fire, and an influx of pasts fueled in part by higher temperatures. today on call to earth we visit the states sierra nevada, where the race is on to save the most massive trees in the world. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> when people see these trees they feel connected to them. there's so big, so beautiful. and i think most people feel like they are more at all. >> they are one of the largest living organisms on earth, giants that can live more than 3000 years, and they are under threat. >> in 2015 that was the first fire that we had where we saw a significant number of large sequoia's actually killed. and then the whole thing kind of went off the rails with the 2020 castle fire. that single fire burned about 10% of all living large sequoias on earth. >> by the end of the 2021 fire season, experts we spoke to say up to a fifth of the population was lost. >> and when the scientists and fire managers started talking to each other in park managers about this, a handful of people said, wow, it seems like we need a call to action. that's how the giant sequoia land coalition was born. the >> coalition includes a range of members from nonprofits and academic institutions to state, federal, a native american tribal agencies. >> we're trying to get a better understanding of how vulnerable these trees are to drought and how fire and drought make them vulnerable to beagle attack. >> sequoias require up to 4000 liters of water a day. understanding where they get their water jury drought and fire is important. >> we climate each of our study trees, you do this multiple times throughout the year, and we collect samples of their southward, where the water is getting transported up through the tree. we compare the ice to topics glitch or in that sample to the samples that we collect from soil and from the stream water and from precipitation, to see where the trees are actually getting their water from. >> trees are absolutely mind-blowing. i'll start off at the very top there. >> diameters nine points. you they've also discovered previously unknown challenges facing sequoias. the groups efforts also include starting their own fires. >> die sequoias have a complicated rerelationshipip wih fire. without fifire you donon't get e ththings like thisis, but it h o be the right kind of fire, which in this system is a frequent mix severity fire. so fire and burns on the ground and the needles and small branches and then creates that take a lot of sun. >> but the coalition says prescribed burning might not be enough. so they're also creating a gen x bag of giant sequoia cones. >> when you have high severity patches like this. there are very few remaining trees to disperse seeds. >> more than a majestic sight to see, sequoias play a critical role in the force ecosystem. with a little help from us they might just and a fighting chance. >> it put things into context, gives you a different perspective on our lives here on this planet, and what is important. i just hope that these trees persist into the future. >> we do to, let us know what you are doing to answer the call, with a hashtag call to earth. >> far from the war between israel and hamas in the tensions and the stress that come with it a group of muslims and in the u.s. are building a special bond. they are finding a lot of common ground at the dinner table. >> reporter: thousands of miles from the fighting, the violence, conflict -- >> focus on the solution. >> reporter: there is food, laughter and love in the new jersey home. >> the first thing you do is you reach out to the other side. >> reporter: this is the bergen county chapter of the interfaith and counter so ca shun, a large organization based in jerusalem dedicated to respectful dialogue and support between religions. >> every time we go to the meetings, all these things that we have in common i'm like wow, you believe that too? >> reporter: this group of muslims and from several space have met three years to listen and learn. >> we live in a bubble, i think when you live in a bubble this is when the stereotypes and the isms tend to come out. >> i think with the power of a group like this, it's the difference. we have different ways of thinking, and that's when i can learn something. i can't learn something from someone who is the same as me. >> reporter: but that also means frank conversation about pain and discrimination with islamophobia and antisemitic actions on the rise. >> you guys get also demonized just as much as we do, and so we are not that different. learning that from you guys helped me understand that we are in this together. >> you have to stand up to people who may not believe what you have to say and we are in the same position. we appreciate that you've been doing that. i try to do the same as well. >> reporter: at times, the work feels daunting. >> we are in a position, a tough position, that when i introduced myself and i do and your faith a lot of people say i wouldn't want to be you these days. >> reporter: for muhammad from pennsylvania and from new jersey, these relationships have proved a lifeline since october 7th. >> when the hostilities broke out, i stopped crying, i called mohammed's wife because i needed to speak to my sister who is looking at everything from a different direction than i am. >> reporter: must of been difficult? >> it was very hard. it was very hard. it was very important for me to be able to see what her view was. and show her what my view was. see if we could come together, and we did. >> reporter: what went through your mind when your friend, your jewish friend joan reached out to your wife for comfort? >> i was happy that joan reached out to my life. it was for an hour conversation. and i said thank you god, thank you for the connection that they have. >> reporter: the connection was built on nine years of these types of conversations. >> if we're gonna talk about politics, we first have to have the love and understanding and the deep trust. it's a deep trust. >> reporter: there are still disagreements, lessons to learn, but in this room there is hope. >> i really feel like there is hope for the world. and we should go eat. >> reporter: danny freeman, cnn, new jersey. >> our thanks to danny for that report, i want to thank you for watching i'm paula newton cnn newsroom continues with my friend rosemary church, she will be back right after this. 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.