this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to "cnn news central." we're tracking the release of 24 hostages now safe in israel. right now 13 israelis, ten thai citizens and one filipino citizen are free after 48 days as hostages of hamas and other groups in gaza. this video, you see the bus that was carrying them entering israel. this video taken moments ago. israeli officials say the freed hostages are en route to receive further medical care and to be reunited with their families. the 39 palestinian prisoners being released by israel in exchange today as part of this agreement are also as we understand it on the move. wolf? >> and we now have the names and ages of the 13 israelis who were released today. this is from the israeli government. let me read the names of those released and their ages. hannah, 76. adina, 72. karen, 54. daniel, 45. doron, 34. emilia, 5. raz, h4. aviv and channa. we have coverage of the developments unfolding. let's begin with clarissa ward at the children's hospital near tel aviv where some of these people will be treated. clarissa, what stages of the process are these hostages in right now? what are you learning? >> reporter: well, wolf, everybody here very much anxiously arriving -- awaiting the arrival of some of those potential hostages. they're expecting children and particularly those children who might be traveling with their parents as well such as emilia, her mother daniel. and i'll step outside of the shot so you can see as we push into the helipad behind me. we have seen a lot of activity at that helipad over the past couple of hours. we have seen a number of ambulances parked out, we have seen a lot of paramedics there, people on their phones, some security personnel and a sense of heightened activity as we await the potential arrival of some of those now freed hostages. there is obviously been a huge amount of thought and consideration that has gone into how exactly the hospital should be preparing to greet them. they have taken an area of the hospital and tried to ensure that it no longer looks like a hospital, wolf. they have tried to fill it with toys to make it warm, to make it intimate, they say that it now has the feel to use their words of a beautiful hotel. they are ensuring that they have handpicked and selected the most appropriate staff to deal with and to treat those who will be arriving here. they are talking about psychiatrists, social workers, each family will have a different social worker appointed to them and so really you've seen along the various nodes of this operation a huge amount of thought going into how to be as sensitive as possible to the almost certain state of trauma that these hostages will be in, these children will be in. even those who may be in reasonable health have been through an ordeal. some of them marking their birthdays in captivity. they have been held often under ground for nearly seven weeks. and so we're expecting now that they would be deployed potentially on helicopter, hence the helipad to these hospitals after undergoing those initial medical checks. their identity checked. we know also, wolf, an important detail, i think, that the idf israeli forces who will be dealing with these hostages now released hostages have been given guidelines, comprehensive framework for how to talk to them, particularly the children. what to do if they're asked questions, for example, about where is my mommy or where's my daddy or where are my family members. not to answer those questions until, you know, to say essentially, sweetheart, i can't answer that for you, but we're taking you now to a safe place where you will be reunited with loved ones who will be able to answer those questions. so a lot of care, wolf, going into making sure that this is as, you know, as seamless a process it can be and done in as calm and as sensitive a manner as possible, wolf. >> clarissa, i want to be precise, they're reuniting with their families right away, is that what you're hearing? >> reporter: so, we're hearing that the people who are brought here, and i should stress that anyone who has a severe medical condition or is in need of serious medical treatment will be taken to another hospital, but those who will be brought here to the schneider children's medical center, they will be reunited with their families, according to hospital staff here. there are quite a number of journalists in the lobby already. they're awaiting a press conference that is anticipated to be given at some time. we don't know when that will happen because we don't know yet, wolf, when that helicopter or when that transport with those now freed hostages may arrive here at the center. but it is certainly very much the expectation that at least six or so of those hostages will be coming here to the schneider medical center where so many staff have been working around the clock. they have told us they did not sleep last night, they have been working very hard to ensure that every possible preparation has been made for their arrival, wolf. >> and these 13 israelis who have been released now and are now free, they are women for the most part, elderly women and little kids as well. i want to check in with nada bashir who is joining us from the west bank right now. you're tracking the palestinian prisoner release, the 39 palestinians israel is now freeing as part of this arrangement. where do things stand on this front? >> reporter: well, wolf, you can see the crowds that have gathered behind me. we're outside the municipality building just a couple hundred meters away from the crossing point where we have seen buses leaving from the prison, carrying those 39 prisoners who are being released as part of this exchange agreement with israel, between israel and hamas. as we understand it, of course, there are 24 women, 15 children who are set to be released as part of that total 39 in this first phase. they are the first amongst what is expected to be 150 palestinian prisoners who are set to be released over the next four days so long as that truce is upheld for those four days. and, of course, that release is very much dependent on the safe evacuation of those hostages, held by hamas, inside gaza. we're awaiting that confirmation, while the prisoners are inside the prison but they received checks from the red cross, upon the confirmation we have seen buses leaving and crowds gathering both at the crossing points and here at the municipality building where we are expecting the buses to arrive, where we are expecting the prisoners to be released. we have seen many family members now waiting at this municipality building, waiting for their loved ones, for their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, to be released. we have been speaking to many of them today who told us that while they certainly welcomed this development, for them this is not a moment of total celebration because, of course, for them, this has come at a heavy price, they say. that price, of course, the war in gaza. for many, they say, the release of loved ones from prisons simply isn't worth the human death toll that we have seen, civilian death toll, that we have seen in the gaza strip. so quite a statement for many of these families. but the local community here has certainly shown up here in occupied west bank. we have seen people traveling from across the west bank, it has to be said to meet these prisoners who are set to be released here. and, of course, we have been seeing fireworks now being set off. earlier in the day, in the afternoon, we did see some tension, some clashes between some of those who had gathered at the crossing points and israeli forces at the crossing point. israeli forces throwing tear gas at these crowds, where the crowds had gathered, where many members of the press were at that point in time. and in return we saw young people, young men throwing stones at israeli forces. so some clashes there. as we understand it, according to the -- one person, a 16-year-old boy was injured after being shot with live fire in the area. we had been reporting earlier in the day, and -- where we are now, the municipality building, we aren't seeing those same tensions. there has been some tear gas in the nearby areas. but this is, you know, a welcome moment for this community. and while many said they're not celebrating as they typically would, in previous times, before the war when palestinians were released, many here are, of course, happy to see this development for the palestinian community. important to underscore, wolf, what we are expecting, that total figure to be about 150 palestinian prisoners released over the next four days. that is a fraction of the number of palestinians -- held in israeli custody. it is a fraction of the more than 3,000 palestinians currently held under administrative detention, meaning no charges are laid against them, no ongoing legal process, but, of course, it remains to be seen whether or not the terms of that truce are indeed upheld over the next four days. wolf? >> we'll get back to you. stand by. i want to check in with becky anderson. she's joining us from doha, qatar, right now. this was an incredibly complicated undertaking as all of us know. based on everything you're hearing and reporting, has everything gone according to plan at least so far? >> a palpable sense of relief, i think, in speaking to the mediators involved in what they say has been a mostly successful first day of the implementation of this humanitarian pause, specifically speaking to the hostage release, the 13 israelis released and as nada is returning, the release of the palestinian prisoners. they got a bonus. there had been a separate track, as i now understand it, outside of the negotiated humanitarian pause, which came with an obligation on both sides to release the hostages on the one side and the palestinian prisoners on the other. the separate track was the release of these foreign nationals, and i think it is fair to say, it came as some shock to the mediators here in qatar that those thai hostages and one philippine citizen were released at the same time. it is not clear, yet, whether most of those foreign nationals had been working at the same kibbutz as those who were released on the israeli side. but certainly, you know, a bonus that these foreign nationals were also released, a separate track outside of this deal to implement a humanitarian pause. so, certainly those extra 11 people don't -- aren't included in the 50 hostages that must be released by hamas if they are to fulfill their commitments on this deal over the past four days. and the mediators here thank their partners in egypt, in the u.s., other stakeholders including the icrc, who have been so integral to getting the talks across the line. the operation center here, wolf, in doha today was full of members of the mediation team and members of the international committee for the red cross. and they were monitoring the process of the release of these hostages, literally every step of the way. by phone, in contact with the icrc. on the ground, they were getting the minute by minute update on who had been released, when they were handed over, when they were safely into the icrc's hands, where they were in gaza, how they got out of the rafah -- out of gaza into rafah and subsequently as we now know into the hands of the israelis or soon to be in the hands of the israelis. so it has been -- it has been tense, and it has been an anxious day. i think it is fair to say, for these mediators. but those who have been involved in these incredibly tense, very complicated talks made so much more difficult at times, they tell me, by the escalation and violence on the ground. certainly feel as if at least day one has gone as well as could be expected, perhaps even better than could be expected. but they say their work is not done. this is a four-day phase, plus some, if it all goes to plan. so, day two, tomorrow, hamas are obliged to provide a list of those they will release, has to be at least ten hostages and in exchange there will be at least 30 from the list that the israelis have as palestinian prisoners to be released. what i will say is that we're getting a lot of messages from those on the ground in gaza, regular civilians, who say this is the first day, when the place has been silent. they have been free of the hostilities they have endured for 49 days because this is a lull in the fighting. and that i think has been a real welcome relief to those civilians who have been caught up in this conflict for nearly 50 days. wolf? >> becky anderson in doha, qatar, playing a significant, very significant, maybe the most significant role in this arrangement that is now un unfolding. so far, so good. wale ge we'll get back to you. we're getting word from the white house that president biden will be addressing the nation, making a statement on this hostage release development at 1:45 p.m. eastern in about half an hour or so from now. we'll have live coverage of that. so stand by for that. in the meantime, i want to bring in etie raviv, related to three hostages released today, keren and ruth. thank you for joining us. has anybody been able to get in touch with the family members so far? >> yes. so it is cousins, so not the first degree relative. so the first -- kthey have spokn to them, they're on their way to hospitals in israel. we're very happy today. but still very worried. we have to remember my uncle is still in gaza in captivity by hamas. and with him, 200 other hostages and we need all of them back home as well. >> do you have any word yet on their spirits, how they're doing, how they're feeling? >> no. not that i can say now. i haven't spoken to them. all we got so far is the picture that you have seen as well, they all look very tired, very scared. and i really want them to sleep in their beds tonight. >> and how is your family dealing with all this, the ordeal must have been awful during these nearly 50 days that these family members were taken hostage. >> yeah. it has been nerve-racking. it still is. especially the last few days. we didn't know until the last hour if they are in fact going to be released today. we're very happy that they were released. again, we're waiting for two other hostages. and it has been a nightmare so far. 50 days in a nightmare. they have been abducted from their homes, in their pajamas, from their beds, kids today, four kids released, there are over 30 more kids that still need to be leased as well. we can't wait for everyone. we will become one big family. all the other families of the hostages. we need all of them back. this is just the beginning. it is not even close to being the end. >> yes. it is such a happy moment right now. but coming on the heels of what you've been going through, our hearts go out to you. let me just repeat, your family members who are released now, freed now, keren, ohad and ruth. i want to point out, ohad, there is keren, 54 years old. ohad, 9. there is a picture of him a little boy. and it is so encouraging at least to see these pictures and knowing they're no longer hostages. thank you so much for joining us. please pass along our love to your family and good luck in these immediate days and weeks ahead. thanks once again for joining us. >> thank you very much. there were jubilant cheers as a convoy of international red cross trucks headed into egypt from gaza, the organization played a truly crucial role in the handover of the hostages. i'll speak to the organization's spokesman about that delicate process. that's coming up next. welcome back to cnn's special live coverage of the first hostage prisoner exchange in the israel-hamas war. the hostages are now in israel after 48 days in captivity. as they were moving from gaza into egypt, they were transported by vehicles marked by symbols of the red cross, the organization is a neutral party in the conflict and is now playing a key role in these prisoner hostage exchanges. joining us now is jason srazuso from the red cross. thank you for joining us. thank you for everything the red cross is doing. i know your organization is tasked with providing medical care for those being released by both sides right now. first, what are you hearing from your team that is with the israeli hostages, now former hostages? do you know how they're doing? >> so, first of all, the operation that took place earlier today that involved eight of our team members, four vehicles, you have seen the images, 24 people released after being held for seven weeks by hamas, carefully planned operation, meeting the hamas operatives, driving them across the border at the rafah crossing into the hands of egyptian and israeli authorities. of course, how they're doing both physically and psychologically, very important issue for the authorities to look at and examine now. the recovery will be days, weeks, months, difficult for the experience that they have had. wolf, i would love to give you some details about their condition, but that's one of the things we don't talk about, of course. >> you don't want to share those kinds of details, which is totally, of course, jason, understandable. but have they been -- can you just tell us have they been speaking to your representatives from the red this is? and if they have been, what are they saying? >> well, there certainly would have been conversation as they were getting in the car, moving to the back of those land cruisers. and then working their way across gaza. i don't have any details from the teammates, the team members who were interacting with the 24 hostages. we had a doctor with them, so he would have given them all the medical check and make sure that they were able and in condition to move through gaza in the back of the vehicle and, of course, ask them if that's that they wanted to do. they all wanted to do that. so, those conversations were taking place in terms of offering a humanitarian voice, a voice of support, a new face of safety, because clearly they were in distress for the seven weeks and we were happy to be able to move them to that new point of safety into their arms, into the arms of their family. >> yes, so, so encouraging, so important indeed. i spoke to the father, jason, of a hostage earlier today who is holding out hope that the red cross will be allowed to visit his son and check on his welfare. so far, among the 13 israelis who have been released, they're either for the most part elderly women or young little children. is that going to be the case? are you going to be allowed by hamas to go visit the other israeli hostages who are still being kept? >> so, when we see communities around the world and including in gaza and israel and they have their lives up ended by conflict, they have to leave their homes, they have to go to a new location and live, maybe with limited food, limited water, probably limited medical care, and all that is a personal disaster at the family level, really difficult life circumstances. but one of the things people say to us over and over again smoeft difficult part of these consequences of war is being separated from their family. it is absolute anguish. the depths of despair people have trouble sleeping, it is all they can think about, they're consumed by the fact that they're no longer with their son or daughter, separated from their spouse. so, of course, we want to be able to visit the remaining hostages. we have been insistin ing in ou conversations with hamas that we be able to do so we can allow the hostages to communicate with their family so that we can do a medical check with them. so now the question was, are we going to be able to visit them? we're insisting we be allowed. we don't yet have the permissions we need to be able to do so. we're going to keep trying to make that happen. >> well, what do they say to you, jason, when you say let us go at least check in and see how these other hostages are doing, and saying, no, what excuse are they giving? >> so, from day one we had direct conversations with hamas. the international community of the red cross has a long-standing operational relationship to tackle humanitarian issues with hamas. last week, the president of the international community of the red cross travelled to qatar. she met with the political head of hamas, had this discussion with him directly. one of the modes of operation of the icrc and we use this phrase internally, bilateral and confident. when we meet with governments or meet with military groups to try to further humanitarian goals, that conversation is private and we don't share the details of it. people know that. people we meet with them knows that and it gives them faith and trust to allow us to have those difficult conversations and make humanitarian progress. i wish i could give you some details, but i'm not able to do so. >> i know you're working on trying to get access and we appreciate that much, we appreciate everything the international committee of the red cross is doing. jason, thank you so much for joining us. we'll stay in very close touch with you, good luck. still to come, fighting is paused for the next three days during hamas' handover of hostages. we're going to speak to the israeli defense forces about what happens next. stay with us. we'll be right back. welcome back to cnn's breaking news coverage of the first release of hostages since the israel-hamas truce began. right now, 13 israelis, 10 thai citizens and one filipino citizen are in israel following an agonizing 48 days in captivity in gaza. this is the first of at least 50 total hostages who are set to be turned over to israel in the coming days, part of that four-day truce between israel and hamas. i'm joined now by major durrin spielman. thank you for joining us. can you give us an overview, tell us how this transfer unfolded, do you have any update on the condition of the hostages who were released today? >> thank you for having me, wolf. this is a monumental day and will be a monumental day in history books for the state of israel, to see these beautiful children come home that we have been waiting for, returned to their families, the sweet little faces, smiling into the camera, this boy ohad who is 9, who is trapped in gaza in a tunnel with his mother, welcomed by their family. the people of israel are full of mixed emotions right now. we're melting with really love on one happnd for our people an we know there are still over 200 hostages including many women and children and men and grandfathers and grandmothers still in gaza. what we saw was we saw them brought over the border. they're in medical care. as far as we know, the ones we met and we have seen are in good health. they're probably enormously traumatized and we have to understand, wolf, that some of them, some of these little children, there is a 2-year-old and 4-year-old, multiple children, do not know yet that members of their family have been killed. and therefore there is a process of psychologists, support networks there to reveal to them, yes, you're home, but how do we convey to these sweet children that hamas killed their familys? that's what the state of israel, the people of israel are facing. >> so how quickly do you think these hostages who were released today will be reunited with their families and able to return to their homes? >> hopefully within a few hours. everyone is checking them, of course, what they have undergone is there are things you can see on the exterior of the body and health conditions. let's not also forget the mental trauma, and mental trauma is not something that can be assessed right away. the medical staff and the state of israel want t sure that we're helping these people as much as possible. and therefore in as short a period of time as possible we're trying to assess this. when they reunite with their families, they're able to move forward in life after this horrific ordeal that hamas put them through and put all of them through and not go reverse. this is an incredibly difficult process. on a scale that is simply massive. we're dealing with these 13 precious people and in the coming days, god willing, we'll be able to deal with more and more as part of this framework. it is a process. >> you getting any -- excuse me. are you getting any initial reports from these hostages who are now back in israel on how they were treated during these nearly 50 days in gaza as hostages? >> it is early hours to tell, wolf. right now the way we have been dealing with this is letting them go through the medical process and the psychological process. they will all be debriefed, thoroughly and i'm sure many of the pictures will come clear. to be held deep underground, inside the earth, for 50 days, the thought that hamas had their hands on these 2-year-old, 4-year-old, 5-year-old, 9-year-old children is beyond all of us. we know hamas killed a number of our hostages. we uncovered their bodies. and that will be forth coming in the coming days. what we have to remember from our perspective is that this is a pause, wolf, this is a pause that because of our military campaign, it led, pushed hamas' back to the wall, it led to this release. we are not done with this military operation. we are just beginning until every single one of those sweet children, mothers and fathers, in gaza will be returned home. >> is the pause, now being called in the fighting inside gaza, doron, holding? >> it is. it is holding for now. we do have thousands of soldiers that are currently in gaza. we are refreshing, we're holding back our fire to enable these hostages to come out and also we have been using this time to bring in the enormous amount of humanitarian aid that we're using this for. because up until now, when we brought in humanitarian aid and when we were kind of assisting those conroys of civilians, hamas was shooting at us, shooting at our own soldiers there is calm. we have more than 200 trucks and supplies coming in today. we have four large gas trucks, four trucks full of cooking gas and so the people, the residents of gaza that headed south are benefitting from this. we're hoping that hamas who has broken the treaties in the past, as i've spoken to you in past conflicts, we're hoping hamas will, for once, live up to their word. we know that we're going to, assuming they don't overstep this treaty, this pause. >> major doron spielman of the idf, thank you so much for joinijoin ing us. appreciate it. coming up soon, right here on cnn, president biden will speak after the first group of hostages has been released by hamas. stay with us. cnn's special live coverage continues right after this short break. we continue our breaking news coverage. 24 hostages now back in israel after being released from gaza during the first phase of a four-day pause in the fighting and any moment now, president biden will address the nation about the hostages' release. we'll bring that to you live. on the other side of the exchange, the israeli prison service says 39 palestinian prisoners have now been released as part of this agreement. they were women and children as well. nada bashir is in the west bank where those prisoners have now arrived. earlier, our reporters on the ground said they saw some clashes around the prison prior to the release. what reaction are you seeing now? >> reporter: we saw some clashes earlier in the day. at the crossing point we saw israeli forces firing tear gas at the crowds who gathered to watch that crossing unfold. now we're seeing huge crowds gathering here outside the municipality center. many of them have been waiting for hours for release of the 39 prisoners to arrive here at the municipality building. many of the family members have been waiting to meet with their loved ones. who have been in prison, many for years now at this point. we have seen some of those now released prisoners arriving here outside the municipality building, surrounded by crowds of friends, family, other locals who have come to show their support for those now released palestinian prisoners. we have seen fireworks being set off, people chanting and cheering and celebrating here. and i think that is interesting to see the celebration unfolding because earlier in the day, we have been speaking to family members of some of those on the list of 150 palestinian prisoners who could potentially be released over the course of this four-day truce. and many of those family members told us that while they welcome this decision, while they would be happy to see their loved ones released, this wouldn't be a moment of total happiness because, of course, of the ongoing war, the war in gaza that this release of prisoners has come at a heavy price. you can just see behind me, the crowds are pretty huge. we are seeing palestinian flags being waved, but we are also seeing hamas flags being waved here at the municipality center. now, those 39 prisoners are the first amongst what are set to be 150 palestinian prisoners who are expected to be released if the terms of that truce agreement is upheld over the next four days. and, of course, this is exchange for the 50 in total hostages that are held by hamas inside the gaza strip. >> nadia bah shir, thank you. we're going to bring you the president's message when it happens live. stay with cnn. we're back in moments. so we've learned no americans are going to be part of this first group of hostages that were released by hamas and that entered israel earlier today. sources say the white house is closely watching the situation and the transfer in realtime. >> it's notable because the u.s. has been directly involved in these negotiations for a long time. arlette saenz is traveling with the president from nantucket. i wonder was the administration surprised there were no americans in this initial group? there was a lot of discussion of one of it hostms who happens to be turning 40 years old today not involved in this initial group. was there any upset with that, any surprise they weren't included at this point? >> well, jim, the white house had not provided any exact timing when they believed the three americans would be released by hamas, but the white house still remains hopeful that will be the case, these two women and that young girl, 4-year-old abigail, will be part of the 50 women and children who will be released in the coming days. we just heard president biden just left the home where he's staying in nantucket, massachusetts. and we expect to be hearing from him shortly about the hostage released. white house officials were monitoring the release in realtime, and i'm told president biden was briefed throughout the morning include by his national security advisor jake sullivan. the president yesterday told reporters he's hoping to provide an update today once that release went forward. all eyes have been not just on this release at large of the 50 women and children but also if these americans will be able to get out. officials have been viewing this first day and tomorrow as really a testing period to ensure all the plans and mechanisms they had agreed to are actually carried out. we expect to hear from president biden in a short while, an update he himself said he was keeping his fingers crossed, that 4-year-old abigail adan would be part of that hostage release and they would be able to soon reunite these americans with their families. >> in speaking to the key negotiations on u.s. side of this, at least the first 48 hours of it would be kind of a testing ground to see if it could potentially be extended beyond that four or five day initial truce. does the white house extend that optimism? >> well, the white house has said there is the possibility this four-day truce could be extended to potentially secure the release of even more hostages, and then the priority at this time has really been trying to get the women and children out. and then that is when they will focus more if tensely on the administrations to release the other hostages. sources say they really vee elderly men as being the next category that might be the easiest to get out. they anticipate the hardest group to get out would be those men and women serving in the israeli defense forces, but the white house insisted they're working around the clock to try and get all these hostages back home. >> again, we're awaiting word from the president set to address the nation in the next few minutes. we'll see what the president might share. arlette saenz from nantucket, thank you so much. >> 24 hostages released by hamas and other groups. our special coverage continues after a short break. stay with cnn.