>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. thank you so much for joining us. i'm boris sanchez alongside jim sciutto in washington. we have wolf blitzer live for us in tel aviv, israel, where we are monitoring remarkable moments in the middle east. it's freedom after 48 hellish days in the hands of hamas and other groups in gaza. today the first 24 hostages were taken into egypt, and you can see them in this footage just moments after their release at the rafa border crossing. this is just the start of their journey back after they were ripped from their homes on october 7th. >> the israeli defense forces shared this video of the moment a bus carrying the hostages entered israel. most of the people released today are women and children. we are told they include 13 israelis. you see their pictures here. as well as ten thai citizens and a filipino citizen who were also taken on october 7th. over next three days we do expect to see at least 37 more hostages released. that was a figure we heard 50 total, wolf. as i understand it that does not theclude the thai and filipino nationals. >> interesting, indeed. our boris and jim, we'll get back to you in a moment. i want to pick up your coverage right now with cnn's matthew chance. he's live at the hudson base in southern israel. i understand some of the freed hostages just arrived there. you're getting new information. what are you learning? what's going on there now? >> reporter: that's right. within the past few minutes, wolf. the israeli military, the idf has confirmed to us that 22 civilians that were hostages in gaza and freed earlier on today have now arrived at this air base in central israel. there were 24 people released of course including the 13 israeli women and children, the ten thais and one filipino, but two israeli civilians have been taken directly to hospital we're told by the israeli military. it's not clear why that is, why they haven't come here for the checks and psychological evaluations the rest of them are said to be receiving right now. but that's the situation. 22 people here, two israelis have gone directly to hospital. what we're expecting now, and what the israeli military are telling us is happening now is that because this is such a traumatic period that these hostages have gone through, there will be undergoing not just medical evaluations but psychological evaluations as well to make sure people are fine, to travel on after spending what is it 49 days. in some cases it's believed people were kept underground, away from the light. that has a psychological impact as well as a medical impact as well. there's also basic necessities like washing, food, water to make sure everyone is fit and well to make sure they're moved between half and hour to two hour from now depending how long this process takes, onto the helicopters from a landing pad, which is a short distance behind me here at this air base, where they'll be taken onto the helicopter and taken to various places in israel according to their respective medical needs. wolf, one of the reasons why the israeli military is saying this is such a sensitive moment is that some of the hostages that have been released today, some of the israelis at least, are not aware that their loved ones may have been killed. and so that adds to the trauma of them being kept, you know, kind of hostages underground for the past 49 days to then have to learn that your family members have been killed or were killed on october 7th, you know, while they were abducted. it's just another layer of trauma they're having to deal with sort of straightaway, and it's obviously going to be a very long and very painful process, wolf. >> certainly will be. matthew chance at the air base in israel for us, we'll get back to you. thank you for that update. i want to go to our chief international correspondent clarissa ward. she's joining us now from just outside tel aviv. clarissa, you're at a very important children's hospital there. have any of the hostages released today already arrived there, and what do we know about what happens next for those released today? >> reporter: so none of the hostages have arrived here yet, wolf, but there are definitely a lot of preparations in the works for their arrival, which could be, you know, in the next hour certainly. i want to step outside of this shot for a second so you can see behind me that is the hospital's helipad, and we've been seeing a slow but steady increase in activity around there. we see some police cars. we see ambulances. we have seen paramedics, medical personnel, some security officials on their phones. clearly, it appears that they are getting ready for the arrival of some of those 13 hostages. now, i should say now freed hostages. the ones that they had been specifically anticipating the arrival of are children and children who may be with family members. so we talked about amelia a loni, for example, and she's with her mother danielle. i would say there's a good chance they will be brought here as well as others. the hospital has been working around the clock, wolf, to make sure that everything is in place. they have created an entire area for these families. it's designed specifically not to look like a hospital, not to feel clinical and intimidating and frightening. but rather they said they were trying to create the feel of a beautiful hotel. they have made it very warm. they've put lots of toys in there. and most importantly perhaps as alluding to what matthew was talking about, they have hand selected the staff who will be here, who will be working with these families. they have picked the psychiatrists who know how to deal with victims of great trauma. they have got social workers, one social worker assigned to each family. because as matthew said and i think it's important some of these freed hostages will not know what has happened to their family members, will not know, indeed, the full extent of what transpired here on october 7th. and the israeli ministry of welfare put out guidelines for israeli forces who would be interacting with these hostages talking about the importance of not answering specific questions such as where's mommy, where's daddy, where's grandma or whoever it may be. but also saying that it is very important that they should quickly answer the questions and quickly give them answers about the questions. so here at the snyder children's medical center everyone bracing themselves. they say they haven't been sleeping. they've been doing everything they can to make sure this is as smooth and seamless as possible on arrival, wolf. >> interesting. clarissa, standby. we're going to get back to you. and i just want to remind our viewers 4 of the 13 israelis who were released today are little kids. omar, 9 years old. amelia, 5 years old. razza, 4 years old, and a 2-year-old. so presumably those children will be coming over to the children's hospital to be checked out as well. orenleeblerman is standing by for us. i understand you're getting new information as well. you're here in tel aviv with us. but tell our viewers exactly where you are and what's going on. >> right now we're at the medical center in south tel aviv. the hospital here is preparing to receive some of the hostages who have been rescued. their families are already here as we understand. and we also got a statement a short time ago from the idf that says two of the hostages have been transferred by ambulance to a hospital. we believe that's here. we're waiting for confirmation of that. some of the hostages who came out today will be coming to this hospital. a short time ago we did hear from a doctor who represents the hostage and family forum, and he basically laid out what he expects will play out here and what help the hostages who come here will need. and we just got confirmation what i said a moment ago, the two of the hostms transferred by ambulance were brought here to wolfson, so we know two of those israelis brought out of gaza were brought here. we do expect this is the hospital that will focus more on the elderly hostages who were rescued as as opposed to cluace who you just heard from at snyder, that will focus on the younger hostages. getting back to the doctors who represent the families and hostages formm, he says he's been in touch with the hostages and part of the important process of their recovery over the past seven weeks will be first and most importantly seeing their families. so they'll be checked on at the air base for a quick evaluation, but then here for further medical check, meeting with their families that's a critical part of it. he said in speaking with the hostages some of them have effectively stomach issues that will have to be handled, of course, and that's part of the process here. it will be a long process, he says, but for several of those hostages it will be a process that begins to play out here at wolfson medical center in tel aviv. as they've prepared to handle the children here at the thopt, here they're preparing to handle the elderly hostages. we'll get updates throughout the night and certainly keep you updated what we learn here at wolfson medical center in south tel aviv. >> oren leiberman reporting for us from tel aviv. thank you very much. i want to remind our viewers momentarily within the next few moments we're told the president of the united states, president biden, will be addressing the nation and indeed the world because we're going to have live coverage of his thoughts on the release of these hostages. you're looking at the podium over there. the president moermtarily will be walking over there, making a statement. i don't know if he'll be answering reporters questions, but we'll check it out. we'll see what he does. i'm anxious to hear what he has to say on this historic and very important day. as we await the president, i wanted to bring in his 22-year-old son is currently a hostage in gaza. thank you so much for joining us. our hearts go out to you. what are you feeling as you see this first group of israelis now safely back in israel knowing at the same time that your son is still in captivity? >> thank you for the opportunity to say i welcome the release of the hostages return to their families. we demanded the current deal with big conditions by ensuring the security and the welfare of the remaining hostage held captive by hamas. and the day they're released receive a visit of the red cross of medicine. they said it, but we don't see it now. >> this initial deal, as you know, it includes women, mostly older women and children. have you gotten any word at all from the israeli government about your son's prospects for release at least in the longer term? >> we got information that our son is not going out on this deal -- on this specific deal. every evening the idf gets a list of the hostages that goes out and immediate we'll get information, and they'll update us about his release. we don't know yet. for this deal they talked about women and children. we thought that the children would come with their mothers. all this that wept out and i'm very happy for them. and all this that needs health care and they need to go home. >> we're told, shai, that your 22-year-old son, omer, suffers from colitis, and you say he can have very serious attacks. last hour a representative of the international red cross told us that they have not been given the green light by hamas to visit hostages in gaza and provide medical checks and medication, if necessary. do you have any indication of whether your son, shai, has received any significant medical care? >> i didn't get any information from the red cross. i know there is a line or a deal the red cross will go probably inside or go with the medicine to all hostages. my son is sick. he has colitis. it's a very -- it's a chronic disease of the stomach, and it's getting severe when he's in a stress situation like this. it's horrible to think about how he feels now because he needs his medicine. he needs medical aid by a doctor. it's a life danger for this disease, and we demand the red cross to go inside gaza and to give all hostages the right support for medical or medical aid or even such a small -- small, tiny life or something we have to -- because i heard prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he said that the red cross committed that he will go inside and take care of all hostages that are staying in. i didn't get any message or receive any information from the red cross. it's impossible to think about it. the red cross is independent health care, and i think they're not doing enough. they are not doing the pressure they need to do. >> shai wenkert, we hope you're reunited with your son very, very soon. thank you very much for joining us. good luck to you and your family. we're told now within the next minute or so the president of the united states will be speaking. he's in nantucket, massachusetts. and there you see the podium right there. he's going to be addressing the nation on this hostage situation that has unfolded in israel and gaza within the past few hours. we want to hear precisely what the president has to say. we're told he's walking over to the microphones fairly, fairly soon and we'll hear what he has to say. this potentially could be a significant signal of the u.s. stance as far as the continuing release of more hostages concerned on this truce that's gone into effect earlier today. so far it's been working, but everyone is clearly very, very nervous about what's going on. and we're told now the president is walking over to the microphones. let's listen in. >> all right. yesterday families all across america gathered together with their loved ones to give thanks. we must be thankful for in america the food on our table, there family and loved ones in our homes and the greatest blessing thatchise from living in the greatest nation on earth. today we can also be thankful families are being recruited and reunited with loved ones who have been held hostage for nearly 50 days. beginning this morning under a deal reached by extensive u.s. diplomacy including numerous calls i've made from the oval office to leaders across the region, fighting in gaza will halt for four days. this deal is also structured to allow a pause to continue for more than 50 hostages to be released. that's our goal. this morning i've been engaged with my team as we began the first difficult days of implementing this deal. it's only a start, but so far it's gone well. early this morning 13 israeli hostages were released including an elderly woman, a grandmother, and mothers with their young children some under the age of 6 years old. separately, several thai nationals and filipino nationals were also kidnapped by hamas on the 7th. they were released as well. all of these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal, and this is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them. the teddy bears waiting to greet those children at the hospital are a stark reminder of the trauma these children have been true and at such a very young age. jill and i are keeping the children in our prayers today. today has been the product of a lot of hard work and week of personal engagement. from the moment hamas kidnapped these people i along with me team have worked around the clock to secure their release. we saw the results of this effort with the release of two american hostages in late october follow by the release of two israeli hostages. i consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons. to accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance going into gaza. and two, to facilitate the release of hostages. over the past several weeks i've spoken repeatedly with the mayor of qatar, president sisi of egypt, and prime minister netanyahu of israel to secure this deal and get this done. i spoke with the mayor and president sisi and prime minister netanyahu to confirm day is the start of the ment. process. we expect more hostages to be released tomorrow and the more the day after and more the day after that. over the next few days we expect dozens of hostages will be returned to their families. we also remember all those who are still being held and renew our commitment to work for their release as well. two american women and one 4-year-old child, abigail, who remains among those missing. we also will not stop until we get these hostages brought home in an answer to their whereabouts. i remain in personal contact with the leaders of qatar, egypt, and israel, to make sure this stays on track and every aspect of the deal is implemented. you know, this extended pause in the fighting brings a critical opportunity to deliver much needed food, medicine, water, and fuel to the civilians in gaza. and we are not wasting one single minute. since my trip to israel last month, sarajevo been focused on accelerating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to gaza. in coordination with the united nations and the red cross. i just spoke with my special envoy for the middle east humanitarian issues, david satterfield, for an update. and i've asked him to monitor our progress hour by hour and keep me personally informed. from the beginning we put in place mechanisms to prevent hamas from diverting these supplies, and we're continuing that effort to make sure aid gets to the people who need it. more than 200 trucks arrived at the crossing point from egypt into gaza today. these trucks carried food and medicine as well as fuel and cooking gas. the fuel will be used not only to power the trucks delivering the lifesaving supplies but for desalinization, for water wells, for hospitals, and for bakery. and hundreds more trucks are getting into position as well, ready to enter gaza in the coming days to support the innocent palestinians who are suffering greatly because of this war that hamas has unleashed. hamas doesn't give a damn about them. we also look to the future -- as we look to the future we have to end this cycle of violence in the middle east. we need to renew our resolve to pursue this two-state solution where israelis and palestinians can one day live side by side in a two-state solution. with equal measure of freedom and dignity. two states for two peoples. and it's more important now than ever. hamas unleashed this terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than israelis and palestinians living side by side in peace. you know, to continue down the path of terror and violence and killing and war is to give hamas what they seek. and we can't do that. so today let's continue to be thankful for all the families who are now and those who will soon be brought together again. i want to once again thank the mayor of qatar, president sisi of egypt and prime minister netanyahu for their partnership to make what was done possible and for their continued leadership as we all keep working to implement this deal. and over the coming days i'll remain engaged with leaders throughout the middle east as we all work together to build a better future for the region. a future where this kind of violence is unthinkable. a future all children in the region, every child, jewish, muslim, christian, israeli, palestinian, arab, grow up knowing only peace. that's what we do. we're waiting now just a matter i thought maybe as soon as by the time i got here -- but in the next hour or so we'll know what the second wave of releases are. and i'm hopeful that's it's as we anticipated. so thank you all for listening. i'll take a few questions. >> mr. president, when will the first american hostages be released snd. >> we don't know when that will occur, but we're going to expect it to occur. and we don't know what the lest of all the hostages are and when they'll be released, but we know the numbers they're going to be released. so it's my hope and expectation it'll be soon. >> do you know all of their conditions? are they all alive? >> we don't know their conditions. >> mr. president, how long do you expect this war to take? and have you encouraged netanyahu to accept the time line? >> i've encouraged the prime minister to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties while he is attempting to eliminate hamas which is a legitimate objectives. that's a difficult task, and i don't know how long it will take. my expectation and hope is that as we move forward the rest of the arab world and the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end as quickly as we can. >> i think the chances are real. >> mr. president, there are members of your party who'd like to see cessions on aid -- >> well, i think that's a worthwhile thought, but i don't think if i started off with that we would have gotten to where we are today. we have take this a piece at a time. >> mr. president, do you trust hamas to uphold the deal? >> i don't trust hamas to do anything right. i only trust hamas to respond to pressure. >> you said you were hoping to get cooperation from arab leaders. what would you like to see them do? >> i'm hearing a lot but i'm not going to speak to it right now. there's an overwhelming desire on the part of the region to -- let me back up. i cannot prove what i'm about to say, but i believe one of the reasons why hamas struck when they did is they knew i was working very closely with the saudis and others in the region to bring peace to the region by having recognition of israel and israel's right to exist. you may recall when we did the g20 a little while ago i was able to get a resolution -- a statement passed through there saying we're going to build a railroad from rihad all the way through the middle east into saudi arabia and israel and up to europe. not the railroad, but it'd be an underground pipeline and then railroad. the whole idea is there's an overwhelming interest and i think most arab nations know it in coordinating with one another to change the dynamic in the region for a longer term peace. and that is what i'm going to continue to work on. thank you all very much. i appreciate it. thank you. happy thanksgiving to you all. i hope you enjoy it. >> you, too. >> we've been listening to president biden there addressing the press from nantucket, massachusetts, during the thanksgiving holiday. a mix of optimism and caution from the president there. he spoke about today being the result of extensive diplomacy by the united states, talked about making numerous calls to world leaders to secure the release of these hostages. just today 24 of them being released by hamas and other groups. he talked about the structure of the deal being in place to allow for more than four days of a truce, to allow for more than 50 hostages to be released. he said that was the goal, and he also looked at the big picture and reiterated his desire for there to be a two-state solution. >> when he commented on this almost virtually every time he's commented going back to october 7th he's made sure to come back to that point saying the u.s. supports that, that is a long-term solution. some news in there as well. he did say the next hour he, the administration -- whether he makes that public is the next question -- expect the next round of hostages to be res leed. the key question is will there be americans in that group. there's an enormous amount of hope she is released soon. >> he reiterated his commitment to getting others out who are still being hold. >> and he said we don't know conditions of the remaining hostages. >> important bit of news there as well. we want to bring in arlette saenz who were there. what was your take away from the president's speech? >> reporter: president biden said this hostage release that occurred today is just the start of the process, but he believes the way things have unfolded is that things going well. the president was hopeful that americans would soon be out, but he cautioned they don't know the exact timing for when those three americans, two women, and that 4-year-old would be released from gaza. but the president also talked about the possibility of more than 50 hostages being released in this initial round and talking about the possibility there also could be an extension in the pause and fighting that's been seen. but the president also used this as a moment to talk about his conversations with the world leaders in the middle east, offering thanks to the leaders of qatar as well as egypt and israel. the and the president made clear he'll stay in contact with these leaders to ensure this plan remains on track. officials have been watching the release that was conducted today really viewing it as a testing period to ensure all the plans and mechanisms they'd outlined in this deal would fall into place. the president was hopeful things are proceeding as planned. he also talked about the need to get additional aid into gaza, that this would include fuel, food, medical supplies, and that they're trying to ensure these supplies and aid are not diverted in any way by hamas but are making it directly to pal stennian civilians. and the president as you mentioned reiterated his views for long-term peace in the region saying ultimately this will need to be a two-state solution for the israelis and palestinians, talking about things in the long-term. but president biden once again seeming hopeful today that these hostages will continue to be released in the coming days and specifically that they will be able to get these americans out as well. >> no question. so good news there. as he said it's only a start but so far it's gone well. of course the open question at this point is right now they're talking about women and children. we haven't begun the discussion about military age men and women. hamas considers them soldiers. many of them are soldiers, and that is of course a much longer process, much more difficult negotiations as well. arlette saenz traveling with the president in nantucket. we'll continue to monitor events, the president's reaction but also what we're learning from israel. please do stay with us. youe ju we heard from president biden moments ago. his first remarks since the initial exchange of 24 hostages being held by hamas and other groups in gaza. four palestinian prisoners released into a west bank. cnn's wolf blitzer is live for us in tel aviv. wolf, your impressions of president biden's remarks. >> reporter: i thought they were pretty significant. he made some news i thought in terms of discussing this overall israel-hamas war. at one point he said that in his opinion eliminating hamas, which is one of israel's goals as we all know -- eliminating hamas he says is a legitimate objective. i think that's the first time i heard him say eliminating hamas is a legitimate objective. that's what we keep hearing from the israelisy we know. he also went one step further in term of blasting hamas. he said hamas doesn't give a damn about the palestinians in gaza and the impact this war has on the palestinian civilians living in gaza. he was worried the humanitarian aid, fuel, and medical equipment and other critically important needs were coming in on these trucks, coming into gaza now. he was very pleased about that, but he said hamas doesn't give a damn about what's going on with the palestinians. and as you guys pointed out, he referred specifically once again as he has been all of these weeks for a long time for the need eventually to solve the israeli-palestinian problem with a two-state solution. israel living alongside a new state of palestine. he keeps saying that. he doesn't have support for that yet from the israeli government and prime minister netanyahu, but he keeps saying that. and one final point i thought that was significant -- and jim sciutto, let me get your thoughts on this as well. when he said he believes hamas launched this war, went into israel, went into those kibbutz along the border with gaza and started slaughtering all those israelis and others is because israel was getting closer and closer to some sort of recognition, some sort of deal with saudi arabia. the u.s. was working on trying to get the saudis and others in the arab world to formally establish diplomatic relations, normalize relations with israel. and one of the things he said hamas wanted to prevent from happening was this kind of expansion of israel's acceptance in major parts of the arab world. and i thought, jim sciutto, i thought that was significant as well. >> i'm glad you pointed that out, wolf. because certainly when i was there and i'm sure you heard the same thing there was a lot of speculation by hamas -- and by the way hamas' backer is iran and others were not happy about the prospect of normalization between israel and saudi arabia. so the timing was suspect because as you note they were very close to exactly that deal and wanted to disrupt it. it's notable to hear that idea, that speculation in effect endorsed by president biden as well. and we'll see i suppose if those attacks were enough to disrupt it because i've spoken with diplomats in the region who have said actually that deal might survive this, they might find a way forward given time. to your point, wolf, notable for the u.s. president to see that as part of the motivation for these attacks. >> yeah, very significant indeed. so i thought the president's statements had several important newsworthy items included. i want to check in with cnn's nada bashir right now. she's getting new information as well on the release of palestinian prisoner into the west bank, part of this deal as well. nada, what are you learning right now? >> reporter: as we know, wolf, that first 39 batch of prisoner, palestinian prisoners in israeli custody have now been released. that was very much dependent on the safe evacuation and rescue of those hostages as agreed upon under the terms of this truce from hamas captivity in gaza. as soon as that was confirm we began to see that process unfolding here. we're at the center where we did see a number of those 39 prisoners who have now been released arriving, being reunited with their family members. a little earlier we did see huge crowds, thousands of people gathering here to celebrate that release though the crowds have dwindled where we are though there has been a huge amount of relief and celebration in the occupied west bank of the release of those 39 prisoners. as we know this is the first batch of prisoners set to be released amongst the 150 palestinian prisoners agreed upon in that truce in exchange for some 50 hostages held inside gaza by hamas. it's unclear who else will be released. we've got that list of the details of the 39 released today earlier in the morning. as we know earlier in the week israeli authorities released a list of some 300 prisoners who were under consideration for potential release. this is all very much dependent on the terms of that four-day truce being upheld by both sides. there is a certain -- there is certainly an amount of hope here we could continue to see more palestinian prisoners being released. as you know the majority of those additionally released were minors including many teenage bys many of them between the age of 16 and 18 charged with minor offenses and some under administrative detention. of course this is just a small fraction of the more than 3,000 prisoners according to the palestinian society who are under administrative detention in israeli custody, meaning they haven't had any official charges laid against them, that there isn't a clear ongoing legal process. as i mentioned the crowds have dwindled somewhat here, though we did see thousands earlier celebrating. but we have heard from some palestinians here including those family members of those released who said this isn't a time to celebrate when the country -- when the palestinian people, rather, in gaza are facing a war. >> nada bashir reporting for us on the west bank. and we'll stay in very close touch with you. and very significantly i want to remind our viewers the president just a few moments ago said what is going on right now, it's only a start but so far it's gone well. and then he added these words. he said we'll not stop until all the hostages are home. and we'll have much more of our spececial live coverage e from in t the m middle eaeast. thatat's coming g up right a af ththis. 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. we are following significant breaking news directly from president biden as the release of two dozen hostages from gaza has been finalized. >> it has been more than 14 hours since a truce began in the hour between israel and gaza. right now 24 former hostages are back safely in israel. you can see them in this video here. earlier in the evening boarding a bus, this is the rafa border crossing in southern gaza during what has been a highly anticipated return for some of the more than 200 people hamas has held since october 7th. those released now include 13 israeli women and children. in addition to that ten thai nationals and one filipino national. >> here to discuss is a former spokesperson for the u.s. mission to the united nations. she's also the former director for syria and lebanon on the national security council. and also joining us is seth jones. he's a director for the rt nanational security program at the center for strategic and international studies. hagar, first to you. i'm wondering what most stood out to you about biden's speech and his insistence that ending hamas, eradicating hamas from gaza was a legitimate goal. >> well, it doesn't surprise me, actually, that the focus remains on defeating hamas and its military capabilities, its ability to govern gaza, and also to focus on making sure that hamas doesn't continue to pose a threat to israel, right? this is a war about defeating hamas as much as it is a war about deterrence and ensuring hamas and no other proxy can pose a threat to israel this way. the thing that struck me -- there were two things that struck me. the first is that just how much the u.s. has been involved in these negotiations and in prioritizing the release of hostages and he's made it very clear he's going to continue to do that, and i really applaud the biden administration's efforts on this and also the focus about the saudi-israel relations. and to be honest with you i'm not surprised those talks will continue. hamas has played spoiler in the peace process for the last three decades, so that's not surprising. but i was surprised the extent to which that was a motivator in the hamas october 7th terrorist attack as biden said. >> soegt eth jones, also notabl wolf pointed this out moments ago biden said hamas doesn't give a damn about the palestinian people in gaza. that's something you've heard from israeli officials as they talk about military action there, that hamas deliberateny embeds itself inside civilian areas, using civilians as human shields. but you've even heard that in some of the public comments by hamas leaders saying, listen, civilian casualties on their own side, compared to a number of germans who died fighting russia, you know, in the millions. an important thing to be said is it not for the u.s. president to not allow folks to paint hamas as anything more than a terrorist organization that it is. >> well, i think is really is important. it needs to be said it's hamas that started this conflict in the first place with attacks against civilians. i mean that's what really is striking about the way this started. and we see it with the release of hostages now, women and children. they knew that that kind of action would be met with a violent response to target hamas leadership in gaza. so they were not surprised in any way, shape, or form. so hamas in doing this knew they were bringing a war on in gaza that was going to affect their population. so i think it does need to be said. >> and hagar, i think part of casting hamas as an illegitimate arbiter of what happens in gaza in the west bank and what happens to palestinians is part of biden's call for a two-state solution. the difficult part in sort of going that route is that there isn't exactly a replacement for hamas that many palestinians see as legitimate. i think the palestinian authority has sort of lost some of its claim to legitimacy in that regard. what is the transition look like then to a separate government, a separate moving forward? >> well, so on one hand you have the palestinian authorities kind of the only thing that you have, the only legitimate representation of the palestinian people. you're right, it is very weak and corrupt. it is leader abbas is very weak and corrupt. he raises hands and said that he would be happy to take charge of gaza to which netanyahu said that he's rather some other alternative governing body and i think bibi is on the way out too. and it is a creation of the united states coming out of the 1993 accords so it is possible they could create something different but at end of the day. when you have a situation like this, i don't know that creating something new is feasible. you have to go with what is representative. they have a representative office in the united states and so that would be the best chance. but think your point about hamas and they are the one that is seeking to commit genocide. hamas is the one that sought this. on its own people and doesn't care. it has said very bluntly how they have to sacrifice their people when their pursuing their goals. so hopefully they will focus on the day after. it is very important. but i think the palestinian authority might be the only chance. >> and the clear distinction between the palestinian authority and hamas. and palestinian authority, it cooperates with israeli forces in the west bank in terms of counter-terrorism operations, et cetera. so bibi may not like them, but they have some more support and there are some that question the palestinian authority as well. seth, in terms of military, what are legitimate military goals in the view of president, saying eliminating hamas is a legitimate objective as opposed to a realistic goal. because spoken to a lot of former commanders who raise the question, what does that look like? what does eliminating hamas in gaza look like, particularly in light of the eformous civilian casualties we've seen so far. and also you could eliminate perhaps most or close to all of the fighters but then the ideology remains. >> yeah, i don't actually think that eliminating hamas is an achievable military objective. and i do think both u.s. leaders and certainly israeli have to be careful about making military promises that are difficult to keep over the long-term. but i do think it is certainly a plausible military objective to capture as many hamas military and political leaders, destroy much of their infrastructure, weapons and command and control center as feasible. their tunnel infrastructure in gaza. much of that is feasible. but again there is a resistance, not just hamas, but islamic jihad and other organizations. but based on this war which has already impacted civilians will continue in some form. but again, i think a significant degrading the military structure and individuals involved is achievable. >> to that point, eradicating terrorism is difficult because it is an ideology and the u.s. had in a expe-- had that experi in iraq and afghanistan. and when a reporter asked president biden what advice had he begin netanyahu about what happened after this temporary truce ends when all of the hostages are out, the president seemed to take a long pause and seeming to weigh what i whats going to say and then essentially said that eradicating hamas is extremely difficult. but it is something that must be done. it seems that there is some daylight between the united states and israel over how to approach the targets and the intensity by which the idf is carrying out its mission in gaza? >> well, i do think the u.s. has been more cautious in the targeting of around civilian infrastructure like hospitals and the u.s. had been pushing for this type of cease-fire for humanitarian assistance into gaza so that hostages could be released. so that is been the optics of this war and have been important for the u.s. now the real difficulty, as we move into the next phase of the war, it is a much more difficult environment. even more than the north because civilians will be blended in with hamas, islamic jihad and others in the south. so more of an opportunity i think for civilian casualties. i think this is where u.s. push is going to be important here to -- to think about civilians. >> yeah, well they tried. there is the marine general who had overseen u.s. military operations in iraq who gave advice and when he left, he even said, well there are things they listen to and things they didn't in terms of the military command. thanks so much to both of you. cnn special live coverage continues right after a short break. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. thank you for joining us. it is the top of the hour. and we're tracking the remarkable minute-by-minute developments in the middle east. i'm boris sanchez with jim sciutto in washington and joined by wolf blitzer who is live in tel aviv. today for hostages held by