turtle doves that flew up 25% since last year. our coverage continues with one mr. wolf blitzer in "the situation room." i'll see you tomorrow. happening now, breaking news. ten more israeli hostages are now free and safe in israel, including a woman who also is a u.s. citizen. we're standing by for new information about their release just a short while ago and their condition after more than seven weeks in brutal captivity. all this comes as the truce between israel and hamas is due to end just a few hours from now following a six-day pause in the fighting. the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is now in israel amid urgent negotiations aimed at extending the truce and potentially allowing more hostages to be released. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in tel aviv, and you're in "the situation room." ♪ >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> the new group of hostages released by hamas has now arrived here in israel, including an israeli american as the truce that paved the way for their freedom is about to expire. our correspondents are covering the breaking news from every angle. first, i want to go to cnn's chief international correspondent clarissa ward here in tel aviv. first of all, what can you tell us about today's release of the hostages and whether this expiring truce will be extended? >> reporter: so, wolf, first on those hostages, as you mentioned, ten israeli hostages have now been freed. we expect to see live pictures any moment now of them at the air base. from there they will be flown or driven to various hospitals depending on their condition. we understand the youngest age or i should say the age of the youngest hostage to be released today is 13 years old. the oldest hostage, 54 years old, and as you mentioned that dual u.s.-israeli citizen. lait benn is among the hostages released. this comes with four thai nationals along with a separate deal brokered by the russian government, two israeli-russian nationals. in total 16 hostages released today and all eyes now on the question of whether this truce will be extended or whether it will expire at midnight eastern time, 7:00 a.m. here in israel. hamas has said that they very much hope to extend the truce. israel has said that it thinks it is possible to extend the truce, and secretary of state antony blinken who actually has just landed in israel has also advocated for continuing this pause. he says it has been crucial in terms of getting hostages out, but also, of course, wolf in terms of getting desperately needed aid into gaza and giving the ordinary citizens of gaza some much-needed respite, wolf. >> clarissa, as you know, we're also following a very sensitive and concerning situation about an israeli hostage family. what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: well, this is the bibas family,ing wolf, and a lot of people have been watching their story very closely because this is a 10-month-old baby who was kidnapped along with his brother ariel who is just 4 years old and their mother shiri, and because they were so young and because they have this bright red hair, so many people had been following the story so closely in israel. we saw a tribute recently where they released red balloons into the sky calling for their release. now the idf has said that it has been in touch with the bibas family about reports coming from hamas, hamas saying that the entire family was killed in an israeli air strike. the idf saying it's trying to assess the accuracy of that information. we also did hear from the bibas family on israeli television tonight saying that they hold hamas responsible for shiri and her two little boys, the words that the family member used, a cousin of shiri bibas, they were alive when they left israel and they need to be returned to israel alive and hamas is responsible for ensuring that will happen. so a lot of concern now as to what may have happened to this family, wolf. >> yeah. a lot of concern indeed. clarissa ward, thank you very much. let's go over right now to cnn's ben wedeman joining us live from jerusalem. ben, what are we learning about the release of palestinian prisoners in exchange for these israeli hostages? >> reporter: well, a list has come out, wolf, of 30 individuals who are part of this day's, the sixth day of this truce exchange. it includes it 29 detainees, one convicted prisoner. it is 16 boys between the ages of 14 and 18. the rest are women. now interestingly enough, five of the women are not palestinian -- resident palestinians of the west bank. rather, they are israeli citizens, palestinian israeli citizens, so once again 29 out of the 30 are detainees. in other words, they haven't been formally charged with anything. they don't know what the charges against them are. they are in this system of administrative detention where they can be held up for six months at a time and that can be renewed time and time again. most of them, of course, if not all, have been detained since the seventh of october. wolf? >> ben, you were out in the west bank yesterday, and since then palestinian authorities say two palestinian children were killed by israeli troops there in the west bank. what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: this is just the latest in dozens of israeli incursions into the city of jenn in the northern west bank, particularly the refugee camp there. they entered late at night. they left bat 3:at about 3:00 p. at least four people were killed in this raid, and two of them were boys, and we need to warn viewers that some of these images can be very disturbing. they were caught on cc-tv. one of them shows an 8-year-old boy who is hiding behind a car and then he's hit directly by live fire. he falls to the ground. you can see him starting to bleed. somebody, a friend perhaps, tries to drag him to safety behind the car, but he was killed there. the other one 15-year-old basil al wafa, also shot. now some of the video shows that he had some sort of device in his hand that he was trying to light. the israeli army says, i'm going to read this here, a number of suspects hurled explosive devices toward israeli soldiers who responded with live fire. now i've covered israeli incursions into refugee camps before. oftentimes the little kids are not throwing explosive devices. they are throwing firecrackers. wolf? >> ben wedeman reporting from jerusalem for us. ben, thank you very much. i want to go to the white house right now and get some reaction to the release of an israeli american hostage. we have a report from the scene. m.j., this is clearly very welcome news for the biden administration. how does this fit into the diplomatic push now to extend this truce? >> reporter: yeah, wolf. this is very welcome news for the white house, the news of the dual israeli-american citizen being released from captivity tonight. she is the second american to be released after 4-year-old abigail edan was released on monday. the president moments ago celebrating the news of benn after learning that she had arrived in egypt. take a listen. >> got some very good news to report. an american woman is safe in egypt. she's crossed the border. i talked with her mother and father. they are very appreciative and things are moving well. she will soon be home with her three children. >> reporter: but keep in mind, wolf, that there is one more american woman that the white house has said they believe is still being held hostage by hamas in gaza. there's no word tonight on her condition or the prospects of her getting out. that's not to mention the seven other unaccounted for americans that the white house has previously said are men but also no word on their conditions either, but, wolf, this is one of the biggest reasons why we are seeing u.s. officials continuing to push for an extension of the current truce. they say a longer truce means more hostages getting out not to mention a surge in the humanitarian aid that has been possible in the recent days. but officials i'm talking to really are stressing that this is one day at a time. they first want to see women and children getting out, and then they will turn their focus to men and potentially soldiers, not to mention the remains of those that were killed in gaza, but the discussions have already begun between u.s. and israeli officials about what israel's military operations may look like once this truce is over with the particular focus, we are told, but u.s. officials on making sure that the upcoming strikes, operations are really precise and deliberate and careful so as to avoid the mass casualties that we have seen in the recent weeks. wolf? >> m.j. lee at the white house, thanks for that update. there's more breaking news ahead. we're watching several developments on this, the new release of hamas hostages and talks to extend the truce. an israeli government spokesman will join us live and will discuss what's going on. plus, a u.s. house vote on whether to expel congressman george santos is now expected on friday, and speaker mike johnson is weighing in on the indicted republican's fate. we're following the breaking news on the release of ten more israeli hostages from gaza, including a woman who is also a u.s. citizen. joining us now the israeli government spokesman ewill be levi. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> first of all, can you give us an update on the hostages now back in israel and are now free right now, how they are doing. >> we are taking them to receive immediate medical treatment. these hospitals were denied access to the red cross for the over 50 days they were held in inhumane conditions in hamas captivity. the first thing is to give them a checkup and know that they are okay and then well reunite them with their families. >> was that is a violation of the agreement that the red cross could not meet with the hostages? >> there were people that are life-disfiguring injuries, one had a limb blown off and one hostage came back with bullets in her leg still from seven weeks ago and a woman barely conscious. >> was there a specific commitment in the truce agreement that the red cross would be allowed to meet with these hostages? >> we've been demanding. >> demanding and one thing sand there a commitment on the part of hamas to accept that? >> absolutely. >> they didn't accept it? let's talk a little bit about this 10-month-old hostage and his 4-year-old mother and brother are dead. what can you tell us about that? >> according to hamas and the whole country is horrified by the claims that the bibas family have become emblematic of the hamas atrocities, could have been killed, the mother and two children were abducted live. >> has israel confirmed that they are dead? >> no, the idf is investigating those claims. we're speaking with the bibas family and it's horrifying. wolf, the only thing that could possibly be more barbaric than holding hostage a 10-month-old baby is holding hostage the body of a 10-month-old baby. >> hamas is claiming they are dead, but israel has not confirmed that? >> we have not. we're investigating these claims. >> close to a conclusion? >> we're investigating the claims. >> all right. i spoke to your colleague mark regev earlier today who said israel is ready to keep extending these -- the truce as long as hamas continues to release hostages. what's the latest on this? >> under the framework, the negotiated framework approved by the israeli government last week, we lined up enough violent criminals in israeli jails to secure from now on another three days of hostage release, pause for every one day of hostage release, paused to get another ten hostages out and the government also prepared a list of another 50 palestinian in case hamas wants to keep releasing hostages. our policy is clear as soon as hamas stops releasing hostages we'll stop the pause and we'll continue to apply the military pressure that brought hamas to their knees. >> the pause or truce, whatever you want to call it, it's supposed to end at midnight eastern time, 7:00 a.m. israel time. will that be extended? >> we're expected to see the list of the next women. we're expecting to get the women and children out first and we want to continue getting out as many hostages as we can, a vindication of israel's strategy which has been to put military pressure on hamas to clobber it, to have it begging for a breather, to be in a position where it wants to release those hostages, and so far we're glad to see from 240 people or so who were taken hostage, there are still only -- still an enormous number, 145 left. we're committed we're going to get them all back. there will be no one left want any civilians being hurt. that's why we spent so long urging civilians to get out of harm's way in the area where hamas was embedded itself under civilian infrastructure and it's a sad fact that all the people who have been killed since the beginning of the october 7 massacre would still be alive if hamas had not decided to launch this awful, barbaric war with the october 7 massacre and fight it from densely populated areas that it was trying to stop evacuating civilians from harm's way. >> thank you for joining us. we'll continue this conversation down the road. coming up, a vote to kick the embattled congressman george santos out of office. that vote is set for friday. what we know about whether he'll be expelled and what house speaker mike johnson is telling fellow republicans to vote. plus, why a 2024 rival is accusing nikki haley of trying to have it both ways on the sensitive isissue of abortioion. stay w with us. you're in n "the situauation ro" 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're here in israel following the breaking news of more hostages just released by hamas as we wait for any sign to see whether the pause in fighting will be extended by the deadline of midnight eastern time tonight, but there's also news back in the united states we're following, specifically up on capitol hill. clock is now ticking towards a vote on whether to expel congressman george santos from the house with speaker mike johnson weighing in following that bombshell report on his fellow republican from the house ethics committee. cnn's melanie zunona is up on capitol hill. what's the latest on how this vote is going to play out? >> reporter: the house will begin to begin consideration of the expulsion measure on thursday and won't take the vote until friday, and there are a growing number of republicans who say they are going to support this expulsion effort after that damning house ethics report that was put together by a group of republicans and democrats on the ethics committee, but there are still some republicans, including the new speaker, who say they have reservations about voting to expel someone who has been convicted in the court of law. let's listen. >> we'll allow people to vote their conscience. that's the only appropriate thing we can do. we've not whipped the vote and won. i trust that people will make that decision thoughtfully and in good faith. i personally have real reservations about doing this. i'm concerned about a precedent that may be set for that. >> reporter: those comments from the speaker could carry some weight with republicans who are still on the fence about their position and no doubt, wolf, this is going to be a very tough vote for some republicans. in fact, top republicans were hoping that santos would just resign so they wouldn't have to actually take a formal public position on this, and i'm told that the speaker actually spoke to george santos yesterday and asked him to consider resigning as one of his options in order to spare some of his fellow colleagues from having to take a vote here, but so far santos has been defiant. he's insisting he will not step down. we'll see what he says tomorrow when he has a press conference on capitol hill tomorrow morning though, wolf. >> all right. mel shay zanona up on capitol hill, thanks very much. with less than 50 days before voting starting in the gop primary race, nikki haley is gaining steam, securing a key endorsement from the influential koch network even as she remains far behind the front-runner donald trump, but haley insists this is not a race for second place. listen. >> i don't play for second. i never have. i'm not going to do it now. you know, we are now in second place in iowa, second place in new hampshire and second place in south carolina. we've got one more fellow to catch up to, and the momentum is growing. >> let's discuss with our political experts. ari, i'll start with you. haley may have have some momentum right now, but donald trump put it this way on his social media account earlier in the day. he said she's down 50 points. she better start running fast. how do you see it? >> i mean, he is right about the clock ticking, and she is not, you know, ahead of him even in her own home state. she is looking for money. she's looking for momentum and also attention. some of that attention is coming from the media and, of course, now some of that attention is coming from trump himself who has tried to give her some kind of nickname. it means she has a fighting chance, but i don't want to be false about like what that chance is and how tough that is. i'm sure other people on the panel will talk about that. it is a big leap. >> let's bring in alissa ferreira griffin. alyssa, ron desantis trying to blunt her rise calling her the establishment candidate and calling her out of step. take a listen to how haley responded to that. listen >> i think that's what a candidate says when they are losing, you know. i mean, you look. there's nothing establishment about a tea party candidate who ran for governor. i think he's grasping at this point and is saying what he has to say at this sgloint what do you make of that? >> yeah. i mean, honestly, the establishment candidate in the race is certainly donald trump. nikki haley is the most formidable option to take him on for front-runner status. she's in second place now in iowa, new hampshire and in south carolina. to the other point it's still a tremendous lead that donald trump has that she would have to overcome but for someone like a ron desantis it's iowa or bust, and he's still not within striking distance of donald trump. nikki haley, on the other hand, has focused quite a bit on new hampshire. new hampshire is unique in that ind.can vote in the primary. would i keep an eye on governor chris >> repor >> reporter: unu -- sununu. all eyes are on new hampshire if nikki healy is going to pull off a miracle. >> let's bring in kate bedingfield. chris christie made some very critical comments about the way nikki haley has tried to thread the needle on the issue of abortion. listen and watch this. >> you can't say one thing in iowa and something different in new hampshire. i was on the stage next to governor haley when she gave a long talk at i think it was the second debate about how we don't want to divide the country on this. we need to respect everyone's opinions and when she's sitting across from bob vanderplatz in iowa she said i would sign a six-week abortion ban. well, which one is it? >> is this a vulnerability for nikki haley, kate? >> no question. i think, you know, chris christie is absolutely right about that and if nikki haley were to pull an inside straight and get the republican nomination, she would be answering for that six-week abortion ban answer for the entirety of the campaign. i know certainly the biden campaign and democrats would be forcing her to, and we've seen across the country that that kind of position on abortion isn't palatable to voters. yes, that's an enormous -- that's enormous vulnerability for her, and i think, you know, this endorsement from koch is interesting because iowa is a ground game state, a state all about organization, having resources, having money to be able -- if she has any shot at sort of pulling off some sort of upset in iowa. alyssa is absolutely right. she's focused on new hampshire but for desantis the question is entirely iowa. if nikki haley can pull off even a better than expected performance, doesn't have to win, but if she can pull off a better than expected performance that will give her momentum going into new hampshire. it's not impossible. but the thing we haven't talked about here that is important to think about is if anybody other than donald trump gets the republican nomination, donald trump is going to be there lobbing attacks at them. i don't think anybody thinks donald trump is going to step back and say, well, you know what, nikki haley won the nomination fair and square. if another candidate is able to pull off an upset here, they are going to be grappling with donald trump in addition to taking on joe biden moving forward. >> you know, it's interesting. you can't help but notice that these candidates are spending a lot of time targeting each other right now rather than taking on -- taking the fight to the front-runner donald trump. is that a mistake? >> well, to the point we just heard earlier. if you can't handle the heat, you're certainly not going to handle the fire later on when you are perhaps up against the front-runner in this race. also, people have to draw some kind of distinction, and right now you're seeing with desantis it didn't totally work to say he was more to the right of trump or that he was trump without the baggage. some of these arguments aren't working, and you don't know that until they are critiquing each other so i don't think it's a mistake, but, again, time is of the essence if you are trying to in some way bring together the people who are not supporting donald trump in the primary right now and convince them that you're a viable alternative. >> alyssa, as we approach the final stretch of the campaign now before iowa, do you see an openness among republican voters to actually picking a candidate other than donald trump? >> i think so. i think that there is momentum, and we, you know, polls can only tell us so much. not a single vote has been actually been cast. the caucuses are more than 50 days out. nikki haley has been somebody who has emerged as somebody who can distinguish herself from donald trump. i think world events what, we see with israel and hamas, she shows a knowledge and the depth on foreign policy that i think is appeal, and i do think she's able to resonate with independents in a way that donald trump is radioactive. herein lies the problem that the gop faces in the trump era. nikki haley performs much better head-to-head beating him by six points but she's got to get through the primary and that's still very much an uphill battle. donald trump is hands down the favorite at this point but it's not too late to rule out some kind of an upset. >> important point indeed. thanks to all of you very, very much. we'll, of course, continue these conversations down the road. just ahead, my one-on-one interview with a key political figure here in israel. a palestinian israeli member of thenessette, israel's parliament. he weighs in on the efforts to extend the gaza truce and release more h hostages. that's coming up nexext. we're live here in israel where a new group of freed hostages arrived just a short while ago. ten israelis released in exchange for 30 palestinian prisoners and detainees. i spoke earlier with a politician who truly has a unique perspective on all of these developments as a palestinian israeli member of the knesset, israel's parliament and the chairman of the united arab party. i spoke with this politician who has this unique perspective just outside of tel aviv, and i want to play this clip for our viewers. >> chairman, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> this is a very difficult time right now, as you well know. the citizens of israel are reeling from the october 7 massacre in the south near gaza, and you have said, and i'm quoting you now, the arab citizens of israel feel the pain twice, once as an arab and once as an israeli. can you explain what this pain feels like? >> we are both citizens of israel. we're a part of this country, and we're also part of the palestinian people, and our strife is to connect those two identities and to feel the pain of both sides and to feel the connection from both our civic identity and our peoplehood identity. we tried to connect and understand both the pains as well as the ambitions, the work of the israeli people, their pain, their suffering as well as their hopes and dreams and simultaneously we feel both the hopes and dreams of our palestinian people as well as their pain as well. we hope to be connecting a positive view between those two things and linking both our civic identity as well as our peoplehood identity together. >> we're meeting right now, chairman abbas, at a very, very sensitive moment. the temporary truce is continuing, but it's unclear how long it will continue. looking at the situation right now, do you want to see this truce extended potentially into a longer cease-fire? >> yes. we are calling for ending this war and this conflict an extending the cease-fire, but not only to end this war in particular, but wey are calling for the ending of the entire arab-isreali palestinian war altogether. it's important to stop the hostilities and bring stability, but it needs to be with a vision for a long-term plan, and we call for a change in this reaction and to stop only looking at our past and also have a vision of the future for what we want to achieve in this place and to work on creating mutual recognition in order to strive for a positive discussion over a true political initiative that will ensure an israeli state alongside a palestinian state. >> i know, chairman abbas, you recently had a chance to meet with some israeli families of hostages being held by hamas in gaza. what did you say to them? >> so, first of all, it's important to state that the cease-fire is important in terms of bringing back the hostages, and, yes, i've met with the families of the hostages. this is a humanitarian issue, and my meeting with them is -- my first meeting with them was first and foremost to show compassion and humanity and support and to offer my support in any way and shape i can, and everything that they asked for i was ready to help and do, and we sent a mutual letter in my name and the newspaper of the families of the hostages to president biden, to the turkish president erdogan, to the emir of qatar, and i'm also glad to say that yesterday the families that i've met with have all welcomed their loved ones back. >> that's encouraging, thank you. >> and i know you have said and i'm quoting you now, mr. chairman, that hamas' actions do not represent the arab society nor our palestinian people nor our palestinian nation. that's what you said. i know you have strongly condemned the hamas attack on the israelis along the kibbutz scene near gaza. how much damage has hamas done to the palestinian cause? >> first of all, i need to stress this and to be very clear, that any action that is taken against innocent people, against women, children, elderly is inhumane and it goes against the values of islam as well, and we, you know, categorically condemn this. this cannot be discussed, and it cannot be justified because it goes against all human values and religious values as well, but in the same time, of course, we cannot forget that there is a political struggle that is happening, but the actions that the armed groups have decided to take and to use violence in order to achieve their means, looking at the past have always failed, and the victim of each and every one of those militant attempts have been the palestinian people were the ones who paid the price in the past. in this conflict we look at the number of people killed. we're talking about over a 15,000 palestinians who lost their lives in this last war, and in order to move forward, the palestinian militant groups need to take down their arms. they need to work hand in hand with the palestinian authority in order to realize a national movement that will aspire for a state of palestine with a peace resolution alongside with the state of israel. >> and coming up, we'll have news from back in the united states on an alleged assassination attempt in new york city. new details on the arrest of a foreign national and why the u.s. justice department says one country in particular was directly involved. we've got some more breaking news this hour. we want to show you right now some new video just into cnn. this is the first part of the convoy of those newly released israeli hostages arriving at the air base here in israel. cnn's jeremy diamond is on the scene for us. jeremy, what are you seeing there because it looks very, very exciting. >> wolf, there were scenes of absolute jubilation here right outside of the hatzerim airbase where the hostages were headed to board helicopters and then to head to hospitals across israel. we saw dozens of israelis here, men, women and children, a lot of excitement and music to try to welcome and to give these newly released hostages a very warm welcome back to israel, but you have to also understand that this is extremely overwhelming for many of these newly released hostages. earlier we saw two russian-israeli americans, one smiling and waving and this time we saw people standing behind and i know from talking to families of hostages that for them they come, and all of a sudden everybody knows their faces, everybody knows their stories. and for so many of them, that can be a little bit overwhelming. but certainly they received a very warm welcome here as they arrived back in israel within the last couple of hours, wolf. and now they will be on their way to meet their families. >> yeah, we're so happy they are now back home in israel. jeremy diamond on the scene for us, thank you very, very much. and we'll have more news right after this. tonight, we're learning about an attempted murder-for-hire plot in the united states. federal prosecutors charging a man from india in connection with an alleged plan to assassinate an american citizen in new york city. cnn's brian todd has more on the indictment. brian, this alleged plot is steeped in international political intrigue that extends far beyond u.s. borders. >> reporter: wolf, there are ties here to another plot in canada, both allegedly ordered by the indian government. these alleged plots were brazen, reckless, and in one case, deadly. for the second time in only about six months, we're learning of an alleged assassination attempt by the indian government on north american soil. according to an indictment unsealed today, u.s. prosecutors have charged an indian national in an alleged murder-for-hire plot against a sikh activist in new york city. the indictment doesn't name the man who was targeted. but u.s. officials familiar with the case tell cnn he is gurpatwant singh pannun, an activist who's been pushing for a separate sikh state in india. >> what we've got to do is to break the backbone of this india. >> reporter: today he spoke to cnn. >> i am aware that my life is in danger, they wanted to kill me. >> reporter: according to u.s. prosecutors, the man charged in the latest case nikhil gupta, agreed to pay an undercover officer who he believed to be a hitman, 100 ins dollars to target the victim, and did so at the direction of an indian government official. >> brian, it's very sloppy, these things, and so risky, especially from a country who's got good diplomatic relations with the united states. this is such slapstick hollywood. i can't believe it. >> reporter: the suspect in this alleged plot was actually arrested back in june around the same time as another alleged indian assassination plot against a sikh activist, which succeeded. he was gunned down near vancouver, british columbia. >> canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of india and the killing of a canadian citizen. >> reporter: why would the government of nationalist indian prime minister narendra modi try to kill sikh activists who are thousands of miles away? analysts say while some sikhs are pushing for an independent sikh state in india, they're not considered a major threat to modi's power. >> the indian governor led by prime minister modi always wants to project strength, it wants to show they're willing and able to go after any type of potential threat to the indian state. >> reporter: "the washington post" reports that president biden and his security team complained to modi's government about the alleged plot in the u.s., and urged modi to hold people accountable. but as for long-term consequences for modi -- >> i would argue that the u.s. is willing to give some free passes to india, that it wouldn't necessarily give many if not most other countries because it views india as a critical partner to help the u.s. counter china. >> reporter: the indian government vehemently denied any involvement in the assassination in canada regarding the alleged assassination plot here in the u.s., the indian foreign ministry issued a statement saying that the indian government takes the information seriously and is investigating, but the statement didn't confirm or deny the existence of a plot or any indian government involvement in it. wolf? >> brian todd reporting, brian, thank you very much. finally tonight, we want to update you on the status of one of the israeli hostages. on monday, some of you will remember i spoke with yair rotem just after his 13-year-old niece hila was freed. but in what the idf called a violation of the terms of the truce, she was released without her mother, who remained a hostage. here's a bit of my conversation with them. watch this. >> she tells me everything in a really cold way. she tells me, mother is here and they came and they took us, and they didn't give us a lot of time to prepare, but i had time to give her a hug, and my sister, her mother, was crying when the girls, the children left, and, yeah, that's how it ended. and she is still there. >> we are so happy to report tonight that hila's mother raiya has now been released. she was released today and is now safely back in israel. we, of course, wish the entire family only the very, very best. good news. and to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." you can always follow me on x, formerly known as twitter. you can instagram us @wolfblitzer. tweet the show @cnnsitroom. "erin burnett outfront" starts "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com "outfront" next, breaking news. the fragile truce betwee