♪ we're monitoring breaking news right now. the full israeli cabinet is meeting behind closed doors, going over a deal that could bring home dozens of hostages taken by hamas. the well-being of those hostages hanging on this decision. it comes after prime minister benjamin netanyahu met earlier today with key officials about the negotiations. the deal would end the torment of so many of these hostages and their families who have been demanding their safe return for more than a month now. let's get the latest from alex. how soon could a deal be announced? >> that could be quite soon. we believe the ball is in israel's court, they're going through their legal and political process to approve the deal. that on the hamas side of things, it's been approved. an expectation once all is said and done is that israel would announce they agreed to the deal but also announced by qatar, and they have been the key mediator on this because they have a direct conversation, direct line into hamas, they also speak with u.s. and israel as well. these are the broad strokes of what we expect the deal to entail. an immediate group of 50 people being released from hamas custody, all civilians, all women and children. this would take course over five -- four to five days during which time there would be a pause. the fighting would stop. israel would stop fighting against hamas, hamas would stop firing against israel. in theory, the guns would fall silent. what's also interesting is this will be a swap, if this happens. in that for the 50 women and children who we are understand are israeli or dual nationals, all israelis but some have other passports as well, around 150 palestinians would be released at the same time from israeli prisons. there is a possibility that if all of this goes according to plan over this four or five-day period, the pause could be extended and more of these hostages could be released by hamas and in turn more palestinian prisoners could be released by israel. >> the key, if it goes to plan. a tenuous proposition, right? you and i from early on were trying to figure out how many hostages were being held by hamas. we learned it's not just hamas holding on to hostages but other rival factions, even criminal enterprises. what do we know about the exact number of folks being held? >> the numbers have been all over the place. the fluctuations have changed as the israeli authorities and other countries like the united states have figured out essentially who is still missing. the number settled on right now is just shy of 240 hostages in gaza. it's 237. again, it's a mix of all different kinds of nationalities. you have israelis, you have at least ten american citizens missing as well. there was -- there's a 3-year-old toddler who is being held. she has american citizenship. we understand she will turn four years old later this week on friday. there's an expectation she would hopefully be part of this first batch of hostages to come out. again, some 50 of them. there are also other nationalities. thai, a lot of migrants go there to work. what is not being mentioned is a release of the men. the question is what hamas plans to do particularly with israeli men, they could be reservists so hamas would look to trade them for a large number of israeli men. >> as we've seen play out before in 2011 when one israeli soldier represented 1,000 prisoners that israel released. there have beeneen hostages released in gaza. tell us about them. >> if these 50 were to be released, this would be the third group released. by far the biggest. israel said if we're going to agree to a pause, a real stop in the fighting, you, hamas, have to release a large group of prisoners. we believe it will be at least 50 in the first wave. there have been releases already. two, in fact, natalie and judith, they are american citizens. they were the first to be released by hamas on october 20th. older israeli women were released three days later on october 23rd. the way they were released, they were handed over by hamas to the international red cross. they were then taken to the border crossing, handed over to egyptian and israeli forces and then taken to doctors to get a medical checkup. it's unclear the mechanisms of how we understand this latest hostage release to unfold. it may happen in a similar fashion. >> potentially a preview, if this deal ultimately goes through. a alex, tell us about the palestinian prisoners that hamas is aiming to get released. >> there's a huge number of palestinians who are in israeli prisons in the west bank, in east jerusalem, in israel proper. the vast majority of them are men. again, we're not talking about the release on either side of men right now. one important note, boris, of the 8,300, 3,000 are being held in what's called administrative detention, which is this in between area where they don't know what the charges are against them. they're being held without trial. they can be held for months or even years. that can be extended for reasons unknown to them. the palestinians that we're talking about right now to be released are, again, the women and children, there are at last count some 463 women and children who are being held. by children, i mean mainly teenagers under the age of 18. those are the ones who would be released in exchange for these hamas hostages. again, three of them for every one to be released by hamas. >> we'll keep an eye on how it plays out. the full cabinet in israel meeting right now to discuss the details, finalizing potentially this swap. thank you so much for the reporting. cnn is covering this from every angle. we want to take you live to the region with oren liebermann, matthew chance, and becky. oren, we don't know how israel's government will vote on all of this, but there's been indications, at least two-far right groups of the government saying they'll vote against this deal. how do you see this playing out? >> yeah. two of the far-right members of prime minister benjamin netanyahu's government have come out against the deal with you they don't have the numbers to sink this on their own. it's very much in netanyahu's interest to make sure this gets across the finish line. he's well aware he's deeply unpopular here. if this falls apart because of his coalition, he'll get more unpopular. we've heard from families in a meeting with the war cabinet yesterday, they say they were promised if it gets to this point, it will get over the line. ministers in the government said once it gets to the point where it's in front of them, they will make sure this gets approved. with that promise they're more confident than ever before that they'll see a prisoner release here or a hostage release announcement perhaps sometime imminently. it's already gone through a couple of the stages here. first the war cabinet, which is netanyahu and very few others. then the slightly wider security cabinet, which includes other critical ministries, now it's at the full cabinet. that's the last step in the approval process. that's necessary because of what this deal entails and that is the release of palestinian prisoners which can't simply be done unilaterally by the prime minister. he needs the support of the government and that's why this is critical. there is a bit more. there is then a 24-hour window in which appeals can be filed at the supreme court to try to stop this. so, that also has to start -- that clock also has to start ticking. that starts right after the government vote, which we should expect here fairly soon given that the full cabinet is meeting right now. again, that's the final stage in the process here as this moves forward. two of prime minister benjamin netanyahu's far-right coalition parties coming out against it, but they don't have the numbers to make sure or to stop this from going through here. the families eagerly waiting for word, even if they don't know who will be released, they say this is a critical first step to get that ball rolling. one hostage deal they say hopefully leads to many more in the near future. oren, thank you very much. i want to go to matthew chance who has been talking with family members and, in fact, is there with the mother of a 13-year-old hostage. matthew, i know this has been a frustrating process for a lot of these families who say they have not gotten a lot of information. what are they saying to you now that we're on the brink of the deal? >> well, i mean, i think it's fair to say that feelings are mixed here tonight in central tel aviv with many of the families and the sympathizers of the families who have loved ones who are still held hostage tonight. mixed feelings because there's some excitement and happiness that some people may be released if this deal gets through the israeli government. but also some bitter sweet feelings about the fact that so many of the 240 hostages inside gaza will not be part of this first wave of hostage releases, which is something on the order of 50 or so people, according to the israeli government officials i've spoken to. i'm joined by -- it's difficult to present this. it's tragic, but i'm joined here by realma, who is a mother of gali, and this is your son, 16 years old. he's no longer with us. >> yes. >> he was murdered. he's no longer with us. your daughter, who is 13 years old, she is a hostage. >> yes. from the 7th of october. yeah. >> how optimistic are you, if i can use that word, how optimistic are you tonight that your daughter at least may be able to come home? >> it's the most -- i have no -- nothing else to believe in. just the way that she will be back soon. and the hope is keeping me alive now. and i believe that she will come back. >> speaking to your family members who are also here tonight, some of them, they were saying she's very strong. they're very optimistic. >> yeah. >> that she'll get through this. >> gali is a strong young girl. she's 13. she is very -- she's an optimistic girl. she always has been energetic and you can't not miss her when she's around her. i hope that she's strong there. >> i hope so, too. i hope she comes out alive and well. let me ask you briefly, there's a government meeting under way right now. >> yes. >> the israeli cabinet are discussing whether to approve this deal or not. >> mm-hmm. >> do you think the israeli government has handled this tragedy, this crisis properly? have they handled it well? >> it's also -- i'm hoping so, because i don't have anybody else that manages this country, it's them. for a month or more, nobody has spoken with us from the government. just yesterday we met with the cabinet, all the families. it was the first time we spoke with them eye to eye. it's supposed to be much before, not after a month and a half. >> does that make you feel -- >> i'm angry. >> but does it make you feel the plight of you, the plight of your families and the 240 other families, do you think you're not the priority of this government or you haven't been up to -- >> we wanted them to say that this is the priority. the hostages is the priority. the first priority of the war. we didn't hear that from everybody. but now, today, they said it. finally. so, i'm optimistic now because they said it finally. >> well, i'm glad. again, i'm so sorry for your loss. you know, i wish you the best. >> thank you. >> for your daughter. there you have it. as i say, some optimism being expressed there. some relief that some hostages may finally now come out, but again, very mixed feelings about the way this has been handled and about the fact that so many people, no matter what happens over the next five or six days, so many people are still, it seems at this stage, going to be remainings a h s a as hostages gaza. >> matthew, thank you very much. hopefully the next time we see you and her it will be with her 13-year-old daughter. becky anderson is in qatar. becky, how did this coalesce and come together after all these weeks of negotiations? >> the parameters have been very similar to those that we understand to be in this deal or truce that is expected to be announced very, very soon. it's just been getting both sides, israel and hamas, to agree specifically to some of the really thorny details on this. i think from the israeli side it's been about the exchange of palestinian prisoners, for israeli hostages, just how many would be exchanged. at this point, the deal as we understand it, has a 3-1 sort of ratio. for every one israeli hostage released, three palestinian women or teenagers will be released. it was also -- there was much to and fro about how long the truce would be. the period of pause before these hostages would be released. then who these hostages would be. for many weeks now it's been quite clear that this -- these negotiations have really prioritized women and children. that certainly sounds like what we should expect to hear in the hours to come. i have just received a statement from qatar. let me read it to you. the proposal for a humanitarian pause and the release of hostages was delivered to the israeli side in the early hours of this morning. just to be clear, it's now 10:00 at night here. that was following weeks of continuous negotiations, the statement says. the state of qatar is now awaiting the result of the israeli government's vote on the proposal. let's be quite clear about what this proposal, this truce in the gaza siege as we are likely to see the wording of this deal. what does that look like? it's 50 hostages, women and children likely mostly children as we understand it. there at least 40 children being held hostage at this point. that would be in exchange for something like 150 palestinian women and teenagers being held in israeli jails. the pause, the period of pause -- a pause in hostilities on both sides would be for a period of four days, possibly as long as five. what would happen during that time? these hostages would be released in groups of approximately ten. you would also see at the opening of the rafah crossing some 300 trucks worth of aid a day. that's been a demand by hamas and that's something, as we understand, the israelis have also conceded to. an end or a truce or a pause in the hostilities between hamas and israel on the ground and in the air. this is an important point. the israelis have been flying surveillance drones over gaza, trying to locate where these hostages are. those drones would only fly for periods of six hours at a time. so these are the main parameters of a deal, which if it is announced in the next few hours, just after the israeli cabinet, who is expected to agree on this deal, then it would be the biggest breakthrough, diplomatic breakthrough since october 7th and the day of that awful massacre on the israeli side, 1,200 dead and so many taken hostage. since then, the death of 13,000 g gazans, mostly women and children. this is not a cease-fire, this is a pause or a truce for a period of days to allow out some of thehostages. as matthew was explaining, speaking to the mother of that 13-year-old child, clearly she hopes her daughter would be one of those released. it's an incredibly emotional time for all of those involved. for the hostage families who have young men or slightly older men but of serving age being held, it's very unlikely those men will be released at this point any time soon. no cease-fire, just a truce, at this pace just 50 hostages. but at least it's a start. >> yeah. becky anderson, that language so important, a pause, a truce, no cease-fire, but on the precipice of what could be a significant moment. becky anderson, thank you very much for that reporting. we're joined by israeli government spokesperson alon levy. thank you for making time to come on. a source telling us that full cabinet is meeting to discuss this hostage deal which becky anderson laid out. alex saying the ball is in israel's court now. where do things stand now? that's right. the government of israel is meeting at this hour to discuss this. if and when the government approves that deal, there will be a 24-hour period in which families of victims of the terrorists who may be released as part of that deal are able to apply to the supreme court. there a measure of judicial review here. then we very much hope we will be able to begin to bring hostages home. it's been nearly 50 days. nobody has been sleeping in this country. we can't begin to imagine what a 3-year-old girl whose father was murdered in front of her has been going through during 50 days as a hostage in a hamas tunnel, who is bathing her, feeding her, hugging her, playing with her. we hope to bring them back. we hope to continue and plan to continue until we bring all 240 hostages home. you were reporting that the number of 50 -- let's remember that's only a fifth of the total hostages inside the gaza strip. this war will end with us bringing all of our hostages home and removing hamas from power so it can never abduct our people again. >> i just want to clarify what you just said, i want to make sure i'm understanding it properly. you're saying if the cabinet agrees to this deal, then there would be 24 hours in which it could go to the supreme court there and then after 24 hours is when we could potentially see some movement. am i getting that right? >> correct, because we are talking about prisoners who have been convicted on terrorism charges, not directly on charges of murder but terrorism charges. and there are families in israel who lost loved ones because of those acts of terrorism. they have the right to appeal to the supreme court against the release of those prisoners. we hope if and when those hurdles are overcome, we can bring our hostages home, then we'll be able to continue putting more pressure on hamas in order to get the rest of them out. let's remember, this is not happening because hamas is suddenly deciding to be nice, humanitarians or boy scouts, it's happening because we've been putting unrelenting military pressure on hamas. hamas has been begging for a breather because it's getting clobber, and it's that military pressure that brought it to a position where it's willing to release some of the people abducted on october 7th. >> on that note, if this deal is approved, it will likely include a four to five-day pause in the fighting. i know you're saying you want to further these discussions to free more of these hostages. do you think that pause will become standard for releasing future hostages or future releases and how will the idf manage through this? you all said it could give hamas a chance to restock, reload for potential future attacks. >> i think let's wait until the government passes that decision, if it votes to do so. then we will be able to make proper announcements when decisions are made and fill you in on the details. at the moment, this is still a proposal under discussion, nothing has been officially announced just yet. we hope that after we bring hostages home we'll continue putting pressure on hamas because that is the only thing that is going to convince the terror organization that burned, beheaded, tortured, raped, mutilated so many people on the 7th of october to release hostages. not because they have pangs of consciousness or because they know it's evil to hold a 10-month-old baby hostage, but it's the pressure they've been put under. >> i want to talk about the hostage families. matthew chance interviewing a mother on word of her 13-year-old daughter who was taken hostage. her 16-year-old son was killed. a lot of these families have said publicly they have gotten very little if any exchange with the government. they have not been kept abreast of many developments. some of them are angry at that lack of communication from the government. i know a group of them met with the prime minister yesterday. it was the first time for a lot of them that they were meeting with him. why hasn't there been more commu