delay. this hour, i'll speak with a key senior adviser to the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in tel aviv, israel, and this is the situation room: special report. ♪ our top story this hour, israel now on edge as the deadline for a truce between hamas and a major hostage release draws closer and closer. our chief global affairs correspondent matthew chance is joining me here in tel aviv. he's got details. what do we know about the hostages who are expected to be released? >> we know there's an initial list, wolf, of 13 people on that list and that list was given by hamas to israel via qatar which has been playing a major role. all of the hostages on the list for potential release tomorrow, i'm saying potential because, you know, it's already been put back once 24 hours. it's a fragile deal. they're all women and children. they believe there are as many as 40 children being held captive inside gaza. now, in terms of the names, that list has not been publicized for good reason. they're not making public who exactly is on that list. but israeli officials say that they have contacted all the families to tell them whether or not they are on the list. you can imagine, it's a very anxious time, a stressful time all across israel right now. but specifically for those families who have either just found out that their loved ones are on the list or perhaps even worse, found out they're not on the list. >> i know you've been speaking with a lot of family members of these hostages. what is the bottom line? what are they saying to you? >> actually, i mean, the -- some of the families that i've spoken to, it's mixed. some of the families i've spoken to are optimistic, they're hopeful. even if their loved ones are not on this first initial group of hostages to be released. it's going to go on for the next few days. they're still optimistic that this is a step in the right direction. that eventually, they do now stand a chance of getting their loved ones back. certainly the people who have got women and children who are being held captive inside gauze. it's mixed, though, because, you know, whatever happens, i mean the israelis are talking about perhaps 50 people, 80 people, perhaps more depending how long this goes on for, still a lot of people left behind, the soldiers, the men. no one is talking about the possibility of them coming back and one woman who was attacked, very despondent. her 38-year-old nephew was not even being talked about at this point. mixed feelings. happiness, but also bittersweet. >> let's hope they come home. matthew chance, thank you very much. for reaction now from the white house, i want to bring in arlette saenz. she's traveling with president biden in noneantucket, massachusetts. what's president biden saying about the hostages tonight? hold on one minute, i think we lost our connection with arlette. don't disconnect. i want to bring back matthew chance. all right. matthew, you got your microphone there. let's talk a little bit about what else you're hearing. this is a really sensitive moment. i've been speaking to a lot of israelis, they're really nervous that despite it looking optimistic, it could collapse. it's not a done deal until it's a deal. >> exactly. and there are a lot of moving parts. there are lots of logistical aspects of this, the transfer of the hostages to the border in rafah, handing over to red cross and then israeli hands that could go wrong. it's one of the reasons why we've seen this deal already be set back 24 hours. it could be set back again. hopefully it won't be. but there are all these problems. and i've stuff about what's happening with the palestinian prisoners as well. palestinian prisoners are going to be released as well. and what israeli officials are telling us is that they're going to release 39 palestinian prisoners when these 13 israeli hostages are eventually in israeli hands. they're swapping three for one. 13 times 3, 39. but they made the point this morning that they're not going to be doing that, they're not going let a single palestinian out until the hostages are safely back in israeli hands. another part of the deal that could set it back if it goes wrong. >> i want to see if arlette saenz is available. i think we had a technical issue with her. i asked you what president biden is now saying about the hostage situation tonight. >> yeah, wolf, president biden struck an optimistic tone about this release of the hostages. it is expected to take place tomorrow. but he told reporters he wouldn't be ready to provide an update until that first wave of hostage releases is completed. but the white house and president biden have been very keyed in into how this deal is being implemented. that is a key focus heading into tomorrow's release that's expected. and one big question for officials is how many americans will be included in this initial batch of hostages that are released? there is a hope that there will be three americans, two women and also that young 3-year-old girl, who will be part of this larger package. but they're waiting to see exactly if they will be released tomorrow. president biden telling reporters he was keeping his fingers crossed that the 3-year-old toddler would be part of this release. now u.s. officials are expected to notify the families of any americans who are released once they are departing -- departing gauze. that's according to a u.s. official. an american official or a trusted third party will need to set eyes on these americans before they move forward with notifying their families. but the white house is hoping that in the coming days, there will be that release of three americans included in this deal and so they're waiting to see how this all plays out tomorrow. >> arlette, while i have you, how did president biden spend this thanksgiving? >> president biden is here in nantucket, massachusetts, this is a family tradition for them to visit this island for decades now. the president and the first lady spent time this morning making phone calls to service members from each of the military branches. they stopped by a firehouse to drop off five pumpkin pies for first responders and firefighters working there. and the president's granddaughter posted this photo of the family saying they partook in an annual polar plunge, jumping into the waters off the coast of none tantucket wrapped in a towel. we're expecting that the family is going is to sit down for a thanksgiving dinner at some point this evening, a quite night at home for the bidens. >> thank you so much. joining us now, a senior adviser to prime minister benjamin netanyahu. thank you very much. this hostage deal was supposed to be taking place today, but it's been delayed until tomorrow. are you concerned it could be delayed again? >> like president biden, like israelis are keeping their fingers crossed that this will, in fact, happen, and we'll see 13 israelis returned tomorrow. that's our hope. but we have to wait and see. we know who we're dealing with. hamas is a brutal terrorist organization and we have to be ready for things that were unexpected. >> why was there a delay? i'm not clear why they decided to display from today to tomorrow. >> i can't go into the details. i'm sorry. all i can say is that i'm hopeful that it will happen tomorrow. i'm keeping my fingers crossed. >> how confident are you that this will be the beginning of at least 50 israeli hostages coming home? >> that's the understanding reached. and that's what we're hoping for. though it's bittersweet. because if we get 50 home, there's still 190 in hamas captivities being held hostage and, of course, we want them all home. this is basically just the start. do you have confidence that this will work? >> i don't have a lot of confidence. but because hamas has been under military pressure, we've been hitting their machines, commanders, eliminating their top military commanders, they're under pressure. they want this time-out -- >> they're going to get a pause. >> they get a pause. >> if there's three or four or five days, whatever the pause is, that it will enable hamas to rebuild? >> obviously, it's a calculated risk. the prime minister said this was not an easy decision. but we have the priority is now we have a chance to bring out hostages. obviously, amongst this group, there are children, infants, even a baby. and this, i think, is a crucial point. a 9-month-old baby who was taken hostage by hamas, he's now 10 months old. he was a hostage before he could walk or talk. this shows exactly what we're up against. >> it's brutal when you think about it. the defense minister says that the war could continue for another at least two months to try to destroy hamas. what do you say? >> as long as it takes to get our goal. and our goal is one, to destroy hamas' military machine. number two, is to get all of our hostages out. number three, is to create a new reality in gaza where israelis don't have to live in fear anymore of these terrorists crossing the border in the middle of the night and butchering our people. those goals will be met. >> after this initial pause, in order to get more hostages home, will there be more pauses. >> hamas has an option. it's in the understanding. it's in the framework. that after the four days, if they automatically release, if they tell us that they're ready to release another ten, they get another day. and then another and another. to get our hostages out, we're willing to continue the pause. but ultimately, our goal does not change. there will be a gaza strip without hamas, without hamas running the area. ultimately israelis have -- we refuse to live any longer next to this terrorist enclave. living afraid that the terrorists are going to cross the border and butcher their children. >> as of the truce, it looks like it's going to happen, at least some israeli hostages are going to be coming home. it looks the situation with the north is heating up. are you worried about another major war erupting up there? >> of course. we got to keep our eye on hezbollah in the north. hezbollah is hamas's twin sister. >> are they part of this deal? >> they're not part of this deal. we're watching the north very, very closely. >> there are no pause as far as retaliating against hezbollah. >> they're attacking us and we're returning fire. we didn't want to see any fire in the north. this is hezbollah's choice. we want hezbollah. if hamas succeeded in fighting us on october 7th and we paid a price in blood that israelis are anguished about. but if hezbollah in the north starts something, we won't be taken by surprise. we've got our eye on the ball. we're watching closely. if they escalate, we are mobilized and ready to respond forcibly. >> hezbollah has thousands of rockets and missiles and bombs provided by iran, potentially a much greater threat to israel than hamas. >> 100%. we want to concentrate on hamas. we prefer that it stays quiet in the north. if they force us to fight, we will win divisively. >> is the israeli government and the biden administration on the same page. >> i believe so. on the important issue. the need to destroy hamas. two, the need to create a new reality in gaza, and three, to get all the hostages home. we're on the same page. >> thank you, mark. up next, a closer look at qatar's crucial role in mediating the negotiations leading up to the truce and the hostage release. we'll be right back. hours away from the truce and the first exchange of israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners. brian todd takes a closer look at qatar's role as a key intermediary in helping broker this historic agreement. >> a pivotal player in getting the hostages freed from hamas captivity is a tiny emmerit, with a quarter of the population of new york city. qatar in the persian gulf ruled by a 43-year-old shake who took over when his father abdicated ten years ago. qatar has been indispensable in brokering this hostage deal. >> qatar is central. it has relationships with a broad range of terrorist groups throughout the region. >> reporter: qatar was instrumental in getting four hostages released about two weeks after the current war started and that wasn't qatar's first go-round with deals like that. >> qatar has had a long role in these prisoner negotiations, most recently playing an important role in getting five american prisoners released from iran. there was $6 billion of iranian funds that were sent to qatar. >> reporter: that deal took place in september. analysts say mediation has long been one of qatar's most marketable skills, specifically it's ability to be an interlocutor between international players who are at odds with one another. >> they're seen as sort of a fair player by many of the different actors in the region. they have leverage over hamas. >> reporter: for years, qatar has given sanctuary to hamas leaders. >> the state of qatar funding hamas for many years underwriting the salaries of hamas and palestinian employees in gaza. >> reporter: but qatar has been one of america's closest allies in the middle by allowing the u.s. to maintain an air base, headquarters of u.s. central command. >> we ran operations in iraq, afghanistan out of there. we continue to run operations. >> reporter: qatar was crucial in facilitating the evacuation from afghanistan. it's maintained back-channel talks with israel and sharing an enormous natural gas field with iran all of which allows qatar to have dialogue with key players in the region and qatar is willing to do things over negotiations that the u.s. and others won't. >> the united states typically in the past has not paid ransoms. but qatar has no qualms about it. >> reporter: analysts say when tensions in the middle east subside, qatar will be under significant pressure to resever its relationship with hamas, but they say it's an open question right now whether qatari leaders will take that step. brian todd, cnn, washington. brian todd, thank you very much for that important report. coming up, we have live reports from here in israel with that official pause in fighting now just a few hours away. and the first hostages set for release. stay with us. you're in the situation room. you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? it's true. plus when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. we're following major new developments in israel. 13 hostages could be just hours away from leaving gaza after more than six weeks in hamas captivity. with more to come in the days ahead, if, if the truce with hamas holds firm. cnn's jeremy diamond is on the story for us joining us from israel, not far from gaza. what are you hearing? i understand there's been some serious military activity going on tonight in northern gaza. >> reporter: wolf, we are less than six hours away from that expected truce between israel and hamas. over the last several hours, we have been witnessing a very notable uptick in israeli activity inside the gaza strip. we've been listening and watching as israeli forces have been pummelling northern gaza. we have witnessed heavy explosions, outgoing artillery fire as well as machine gunfire coming from inside gaza, indicating active battles between the forces. the israeli military said earlier today that they intended to continue carrying out their military operations inside of gaza up until they get the order to stop. business as usual is how one idf spokesman describe it to us earlier today. we are witnessing this continuation of activity up until that truce. you can hear some of the booms still going off in the background. but at 7:00 a.m., if everything goes according to plan, there will be a pause in the fighting to allow for the release of the first 13 hostages who are expected to leave gaza and enter israel. they're going to be met by red cross officials who will take them to israeli forces at various points between israel and the gaza. they will then go to hospitals where they're expected to meet their families. some of them will meet their families near the border if they are under 12 years old. we don't know, of course, the condition of those hostages and that is part of why they are going to be heading to hospitals. but we are witnessing behind us, wolf, as you can see, some of the lighting coming from behind us, likely flares. but also potentially fires burning from some of those strikes that have been coming from that very same direction. but after this pause in fighting ends, wolf, after those 50 hostages, perhaps more, if the pause is extended, the israeli officials have made clear that this war is going to continue until they reach their aims of not only getting back all of those nearly 240 hostages, but also destroying hamas and removing hamas from their hold on power in gaza. >> jeremy diamond, stay safe over there, jeremy. i tell you that every day. appreciate it very much. palestinians in gaza and the west bank are anxiously awaiting the truce between israel and hamas. let's get more on all of these developments. what is cnn learning about the current situation in gaza? >> well, as jeremy showed us there, wolf, there has been an intensification of the bombardment. and given what we know of the toll, the cost to civilians, you can only imagine what it's like tonight. this video we're about to show is from earlier today, but this man perfectly captures what so many gazans are feeling, wolf. take a listen. >> translator: we pray, but the fear, this fear, i can't describe it. we die every night in this war. we hear the sound. about to strike. and we don't know where it will hit. i missile destroys a block. imagine what happens when we are hit with three missiles. >> reporter: and, wolf, that was before this latest escalation that we've been reporting on. it's so important to remind our viewers that until a couple of days before this deal was announced, prime minister netanyahu was at mdamant that te would be no truce. that he would continue bring this war to hamas in gaza which, unfortunately means bringing the war to civilians. wolf? >> nima, israeli officials released more details about the palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for the israeli and other hostages. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: the initial list published by israel had 50 hostages. with, of course, meeting the guidelines agreed that they would be teenagers and women. given that israel legally detains palestinians from the age of 14 up. there are at least 380 teenagers available. so people were hopeful that perhaps their child could be among those released. unfortunately, when the list -- just a few hours ago was finally confirmed, there are only 39 palestinian prisoners that will be coming home whenever the deal finally is brought together. it is a crushing blow for so many people here who had hoped that maybe they would be among the lucky ones, wolf. >> nima, thank you very much. right now i want to bring in retired air force colonel cedric layton. colonel, thanks so much for joining us. what do you expect hamas to do during this brief pause in fighting? >> wolf, i think what they're going to do is they're going to move their forces around. they're going to try to avoid detection by the israelis and that speaks to the cessation of drone flights. hamas is going to take advantage of that because of the surveillance picture -- that part of the surveillance picture will