spokesman john kirby with an uptate on the number of american hostages still being held by hamas following the release of a 4-year-old girl. the humanitarian pause in gaza remains in effect this morning. we'll have the latest on when more hostages could be freed. also ahead, an update on the college students of palestinian descent who were shot in burlington, vermont. we'll hear from the mother of one of the victims. plus, as if a rematch of 2020 wasn't bad enough, donald trump is bringing back a top issue from his 2016 campaign. it's a pledge on which he never delivered. we'll explain what that is. >> i mean, it's unpopular, too. >> why would we deliver on that? >> he is once again going to promise something that's extremely unpopular with people. we're talking about, you know, "the wall street journal" lead, talking about israel and hamas extend the truce two days. "the new york times" lead the same, talking about how israel and hamas agreed to extend pause and swap. mika, you know, you said something yesterday that really, really struck a chord with me and i think with a lot of people who were watching, when you said, you know what, for people who want to make age an issue, you're damn right, it is an issue. and we're getting through this process of negotiating with some very difficult, very dangerous, in some cases, very terrible people, and the process is still moving forward because joe biden knows all the players. >> yeah. i mean, this is the big stage, the world stage, and with everything at stake on two separate fronts. two wars, ukraine and israel, literally putting everything on the line for the rest of the world, for global security. would i want a man who is a straight-a student in his 40s or 50s out there, or do i want someone with 40, 50 years of experience on the world stage? that includes decades of wins and losses, politically and geopolitically. i can't think of somebody else i'd want. you name 'em. somebody name a better at this point, more mature mind that can attack these problems and address them with all the different levels of emotion that need to come to the moment. >> right. >> he does it. >> and there's a third door that is there, willie. it's not just a guy with 50 years of experience and is extraordinary in diplomacy, or a 40-year-old straight a student. i never knew any of those. neither did mika. but the third door is a guy who is just off his rocker, who tried to overthrow the united states government, who said he is going to terminate the constitution of the united states, said his vice president deserved hanging, said he wanted to execute the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and is confused, does not know what decade he is in. thinks he is running against barack obama. he thinks we just may soon stumble into world war ii. we won't even get into the leaders that he's confused by, like who is running turkey, who is running hungary. yeah, it's all very, very confusing to him, i know. but these are the days, these are the days where, actually, experience is extraordinarily c voters for far too long, and look what we've gotten for it over the past 20 years. it's good to have somebody in the white house who knows what he's doing and knows all the players on the world stage. >> and can project at least some sense of calm, publicly standing with the israeli people while privately pushing benjamin netanyahu on the way he is prosecuting the war. rihaass is with us and will have thoughts on that in a moment. to your point, more hostages expected to be released today now that israel and hamas extended the temporary truce. qari officials said both sides agreed to extend the pause for an additional two days. the original pause would have ended today. president biden remains deeply engaged in the deal to make sure it continues to deliver results. adding, quote, he will not stop until all the hostages held by hamas terrorists are released, end quote. the israeli government hasn't commented but it offered to continue the pause in fighting if hamas releases an additional ten hostages a day. late last night, officials received the names of those expected to be freed today. pause also allows for more humanitarian aid to enter gaza. joining us now live from tel-aviv, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. good morning. tell us more about how this new pause, this new extension came into play, and what the deal looks like in these prisoner exchanges for hostages. >> reporter: so we were expecting that today the israeli bombing campaign against hamas in gaza would resume. that is what israel said would happen. it said as soon as this temporary pause was over, then its mission to eliminate hamas from the gaza strip would begin in earnest. but in the 11th hour, as there were a few hours remaining for this temporary truce, qatar and egypt announced that there had been an extension. hamas also said that there had been this extension under the same terms. it means for every one hostage that is released, there will be three palestinian prisoners released from israeli jails. we're expecting to see ten, perhaps more than ten released today by hamas, and then another ten tomorrow. what happens after that is an open question. will israel resume its bombing campaign, or will there be yet another extension? israel says that if hamas stops handing over the hostages, it will immediately go back to its military campaign. but there is a note of caution that qatari and other arab advisors are sounding. they are saying that it is not just hamas that is holding hostages. there are dozens of other hostages being held by other militant groups inside gaza. so they are appealing for more time. they are saying that what has been established now should be built on, that this should develop into a more sustainable truce to allow hamas, which is the, still, the local government there, to try and get a better handle of the situation, understand where these hostages are. israel is concerned that hamas is just playing for time and wants to keep the pressure on. so we think we know what might happen for the next 48 hours with this deal extending and that it is a completely open question, what happens after that. >> richard, what do we know about the htas that have been returned to israel? there were 3-year-old twins among the 11 yesterday. we're seeing young children. we're seeing older people also released. on the other side, what kind of prisoners are being sent back into gaza? what kind of criminals are they, and why were they being held in israel? >> reporter: so there's a -- so far, from gaza, it has been just women and children. women and children that hamas said from the very beginning it was willing to exchange for -- either just give up or exchange for females and minors held in israeli jails. these are, relatively speaking, the easy hostages. it'll be much more complicated once we get into the idea of exchanging men or young women which hamas considers soldiers. some of them are actually soldiers, were serving, were captured in uniform. others are just military-aged men and women who hamas considers soldiers because they could be drafted into the reserves or called up for duty at almost any time. that will be far more complicated because hamas will ask for more senior level militant, will ask for key players that are in israeli jails. it'll ask for far greater numbers, and it could ask for all israeli troops to leave the gaza strip, for example. we don't know exactly what hamas is going to ask for, but the price will certainly be higher. in terms of the people that israel has been releasing, generally, they've been low level. these have been not people who are militant leaders by any stretch of the imagination. they were people who were held for minor offenses. some of them have only been in custody for a short amount of time. there has been some frustration among ordinary palestinians who think that israel has been rounding up people, using new laws, using new incitement laws here, the new laws that have just been passed, that if you tweet something online supporting gaza or that is interpreted as supporting hamas, you could be quickly arrested. israel, at this stage, is just releasing low-level people, including some that have just quite recently been detained. >> nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel in tel-aviv again for us today. richard, thanks so much. we always appreciate it. joe, behind all this, the qatari government is working to mediate this, but president biden is right there, as he indicated in his statement, buying some more time. it's just 48 hours, but the first goal, as he has said and prime minister netanyahu has said, is getting these hostages out of gaza, freeing them from hamas. >> right. >> then, once that is done, then, you know, israel can continue to prosecute its war, to uproot and get rid of hamas. for now, good news, some hostages are being released. >> yeah, good news, very good news on that front. the front page, lead story written by peter baker, he does write that it was president biden that got this done. at the president's urging, peter baker writes, the two sides agreed on monday to extend the temporary pause in the war between israel and hamas. two more days to allow the release of an additional 20 hostages according to qatar. that gives all sides more breathing space but only postpones the most critical question by another 48 hours, namely, what happens whenever the negotiating pause eventually expires? richard haass, we all salute the president's extraordinary diplomatic skills and the team he has working throughout the region. and he has provided more breathing space. what i'm hearing from diplomats and leaders in the region is that they are -- they want to do deals with the israelis moving forward. they want to be able to do that. they are very concerned that if israel goes right back to massive bombardment and what we saw before this cease-fire, that it is going to set mideast peace back for quite some time. these arab neighbors who have wanted to be allies with israel since the abraham accord process started, aren't going to have the breathing space to do that. so what does the biden administration want after this next 48 hour truce ends? >> joe, what i think we're seeing from the biden administration is two things. one is almost, i'd say, there has been a shift in emphasis. i'd say it's get the hostages out first, prosecute the war against hamas second. that's where the biden administration is coming from quite clearly. it is also where i think the israeli public is. it is not where the israeli government is, but the israeli government is forced to agree with the biden administration and the israeli public. at some point, my guess is all the hostages won't be out. either there won't be an accounting, hamas will want to keep some, some of the other groups will keep some, then the question of resumption of military operations will come up. that's another emphasis with president biden and the secretary of state. less when the action resumes but how. what you'll see is increasing pressure not to go back to the massive aerial bombardment. there was a powerful piece in "the new york times" two days ago, which essentially made the case that this is unprecedented. this amount of large-scale bombardment against civilian populations causing this amount of civilian casualties, even if some of the numbers out of gaza are inflated, the numbers are still horrific and unprecedented. i think you'll see much more pressure that israel needs to go in small, more patiently, not do attacks where it is inevitable you would cause a large amount of civilian casualties. in some ways, embrace the kinds of policies that a lot of special forces units in this country would argue were the lessons of iraq and afghanistan. be patient. be small. be targeted. don't be in a hurry. don't go in big from the air. >> i mean, it's the -- you're exactly right. it's the lessons of iraq, of afghanistan, and of syria now. i'm not talking about from 2003 to 2006/'07, when we had massive numbers of troops there, but what we've been able to do in pushing back isis, pushing back terror groups, pushing back iranian terrorist groups moving across the region. you are so right. a much smaller footprint, a more nimble footprint, and wait for your opportunities. i think that obviously is what the region hopes. again, by the region, i'm talking about arab allies of israel's who want much more to have a future with israel than they do with the palestinians. that's just a reality. by the way, on a personal note, just a personal note, "morning joe," we're very relieved here. i think the new york state authorities are going to be backing off of us. the child labor laws that we had been -- >> oh. >> -- violating for quite some time. i think jonathan lemire, today -- >> he is finally a man. >> -- celebrating a birthday and is of age. i wouldn't put it that way, but he is of age today. >> thank you. >> legal working age in a "morning joe" studio, so congratulations, jonathan lemire. >> because we're all old. >> on, what is it, your 18th birthday, 19th birthday? >> yeah, finally, we evaded albany long enough. we can put this out in the open now. the attorney general has been busy with other matters, but thank you, yes. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. thank you. it is my birthday today, much appreciated. joe, we have a little news on this development, to richard's point, about what the u.s. is looking to get out of -- from israel right now. cia director william burns just arrived in qatar to engage in talks there with their prime minister as well as one of bibi netanyahu's top advisors, trying to broker a bigger deal for more hostages. trying to extend this pause in the fighting beyond these next two days. you know, this coincides with secretary of state blinken also heading back to the region later this week, as well. so this is what the white house is now really publicly signaling to what they've been privately communicating in recent days. >> right. >> they want the focus to be to keep the fighting down, to try to get more hostages out. we heard yesterday from john kirby at the white house podium acknowledging that they're not sure how many americans are still left. they think it is seven or eight. they don't know their conditions, don't know their whereabouts. truthfully, they don't know how many of them are still alive. this is a focus right now, to try to keep the fighting down, to get more people out. >> a lot of moving parts. a lot of news to cover still. up next in just one minute, we'll take a quick break, the suspect accused of shooting three college students of palestinian descent in vermont on saturday pleads not guilty to charges of attempted murder. we'll have the latest on the investigation when "morning joe" returns in 60 seconds. returns in 60 seconds. ight? 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[speaker continues in the background] the network with 24/7 built-in security. chip? at&t business. the suspected gunman in burlington, vermont, the shooting there that injured three palestinian u.s. college students, pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second degree murdereaton was ordered to be held without bail. according to a probable cause affidavit, when law enforcement came to eaton's door, he told the agents, quote, i've been waiting for you. police searched his apartment and found a handgun and rounds of distinctive red-tipped ammunition, the same type as some found at the scene of the shooting. this comes as we learn more about the three victims. the group of friends were on a walk, speaking in arabic and wearing traditional palestinian scarves when the shooter opened fire. one victim's mother tells nbc news that her son may never walk again, but she remains hopeful. >> we're hoping that his strength of character and his determination will mean that he will work hard and regain strength and walk. hisham is a very, very strong young man, and i believe in his ability to make a difference in his health. >> you know, it is just so, so absolutely disgraceful, willie, that you have these three young men, these three college students that are walking around burlington, vermont. >> yeah. >> coming together from, i believe, brown and trinity college. >> yup. >> they're coming together to celebrate thanksgiving, walking down the street, and they get shot. we're awaiting the fbi and any conclusions on whether it's a hate crime or not. it certainly seems, again, from what we know, all indications are that that is a likelihood. what a tragedy. >> it is appalling when you see these three guys coming home from college, grew up together back home, going to an uncle's house. talked about going to a movie over the weekend. they went bowling the other night. just three buddies from their hometown. they were apparently, according to police, wearing distinctive clothing, so they haven't called this a hate crime yet, but it's not a big leap to understand what likely happened here. a man whose bullet casings in his apartment match those found on the scene, he said, "i've been waiting for you," which was to suggest he knew exactly why the police were there to talk to him. it's gut wrenching and brings to mind the heinous stabbing death of a 6-year-old palestinian-american boy in illinois. >> oh. >> just over a month ago. these are hate crimes in the purest sense and disgusting. >> we are rightly reminded of the rise in anti-semitism since the attacks of october 7th. we also are all too aware of the fact that 60% of all hate crimes in america are targeted against jews, despite the fact they only make up about 2%, 2.5% of our population. at the same time, obviously, muslim-americans deserve our focus and our attention and our protection and our love and our care, because, well, i mean, at least in my eyes, they're not muslim-americans, they're americans. it's like somebody is not a jewish-american, they're an american. these people who are going around trying to separate them out from the rest of us, they're the un-american ones. they're the ones that should be -- that should be condemned in the harshest terms. our prayers, again, with all three of those young men. richard haass, i want to talk quickly about bill burns. when bill burns shows up in russia or bill burns shows up in doha, you know, the negotiations are about to begin. talk about the importance of bill burns going to doha and beginning these negotiations with the head of qatar. >> it's interesting. i worked with bill for decades. very unassuming and low key, but probably the most experienced diplomat we have. he is in, you know, the cia role, but what is interesting is the administration is using him as a third principal, alongside the secretary of state and the national security adviser. bill played a critical role with russia. he was ambassador there, knows putin probably better than any american official. he was ambassador to jordan earlier in his career, knows a lot of officials in the -- you know, throughout the middle east. what we're also seeing on things like hostage type negotiations, the fact that he is there, the head of mossad, how it is conducted, it's usually through qatar, and that's how you reach hamas. it is go-betweens. bill has taken on a role that's far beyond providing intelligence