signals it may restore donald trump s gag order in the federal election subversion case but loosen some restrictions. we ll tell you why the former president took the green light for some public attacks on special counsel jack smith. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i m pamela brown. you re in the situation room. we begin this hour in israel. the families of hostages held by hamas just made an urgent appeal to the netanyahu government, pushing for action to bring their relatives homes. cnn s nic robertson is following all the new developments from his position overlooking gaza. nic, what is the latest? reporter: there does some to be some optimism around the hostages. the reality is in every sort of hostage family that i ve talked to here reminds me when i speak about the possibility of getting their loved ones home, they say you have to recognize and understand that hamas is not a state actor. it is not a ration