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Israel and Hamas Agree to Ceasefire-Hostage Deal; Biden "Confident" Israel-Hamas Deal will Hold; What Deal Means for Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis; Israeli Strikes Hitting Gaza. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 15, 2025 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:10]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome everyone. Live from New York, I'm Omar Jimenez. We start with a breakthrough in the Middle East where Israel and Hamas have finally agreed to a ceasefire deal. The moment is bittersweet for many after months of war and tens of thousands of deaths. Some are mourning the lives lost and thinking of those still held in captivity, and others are celebrating.

Now, the first phase of the deal is set to go into effect on Sunday for six weeks. And Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during that phase, including Americans. In exchange, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

But the ceasefire isn't underway until Sunday. Palestinian officials say a wave of Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people. Jeremy Diamond has more on the agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 15 months of war, children in Gaza finally have a reason to celebrate. Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement set to deliver at least six weeks of peace.

In Israel, a wave of relief. Dozens of hostages will finally be coming home.

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): It's a pleasure for the state of Qatar, the Arab Egyptian Republic, and the United States to announce that the negotiating efforts have been successful for the two sides to reach an agreement regarding the exchange of prisoners and hostages and a return to total calm. The agreement will go into effect on Sunday, the 19th of January.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Over six weeks, Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Israeli troops will withdraw from populated areas, remaining inside a buffer zone along Gaza's border with Israel, leaving Palestinians free to return to Northern Gaza. The ceasefire will also deliver a surge of humanitarian aid, up to 600 trucks per day, to alleviate dire humanitarian conditions in the besieged enclave.

For the families of the 94 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th, relief is also mixed with uncertainty.

YOSI SCHNAIDER, COUSIN OF HOSTAGE SHIRI BIBAS: It's like a rollercoaster I'm not breathing right now. We don't know if they're on the list, if they're going to come back in the first phase, if they're alive.

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The road to this deal has not been easy. I've worked in foreign policy for decades. This is one of the toughest negotiations I've ever experienced.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The deal is based on a framework President Biden announced in late May in the nearly eight months of start and stop negotiations that followed more than 9,000 Palestinians and at least six hostages were killed.

More death could still come before the ceasefire goes into effect on Sunday. But for now, Palestinians are celebrating what will come.

The feeling is indescribable, Allah Abou Kar (ph) says. We never expected to get to this stage, even now we don't believe it.

Look how happy I am, this girl says, pointing to her smile. There is no better day than today.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And for more on this, Bianna Golodryga is also -- she is on the ground in Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR, ONE WORLD: I'm standing in a much more subdued Hostage Square than the one we've become familiar with over the last 15 months. You see people singing behind me, a candlelit circle with those gathering. It's not a celebration, I'm told. It's more of a reflection on the painful year and optimism about the release of 33 hostages that may begin as soon as three days from now on Sunday with phase one implementation, the hostage ceasefire deal that was agreed to between Israel and Hamas.

Nonetheless, mixed emotions in terms of just the pain that's been felt in this country without having these hostages home. The excitement about seeing hostages return, concern about their physical state and their emotional state and obviously, concern about those hostages that remain in Gaza and would only be released if phase two of the deal is implemented.

[18:05:00]

Phase three would see the remains of those hostages who have been killed over the course of the last 15 months finally returned home.

Bianna Golodryga, CNN, Hostage Square, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Thank you, Bianna. Now, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down earlier with Christiane Amanpour. He said the ceasefire is just the first step toward a lasting peace, and that the exact path forward is not yet sorted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Tell me, when this ceasefire comes into effect, what exactly will it mean? Is that the end of the war? What is it, or is it an interim method?

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: So, it'll be on the basis of the plan that President Biden put forward back in May, and that we rallied the entire world behind. And ever since then, we've been working to negotiate the details, the implementation, it's been delayed and derailed by different events, but we're, I think, finally at the point where this gets over the line.

Once that happens, here's what happens. First, the firing stops. Hamas, Israel stop firing. Israel pulls back its forces. Hostages begin to be released. Prisoners come out of Israeli jails and go back, and we surge humanitarian assistance to people who so desperately need it. All of that happens during a six-week period.

But also, during that six weeks, we have to negotiate the understandings to get to a permanent ceasefire, so that Israel pulls all of its forces out of Gaza, Hamas doesn't come back in, and there's the necessary governance, security, reconstruction arrangements so that Gaza can move forward.

AMANPOUR: Is that sorted?

BLINKEN: That's not sorted. We've worked on it intensely for the last six or seven months, intensely, but quietly with Arab partners, with others. I think there's some basic understandings that we've reached, but the ceasefire itself, hopefully, would concentrate minds and get people to agree on what's necessary to get that day after post conflict plan in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And Christiane joins me now from Washington. I mean, what stands out to you from your conversation with the secretary of state? Is he confident this deal can hold?

AMANPOUR: You know, I don't think anybody wants to sort of queer the deal, so to speak, but they have really worked on it. And the difference a little bit maybe here is that it's been worked on by the Biden administration, but they have also been passing the ball to the incoming Trump administration.

So, both administrations, Democrat, Republican, current and incoming, are vested in it. And we know that President-Elect Trump wants the hostages released and frankly, wants the war over. He wants it over before he has to deal with any more of this horrendous business that's been plaguing both sides, plaguing the region for the last 15 months.

So, definitely, the Trump arrival kind of concentrated minds, both Israeli and Hamas, and they were able then to take this Biden proposal, which, as you heard, had been -- started back in May. Both sides, Hamas and Israel, had rejected it at various different times, and run with it. So, I think that's very, very important.

The other thing that's important in the big picture is that Secretary Biden said that, look, the endgame is obviously a secure Israel, but also an independent and sovereign Palestinian State that has its own freedom and its independence, and able to live side by side. That's the end goal for the U.S., for the region, and for all the U.S. allies.

We still don't know whether Israel, as he said in the second phase, is going to go for that. We don't know whether President Trump is going to push that side of it across the line. And that's going to be very interesting. We do know that in order to have a different kind of Gaza, independent sovereign Palestinian State, Hamas can no longer be tolerated as leaders and therefore, that there has to be a reconstituted Palestinian leadership. And I've talked to Palestinian officials about that and they admitted that it has to happen as well.

And so, there's a lot of big picture out there. But the interim days will be massively important for those who want to see their loved ones back. The Israeli families whose hostages. And remember, it's only 33 or so in this first phase, and apparently, only three per week will be resolved. So, it's still very difficult and very tense for the families. There'll be more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners return.

And for those Palestinians who've endured siege, who've endured a complete whole scale assault on their humanitarian needs, on their healthcare needs, on their persons, that'll be a huge relief. About 60,000 people, according to a new Lancet study, have been killed, and there have been some 17,000 children killed as well, according to Palestinian authorities and the U.N. So, it's a very, very dire moment that at least perhaps the beginning of the end may be in sight.

[18:10:00]

JIMENEZ: And a lot of people holding their breath even just to get to Sunday, which is when we expect the implementation of this. You know, I think when you look at the timing of this, it may be in some respects is impossible to ignore the politics of this.

You know, the end of the Biden administration, the beginning of a Trump administration on the United States side of things, but also for Netanyahu advancing this and staying within the realms of a phase one to try to work toward that more significant phase two, which, of course, would be a potential end -- a permanent end to the war. I wonder what you see is maybe the most important factors to watch for from this point moving forward.

AMANPOUR: Well, I think the most important points are to watch for Hamas keeping to the ceasefire, Israel keeping to the ceasefire, and then to see whether Israel finally has a political plan.

One of the reasons that former Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant left the coalition, left government was because he said, we have been about as successful as we can be in degrading Hamas militarily, but we cannot move any further strategically to end this threat unless there is a political solution at the end of it.

And as you know, Benjamin Netanyahu bolstered by his own beliefs and ideology, but also by his extreme firebrand right-wing, the extremists, Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, and the others, who have not wanted to talk anything about an endgame that's a political endgame involving an independent Palestinian State.

So, that is going to be the big question, as well as a reformed Palestinian Authority, as well as whether, in fact, an international coalition will come in not just to bolster security in Gaza, but also to rebuild. They're not going to do that if there is no promise that this is the end, that there is a political, you know, plan ahead to end this once and for all in a just and secure way for all sides there. So, I think that in the big picture is what we're going to have to look for.

And, you know, Omar just in the last couple of days, one of these firebrands, Ben-Gvir, who's been propping up the Netanyahu government, said proudly, out and loud, that he and Smotrich and their extreme right have been absolutely conspiring together and acting openly to prevent any such deal over the last year and 15 months. They do not want this to happen. And, you know, that's a fact.

And so, on the Israeli side, there's going to have to be, you know, a real political plan to go ahead. And on the Palestinian side, there's going to have to be a reform, new leadership, an understanding by both sides that this will not end militarily.

JIMENEZ: And of course, even just to get to any of those points, this initial phase one has to hold, the ceasefire has to hold, which, of course, we have seen issues with in the past, none have lasted the level to which we are hoping that this one does. Christiane Amanpour, I really appreciate the time.

All right. President Biden says he is confident the ceasefire deal will hold after more than 15 devastating months of war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The Palestinian people have gone through hell. Too many innocent people have died. Too many communities have been destroyed. In this deal, the people of Gaza can finally recover and rebuild. They can look to a future without Hamas in power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: Meanwhile, President-Elect Trump says his team will keep working with Israel and allies to quote, "make sure Gaza never becomes a terrorist safe haven." MJ Lee wraps up the White House reaction. MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden confirming on Wednesday that American hostages will be among those released during the first phase of the six-week ceasefire in Gaza, and multiple sources telling me and my colleague, Jenny Hansler, that two Americans, Keith Siegel and Sagi Deckel Hen, will be among those that are expected to be released during that first phase.

As a reminder, seven American hostages remain in Gaza. Four of them have been declared dead and Sagi and Keith are among the three who were presumed to be alive. So, whenever that reunion hopefully happens and happens soon, it is going to be a moment of joyous celebration for the families of those American hostages that have been waiting for news for so long. But of course, a tough moment for the other hostages that have yet to be released.

Now, securing the release of the remaining hostages will, of course, fall to incoming President Donald Trump and his administration. And President Biden on Wednesday made clear that it was precisely because of this reality that he made sure that he instructed his officials to work hand in hand with the incoming team.

[18:15:00]

It was also clear in his remarks that there are still some sensitivities around the question of who gets the lion's share of credit for getting this deal across the finish line. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: This deal would have to be implemented by the next team. So, I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice. Because that's what American presidents do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who books credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?

BIDEN: Is that a joke?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And to offer a sense of that coordination between the Biden team and the incoming Trump team, we understand that President Biden's Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, who has been in the region for the last week plus, he was joined in recent days by the incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and the two were in the room together having a lot of these conversations, being a force in trying to hammer out some of these final details in these final days.

Now, the incoming administration is also going to be responsible for extending this ceasefire past the initial six weeks and making it into a permanent pause in the fighting. President Biden did say that if a deal is not struck during those six weeks of the initial ceasefire, there will still continue to be a ceasefire so long as the negotiations are continuing. Of course, the president knows better than almost anybody else how challenging potentially those talks can be. But in exactly five days, this will no longer be President Biden's problem.

CNN, MJ Lee at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Still to come, how an aid agency on the ground in Gaza is reacting to the deal between Israel and Hamas. That's next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: All right. Welcome back. Returning to our top story on the ceasefire deal. The U.S. says its negotiators, along with the Egyptians and Qataris, presented Hamas with their final proposal over the weekend. A little earlier, Becky Anderson in Doha explained how the deal came about.

[18:20:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: It is a deal that looks very like a proposal by Joe Biden that was put to both parties back in May. There is a little difference around the parameters, but ultimately -- around the details, sorry, but ultimately, the parameters remain the same. So, the question is, why has it taken eight months to get to this point?

Well, the key change, and it's absolutely clear when you talk to sources here and indeed the prime minister of Qatar speaking to this today, a key difference has been the introduction of the Trump administration's -- the incoming Trump administration's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who got involved in these negotiations around about the back end of November. And his involvement alongside Brett McGurk, Joe Biden's Middle East coordinator, has been absolutely crucial in getting this across the line.

Steve Witkoff has been shuttling between Doha and Israel and working around the region, but very specifically, working between Doha and Israel and conversations with the Israeli prime minister to affect this deal. I mean, there's been an awful lot of hard work.

The prime minister spoke to members of the press here in Doha just a couple of hours ago when he formally announced that an agreement between Israel and Hamas had been made. And he said, in the last four days, for example, the momentum for this deal has really been enormous. They worked through the night, on Tuesday into Wednesday. And then today, Wednesday, they continued to talk until the breakthrough was found.

So, a lot of hard work has gone into this, very specifically over the last couple of months to get us where we are today. So, what does this deal look like? Well, it's a deal that will be implemented, assuming that it is agreed upon by the Israeli security cabinet and government on the 19th of January. It'll be implemented on the 19th of January, goes into effect on the 19th of January. Of course, this is just the day before the inauguration of Donald Trump who had threatened that all hell would break loose where there not a deal in place before he became president. So, it goes into place on Sunday.

What does it look like? Well, this is phase one. And let's be quite clear about this, because ultimately, to get to the silencing of the guns in Gaza completely we will have to work through a number of phases, three phases in this. But the first phase, which is what has been agreed upon at this stage is 42 days, during which 33 hostages will be released by those who are holding them in Gaza. This is 33 of the 94 hostages who were taken on October the 7th and held in Gaza, that's some nearly 460 days now.

Most of whom, those who were released in the first phase, these 33, most of them are believed to be alive, but it may not be all of them. We are talking about children, women and the injured and those over the age of 50. This will be in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli detention.

This also allows for the return -- of the staggered return of Palestinians to their homes, including into the northern part of the Strip. The phased withdrawal of Israelis away from populated areas to a buffer zone on the Gaza border. And crucially as well, of course the surge in humanitarian aid, and we have already seen images of trucks on the move even before the implementation of this deal on Sunday. That's as things stand at the moment.

The second phase of this deal, which as we understand it, will be negotiated on the 16th day of phase one. is intended to bring an end to this conflict. But, you know, there are questions about whether that will actually happen. And I did put that question to the prime minister earlier. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: How much confidence do you have that the deal will progress beyond phase one, sir?

AL THANI: Well, we have faith, Becky, that brought us to this moment, and I think that's the most important part, that we are committed. We will continue to do everything we can, everything possible, together with our partners to ensure that this deal is implemented as it's agreed. And this deal will bring us peace, hopefully, at the end of it.

I believe that it all depends on the parties of the agreement. And acting in good faith in that agreement in order to ensure that no collapse happening to that deal.

[18:25:00]

ANDERSON: Can I just follow up? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that neither side breaks the ceasefire?

AL THANI: There is a follow up mechanism that Egypt, Qatar and U.S. are going to handle. It will be placed in Cairo. And this follow up, actually, will be a joint team from the three countries that will monitor the implementation of the agreement, and everything is being agreed upon and will be in place, hopefully, on the day of the execution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, this is certainly a beginning. Is this a beginning of the end? Not clear necessarily at this point. What moved the needle on this, Omar? It does seem absolutely clear that the introduction. Of the Trump administration, at least in the body of Steve Witkoff, as it were, has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today.

JACKSON: Becky Anderson, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Welcome back with a look at more international headlines this hour. It's Thursday morning in South Korea, where the president has just spent his first night in solitary confinement after being arrested at his home. As of Wednesday evening, investigators say Yoon Suk Yeol had refused to answer investigators questions. He's wanted for questioning in multiple criminal investigations related to his short lived declaration of martial law last month.

Some relief in sight for emergency personnel working to contain the Los Angeles wildfires. Forecasters say the strongest Santa Ana winds will weaken over the coming hours for most of Southern California. That'll lower the threat of new wildfires through the weekend, but higher wins could return next week.

And six of Donald Trump's cabinet picks being grilled today on Capitol Hill during Senate confirmation hearings. Among them, Marco Rubio, his choice for secretary of state. Rubio told a Senate panel the war between Russia and Ukraine must end and both sides need to make concessions.

[18:30:00]

But let's return now to our top story. Hamas and Israel have struck a deal that will pause fighting in Gaza and lead to the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. That is set to happen in phases at this point, and the deal is expected to go into effect on Sunday.

Now, according to Gaza's civil defense, Israel carried out deadly strikes on the enclave just as the deal was announced. We have seen, though, jubilant scenes in Khan Younis and cautious optimism in Tel Aviv in the immediate aftermath of this deal being announced. President Biden is among those welcoming the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: There was no other way for this war to end than with a hostage deal. And I'm deeply satisfied this day has come, finally come, for the sake of the people of Israel and the families waiting in agony. And for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: And just moments ago, my colleague Wolf Blitzer spoke to White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby. He asked him, why did this deal take so long? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden laid out the basic elements of this deal back in May. So, why did it take so long, John, for this agreement to be finalized today?

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: There's a couple of factors here, Wolf. Number one, Hamas is a radically different organization today than it was back in May. They were stronger in May and throughout the summer, but over the course of those many months, due to IDF military action, Hamas became dramatically weakened. They lost their leader, Sinwar. They lost other fighters and leaders on the battlefield. Tunnels absolutely flattened, infrastructure destroyed. They're in a much weaker state now.

The other thing that was different between then and now, Wolf, is that Hamas is even further isolated. They couldn't count on Hezbollah anymore to be their cavalry because we brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which is still largely holding.

And Iran is much more weaker because of the attacks that they conducted on Israel. There were retaliatory strikes. Their air defenses were greatly diminished. Iran could not come to their aid any more than Iran could come to Assad's aid when his regime fell just a couple of weeks ago.

So, more isolated, definitely weaker. And then, there was also the undercurrent of all this intense diplomacy that we have stayed engaged at since May to get this over the finish line.

BLITZER: As you know, the Israeli prime minister's office issued a statement suggesting that several unresolved points remain with this agreement. How much concern is there over at the White House where you are that this deal, God forbid, potentially could fall apart?

KIRBY: Well, there's always that possibility, but as you heard the president say today, he's confident that it will stay in place and that it will be implemented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And Jeremy Diamond joins me now from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, as Wolf alluded to there, we haven't heard much from Prime Minister Netanyahu yet. Are we hearing any reasons from his office at this point?

DIAMOND: Well, Omar, the Israeli prime minister's office has said that Prime Minister Netanyahu will only speak about the agreement publicly once the, quote, "final details" of the agreement are finalized, you know, indicating that there are some kind of minor details that need to be finalized here. And that until that is done, he won't speak.

What I think the real reason is here is that tomorrow, what we expect to happen beyond the finalization of some of these, you know, minor implementation details is the fact that tomorrow we're going to see the Israeli Security Cabinet and the full Israeli cabinet, you know, this agreement is going to come before them for a vote.

And the Israeli prime minister, as of today, has still been in what appear to be quite delicate negotiations with a far-right minister in his government, Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, who tonight panned this ceasefire agreement and has said that he wants a clear commitment from the Israeli prime minister to return to fighting the war against Hamas in order to support this deal and not topple the government over it, a power that he has if indeed he chooses to exercise it.

But we should be clear that despite this statement from the prime minister, he got on the phone tonight with President-Elect Trump as well as with President Biden to thank them for their efforts in getting this ceasefire deal across the finish line.

We have seen the official statements from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States announcing this agreement. This deal has crossed the finish line. It is a reality and we do expect, barring any major unforeseen surprises, that it will go into effect come Sunday when we will see six weeks of ceasefire go into effect, the release of 33 hostages, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for them, and as part of all this, the entry of much needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

[18:35:00]

JIMENEZ: Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.

Meanwhile, aid groups are also welcoming the new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the Red Cross saying it's ready to help carry it out. The aid organization, Anera, has also issued a statement calling it a, quote, "essential first step." The nonprofit briefly paused its operations in Gaza last April after an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen workers, one of its own employees, was killed in a separate strike less than a month earlier.

Joining me now is Sean Carroll, President and CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid, Anera, for short. Thank you for being here. I really appreciate the time. What is your initial reaction to this deal?

SEAN CARROLL, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ANERA: Well, of course, this has been a long time coming and there's joy. There's joy among our staff. There's joy, as you see, in Gaza. There's joy in Hostage Square and in Tel Aviv. It comes too late for those who've lost family members, families of hostages and families of the nearly 50,000, if not more Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and 110,000 or more who've been injured.

But it's a moment of joy and a moment where hopefully families of hostages, families of Palestinians who've lost family members in Gaza, family members of prisoners, many of them political prisoners, Palestinians in Israeli jails are hoping that there's an end to this violence now and they don't have to count any more dead among them and that they can have their families back.

So, it's definitely a moment of joy and big thanks to the negotiators from Qatar and Egypt and the United States who negotiated this deal.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, as you know, there are multiple phases to this deal. What we're expecting on Sunday would just be the initial phase. But as part of this wider plan, it would include a phase that could be a permanent end in the war in the so-called phase two of this plan. The details are still being negotiated to move to that phase. We're not there just yet.

But that would be, obviously, a significant moment. But for you as someone who runs a group, who's worked in Gaza, and continues to do that work, what do you believe would be the most significant indicator of a better future for the civilians of Gaza, better future for some of the workers trying to do their jobs in Gaza?

CARROLL: Yes. Perfect question, Omar. Thank you. The best indicator would be a recognition by all parties on all sides that the best thing for the future, for everyone, for the ability, the opportunity to lead a normal life to have options for the safety and security and livelihoods of your families, to get us to a state of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians is unhindered humanitarian aid and recovery aid and long-term human development.

Anera wants to get back to the long-term human development work that we've been doing in the region for 56 years. It's been hard to -- for the past 15 months to be doing humanitarian aid only. We're very proud that we've delivered nearly 60 million meals and millions of medical treatments and set up temporary health centers and temporary learning centers and psychosocial trauma activities, but we need to get back to the long-term development so that there really is a hope for a sustainable future where families feel like they can hope and aspire to a normal life where everyone lives in safety and security and prosperity and freedom and justice. That's what we need.

So, what we really need to look for in this deal is, as a first step, unhindered access for needed humanitarian aid. Food has been prioritized. Medicines and prior been prioritized. Now, we need to move to equipment that can remove rubble. We need to move to water and sanitation, reverse osmosis, water filtration systems. We need to get back to planting. We need to be able to bring in seeds. Believe it or not, despite the tiny size and weight of seeds, they've been restricted. So, we need to be able to bring in seeds so that Palestinian families in Gaza can start to build back resilience and sustainability.

And they used to put rooftop gardens and small family plots so that families could be self-sufficient, they could have some food security and some income, and use that income to send their kids to school.

I was just in Gaza last month, the images we're seeing now and what I saw there last month does not bring a lot of hope. The devastation is far worse than anybody can imagine. It was worse than even I who pay attention to this every day and communicate with our staff in Gaza every day imagine.

[18:40:00]

So, it's a long, long road to build back and a clear indication of you, as you've asked is, will Israel, who has had the seeds, the blockade on Gaza and the final word on what goes in when, they really do need to recognize it's in their own interest, as well, obviously, as the interest of the Palestinians in need to ensure that borders are open.

We want to get to 500 or 600 trucks a day, which was the rate before the war. And we've been at about 110 trucks a day. So, we need a four or five-fold increase. The facilities are there. Rafah Border needs to be opened up, the border between Egypt and Gaza, and the Kerem Shalom Border between Israel and Gaza needs to be operating at full capacity. If we see that happening, then I think there's some hope for the continued humanitarian aid that needs to come and for recovery and reconstruction.

JIMENEZ: And these initial hours of aftermath, I've heard words of hope, cautious optimism. Of course, a lot of factors that still need to go in place, not just for the implementation of this starting Sunday, but for the lasting implementation of this potentially into a next phase. Sean Carroll, president and CEO of Anera, thanks for being here.

CARROLL: Thank you very much for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right. Straight ahead, much more on the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. We're going to hear from a former U.S. under secretary of state, David Hale. He says, there's a long road ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Welcome back to our coverage of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. There have been celebrations and somber reflections in Tel Aviv and Khan Younis. Hamas is set to release 33 hostages while Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The first phase of the deal is set to begin Sunday.

David Hale is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center Think Tank. He's also a former U.S. under secretary of state for Political Affairs and a former ambassador to Jordan and Lebanon. Thank you for being here. I wonder, what is your initial read on this? What stands out?

DAVID HALE, GLOBAL FELLOW, WILSON CENTER AND FORMER U.S. UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Well, it's a testament to successful diplomacy and successful pressure by the State of Israel on Hamas. I mean, I think when we look to see who should take credit, first and foremost, it was the IDF and the leadership in Israel that brought Hamas to his knees that took time.

[18:45:00]

Secondly, you know, the unsung heroes, in many ways, of the Qatari foreign minister -- prime minister who was very persistent in pursuing a deal, despite all the setbacks and frustrations. Obviously, the Biden team worked hard.

But you have to acknowledge also one of the new pieces of the equation was the election of Donald Trump, the impending transition and the rather stark threats that were not specific, but pretty, pretty sharp about what would happen if this deal had not occurred prior to his inauguration.

JIMENEZ: You know, on that point, it's hard to ignore the timing of this, right? The final days of the Biden administration, the days leading up to the start of the Trump administration. And we do know that that Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was involved in these talks as well with Biden's counterpart, Brett McGurk and other members of the negotiating team as well.

What do you make of that aspect of sort of the incoming administration's participation in a deal that, frankly, his administration would be responsible for helping actually implement? I wonder how much you make of that leading to potentially the success of these talks.

HALE: I think it's pretty significant. Obviously, I'm not inside the room. I don't know exactly what happened. But I -- in my 38 years of diplomacy, I can't really think about a moment in which there was such close coordination between an outgoing and incoming administration that were frankly obviously opponents. There's a lot of tension among the teams and their parties. And yet, they were able to put those differences aside enough to work on the Lebanon ceasefire as well as now what's happened with Hamas.

Obviously, there's a lot of work to do, but that's a good -- I think, a good sign. And now, we'll see what the new team is going to come up with. But their focus, at least judging from the first administration, is largely going to be on Iran, which is an important part of this and the fact that the Israelis so successfully degraded Iran's power was an important element in this outcome.

But now, we need to make sure that the pressure stays on Iran, so it doesn't exploit any weaknesses that continue to exist.

JIMENEZ: Well, and of course, the picture in the Middle East is much different now than it was when President Biden said he introduced this framework in May of last year on the Hezbollah front, on the Iran front, of course, on the Hamas front as well.

I guess moving forward, you know, we're entering this expected phase one on Sunday when we're expected for this to actually move forward. But long-term, what is going to be the guiding principle here or the framework here for a Trump administration to work with Netanyahu, to work -- obviously, to keep this deal essentially on the rails, what do you see as the long-term framework?

HALE: Well, the inherent tension is going to be what's going to happen in Gaza once a ceasefire is in place? They're going to be three key issues in front of all of us. Security, number one. Who is going to be in charge of neighborhood to neighborhood, mile to mile security? Second who's going to govern Gaza? And third, who's going to provide and how it will relief and reconstruction be provided?

Now, Blinken laid out some ideas, which I think we're somewhat unrealistic and that they reflected the kind of old thinking about a two-state solution and the Palestinian Authority. Those ideas are very discredited based on the recent history. So, we're going to have to start thinking of fresh of new ideas.

And so, the tension is going to be between the Israelis who are not going to be inclined to trust any Palestinians at this point with independence and an Arab demand, if the Arabs going to provide security and reconstruction assistance, they're going to require a certain amount of freedom of maneuver for Palestinian Authorities to work there. I say authorities with a plural. And that's going to be the tension point that the incoming administration is going to have to work on.

But it's important that they stay focused on it. Because again, the tables have been turned on Iran in a historically important way, but if we neglect these problems, they will be able to exploit the Palestinian-Israeli differences, situation in Lebanon, go around the map, and that will be a gift to the Iranians if we're not attentive to it.

JIMENEZ: Not to mention it is rare to actually have momentum like this on a diplomatic stage. And we haven't really seen many opportunities for that over the course of this war. David Hale, global fellow at the Wilson Center, thank you so much for being here.

HALE: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Still ahead, more on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. We're going to hear from the father of a 21-year-old hostage, Edan Alexander. His hopes for Edan's release and more, coming up.

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JIMENEZ: Returning now to our top story. It is now Thursday morning in the Middle East. And preparations are underway for the start of the first phase of the Israel Hamas ceasefire on Sunday.

Thirty-three hostages held by Hamas are expected to be released, and Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he hopes talks will go beyond a ceasefire and usher in a permanent end to the war.

Israeli and American officials believe seven people with American citizenship are still in Gaza. Sources tell CNN two of the three who are presumed alive will be released in the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage deal. It is unlikely, however, that 21-year-old New Jersey native Edan Alexander will be released in the first phase since he serves in Israel's military. Edan Alexander's father spoke to Jake Tapper earlier and discussed his reaction to the ceasefire news. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADI ALEXANDER, FATHER OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER: It was very emotional, long coming. We've been so close before. And finally, the parties managed to pass it over the finish line and we're really grateful.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, THE LEAD AND CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: What's your understanding of when Edan could be released?

ALEXANDER: My understanding it could happen between now and 42 days from now. And we really encourage the parties that still in Doha do not wait 16 days to start to negotiate for the second phase. Do it tomorrow morning. Don't waste the time. It's been too long, 15 long months. And we have to keep pushing.

TAPER: So, your wife, Yael, spoke at a protest recently and appealed directly to President-Elect Trump urging him to use his influence to get the deal done, and quote, "show the world what the United States can do." Do you feel like this happened in part, at least, due to Trump entering office next week?

ALEXANDER: Yes, absolutely. I think the -- using the January 20th as a deadline actually helped the parties. And this last visit of Steve Witkoff in Israel on Saturday pushed things forward. And we grateful that both presidents worked with collaboration on this issue. It was really important and good job.

TAPPER: Yes. Yair Rosenberg at The Atlantic writes that the pending presidency of Trump convinced Hamas that they were not going to get a better deal in a week. And two, Netanyahu is very eager to stay on Trump's good side, and that was part of his motivating factor. Is that your understanding, too?

ALEXANDER: Yes, I agree with that, absolutely. I completely agree with that. And again, once you put the deadline, and all the parties trying to push forward for that deadline, I think it was it was a great achievement.

TAPPER: Adi, we've been talking to you since this horrible calamity happened on October 7th of 2023. What has kept you and Yael, your wife, go? How have you been able to hold it together during all this?

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ALEXANDER: First of all, it could end up differently on October 7 of the last year for our son. As you know, his post was surrounded by so many so many terrorists and he managed to survive, surrender. And we had signs of life from back in November and that recent video that was released on Thanksgiving evening -- Thanksgiving weekend that kept us really, really hopeful.

We -- it was the first sign of life for us. And we really are grateful to receive that that video back then. And really, you go on autopilot every day, put the T-shirt and keep pushing. (END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And that wraps the show for us. Thanks for joining. Stay with CNN. I'm Omar Jimenez. See you soon.

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