Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gaza Ceasefire Hostage Deal To Take Effect Sunday; Joe Biden Warns Of Rise Of Big Tech And Oligarchy In America; Blue Origin Launches Its New Glenn Rocket; Gaza Ceasefire-hostage Deal to Take Effect Sunday; L.A. Fire Crews Making Progress, but Winds and Hot Spots Still a Threat; Starmer to Meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv to Sign New Treaty; 50 People Released in Latest Prisoner Swap Between Ukraine and Russia; Users Flock to Alternative Apps Before Potential Ban on TikTok Takes Effect. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 16, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Becky, hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church in Atlanta.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Becky Anderson in Doha, Qatar.

Ahead, celebrations and cautious optimism in the Middle East after Israel and Hamas agree to a deal, a critical first step towards ending the fighting in Gaza and bringing the hostages home.

CHURCH: And here in the United States, President Joe Biden gives his farewell address to Americans and delivers an ominous warning about the threats he sees to the nation's future.

ANDERSON: Well, after more than 15 months of bitter war in Gaza and uncertainty over the fate of the hostages, Israel and Hamas have finally agreed to a long and elusive ceasefire. The hope is that the temporary truce, expected to start on Sunday will ease heartbreak and torment from the October the 7th terror attacks, the relentless Israeli bombardment and the dire, dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Israel's cabinet must still approve the agreement in the coming hours, but negotiators say the main sticking points have been ironed out.

In Tel Aviv, families and friends of the hostages hugged, but say they won't feel joy until all their loved ones are home. 33 hostages are set to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released in exchange.

Celebrations erupted across Gaza as word of the deal spread, long suffering Palestinians, desperate for a reprieve from the fighting and eager for a surge in humanitarian aid.

The Israeli military will also begin withdrawing from parts of the enclave. Qatar's Prime Minister says mediators spent 411 days hammering out the truce, adding that his country, the U.S. and Egypt, have put a mechanism in place to ensure neither side breaks the ceasefire.

Well, the U.S. president says the deal has the, "Exact framework his administration pitched back in May." Joe Biden said this has been a time of real turmoil in the Middle East, but added that as he gets ready to leave office, there are genuine opportunities for a new future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.

We've encountered roadblocks and setbacks. We've not given up. And now, after more than 400 days of struggle, a day of success has arrived, and I'm deeply satisfied this day has come, finally come for the sake of the people Israel and the families waiting in agony for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister spoke to both President Biden and the incoming U.S. President Donald Trump to thank them for their help in, "Advancing the ceasefire for hostages deal." Israel's president touted the agreement, warned that tough times are not over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT (through translator): As the president of the State of Israel, I say in the clearest terms, this is the right move. This is an important move. This is a necessary move.

Let there be no illusions, this deal, when signed, approved and implemented, will bring with it deeply painful, challenging and harrowing moments. It will also present significant challenges. This is not a simple situation. It is among the greatest challenges we have ever known.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Paula Hancock is following this breakthrough live from Abu Dhabi, and it's good to have you.

And the President of Israel there pointing out this deal still has to be approved, that is by the Security Council and indeed, the government in Israel, but assuming that it is and that it is implemented on Sunday, on the 19th of January, what can we expect to happen next?

[02:05:16]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, what we know of this deal is that there are three phases. It starts with the silencing of the guns, and then it is supposed to end with the reconstruction of Gaza.

But it's really just the first phase that we have the details and the second two phases are more vaguely worded. They have to be hammered out potentially from day 16 of the first phase. So that is where the concern lies to make sure that those second two phases can go ahead.

But what we know of what happens imminently is that this is supposed to take place on Sunday, as you say. We know that within this first phase, it's supposed to be six weeks of a ceasefire. Within that time, 33 hostages are expected to be released, and in return, an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons.

Now we understand from the deal that we have been shown from Hamas, that there will be three Israeli female civilians that will be the first to be released. After that stage, we then understand a week later, there will be four more hostages released, and then every week, three more hostages.

So, it is a gradual process, and then in the final week, any remaining hostages that are considered part of this first phase. So we're looking at female hostages, children, elderly, the sick, the wounded. Those are the ones expected to be part of this first six weeks.

Now, within this as well, there will be a ceasefire. We understand that there will be a, hopefully a massive humanitarian aid influx into the Gaza Strip. We have been hearing anything between 500-600 humanitarian aid trucks a day going into an area where the need is acute. Palestinians will be able to move back to their homes or discover what is left of their homes. We know that much of Gaza has been damaged and destroyed, so that is where the humanitarian aid will come in. Once again, they will need shelter to where they are going to.

As for the military itself, the Israeli military, will pull away from populated centers and areas in this first six weeks. They will remain, though critically, along the Philadelphi Corridor. This is the border between Gaza and Egypt, where Israel says they're concerned about smuggling into the Gaza Strip, and it was really one of the main stumbling blocks when it came to these final negotiations.

So, those are the main parameters of the first six weeks. We understand from Qatar's Prime Minister, after a question that you asked, Becky, that there will be monitoring. There will be U.S., Egyptian and Qatari monitors based in Cairo checking this ceasefire is in place, and so that's sort of a mechanism to try and make sure that this all works.

But then, of course, comes potentially the more difficult point negotiating towards that second phase. Now, this will be negotiated during the first six weeks, and there is a hope among the mediators that there will be space to be able to negotiate, because there will be a ceasefire, because there will be the start of this process, and that's really the hope that the momentum will keep going. And in that second phase, we will potentially see the silencing of the guns for good, a permanent ceasefire, and the remainder of the living hostages being released in return for a number of Palestinian prisoners. Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, that is certainly the help hope. Paula Hancock is in Abu Dhabi. It's good to have you, Paula, thanks.

Well, Gershon Baskin is a former hostage negotiator and the Middle East director for the international communities organization. He joins us now from Jerusalem. It's good to have you, sir.

You have been an outspoken critic of Benjamin Netanyahu and his -- and the way that he has negotiated or not at times a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

So, Goshen, just tell us what you make of the deal as tables and implemented, at least in principle. That is the hope on Sunday this week.

GERSHON BASKIN, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Right. Well, first of all, we have to say that a bad deal is better than no deal at all when we're dealing with saving human lives. So that's the first thing. This deal will save human lives. It will return hostages. It will stop the killing in Gaza. It will stop the rocket fire from Gaza to Israel. It needed to happen.

[02:10:08]

But it's a bad deal because it's one that will take months to implement. It will not return all the hostages immediately, it will not provide any kind of political horizon for Gaza on the day after the war, it's been completely pushed aside.

There is, I believe, a commitment by President Trump to Qatar and Egypt, who transmitted that to Hamas, that in stage two of this agreement, the war would come to an end, although the Israeli Prime Minister denies that and says there is no commitment to end the war.

In fact, that has been the main stumbling block all along for months since the few was first presented by President Biden in May that Israel refused to end the war. Hamas would not enter the agreement without that.

But now we apparently have some kind of agreement that Hamas understands that the war will come to an end, but this agreement needs to go forward and it needs to be adhered to. There are incentives for both sides to implement it, the freeing of hostages, the freeing of prisoners, and I think it will get done.

ANDERSON: The spirit of this agreement is very similar to that which was tabled by Joe Biden back in May. That is eight months ago. I spoke to the CADRE Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday about that, because Joe Biden had very specifically said, look, this was my deal, effectively, when he made his announcement in Washington yesterday.

And the CADREs agree, look, this looks very like that deal, although there was some progress between May last year and now. But what they also say is that the introduction of the Donald Trump team, very specifically, of Steve Witkoff, his envoy to the Middle East, has been the game changer here. Nobody in Qatar is prepared to say this is all Donald Trump, but only Donald Trump, but there has clearly been a game changing moment and an increase in momentum for a deal with the introduction of Steve Wyckoff alongside Joe Biden's Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk.

And that -- and that game changing moment appears to be the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Donald Trump through his envoy, what do you make of that?

BASKIN: Well, you're 100 percent correct. If you remember when President Biden presented this deal back in May, I said it was a bad deal from the outset, I was asked by families of hostages to see if we could come up with something better. In fact, I appeared in your studio together with you and presented what Hamas had agreed to back in September, which was a three week deal that would end the war, bring about an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, freeing all the hostages and a great number and names of Palestinian prisoners.

But one of the challenges that we faced was that Brett McGurk and the White House refused to deal with anything else other than what they were negotiating. They were negotiating a bad deal for months and didn't succeed. Along came Donald Trump, with the date of January 20th.

Steve Witkoff, who is a businessman like Trump, very transactional, someone who knows the Middle East quite well. He's heavily invested in the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. So, he knows how to do business there. And he went in a full force. He came to Israel last Saturday and told Netanyahu, you got to get this done. Trump is expecting this to be finished.

He stayed in Qatar at the negotiations throughout this period, together with Brett McGurk, but Steve Witkoff was the determining factor here that changed it all, because he was speaking through the voice of President Trump. And Netanyahu can't go against Trump. He could go against Biden. He's gone against Biden many times, but Netanyahu cannot go against Trump.

ANDERSON: I want to talk about Benjamin Netanyahu in all of this and where he stands now. His foreign minister recently introduced into government, and Gideon Sa'ar said yesterday in describing what we have now as the choice between a bad and a very bad deal, and I think you alluded to the same at the beginning of this conversation.

Clearly, the introduction of Gideon Sa'ar is it provides a sort of new makeup for Benjamin Netanyahu in his -- in his being able to stay in power effectively. How much internal pressure is on him now? Does he have the support of his right wing ministers to get this deal across the line in Israel in order for it to be implemented on Sunday? And where does he stand at this point?

[02:15:03]

BASKIN: Yes, he doesn't have the support -- he doesn't have the support of his right wing ministers of Ben Gvir and Smotrich, but Gideon Sa'ar entering the government provides the majority that he needs. The ultra-orthodox parties will support it. They believe that bringing home the hostages is a religious commandment. Most of -- one of the most important religious commandments in Judaism, and they will vote in favor. So, Netanyahu is a majority.

He has a little bit of revolt within his own party, of some of the back benchers in the Knesset in the parliament or against the deal, but Netanyahu will carry it.

Gideon Sa'ar is fortunately in the government for the steal, but he is a completely insignificant political figure in Israel today, who, just months ago, was speaking very harshly against the prime minister and then joined hands with the prime minister to try and save his own political career.

Gideon Sa'ar and his party haven't crossed the threshold in polling since October 7th, and he's trying to maneuver a position for him back within the Likud, where he originated from before he bolted in opposition to Netanyahu.

ANDERSON: Briefly, is this the end of Benjamin Netanyahu to your mind, reputationally, at least in Israel and wider afield? Very briefly.

BASKIN: Ending the war will provide the opportunity that the Israeli people are waiting for, for calling for new elections, and for, first and foremost, to create a commission of inquiry to determine what went wrong on October 7th, what led to it and who was responsible. And that all points to Netanyahu. He cannot escape responsibility for the failures of Israel to protect itself on October 7th.

ANDERSON: Gershon Baskin, it's always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed for joining us from Jerusalem today.

Well, word of the upcoming ceasefire led to massive celebrations in Gaza, huge crowds turned out in the streets, ecstatic that 15 months of fighting would come to an end. But more than 46,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials, and close to 90 percent of Palestinians have had to flee their homes, and many people still cannot forget what they lost during the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAWHAR ABI LAILA, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): I'm so happy, but at the same time my home was destroyed. I lost four of my children, some of my other children I haven't seen in months. I want to go home. I want to go back to my children. I want to find my kids at home and cradle them like I used to. I want to cradle my youngest, who they killed. He was 12 years old. I'm so sad, they broke my heart when they took him from me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm filled with hope and pain, pain for all that we've lost, for our loved ones and friends and family and neighbors, and hope for the return of Gaza, for the return of our homes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I remember the feeling that is indescribable. We never expected to get to this stage, even now we don't believe it. We wish many people could celebrate this moment with us, but they are now in a better place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm grateful to God that made me be here in this moment. I promised to stay with you in Gaza until the last moment, and I am grateful that God made it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, earlier, CNN got reaction to the deal from the parents of deceased Israeli American hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Hamas abducted the 23-year-old from the Nova Music Festival on October the 7th in the attack on Israel, he lost his left hand and part of his arm.

In late August, his body was discovered by Israeli forces in a tunnel in Gaza, along with five other deceased hostages, here's what his father had to say about the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON POLIN, FATHER OF DECEASED HOSTAGE HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: Right now, we are embracing the deal, welcoming it, and we have gotten to know so many of the hostage families that we are excited to see them embrace their loved ones. We are, in a strange way, also saying we're excited that the families of the deceased will get to give their loved ones proper and respectful burial. All of it is so important.

Obviously, we also think about the timing. At the end of the day, this deal is effectively the deal that was laid out in detail by President Biden in May. We paid a very dear price for that deal not getting implemented back when it could have many other families paid that heavy price that we paid, and we will suffer with that for the rest of our lives. But for now, we are optimistic that this is going to get the 98 home. Finally, after all these months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: We will continue our coverage of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, including the monumental task of rebuilding after the devastation caused by the fighting.

[02:20:04]

First up, though, President Joe Biden gave his farewell speech from the Oval Office, and it was full of warnings about big tech and a power grab by the super wealthy, details on that are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday, just days before he leaves the White House for good, and after more than 50 years of public service. The president issued a stark warning about the looming threats from what he called the tech industrial complex, where he said the truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and others joined

the president in the Oval Office for the address. President Biden also said he was concerned that a few wealthy people holding a lot of power could threaten democracy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. This is a dangerous concert -- and that's a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people, the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.

Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and he joins me now from Charlottesville. Good to have you with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: What stood out to you in President Joe Biden's farewell address to the nation and how critical was this moment after his five decades in public service?

SABATO: I was impressed by it. Now he's never good at delivery. He never has been, never will be. I don't think we expect that, but the message was one that Americans needed to hear.

I was delighted that he focused on one of the two best presidential farewell addresses in American history, the first being George Washington, the first president. But this one was Dwight David Eisenhower's farewell in January 1961 in which the former Supreme Allied Commander in World War II and a two term president warned us about the growing power of the military industrial complex, and boy, was he right. Problem is we quote him, but we didn't listen to him, and the military industrial complex is a thousand times more powerful than it was in Eisenhower's time.

But what Biden did was to put a twist on that and to talk about the tech industrial complex, because it really is the growing power of billionaires. How many billionaires are in the Trump administration?

[02:25:15]

To say it set a record is really to understate the importance of what's going on. These people have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump's campaign and are still handing him money. He's collected a half a billion dollars before he even takes office for his second term. He was -- Biden was sticking it to Mark Zuckerberg in particular by pointing out that some of these people in the tech industry are now dropping fact checking, which is really one of their major responsibilities, that they're in the information service business.

So, I thought he did a great job of at least alerting Americans again to what's going on. Maybe we'll do better at paying attention than we ever did with Eisenhower.

CHURCH: And President Biden's farewell address came as CNN latest polling shows just 36 percent approval rating for how he is handling his job as president. Senator Bernie Sanders says President Biden's failing was more about the inability to communicate his accomplishments. Why do you think Joe Biden's approval rating is so low, and how will he be remembered in the end?

SABATO: Yes, that's one key reason. Let's be honest, he was not able to convince Americans that what he was doing was the right thing, or that the results of his work were helping Americans and the world.

So, that's a major failure. President has to be a good communicator, but there are lots of individual reasons from Afghanistan to immigration, which should have been tackled much earlier on, the inflation rate, which Biden thought would solve itself in time or be outweighed by the other good economic statistics and so on.

Probably running for reelection was the worst thing that he did, and it did cost Democrats the White House to a great degree. And remember that eliminated half of Biden's legacy.

The biggest part of his legacy was ousting Donald Trump from the White House in 2020, now he's restored him to the White House.

But having said all that, history has a way of evening things up, Biden accomplished great things, like the infrastructure bill, which he mentioned in his speech, so I think he'll get more credit for the good things, and maybe the bad things won't seem quite as bad. And he did get a real boost on the day of his farewell address, which I don't think was planned, but the ceasefire in the Middle East and the potential release of hostages is something that enables him to go out on a high note, and really, we all ought to be pleased with that. No one wants to see a president humiliated at any point in his term, and particularly not as he's leaving office.

CHURCH: And Larry as we look to the second Presidency of Donald Trump, which of President Biden's signature initiatives will he likely roll back? And what will be the likely consequences of that?

SABATO: Any executive order that Biden issued that can be easily revoked, and most of them can be, will be revoked rather quickly. And there's a long, long list covering a wide variety of concerns.

I don't think that Trump will be able to get most of the climate change provisions revoked. I don't think he'll even try to take back some of the infrastructure, because the Republican senators and congressmen, even though they voted against it and take every opportunity to condemn Biden for it, are the very first to be in their districts or states taking credit for the projects.

So, they're not going to take that away either. And I don't think he's going to abolish Obamacare. There's just too many consequences, bad consequences from doing that.

So, there'll be a lot of fireworks in the beginning, particularly about revoking executive orders from Biden and instituting new ones on his own, particularly in the immigration field.

The other promises, it will be like infrastructure, the promise that Trump gave almost every week or two in his administration. He said it was coming in the next month, sometimes the next two weeks, then the next month. Well, he never got it out there.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato, appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

SABATO: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: That is what it looked and sounded like just a short time ago when Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin space company successfully launched its New Glenn rocket for the first time.

[02:30:00]

Now, the launch could help bolster Blue Origin's position with NASA as it seeks to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX fleet. Today's liftoff was delayed just a few minutes when a boat in the sea off Cape Canaveral got too close to the launch area.

The main stage of the rocket just achieved orbit, the primary goal of the mission. They also attempted the landing of the first stage booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, but officials say the booster was lost. The second stage continued inter orbit carrying a prototype of a spacecraft the Blue Origin wants to market for national security and satellite missions.

And joining me now on the line from Cape Canaveral, CNN's space and Defense Correspondent, Kristin Fisher. Kristin, hope you can hear me. We are watching these images, of course. And what is the significance of this launch and the mission ahead?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a huge moment for Jeff Bezos and his space company, which has been working hard for the better part of two decades to reach this moment. Up until this point, they've only had suborbital rockets, meaning rockets that can go up and down in about 10 minutes. This was the first time that Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin has attempted to send a rocket all the way up into orbit around the Earth. And they did it on a first attempt. That is so incredibly difficult to do. That was also, as you mentioned, the primary objective of this entire flight.

The secondary goal was to see if they could even begin to try to catch that first stage booster on a drone ship after it propelled the second stage into orbit. That was always kind of the cherry on top, and they were not able to do that tonight. But just to give you an idea of how much they knew they likely were not going to make that booster landing, the name of the drone ship, Rosemary, that was parked just off the coast of Florida where this booster was going to land, was called "So you're telling me there's a chance."

So, they knew that was a long shot. They did not get the booster landing, but they got what they really cared about, which was getting this rocket "New Glenn" up into orbit for the very first time, Rosemary. And if I can just say, kind of set the scene for where I am for you, I'm not at Cape Canaveral. I'm actually on Cocoa Beach, public beach, and there are hundreds of people out here tonight, at 2:00 a.m., waiting in the cold to watch this thing because it really is a very unique moment to get to catch not just the first maiden flight of any rocket, but the first maiden flight of a heavy-lift vehicle, pretty rare, especially one that has been this long in development.

So, some big tears from hundreds of people that came out and braved the cold to watch this launch tonight after a scrub a few nights ago, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Wow. And incredible images as you bring us that live report. Kristin Fisher on the line there. Many thanks, appreciate it.

Well, coming up after a short break, we will go back to CNN's Becky Anderson in Doha. Becky?

ANDERSON: That's right. And we're going to talk come more about this ceasefire deal due to be implemented on Sunday, the 19th of January.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:36:15]

ANDERSON: Well, now on our top story, the long awaited announcement of a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. The first phase set to begin on Sunday and includes a pause in fighting, the release of -- by Hamas of 33 hostages, and Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. People on both sides of this war hope that this ceasefire will last.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has reaction from Gaza and from Israel.

(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 PRIME MINISTER: 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. 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 besiege enclave.

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

YOSI SCHANIDER, 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, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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 deaths could still come before the ceasefire goes into effect on Sunday. But for now, Palestinians are celebrating what will come.

The feeling is indescribable, Ala Abukar (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 Diamonds, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Qatari officials say that the last couple of days were crucial to get the ceasefire deal across the line. Earlier I spoke with Majed al-Ansari, who is the spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry about the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Congratulations to the State of Qatar for getting this deal across the line in coordination, of course, with the Egyptians and the U.S. Just how much influence did Donald Trump and his envoy, Steve Witkoff have in getting this deal over the line?

MAJED AL-ANSARI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: Well, Becky, as you heard the prime minister state in his press conference, both administrations were working in tandem here in Doha.

[02:40:00] Steve Witkoff and Brett McGurk together in the room, pushing this across the line. We highly, of course, appreciate the help from both administrations and we also appreciate the fact that both administrations were working collectively and coordinating together to get the deal through. I think the past couple of days have been very instrumental. Yesterday, the meetings went on until 4:00 a.m. and started very early this morning.

And the American presence, the U.S. presence in these meetings was very instrumental. So we appreciated it and we know that there was a lot of political will behind the push that delivered the deal today.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump is treating this as a win, effectively, that's what he said in his social channels. Is it?

Al-ANSARI: I think all of us should be claiming this as a win. And I think stopping this war and stopping the bloodshed, the daily pictures and videos of children and women killed in the streets, stopping that is a win for the whole world. It's a win for peace and security. And I think anybody can, who wants to claim, that should be able to, especially those who have helped bring this across the line.

ANDERSON: Phase one starts on the 19th. The deal will be implemented on Sunday. That's a day before Donald Trump's inauguration, and will go on for 42 days, during which time 33 hostages will be released. Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged. The Israeli military will withdraw in a sort of staggered fashion. Palestinians get to go home --

(LAUGH)

ANDERSON: -- to wherever they are from, including the northern part of the Strip. And crucially, humanitarian aid will be surged into the Strip. Just how much confidence do you have in the first instance that the mechanisms are in place to ensure that that first 42 days goes to plan, sir?

Al-ANSARI: Well, Becky, we have learned to be very cautious in our expectations. But what I can tell you is that we have spent more than 400 days of negotiations between both sides. Everything has been hashed out. Everything has been discussed in a very clear manner. And we do believe that we have the checks in place, we have the processes in place, and we have the commitment from both sides in place, that will ensure that the agreement is implemented.

But of course, through our operations room in Egypt that will have all of us together collectively, the U.S., Qatar, and the United States, we will work to ensure that there are no delays in the implementation that might make it difficult for the process to continue.

ANDERSON: What can you do if there are delays or if indeed somebody breaks the ceasefire?

Al-ANSARI: Now, it's a case by case basis, but I can tell you that we are all working together and we have the mechanisms in place to make sure that, that goes positively, I mean. ANDERSON: Can you confirm on which day, the negotiations for a second phase will begin? I've seen reports that the negotiations for a second phase will begin on day 16. Is that correct?

Al-ANSARI: I mean, I don't want to get into the details of the agreement. You probably have seen a lot of these documents flying around, but what I can tell you that it will take some time for the negotiations to begin. We want to ensure that we have the processes in place and the commitment to start the negotiations, and we will be pushing for that to happen.

ANDERSON: How many Americans will be released in the first phase?

Al-ANSARI: I'm sorry, I don't have any information right now, but I hope to see all of them with their families very soon.

ANDERSON: You have confidence that this deal can get beyond phase one, correct?

Al-ANSARI: I mean, we remain hopeful. We remain confident. We remain very -- we believe in the process itself. But obviously, it's dependent on the -- on both sides of the --

ANDERSON: Joe Biden said tonight that this deal is exactly the same as the one that he proposed back in May. Now, I remember you and I have been working almost in tandem on this. We've seen each other a lot over the last 15 months or so. Is Joe Biden correct when he says that this deal is exactly the same deal as he proposed back in May of 2023? And if he is correct, why has it taken so long?

Al-ANSARI: Well, I would leave the answer to the second part of your question to the parties who were negotiating with us all through these months. But I can tell you that the document was progressing. The spirit of the document is very similar to that it was in May, actually very similar that it was in May. But obviously, the devil is in the details. And this was what we were working on for the past 400 days. It's finding the right mix in the details.

ANDERSON: Can I ask you, Steve Witkoff said that he thought a deal could have been cut some 10 days ago, and he's really disappointed that it wasn't. He said this a couple of days ago. He said he was confident some days ago that a deal could have been cut. What was holding things up in the last, well, 10 days?

Al-ANSARI: I don't want to get into the details of what was holding this up, but I can tell you that a lot of push was done positively during the past days, and this is why we have a deal now.

[02:45:00]

ANDERSON: Last four days have been crucial, correct?

Al-ANSARI: I would say that, yes. The last couple of days have been quite crucial in getting the deal across.

ANDERSON: Well, you look quite tired, so I'm going to let you go. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Always a pleasure. Thank you. Congratulations again.

Al-ANSARI: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (on camera): That is a measured al-Ansari there, speaking to me just after the agreement was announced in Qatar late last night. Well, now that that deal has the initial green light, the United Nations says it is time to start sending desperately needed aid to Gaza. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement, but said it is only a start.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: This deal is a critical first step. Our priority now must be to ease the tremendous suffering caused by this conflict. The United Nations stands ready to support the implementation of this deal and scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the U.N. Agency for Palestinian refugees also welcomed the announcement of the agreement, saying many people were hoping for it for 15 months, and the deal will bring a much needed respite for the people in Gaza and the release of hostages. Well, assuming that aid starts flowing into Gaza, the next question is how to rebuild the place? These images will give you an idea on the extent of the destruction with many parts of the enclave practically obliterated by Israeli strikes.

Arwa Damon, the President and Founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance, told CNN what the key priorities should be in the reconstruction of Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, INARA: I mean, the task is an ordinance because just about every single building has either been entirely flattened or leveled. I think one of the key issues, especially for the humanitarian space, is how do we address the immediate needs of the people? People are still hungry, people are starving. People need food and people need to be able to stay warm. At least eight babies have died, frozen to death because of the cold.

We need to look at sewage pipelines, desalination plants. We need to look at rebuilding Gaza's medical infrastructure. So in the grand scheme of things, this whole idea of building Gaza is enormous and it's something that's going to take a massive international effort. More short term, more immediate is what needs to be done, what aid needs to get into Gaza to save people's lives. And also, these medical evacuations need to start up as soon as possible because tens of thousands of people have been injured and the waiting list of people, children who are trying to get out of Gaza for lifesaving medical care, it just grows by the day. And that is something that is extremely important because we can, right now, if the bomb stop falling, save Gazan lives. If we fail on that front, Gazans will continue to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that was Arwa Damon speaking earlier. You are watching "CNN Newsroom." Rosemary and I will be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:20]

CHURCH: Red flag fire warnings are set to expire in the coming hours in Southern California with cooler temperatures and more humid air moving in over the weekend. Firefighters hope that will help them get greater containment of the wildfires that have ravaged the area for more than a week. They're claiming tremendous progress, but worn, smoldering hotspots remain a danger. Authorities are also telling residents not to remove or clean up fire debris until a hazardous materials inspection is completed. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass thanked firefighters for working quickly to contain the flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN BASS, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: We're not out of the woods yet. There is a chance that the Santa Anas might spike up again next week. But I think that we have to -- while we're still being vigilant, while we're still in this emergency, we also have to begin the process of recovery and rebuilding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Starmer's office says the leaders will sign a treaty for a new 100-year partnership deepening the country's military and economic alliance. The prime minister is also expected to announce a new support package for Ukraine, including lethal aid and funds for Kyiv's economic resilience.

Well, 25 Ukrainian prisoners of war are finally back home after a prisoner swap with Russia. They were exchanged for 25 Russians held by Ukraine on Wednesday, in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the released Ukrainians include both soldiers and civilians, many of whom are severely injured or ill. Among them are Ukrainian troops who fought in the infamous siege of Mariupol in the early months of the war. Moscow says the released Russians were transferred to Belarus for medical and psychological support.

TikTok is now facing an uncertain future in the United States as a ban on the popular app is just days away. A look at efforts to try and prevent that from happening, that's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The clock is ticking for TikTok. Its China-based owner ByteDance has just three days before the popular app is banned here in the United States, unless the app is sold off or the supreme court rules in TikTok's favor. Right now, it appears America's highest court is poised to keep the law that will ban the app in place.

At the same time, leaders on both sides of the aisle are considering ways to delay a ban. That includes President-elect Donald Trump, who sources say is weighing a possible executive order that would give the administration time to potentially cut a deal with a U.S. buyer to save the app. It's important to note an executive order on January 20th when Trump takes office, would come one day after the ban is supposed to take effect.

[02:55:00]

For his part, Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts tried to pass a bill by unanimous consent that would have extended the deadline for TikTok to be sold or banned for 270 days. But that attempt failed. He explained why the app is such a critical tool for so many Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Sen. Ed Markey, (D-MA): I think older people just don't understand the role which TikTok plays in the culture of people in our country under the age of 40. It's a lot more than just cat videos. It's 7 million businesses who use it. It's 170 million Americans who use it every single day and in many ways, very dependent upon it as part of their lives to make a living. TikTok is an integral part of the economy. People don't understand that. There's 220,000 jobs in our country that are related to TikTok right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And as a potential ban looms, many TikTok users have been flocking to other China-based apps. That includes Rednote. CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with commentator, Kara Swisher, on security concerns about those other apps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARA SWISHER, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, they're smaller, I guess. And I guess that's another thing. This is such a specific piece of legislation, which is one of the flaws of it, it should have been a much broader piece of legislation about foreign ownership. But, they'll flock to them and then they'd have to deal with that. Rednote is relatively delightful and so, we'll see what people do. It's interesting they're not flocking to American ones. They're flocking to these really innovative Chinese apps, which they're very good at these -- these particular kind of apps.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: What do you make of this idea of selling TikTok -- ByteDance selling TikTok to Elon Musk?

SWISHER Oh, well, that's one of the things I sort of said, oh, that would be an interesting thing that would happen here because he could put it with X or Twitter, whatever you want to call it. That's a possibility. There's a lot of interested parties here. The problem is, if you sell it without the algorithm, is it TikTok? And of course, the Chinese do not want that to happen.

And so, you're buying kind of just a brand and is it worth that, especially given all the competition? And will someone else just supplant that? It's a really -- it's a very dicey situation. But the reason TikTok is good is because of the algorithm and that it gives you whatever you happen to like. I don't know what you like, Jake, on TikTok, but it gives you whatever you like. I happen to like ASMR sand cutting, but you know, everybody is different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Thanks so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. After a short break, Becky Anderson will join me again from Doha in Qatar with more coverage of the historic hostage and ceasefire deal in the Middle East. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)