viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world as we continue our coverage of the israel/hamas war. i'm rosemary church. it is now the fourth day of a temporary truce between israel and hamas, and israel says discussions of under way after it received a list of hostages expected to be released from gaza in the hours ahead. today is set to be the final day of@greemen, but hamas says it wants to extend the pause in the fighting beyond the four-day deal. a source tells cnn israel's war cabinet also discussed that possibility sunday night. on day three of the truce, 17 hostages were freed, including israelis and foreign nationals. the group included mothers and children and ranged in age from 84 to 4 years old. other hostages released by hamas over the weekend, including this mother and daughter, have already been reunited with their families. and as part of the deal, an additional 39 palestinian prisoners and detainees were released from israeli jails on sunday. all were males 18 years old and younger. cnn's clare sebastian is following developments. she joins us now from london. good morning to you, clare. as we head into this fourth and possibly final day of the truce agreement, how likely is it that the israeli government will extend that truce? >> reporter: this was baked into the original deal, that if hamas is to release a further ten live israeli hostages, that would lead to an extension of the truce by 24 hours. so thereafter, what we're hearing from both sides, the source telling us the israeli war cabinet has been discussing this possibility. hamas also putting out a statement saying they would want to extend the truce once the four-day period ends, saying they would want to do that through serious efforts to increase the numbers of those released from imprisonment as stipulated in the humanitarian cease-fire agreement, shows they are referring back to that original deal and what was agreed there could be possible. we just don't know. we know this morning that the prime minister's office in israel has the list provided by hamas of potential hostages who were released today and are reviewing that. we don't have information beyond that. they expect to put out more information later. it's very delicate, but there is also pressure from outside to potentially extend. qatar has made no secret of the fact that they hope that this agreement will provide momentum towards something potentially more long lasting, like a cease-fire. we haven't heard any discussions of a cease-fire from the u.s. side. president biden did express hope on sunday that this wouldn't be the end, take a listen. >> that's our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in gaza. we've seen -- this is a day by day approach, hour by hour. nothing is guaranteed. nothing is being taken for granted. but the proof that this is working and worth pursuing further is in every smile, in every grateful tear we see on the faces of those families who are finally getting back together again. >> reporter: of course, the major complicating factor here is that israel has a second goal that is to completely dismantle hamas, a job they say they have yet to finish. they've made it clear they have not finished that job. we saw images on sunday of prime minister netanyahu apparently in gaza wearing a flack jacket and a helmet, talking to troops, and he said, we will continue to the end, until victory, nothing will stop us. those optics and those words making it clear israel intends to continue pursuing this militarily and that at some point they believe hamas will just not be prepared to release any more hostages. rosemary? >> all right, our thanks to clare sebastian for that live report from london. for some israeli families, a nightmare that began more than seven weeks ago has finally come to an end. cnn's fath ewe chance has more from tel aviv. >> reporter: they arrived by helicopter. the safety of an israeli children's hospital near tel aviv. their 51-day nightmare as hostages in gaza at an end. just hours earlier, they were released to the red cross. hamas posting this highly choreographed video, its audio removed, apparently showing palestinians in gaza city which israel has relentlessly pounded, cheering as hostages are handed over. including u.s. israeli toddler abigail idan who turned 4 just days ago in captivity. her parents were killed by hamas. her relatives say abigail doesn't know. she's returning home an orphan. >> her brother and sister survived. they hid in the closet 14 hours, after watching their parents murdered, thinking abigail was murdered too. they're with their grandparents and aunt and uncles who live with them on the kibbutz. they have a wonderful extended family. we are all waiting for abigail to come home. >> reporter: this was the horrific aftermath of the hamas rampage through kfar aza, one of the israeli communities near gaza where so many were slaughtered or abducted on october the 7th. family members say abigail was in her father's arms when he was gunned down, and she fled to her neighbor's, the brodak family. >> how old? >> he's 4 1/2. >> reporter: only to be abducted, and now released along with them. from the start of this ordeal, avi brodak told me he's kept faith. >> i live has hope with me. you know, my beliefs, you know -- i believe that they're doing fine. these guys that took them, i know they're religious, i know they're muslim. so i've got this really great hope that they're treating them well, feeding them, letting them move around a bit, maybe play some soccer. >> reporter: also released, 9-year-old tao goldstein almog, seen here before he was abducted along with his mother, sister, brother. they're also now freed. but returned, their uncle told me, to a shattered family. tao's other sister yan and father adav were both murdered. >> the best is in front of us. it's going to come. whatever happened, we cannot change. nadav is no longer with us. yan, the beautiful girl, is not with us anymore. but -- >> there's still a chance, your sister? >> yes, yes, yes. we have to bring what's left, bring back what's left, it's a broken family. >> reporter: and there are so many broken families, that each hostage release may now start to help rebuild. matthew chance, cnn, tel aviv. yakov katz is a senior columnist and editor and the former editor-in-chief of "the jerusalem post." he's also the author of "shadow strike: inside israel's secret mission to eliminate syrian nuclear power." he joins us now from jerusalem. appreciate you being with us. >> thank you, rosemary. >> so on this fourth and possibly final day of the truce agreement, how likely is it that the israeli government will agree to extend the pause in fighting beyond monday to allow for the release of more hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid? >> i think that israel obviously will want to do whatever it can to get back as many hostages as possible these next few days. they're supposed to see the release. today is the fourth day. this is supposed to culminate in the release of 50 hostages overall in exchange for about 150 palestinian prisoners who have been held as terrorists who were convicted of crimes, as well as the flow of humanitarian supplies to gaza. but there is that clause in the deal that was originally approved by the israeli cabinet that allows for an extension if hamas is to release ten more hostages every single day. this could go on for at least another week. i think the dilemmas will start to come up if there is, say, on wednesday or thursday, hamas says, well, we can't give you ten, we can give you four, five, six. what does israel do? on one hand they want to continue the operation and the offensive into southern gaza where hamas is still entrenched. on the other hand, to get back five, four, six hostages is still a big deal. and the israeli public will want to see that happen. these are the dilemmas we should expect to see in the days to come. >> i want to talk about that. israel has two goals in this war. one is to ensure the safe release of all the hostages. the other is destroy hamas. but those are two conflicting goals. how are the people of israel responding to these hostage releases and how much concern is there that the second goal of destroying hamas could end up endangering the lives of the remaining hostages if the fighting resumes? >> so you're right that this is something of a contradiction. but not necessarily, right? because one goal does serve the other. the more military pressure that hamas feels that it is under will get it to want to reach a deal to release more of the hostages to get a cease-fire. it's doubtful that without the large-scale offensive that israel had been carrying out in northern gaza over the last few weeks, without that, hamas would have even agreed to this release of 50 out of the 240 hostages that it was in possession of. so israel's campaign and military offensive is imperative to keep that pressure on hamas to get it to feel the squeeze and to feel that it is in danger, that it will want to reach a pause or a temporary truce and exchange and release hostages. the question going forward, say these 50 are released, maybe israel gets another 10, 20, 30 in the best-case scenario. what happens after that? what we know in the south, that's where the hamas leadership is still intact. hamas has three brigades in southern gaza and rafah and other places. thousands of fighters are still there. significant military capabilities. and the rest of the abductees, the rest of the israeli hostages are there. how does israel then go in on the ground there? by the way, almost all gaza civilians are in the south, which complicates things even more. this is going to be a very complicated and tense next few days and weeks in what the future of this offensive and operation looks like. >> yeah, most certainly. of course, in the meantime, israel is feeling a lot of domestic pressure from the families of hostages calling for the government to focus on their safe release rather than the fight with hamas. and then there is the international pressure which is building to extend the truce and ultimately put in a permanent cease-fire. so how is the israeli government dealing with those mounting pressures from within the country and outside? >> i think what you're seeing, rosemary, is on the one hand, israel's strength. but at the same time, israel's weakness. and it is the fact that israel's willing to sacrifice a lot and many for a few. the few hostages who are in gaza. to stop and pause the operation, which is no more justified than any operation, any war in the past, a war that was forced upon us, that was compelled on us with the massacre of october 7th. israel's going into gaza with the backing of its people, with the backing of the world, with an understanding that hamas can no longer exist and can no longer present a threat. but at the same time says, we have to stop for now to get back as many people as we can, because one life is an entire world as the jewish tradition dictates. therefore, israel's doing it. that's our strength, but also our weakness because hamas knows that. that's why they took so many hostages. and they will play on that exposed nerve and exposed pain that israel has to get israel to pause more. they will play with us, they will hold back the hostages, they will engage in psychological warfare because they know this is israel's weak point. and this is why israel will have to be stronger in a way that i don't think this country has ever really been tested in the way that it's going to be tested in these next few days. >> and president joe biden says the release of the hostages so far proves the deal brokered by qatar is working. but israel's defense minister says any further negotiations will be held under fire. how dangerous could that prove to be for any remaining hostages, or is that simply a negotiation tactic, do you think? >> i would look at everything that everybody is saying right now as a negotiation tactic, rosemary. the defense minister is saying what he's saying. he needs to project strength, get hamas to think that israel is obviously prepared to move forward. but i wouldn't test it, israel is ready to move forward. the troops now -- let's remember where the cease-fire came into effect was after israel had taken control of all of northern gaza and takener on the shifa hospital, destroyed that massive tunnel complex underneath that hospital, was basically gearing up for the offensive in the sound. it was at this point israel said, we can take a pause now, we can give the troops a bit of a break before they go into the south. that's ready. and these few days are being used to sharpen that offensive, to get it prepared, to get those troops trained and ready for what they're going to face in the south. we can't ignore the fact that israel does rely heavily on the united states, not just for the supply of weaponry and spare parts, also for the diplomatic cover and that strong alliance and relationship is extremely importance. of strategic, existential importance. if president biden would suddenly change his tune and start to say to israel, it's time to wrap it up, that would also start to see that diplomatic clock tick much faster. even at the risk of a crisis with the u.s., i'm not sure what step israel would take in the continuing of this operation. >> yakov katz, thanks for your perspective from jerusalem, appreciate it. still to come, as dozens more palestinian prisoners are released from israeli prisons, allegations are emerging of their treatment while in custody. a report just ahead. welcome back. the palestinian prisoners released on sunday were all 18 years old or younger. the youngest, 14 years old. according to information from the israeli prison service and the palestinian riser in society, some of them were detained without knowing the charges they faced. and as cnn's nada bashir reports, many of those released say they were abused while in custody. >> reporter: carried through the crowds, celebrated by thousands of palestinians, these boys are among 33 teenagers released from israeli prisons on saturday. this is, for many here in the occupied west bank, a moment of hope. and for those now freed, a moment of utter relief. "i'm so happy, i can't believe this is real," ibrahim says. "i don't even know what to say." this scene a product of a delicate four-day truce agreement between israel and hamas. set to see 150 palestinian prisoners and detainees released and at least 50 israeli hostages released from hamas captivity in gaza. there are many palestinian families who will still be waiting anxiously to hear if their loved ones will, too, be freed. the tamimi family, seen here on saturday, has rallied for months, calling for the release of 17-year-old wisam. he was seriously injured by israeli forces and later arrested in june, accused of offenses including possessing a weapon. but he was never charged. now he and his family are finally together again. "i can't describe to you how i'm feeling right now. i honestly can't believe it. i feel like i'm in a dream," his mother says. "my son is finally with me. i thank god and pray that every mother will be able to feel this joy. i pray god grants palestinian people this happiness. we just want to be able to smile and laugh together." many of those now released are among the over 3,000 palestinians held under administrative detention, meaning no charges have been made against them and no ongoing legal process. israel says some of those released were being held on terror or weapons charges, but in a list published by israeli authorities of 300 women and children eligible for release, throwing stones and harming regional security were among the most common charges. >> there are children here who have been in jail for eight years, five years, six years. it's unacceptable. many of them have now huge psychological problems because of the torture, at least psychological torture, because of the way they were interrogated. it is a terrible atrocity that is practiced against these children. >> reporter: for the crowds gathered in the occupied west bank, this celebration they say is a symbol of justice. bringing t thousands o of papalestiniansns together toto in thehe joy of now reunited famililies. but for r many, thatat joy is coupled with grief, with pain felt deeply here for the people of gaza. >> we're extremely happy, but still overwhelmed and extremely saddened by everything going on here in palestine. but at the same time still resilient. keep going with whatever we can do in order to hopefully achieve a cease-fire and hopefully later on a full liberation. >> reporter: many of the teenagers we spoke to who have been released as part of that truce agreement told us they had experienced abuse and mistreatment while in detention. we have now received a response from the israeli prison service spokesperson who has said all those released were serving time for serious offenses and that all prisoners are detained under the provisions of israeli law. but as we know, many of those detained are held under administrative detention, meaning no charges laid against them, no clear legal process. many are hopeful still they will see their loved ones, their children, their relatives released on that final day of the truce agreement as it currently stands. many families waiting to see if their loved ones are on that list of prisoners and detainees set to be released on monday. >> joining me from jerusalem is sarah davies, spokesperson for the international committee of the red cross. thank you so much for talking with us. >> rosemary, thank you for having me. >> so your organization has been handling the hostages as they enter into egypt from gaza where they've been held by hamas since october 7th. what is the actual role of the red cross in this process, and what happens when you make that first contact with the hostages? >> thank you so much for giving me this space to clarify. i know that a lot of speculation about this, it's a really important point. our role is very simple. once the agreement has been made, as we've seen, we step in as a neutral organization who is trusted by both sides to facilitate this release, who is trusted to be able to meet up with hamas, receive the hostages, and hand them over to the authorities. the process itself runs along the lines of, we receive a notification, our team. in the last few days this has been teams of eight staff and four vehicles. we go to the meeting point. we, in very quick fashion, we meet with hamas, we meet with the hostages. the priority of the team at that time is to reassure the hostages that we're here to transport you out of gaza. we have you, you're safe, and you will soon be able to receive medical treatment and be reunited, most importantly, with your families. the most efficient way that this happens is very quick, and then we transport them outside. we hand them out of our care to the authorities, and then they go to the next steps of the process, handled by the authorities. >> that is an extraordinary process. as you say, as a mutually -- a mutual trusted organization on both sides. that is very critical. when you have that opportunity to talk, or some of the people you work with, your colleagues to talk with hostages, what can you tell us about some of the stories they may have shared with them? >> as i said, it is a very efficient process. our teams are very much focused on the operation at hand. it is still a conflict zone. it's still a very tense situation. we really want to leave the space for the hostages themselves and their families to share those details if and when they choose to. however, my teams have told me it is a very emotionally overwhelming situation. we don't know, of course, whether the hostages were informed prior that they were about to be released. we don't know if they knew what was happening or it would come as a surprise. one of the team members involved has told me that they did see the relief on the faces of hostages once they realized what was happening. and of course, it would potentially take awhile for it to sink in. there would be a lot of emotions are there would be anxiety. they don't know, they have not had contact with their family members, their loved ones, for the time they've been held. they may not know what has happened to them, they don't know what to expect. the overwhelming emotion is definitely relief. >> extraordinary details. we appreciate you sharing those with us. i did want to ask you how difficult it's been for some red cross workers being involved in such a significant and of course historic hostage release operation. what are people, some of your colleagues, saying about that? >> of course, as you say, it is a very big moment. our teams have, of course, been trained. we have very particular processes in place for this type of situation. this is what we do all over the world. this is why it's so important for us to be seen and known as that neutral organization. one of the team members that i did speak to mentioned that purely due to the emotions of the moment, they were almost crying. it is a very overwhelming time, not just for the hostages themselves, who are the priority of course, but for the team members involved, and of course once they come back to our offices, they receive debriefs and receive any support that is needed. >> such emotionally charged moments, absolutely, no doubt about it. for everybody involved. sarah davies, thank you so much, with the red cross, joining us from jerusalem, really appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. still to come, new details about the suspect who allegedly shot three palestinian college students in vermont during a thanksgiving holiday. the white house says u.s. president joe biden is in close contact with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on the release of more hostages. the latest just ahead. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ back here in the united states, three palestinian college students were shot in burlington, vermont, saturday evening. police say they have now arrested a suspect, 48-year-old jason j. eaton, who lived in an apartment building near where the shooting took place. cnn's carlos suarez has details of the attack. >> reporter: authorities in vermont are looking into the possibility this was a hate crime. according to police in burlington, the three palestinian students were walking on a street on their way to visit a relative saturday when confronted by a man armed with a gun. all three students were shot. at the time of the shooting, we're told two of the three victims were wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional palestinian scarf. we're told the photo of the students was taken earlier in the day saturday. all are being treated at vermont medical center. two of them are in stable condition, the third suffered more serious injuries. according to the institute for middle east understanding, that's an organization that is in contact with the victims' family, the students were 20-year-old tasin ali ahmad, kanan abule amid, and hishan al tahni. we're told all three graduated from a private school in the west bank before coming to the u.s. to attend different colleges. artani's great uncle, a former minister of education, said artani was visiting his grandmother. here is an attorney representing the victims' family on why they're certain this is a hate-motivated crime. >> the suspect shot them, they weren't robbed, they weren't mugged, it was a targeted shooting and a targeted crime. and they were wearing the keffiyeh. they were known in the area for being palestinian. that's a very well-known symbol, a very well-known cloth. it's very symbolic of the palestinian cause, the palestinian culture and history. so the fact that they were wearing this and fell victim to a shooter leads us to believe that that played a role, their identity played a role in them being targeted. >> reporter: sunday night, a crowd gathered outside of the burlington city hall and called on police to investigate the shooting as a hate crime. earlier in the day, the chief of police said no one can look at this incident and not suspect it may have been a hate-motivated crime. the fbi said it is aware of the incident, and they're ready to investigate the shooting. carlos suarez, cnn, atlanta. the white house says u.s. president joe biden remains in close contact with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu about the release of hostages. mr. netanyahu told president biden that the possibility of extending the truce with hamas would be welcome in return for the further release of ten hostages per day from gaza. that is according to a statement. cnn's priscilla alvarez has more from the white house. >> reporter: president biden on sunday celebrated the release of abigail idan, a 4-year-old american hostage who was held by hamas and released as part of the negotiated deal between israel and hamas. she had been held in captivity for seven weeks, and both of her parents were killed in those october 7th terror attacks. the president calling what she went through a terrible trauma and also calling the experience, quote, unthinkable. the president did speak with her family in both the u.s. and israel on sunday, though he did not have details on her condition when speaking to reporters earlier in the day. but the president making clear in those remarks that it's not just about the release of hostages but also getting additional humanitarian aid into gaza. and expressing some hope that there could be more pauses in fighting in the days to come to again get more of those hostages released. >> that's our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in gaza. >> reporter: u.s. officials have said israel is prepared to continue pauses in fighting in exchange for hamas releasing ten hostages for each of those days. the president spoke about that with the prime minister of israel on sunday, as well as getting aid into gaza and making sure that they can secure the release of more hostages. what is clear tonight is there is still intensive negotiations and discussions ongoing about getting those hostages released by hamas after this four-day pause. priscilla alvarez, cnn, at the white house. senate majority leader chuck schumer says he plans to bring a national security package to the floor which ties israel and ukraine funding together as soon as next week. in a letter to his democratic colleagues sunday, schumer explained the multibillion-dollar funding bill is needed to make sure "america's friends and partners in ukraine, israel, and the indo-pacific region have the necessary military capabilities to confront and deter the nation's adversaries and competitors." even if the measure passes in the senate, it could face opposition in the house since some conservative lawmakers say they don't want aid for israel and ukraine tied together. some major cities saw massive protests related to the israel/hamas war sunday. in london, tens of thousands rallied against anti-semitism. protesters called for the release of hostages and some carried signs that read, "act against hate before it's too late." in new york on one of the busiest travel days of the year, down for almost four hours by a massive sit-in with protesters calling for a permanent cease-fire in gaza. the bridge reopened late sunday afternoon. coming up next on "cnn newsroom," ukraine is retaliating after russia launched a record number of drones at kyiv over the weekend. russia says it destroyed at least 24 ukrainian drones that were headed for moscow and other cities in the past day. dozens of other drones were also taken out over ukrainian areas that are under russian control. this all happened a day after russia launch its largest drone attack against kyiv since the start of the war, according to local officials. a ukrainian energy company says power has been re stored to everyone in the capital after those attacks left people in the dark. cnn's anna coren joins us live from kyiv. what is the latest on those drone attacks in the capital? >> reporter: rosemary, as you're saying, this was the largest attack of drones launched by russia since its invasion, full-scale invasion on ukraine in february last year. 75 shahid drones were targeted at the capital, 74 were shot down. but it wasn't without its drama. early in the morning just after 2:30 a.m., the air raid sirens went off. then the air defense systems were working. these loud explosions in the air. we could even hear the sound of these drones. they were coming from multiple directions as well, rosemary. now, the debris from those drones that were shot down, they fell on residential buildings, including a kindergarten which we went out to and saw the destruction. and just meters away were hundreds of apartments and residential buildings. the people, they were looking at what had taken place. they were hiding in their hallways. they said they were used to this. waiting for it to pass. then there was a mighty explosion. they thought they homes were going to be destroyed. this is about terrorizing a population. there is no doubt about it. but we also know that russia has been stockpiling its weapons, stockpiling its drones and missiles with the aim of targeting ukraine's energy infrastructure, just like they did last winter. temperatures here have plunged. it's snowing outside. it is freezing. so that is russia's aim and ukraine knows it. >> and anna, what all is president zelenskyy saying about his country's need for weapons, particularly air defense systems? >> look, the air defense systems on the weekend, particularly in the capital, were in overdrive. but they worked. obviously 75 of those 74 drones were shot down. it's not like that in other areas, other regions. we heard from president zelenskyy over the weekend at this grain initiative summit where he said the real problem is near the border regions. zap rear yeah, kherson, the donetsk region. he said these are the areas difficult to protect, bordering russia as well as belarus. let's have a listen to what president zelenskyy had to say. >> translator: there is a certain number of air defense systems with certain names. we are asking for them. we've already got a positive answer when those systems will start to guard that region. because there both the corridor and the people are important. >> reporter: rosemary, the fact of the matter is, ukraine needs air defense systems, it needs weapons, it needs ammunition, it needs drones. it needs absolutely everything to fight this war against russia. and there is a growing consensus in this country, particularly among the analysts we are speaking to, the west is giving ukraine enough weaponry to stay in the fight but not to win the war. then we speak to the soldiers who are down on the front line fighting in these conditions saying, why don't we have enough? we need more drones, we need more ammunition, we don't have enough to make the inroads, gain that momentum to gain ground against russia. this is now, without doubt, a war of attrition. and we heard from the commander in chief of the ukrainian armed forces recently. he wrote a nine-page essay where he said, ukraine needs advanced technological weapons to really make inroads here. he also talks about the delays in the weapons from the west. the f-16s that have been promised from the united states. they're not going to be delivered until late spring of next year. how is ukraine supposed to make the gains that they need to win this war? many people here are growing more and more perplexed. so really, rosemary, ukraine needs all of this weaponry, and they need it now. >> indeed. anna coren joining us live from kyiv with that report, appreciate it, take care. coming up after the break, as conflict rages in parts of the world, many people are finding hope and comfort in the spirit of the holidays. we'll show you how. an end to the thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the u.s. came with thousands of flight delays. these were lines at the airport here in atlanta on sunday as travelers waited to board their flights. more than 7,000 flights within, into, or out of the u.s. were delayed on sunday. that's according to tracking website flight aware. but less than 50 were reported canceled. american airlines says sunday was their busiest thanksgiving ever, servicing nearly 6.5 million customers and more than 6,100 departures. more travel delays across the u.s. may be coming this week thanks to winter weather. the u.s. national weather service reports more than a foot of snow fell across some states on sunday, and even more is on the way for states in the northeast. meteorologist elisa raffa has the latest forecast forth u.s. >> some snow showers could slow you down on the roads as you get back to work after the thanksgiving holiday. we have a couple of warnings in effect for snow, lake-effect snow warnings off lakes erie and ontario. advisories stretching up into maine. you can see where some of that travel slows from minneapolis to chicago and detroit as some of those lake snow showers start to pump. from new york and boston, the last of that rain and even some snow showers getting into new england. even late in the day on tuesday. some totals for rain could be up to an inch. the snow totals zeroing in on some of these communities right off of the lakes as that cold air really starts to pump some of that lake-effect snow. what's happening is, we have arctic air coming in behind that front. that very cold air is going to swipe across the lakes. when that happens, the lakes are relatively warmer than that cold air. so the cold air is able to pick up some moisture from the lake. it starts to hit into the land, rises quickly, and gets that snow machine to pop. and man, will it pop. we're looking at some totals well over a foot for some communities near cleveland and erie. 12 to 18 inches of snow possible. as we go to tug hill, could be looking at some totals, maybe two or three feet. so getting pretty treacherous as we start the workweek after the holiday. temperatures are going to stay below average. we'll keep that arctic air in play through tuesday and wednesday with quite a bit of a chill in the air. the headlines are filled with news of war and suffering in eastern europe and the middle east, but people around the world are still finding reasons for hope as the holiday season brings warmth and cheer. here's michael holmes with more. >> reporter: a gift from one city to another. every year for the past 76 years, the people of oslo fell a tree from a nearby forest to send to london, where it will shine bright for the holiday season in trafalgar square. a token of gratitude for britain's support of norway during world war ii. a beacon of hope for some, and a break from some of the bleakness in the world. >> but it's also come to mean so much more. and we are living in this really, really dark times. and i think the christmas tree, it symbolizes peace. it symbolizes standing together, friendship between cities. >> reporter: that spirit of love and light in full swing in many cities, from the celebrations on the champs-elysees to a holiday selfie with a sparkling backdrop in madrid. or a stroll through a christmas market where the warmth of the season is doled out by the cupful. >> translator: it's the magic of christmas. the lights, the mulled wine, the cinnamon, the pretzels. you get away from the everyday. >> reporter: but there are some places where loss overshadows joy. in israel, despite the ongoing israel/hamas war, there is hope more israeli families could be reunited with loved ones kidnapped by hamas before hanukkah begins in a week and a half. christian leaders in jerusalem have advised churches in the region to refrain from overly festive activities for christmas. the city of bethlehem in the occupied west bank, which is usually illuminated each year to mark the birth of jesus, says it is dismantling its christmas decorations this year in solidarity with palestinians in gaza. ukraine faces its second christmas while at war with russia. this year, it's officially moved the holiday to december 25th when many christian denominations celebrate it, instead of following the russian orthodox calendar which observes it on january 7. last year, there were some reservations about putting up a tree in kyiv's city center, but a 12-meter-high artificial tree was lit up in the colors of ukraine's flag. the lights powered by a generator because of repeated russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure. kyiv's mayor called it a tree of inins vin invincibility, a light that won't go out even in the darkness of war. michael holmes, cnn. >> i want to thank you for spending part of your day with me. i'm rosemary church. 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