the story starts right now. martha: thanks, john and sandra. good afternoon. i m martha maccallum. there s a lot at stake and going on behind chosed doors at this hour. we have high level meetings among members of the israeli government, possibly deciding if there is a deal that they can pass in their government to free some of the faces and the people behind them that you re seeing right now on your screen. about 50 hostages, women and children, in this first group is what is being considered right now. would be an exchange for a multiday pause in fighting and also for the release of about 150 palestinian prisoners to include women and some under 18 as well. so president biden made a comment on this not that long ago saying we re now very close. you can see these loved ones of hostages gathering in tel aviv. looking at their pictures, lighting candles, bring alma back says that poster. all of these families distraught for over a month now. the president was asked about t