hello and a warm welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm max foster with our continuing breaking news coverage of the war between israel and hamas. israel has signed off on a deal to release at least 50 hostages held in gaza by hamas. a move bringing hope to families waiting the return of their loved ones. the government overwhelmingly backed the deal after a six hour long cabinet meeting. the hostages to be freed are expected to be women and children. in exchange israel will pause its campaign against hamas for four days. hamas says 150 palestinian prisoners also women and children will be released from israeli jails as part of the deal. qatar brokered the deal and says the start of the humanitarian pause will be announced within the next 24 hours. more now from matthew chance in tel aviv. >> reporter: more than 50 hostages held in gaza could be freed over the coming days. after the israeli cabinets an proved that controversial deal to pause its military operations against hamas and to release some palestinian prisoners held in israeli jails. in a statement it said it approved a pause in the fighting for four days during which hostages, women and children, will be released. the statement added the release of every additional ten hostages would result in an additional day's pause. it is the first time that israel has agreed to ease its deadly assault on gaza which is estimated to have killed nearly 13,000 palestinians since military operations there began polling the october 7 hamas attacks during which more than 1200 israelis were killed and nearly 240 were abducted. israel insists that it will resume military operations to destroy hamas after the hostages are released. hamas says israel has agreed to release 150 palestinian prisoners as part of the hostage deal. and to allow hundreds of trucks carrying relief, medical supplies and fuel into the gaza strip. in a six hour cabinet meeting to debate the deal, israeli ministers voiced concern that pause in the fighting would allow hamas to regroup and prevent israeli forces from achieving their goal of destroying hamas. but a source says the deal was eventually approved by a significant majority. matthew chance, cnn, tel aviv. joining me now, a former special adviser to israel's defense minister. thank you for joining us. i wonder what your sources are telling you about a bit more detail about that deal. do you understand anymore of the detail? >> i think that you know all details. nothing is secret. a day after the cabinet has approved it. and i hope that it will go smoothly. at the beginning i was against the stages. i insisted to having one stage for everything. and i think that prolonging the process is something that is very risky. i was against it as it is now. but i'm blessing the government for having not 100% but having a concept for a deal. and i think that bringing back children, babies, and their mothers is much more important than any other risk that we can afford. >> it did take hours though for the cabinet to finally approve it. there was opposition to this within the cabinet presumably because there are some members who feel you should never ever negotiate with terrorists. that is a long historic philosophy. so some compromise there. >> it is said that one who saves one soul is as if he saved the world. a very well-known jewish proverb. and i believe from my point of view, the majority is my favorite side. so i don't care about the minority, but i have a lot to say about it. >> this is obviously the wonderful news for the families of the hostages who will be released, but we did see earlier in the week families of hostages calling for all of the hostages to be released. so this will be a huge frustration obviously for the ones left behind but also a big compromise. should not a deal have been done that released all of the hostages? >> everything you describe is natural. and my heart is with those not coming in the first stage. and for those who have suffered one and a half months and will suffer more weeks of this. but in order to save the kids and their mothers and the old men, you can imagine that all these people, they were not armed, they were not fighting. they were caught sleeping very early in the morning. and taken many times in front of their family and friends. this is something that is awful. it is not simple exchange of prisoners. no. it is something which is awful and every soul we can save, we'll do it. and if we have to fight, we'll fight. >> and what happens if rockets are fired from gaza into israel during the truce? >> i think anything against the agreement will be answered in a severe way. >> so the truce will be over. >> yeah. >> sorry, the troouruce will be that is that what you will be saying? >> i'm a very optimistic guy. i hope it won't occur. but if it will occur, it can destroy the whole agreement. >> okay. ory, thank you very much for joining us. israel's military says that it has pushed further into a tunnel under the al-shifa hospital complex. images released show what they believe to be a blast door after it was breached as well as a tunnel passage beyond the breached doorway and what looks to be two further doorways off to the sides there. despite israel and hamas reaching a deal on a four day truce and swap of prisoners and hostages, an idf spokesperson says its army will make sure its military achievements will be maintained in gaza. and idf appeared to be what appeared to be a heavy smoke screen in northern gaza amid other explosions. this video captures the blast. israeli military claims it has completely encircled gentthe northern city. and the destruction in gaza has displaced nearly 1.7 million people according to the u.n.'s main relief agency there. about 930,000 of them are sheltering in overcrowded u.n. facilities sharing one shower for every 700 people on average. some just children trying to escape the danger with their families, their lives now forever changed by war. more now from nada bashir. and a warning her report contains images you may find disturbing. >> reporter: still healing from emergency surgery, for this 11-year-old, this wound is a constant reminder, the trauma he and his friends have faced. >> translator: i was walking with my friends and suddenly the missile fell he says. i found myself on the ground lying on my right side. i kept trying to stand up. but there was rubble on my leg. when they removed the rubble, i saw my foot had been ripped off. >> reporter: a huge soccer fan, he played at the local academy and had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. >> translator: i've been watching and playing soccer since i was a little boy. it is still my favorite sport, he tells us. now the israeli occupation has destroyed my dreams. >> reporter: down the hall is a 12-year-old whose family fled their home in the north after receiving a warning from the israeli military. they moved from city to city searching for safety. followed each time by yet more airstrikes. i wanted to take photos to become a photojournalist, he says. how can i hold a camera now with one arm? my whole life is ruined. all of my life, i haven't had a chance to live happily. while some here are now slowly coming to terms with their new reality, more wounded children arrive at the hospital every day. it is now the main working hospital in gaza. others left in a state of complete collapse. just monday, more wounded were rushed to this hospital after a u.n.-run school used to shelter displaced palestinians at a refugee camp was hit. the resulting death toll still unknown. it is unclear who was responsible for this specific attack. hamas claims the israeli military bombed the school, though cnn can't independently verify this claim. the idf yet to respond to cnn's request for comment. but as airstrikes and shelling intensify in the north, gaza's children are as is so often the case paying the highest price. with thousands wounded or killed, hopes for the future lost. nada bashir, cnn, jerusalem. more turmoil in the tech world. openai co-founder sam altman is returning to the company as ceo less than a week after being fired by the board of directors. the company behind chatgpt posted on x that it has reached an agreement with altman and will be adding new members to its board. microsoft hired altman to run a new artificial intelligence group on monday. he says he's looking forward to returning to openai and building on his partnership with microsoft. qatar was instrumental in mediating the hostage release deal. what qatari officials say their top priority is now, a report from doha comes up. and the u.s. worked closely to broker the deal. more on how president biden is reacting to the news. also ahead, she's only 3-year-old and being held by hamas. now there are hopes that the american toddler, abigail, may be released. more on our breaking news this hour. world leaders welcoming news that israel's cabinet has approved a deal for hostages kidnapped in exchange for pausing in fighting. at least 50 hostages women and children would be in exchange for four day truce and a release of 150 palestinian prisoners also women and children being held in israeli jails. families of the hostages face an agonizing wait as they hope their loved ones will be freed. qatar's lead negotiator says the deal pushes diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and that its priority now is to ensure the agreement is followed while it works to secure a long term ceasefire and lasting peace. more from becky anderson. >> reporter: some hours after it was confirmed that israel's cabinet had approved the hostage deal, qatar announced the success of its joint mediation efforts with egypt and the united states. details of the deal as we now understand are 50 women and children released from captivity with hamas for the exchange of palestinian women and teenagers held in israeli prisons. and the opening of the rafah border for more fuel including for more aid including fuel to be brought back across that border. crucial for humanitarian efforts of course. and in a statement from the lead negotiator, hehe said that qatas aiaim has been to find ways to reduce tensions, stop the blood shed, prott civilians and protect regional spillover. the international community must now seseize the brief window of opportunity to generate further momentum for the diplomatitic track recognizing it as the onoy viable route to ending the conflict in both the short and long term. qatar's statement earlier suggests that the pause will start within around 24 hours. and the statement from the lead negotiator went on to say qatar's priority now is to ensure that the terms of the agreement are respected and this statement includes the term redoubling our efforts to secure a long term ceasefire and work towards lasting peace through a comprehensive political process. perhaps not a surprise that qatar would be seeking a long term ceasefire in this statement, after all that has been its position from the outset. becky anderson, cnn. three americans could be released. ten are still unaccounted for in gaza including two women and a 3-year-old girl. joe biden issued a statement says he welcomes the deal and he also said that jill and i have been keeping all those held hostage and their loved ones close to our hearts. these many weeks. and i'm extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls who have endured weeks of captivity and an unspeakable ordeal will be reunited with their families once the deal is fully implemented. arlette saenz filed this report from massachusetts. >> reporter: the white house is welcoming this deal between israel and hamas to release about 50 hostages after weeks of painstaking negotiations from top administration officials including conversations president biden himself held with leaders involved in these talks. the u.s. believes that it is possible that three americans could potentially fall into this category of the 50 women and children that could be released in the coming days. that could also potentially include 3-year-old abigail, an american citizen whose parents were killed in that october 7 attack. the u.s. says they are working tire tire lesl tirelessly to release. but this is all as the administration and the white house has been in constant contact with leaders in the region as they have been working through these negotiations. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said on tuesday that president biden himself had gotten involved and he believed the president approved these negotiations. the president had spoken with aam ic a amir of qatar. and the u.s. will be watching closely how many americans will be included. and it will take about 24 hours to implement the deal before they can begin seeing the hostages released, but the white house certainly welcoming this news as they hope to get some of the hostages back home to their families. arlette saenz, traveling with the president in nantucket. and as she mentioned, one of the youngest known hostages taken is just three years old. there were hopes that abigail, who is an american citizen, will be one of the 50 people released. her great aunt spoke to cnn saying that she has a cautious sense of optimism. >> we have spent the last seven weeks, seven weeks, worrying, wondering, praying, hoping. abigail has a sister who is six, a brother who is ten. these two children saw their parents both be murdered. they spent 14 hours in a closet on the 7th of october hiding. the one thing that we all hold on to is that hope now that abigail comes home. she comes home by friday. friday is her fourth birthday. there is nobody giving up hope. it is just that we actually need to see abigail come out and then we will be able to be -- to believe it. >> and we'll have much more on the breaking news out of israel and the deal to free dozens of hostages, a live report from istanbul is just ahead for you. plus a day of remembrance in ukraine as the country marks ten years since the beginning of a revolution that would change the course of history. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. recapping our breaking news. israel's cabinet as approved a deal to secure the release of at least 50 hostages women and children whom hamas is holding in gaza. in exchange israel has agreed to a four day truce in its air and ground campaign. hamas says israel will release 150 palestinian prisoners also women and children held in israeli jails. in addition hamas says the deal calls for hundreds of trucks to deliver aid to all parts of gaza. it is not clear when all of this will start though. israel says it plans to resume its military campaign once the hostage releases end. scott mclean is following the developments and is joining us live from istanbul. so that is one of the key questions, when this starts, but we also don't know exactly which hostages will be released or how. >> reporter: that's right. we do have part of the answer on the palestinian side, but on the israeli side, those hostages in gaza, we don't know beyond the fact that they will be focused on women and children. and all of them israelis say will be israeli citizens. some of them have dual nationality, but all will hold israeli citizenship at least in that initial 50. on the palestinian side, israel has just published a list of 300 names. women and children who will be part of this deal or could potentially be part of this deal. most of them are teenage boys, convicted or accused of relatively minor crimes throwing rocks, breaching security areas, things like that. there are also women on that list in the 20s and 30s and some people have also been accused of more serious crimes. some having pretty lengthy prison terms. why are the 300 names on that list given only 150 are being released? because this deal actually provides a mechanism to get more than the initial amount of hostages and prisoners exchanged. and so israel for every ten hostages that hamas is willing to release, israel is willing to extend the pause for one day. so that is why you have more than 150 names on that list. there is also a 24 hour period that has begun already that allows people to challenges release of the palestinian prisoners at the supreme court. it is not clear whether that has happened or will happen. also not clear whether the court will hear that case. so there is some level of complex pi invoity involved her. israelis are worried that hamas will use this opportunity to regroup and resupply themselves, but benjamin netanyahu says that look, israel is going to do the exact same. and while qataris who mediated this deal say that the international community should take this pause in fighting as an opportunity to try to push a more diplomatic path to end this war. netanyahu has made very clear in a speech to israel yesterday that this war is not over. he says that it will only end when hamas is completely destroyed. >> in terms of how this came together, there is a lot of talk, a lot of moving deadlines yesterday, and also they spent hours in the cabinet discussing this. so what were the stumbling points? >> it seems like the broad framework has been in place for some time, but there have baeen sticking points that have gotten in the way. if you go back ten days, israel had been asking for names, ages, nationalities, identifying features of the people who are being held and might potentially be a part of this deal, the women and children. and that is when hamas finally turned over that information and that led to israel going ahead and finalize ing the deal. but during that period of time the last ten days that is when israel also went into al-shifa complex and that is a particularly sore spot for palestinians. and hamas through the intermediary qatar went dark. so despite the fact israel had signed off on the deal, it wasn't clear hamas would accept it given what was happening at the hospital. but tuesday hamas actually approved the deal and here we are potentially with some hostages being released in short order. >> scott, thank you. and the idf says its focus remains on fighting hamas while details are worked out. and here is what the idf spokesperson told cnn. >> we'll be focusing on of course hamas and its military activities until we will be told to do so by the israeli government. we'll continue fighting hamas and when such a deal will come into effect, we will respect that. but we will be very vigilant on the ground because we have bad experiences with hamas from 2014 when they violated internationally brokered ceasefire. so we know that we'll have to be vigilantnt on the ground as we e this unfold. hopepefully we'll l see the saf return of israeli hostages from 46 days of captivity at the hands of hamas. another major story we're following, openai co-founder sam altman is returning to the tech company less than a week after he was fired by the board of directors. anna stewart, i mean, really -- so he was fired. we don't know exactly why. and then he went to microsoft. and then he is back. >> is this a great time line? this is the fourth ceo of openai in three days. essentially this was a huge mu mutiny. so all the developments, the fact that sam altman is back is probably the least surprising because at one stage yesterday we had over 700 employees saying that they would move to microsoft too leaving not much of a company left. so new board ha