hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world for our breaking coverage. i am paula newton and you are. first up this hour, israel's temporary truce with hamas and the expected release of hostages held in gaza is delayed. israel now says the process will not start before friday. that update came just hours before humanitarian pauses in fighting in the initial release of 50 and women children hostages was expected. both u.s. and israeli officials point to logistical details as for the delay, while one israeli official says israel has not yet received the names of the first hostages to be freed. now, ahead of the expected truce, israeli forces continue ground and air operations, striking parts of northeastern and central gaza. palestinians say areas further south were also hit. meantime, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu expressed confidence the deal would soon go into effect, and made clear at the war against hamas is far from over. listen. >> [speaking in a non-english language] , >> reporter: citizens of israel work continues. the war continues. we will continue with it until all our goals are achieved. to bring back the hostages, to demolish hamas, and ensure that the day afterward, there is no souls that educates terror to children and make terrorists. >> amid all that, the agonizing wait will continue for hundreds of families and loved ones to come home. cnn's chief international correspondent cluster ward reports now from tel aviv. >> reporter: even as the first batch of hostages is poised to be released, they are not backing down. look at their eyes, this protester says. tell them every day that you're doing everything that it takes. for 47 days, friends, family members and supporters of the estimated 240 hostages in gaza have demanded the israeli government prioritize bringing them home. here, they gather in support of hadas calderon, whose children, 12-year-old erez and 16-year-old saar were taken on october 7th along with her ex husband. >> tell me what you're going to now, are you hopeful, are you anxious, are you in denial? >> i smile, i laugh, and then i cry, and then i -- >> do you know anything? have you heard anything? >> nobody knows anything, nobody. nobody, no information. i have to pray, we have to pray. >> reporter: calderon is not the only parent desperately waiting, hoping for news that has yet to come. nine-year-old emily hand's father thomas was initially told that his daughter was killed on october 7th, only to then get the news that she may be alive and held in gaza. i want to jump through the roof with hope, he told us today about the possible prospect of emily's release,, but i also had to keep a level head emotionally. >> every day is tough. every day, all day is tough, but i don't want to think, i don't want to feel, because it's too painful. when they start to ask me, show me the picture of your child, tell me what last thing he told you -- it's breaking my heart. because the last thing he told me was, mom, be quiet, i love you. >> when you think of, god willing, your baby comes home and is part of the release, do you worry about how they will be changed by what they have been experiencing? >> they are changed, they've been kidnapped, brutally away from the house, from the same place. they kidnapped the innocent this day. >> reporter: at the central hostage square in tel aviv, prayers for those who will come home over the next few days, and a promise to keep pushing for those who will not. clarissa ward, cnn, tel aviv. >> for more on this, we want to bring in new decor and who met earlier this week with israeli prime minister netanyahu. gorence cousin is one of the hostages, the father that you see there, of three young children who was abducted from a kibbutz near -- on october 7th. i really want to thank you for joining us on what must be incredibly excruciating hours for you and your family. tell me how you are feeling now that there has been this delay. >> it is -- what can i say, you know? the families who are expecting their children back thought they might see them today, and they're not. they might see them tomorrow. there is no guarantee, it has already been postponed. this is torment. for me, personally, i was not expected to be released on this deal, so it may be a little easier, but i am expecting these people to come back home just as much as anyone else. >> people, you and people like you, have said that any kind of exchange would be a blessing and have optimism for all. you have been fighting very hard, you have been very vocal about trying to get answers, action. we just mentioned you met with netanyahu. yet, you heard from him as we just heard as well, that he says the goal of destroying hamas is an equal footage as returning the hostages. if this exchange succeeds, do you think it won't make that position much more difficult for him? >> you know, the problem with any speculation that we are trying to make is that we are missing probably 95% of the information that is confidential and we just don't know it. i can only tell you what my desires is, and my higher desire is this deal would be immediately to another one and eight another one, and everybody would be back. we keep hearing and at this point, we must believe in our leaders, that are leading this move, and we keep hearing that a deal that will bring everyone back at once is not on the table. so, it would have to be in steps. this is step one. if this is step one, then this means that step two is now closer and i just want to see step one already happening and then start thinking about step to. >> understood. many to believe that this will put more pressure on israel to do what you just described, right? have this gradual release. in that context, do you support a cease-fire and releasing hundreds, maybe even thousands of palestinian hostages to get your cousin back? free all the hostages? >> i support anything, anything that would get the hostages back and would not immediately risk israeli lives. anything. i think that everything should be on the table. we must choose life before we choose anything else, before we choose the annihilation of our enemies. our lives must come first for anything else. this is what differentiates us from our enemies, that we hold different values. this is the only way to actually rebuild israel after this catastrophe and moving forward. so, that's principle is what we have to stick to and prove it. so, yes, everything that would get every single hostage, not just my cousin, not just kids, not just elderly, every single hostage, must be back in israel before we can move forward. >> there are israeli politicians, and i know you heard them long in here, that say this would set a dangerous precedent, that at a very basic level, what you are saying would mean hamas's terror worked, they reached their goals. do you agree with that sentiment at all? >> i think we need to start rethinking our terminology. hamas won on october 7th. they won because they were able to hurt us in a way nobody else did. from now on, we must think about how we will defeat them long term. because if we rebuilt israel, if we bring the hostages back, if in five years from now the area around gaza is prosperous and people are living there and growing crops and the communities are back. that's the only way to win. because right now, our national pride is not the priority. we need to start thinking long term, long term, five years from now. how this country will rebuild itself. right now, it is admitting that we have lost on october 7th is reality. we hurt our civilians far more than three do. back to our core principles. >> well, we'll leave it there. i know these are excruciating hours ahead for everyone. we continue to watch, wait, and hope with all of you. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. >> joining us now, cnn political and national security analyst david sanger. it is good to see you, david, as we await what is going to be happening with this hostage deal. of course, the agony the families continue to go through, they are showing such resilience, but as far as you understand, the biden administration have worked very hard to get here. what do you think -- how do you think they are looking at this deal. they must be on pins and needles. there are still a lot of risks involved, here. >> well, there are. happy thanksgiving, bala. thanks for having me on. i think they are entering a pretty risky phase. they are -- there are three categories of risk. the first is that something goes wrong. we are dealing with hamas, we are dealing with a war zone. you can imagine any number of things going wrong, we all hope and pray that doesn't happen and they get shot 50 out and it sounds to us like that process probably would start on friday. the second risk is, what are you doing when the four days is up? do you ten try to get 20 more? even if you know the price will go up? for that next 20? how long do you pull that out. remember, we think that even after the 50, there will still be nearly 200 hostages. then, the third question and maybe hardest one of all, if you are the israelis, how do you restart the bombing. how do you do what president netanyahu did, which was resume a war when you have just been coming off of a pause or a temporary truce, depending on who is describing its. >> these are great points, david. i have to ask, our reporting at cnn does say that perhaps the united states believes that israel could have gotten further by delaying their ground invasion and first negotiating for hostages. from what you have heard, does the administration still believe that would have been a better route for israel at this point in time? >> hard to tell. you are wanting the clock back more than a month, and if you hear the israelis tell it, the only thing that brought hamas to the table was the vision of this constant bombing. if you hear some americans [inaudible] maybe save some lives if they hadn't gone in such a heavyweight at the beginning. it is one of those points of history we will just never know. >> yes, u.s. officials must have determined at a certain point they would not be able to convince israel to do otherwise. you raise such a good point about how if this is successful and we do, think, felicia hostages being freed and there is the pause, aid goes into gaza, you just said it is difficult to understand how israel's been going to undertake the war, yet again. given that, how much do you think the u.s. will press israel to continue with this if it is successful? i mean, we are told that the next category of hostages to be released maybe elderly men. >> i think the u.s. will press the israelis behind the scenes very hard. they already have been pressing them hard to reduce the civilian casualties and so forth, that tension is pretty well broken out in public at this point. the u.s. is worried as well about a good number of dual citizens and u.s. citizens who were there from everything we are hearing, you will not see many of those, maybe two or three including a young toddler in this first group. so, they have every incentive to do so. but you know,, polity fundamental problem here is that there is a tension between israel's two primary goals in this military operation. one of their goals is to get the hostages released, all of them. the other goal is to destroy hamas. hamas knows that it needs some group of hostages in hand to have leverage over israel, otherwise they would be pursued in whatever bombing campaigns the israelis wanted to conduct. so, what you are seeing happen right now is israel having to choose behind -- between, two very important strategic objectives, and the question is, which one takes priority? >> yes, such difficult questions and again, you and i continue to discuss it, as many people to around the world, yet those families are waiting on every single minute to see what news comes from gossip their loved ones. unimaginable, right, david? just to have toddlers, children captive after all this time. on that note, david -- >> a toddler whose parents were killed. >> and siblings still alive, traumatized, waiting for their little sister to come home. david sanger, on that note, we will leave it there. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> still to come for us, palestinians in gaza can -- share their thoughts as pending calls for a permanent cease-fire c continue toto grow. gossip residents say they are ready for the coming pause in fighting between israel and hamas, which is expected to take place friday even if it is just for a few days. the idf continued its attacks on northern gaza, even after the true still was announced. cnn crews you see there in israel witnessed explosions, flares, and smoke right across the border late wednesday. with israel's prime minister pledging the war will continue once the truce has ended, palestinians say they really need a permanent cease-fire. listen. >> translator: we have been waiting for over a week. we have been waiting for a cease-fire every day. cease-fire, cease-fire, and nothing was happening. i do not know. >> translator: the cease-fire should be comprehensive all over the gaza strip. sometimes, the israelis make false promises and kill children without adhering to anything. we want to comprehensive cease-fire so that people can get their needs from gas to flower. >> now, hamas says the true steel will also allow hundreds of trucks to bring aid into gaza. many palestinians are still wary of what is to come. some say the truce will do little to make up for the damage that is already been done. after weeks of unimaginable grief and loss, they simply want to rebuild their lives. cnn's nada bashir shows as the grim reality of everyday life in gaza, and a warning, her report contains disturbing images. >> >> translator: the gaza strip, pounded for yet another night. in the maghazi neighborhood in central gaza, wounded are rushed to a nearby hospital. children, badly injured, barely breathing. medical staff overwhelmed, struggling to cope with the mounting casualties and growing humanitarian disaster. in the south, more unbearable grief. bodies wrapped in white. >> members of the colusa and a bass families, old and young, killed and a strike on their building in cannes eunice. their lives trapped short, varied just hours after israel's cabinet agreed to pause fighting later this week in exchange for the release of 50 hostages. the truce will be a crucial window to get much-needed aid into gaza, but for those who have already lost so much, the news has brought little hope. >> translator: what kind of twos are they discussing? a truce to allow some aid in, may sarah oscars. we don't want that. we will manage with red, what we truly want is not a truce for aid, but our homes back. we want to return to our streets. what is the point of a truce if i can't return to my home, if i can't check on my children, parents, or businesses, saddam says. this truce is pointless. we have been sleeping on the streets for 45 days. we have no shelter, no home, nowhere to seek refuge. in the south, the very place people are told to evacuate to to seek refuge, more buildings are turned to rubble overnight. countless graves being dug each day, the death toll now topping 12,000, according to the palestinian ministry of health, citing data from hamas controlled gaza. [crying] another desperate plea to god, another child killed. relatives struggling to cope. their grief, feared to only get worse. israel's prime minister vowing the war will continue after the true sense. with it, more bloodshed. nada bashir, cnn, in jerusalem. >> hundreds of mourners in beirut have paid their respects to two lebanese journalists killed on tuesday. the news outlet they were working for, out may dean, says the crew was killed and an israeli airstrike in southern lebanon, claiming they were targeted because of the networks pro-palestinian stance. the idf says it is reviewing the incidents and notes the area in question is dangerous with a dip hostilities. the committee to protect journalists, meantime, says at least 52 journalists have now been killed in the israel hamas war since it began on october 7th. the group says it is the deadliest period for journalists since it started tracking data in 1992. qatar says it was extremely difficult to get israel and hamas to agree to the hostage release deal now. and its own words, qatar's lead negotiator gives us insight into the ongoing process to free more hostages. israel's national security council says the first hostages being held in gaza will be released before friday under its deal with hamas. israel's pause in the air and ground campaign in gaza is also delayed. hamas is expected to release at least 50 women and children over the next few days, and israel has agreed to a four-day pause in fighting. hundreds of palestinians held in israeli jails are also set to be released. israeli prime minister netanyahu says the red cross will be allowed to visit hostages that remain in gaza. the white house says the delay is due to what it calls logistical details. listen. >> well, we are not going into this with hubris or arrogance or confidence. we are grateful that we were able to get this deal secured, but as i said, it all now comes down to execution. so, we are -- nobody is doing any touchdown dancing, here. there is still work to be done and a long way to go. we are hoping, hoping, that implementation will start sometime in the next 24 hours or so and continue for the next few days, both days of a pause, work there will be no fighting. so humanitarian assistance can get in at an elevated rate. and of course, getting all those 50 plus hostages out. they will come out in increments, they won't all come out together. that is what this is a multi day process. >> qatar's lead negotiator says the work as hostage mediators was extremely, quote, intensive. in an exclusive interview with cnn's becky anderson, the qatari minister of state held the agreement as significant and offered more details about the hard-fought deal to free hostages and get humanitarian aid into gaza. >> within a four days pause, in each day, there will be an obligation on each side. an obligation on the israelis and hamas, making sure that they will fulfill the obligation each day. so each day, we aim to have a number of releases, because the number is big. we've managed to get the parties to agree on the release systematically. in other words, there will be an organized schedule allowing the releases each day, and each body is quite familiar now with the obligations. >> ten hostages released on day one, for example? >> at minimum. >> who will be released? >> this agreement specifically focuses on civilian women and children in each side, on both sides. we hope that within the four days, we will be able to complete the release of women and children on both sides, moving to the safe side, away from the war, by the first hours. we will be notified, of the official list of people on each day. by having that list, we will make sure that we notify either the sides of the parties themselves, or even the countries that have their hostages in the strip currently. >> hamas says they don't have all the hostages, and they need time to get around to gather information about hostages that it does not hold and find out where they are. many view that as just a talking point, a cynical ploy to buy time. >> the obligation on hamas and the first day is very clear. they need to provide us with that list. they have been granted that period of calm, not only the period of calm but also preventing any military clashes, a ground invasion, air surveillance, that will supply them with the room to provide us with that commitment. >> you've described in the language of this deal, you've described it as a truce in the gaza strip. i think that language is really interestin