nic robertson, cnn, sderot, israel. >> and a special thanks to nic robertson for automatic this excellent reporting. to our viewer, thanks very much for watching. "the sauource" with kaitlan collins starts right now. good evening. i'm kaitlan collins live from israel tonight as this is a special edition of "the source." we are here on the ground in tel aviv, hours from now. a temporary truce is slated to begin and desperate families on both sides of the israel and gaza border will hopefully get an answer to their prayers. for some, it's an anxious wait that could be coming to an end as hamas does plan to release at least 13 hostages on the first day in exchange for 39 palestinian prisoners. israel has continued to pummel gaza tonight, but all the fighting is supposed to stop at midnight eastern, 7:00 a.m. local. that; of course, what that pause is going to look like if everything goes according to plan, and that is a big if here. the pause is going to last four days. and about 96 hours of no fighting between the two sides and at least 50 hostages will see freedom. a qatari spokesperson described the fragile pact as the first glimmer of life after 47 brutal days of war. but the situation remains tenuous here on the ground. as i noted, cameras have been seeing explosions, bursts of gunfire in the final hours before this temporary pause is set to begin. and today, the idf defeigned the director of that al-shifa hospital, of course the largest medical complex in gaza city. they claim that israel has been claiming that has been used by hamas as a military headquarters. i should note hospital officials have denied all of those accusations. here with me tonight is cnn's matthew chance talking about all of this. matthew, obviously this deal has note been a given. we saw it get delayed yesterday. do things look like they're on track right now, based on what you're hearing from sources? >> they look like they're on track, yes. the list of 13 israeli citizens has been handed over to the israelis from hamas via the mediators in qatar. and the expectation is that at some point tomorrow, that will start happening. those releases will start happening. but it is a very complicated operation, lots of moving parts, and we have seen already this week the deadline for the pause in fighting. we start the pause in fighting to be moved back. it's going to be friday morning now. and the israeli military, the idf is warning that this deal could change, because it is so complicated. but yes, at the moment, we're on track for the first pause to take place, the first batch, the first group of 13 hostages to be released, and of course the three times as many 39 palestinian prisoners in return. and so that's going ahead at the moment. but the whole country is really waiting very anxiously, very stressfully about whether it actually takes place or not. >> and so basically, tomorrow will serve as like a template of what future hostage exchanges could look like. what are we expecting once those hostages are actually on the move? what is that going to look like for them? >> yeah, it could serve as a template. certainly what the israelis are saying 50, at least possibly more, possibly 80. but we're talking about women and children at this point. and so even if you get 50 people released, there are still going to be 190 that are still left behind. we're talking about soldiers. we're talking about adult males. and i expect lots of families, for instance, who have got adult male relatives who are held captive inside gaza. and they're despondent. they're happy for the people that are going could come out, but they're despondent that their relatives are not coming out. it's very mixed feelings among people here. >> do we have any idea how long it will take the process of getting them from point a to point b? >> there is lots of stages in that cooperation. they're going to have to obviously be rounded up by hamas first of all, brought to the rafah border crossing into egypt where they'll be received by the rc. it's not until they're inside israel according to the israeli sources i've been speaking to, the palestinian prisoners are going to be released. not until the hostages are in israeli hands will the prisoners be released. the hostages will then be taken to hospitals near tel aviv here for checkups and for medical treatments. and of course they're going to be debriefed. there is going to be a lot of attention paid to their not just medical welfare, but their psychological welfare as well. because going through so many days of trauma, you know, it's going to be an uphill task getting those people back to any sort of semblance of normality. >> they've spent 47 days in darkness and god knows what. matthew chance, i know you'll stay on top of the reporting. we'll come back to you as you learn more. thank you for that. also tonight, all sides are really preparing for this first hostage release. and a big question is whether americans will be among the first group to be freed. officials are hopeful, but we have not heard anything firm from the white house. cnn's alex marquardt is tracking all this from washington and joins us now with the latest on the intelligence front. alex, obviously major questions here from the white house. the white house believes there are ten americans that are likely among the hostages. have they gotten any indication about whether or not they could be included in this first group of 13 civilians to be released? >> the indication that they have, kaitlan, is just that there are three americans to be in the first group of 50. so when these 50 women and children come out in the four following days, they believe two of them will be american women. one will be an american child, abigail adan. she was 3 years old. but where you are, kaitlan, today is her fourth birthday. she is turning four in captivity. the israeli government said they are alerting the families of the 13 to be released tomorrow because they are israeli citizens. we at cnn did speak with abigail's family earlier today to an aunt, and she said she had not heard from either the u.s. or the israeli government. so that may mean, may because this is so fluid, that abigail will not be among that first group of 13. of course, as president biden said earlier today, when speaking with reporters on his nantucket thanksgiving holiday, fingers are still very much crossed. kaitlan? >> yeah, they absolutely are. and if not, that first group, hopefully a second. if it goes well. alex, the other part of this agreement that is expected to go to a place here in just a matter of hours from now is that no drones will be flying over gaza. and that matters because that's been a key way that the u.s. and israel has been getting intelligence of what hamas has been doing. what more can you tell us about what that's going to look like. >> well, this was one of the demands in the lead-up this deal being struck. and negotiations, we understood that hamas had and inned that both american and israeli surveillance drones stop flying over the gaza strip. now if you're in gaza, i've been there for previous wars, you can hear them. you can see them buzzing right overhead. and those have been key, we've been told by intelligence and military officials at tracking hamas movements, at trying to figure out where the hostages are. so the understanding that they have come to during this negotiation is that for a period of six hours each day during this a husband, those american and israeli surveillance drones will stop flying overhead. that will give hamas the capability of moving around, of releasing these hostages, handing them over to the red cross without what they view as prying eyes. now at the same time, i've been speaking with officials and experts who say, kaitlan, even without those drones overhead, that certainly israel has other ways of peering into the gaza strip to keep tabs on hamas during this pause, kaitlan. >> well, we'll keep an you on that as we, obviously. that's going to be lasting throughout that four-day period for brief periods at a time. alex marquardt, thank you for that reporting. of course, what is at the center of all of this as we talk about what this temporary agreement is going to look like are the families, these families that are desperately hoping for the first release of many of the hostages, hoping their loved ones will be among them. joining me now is bihal sorae. his niece and nephew were kidnapped from hamas on october 7th during those attacks. i think it's hard for anyone to know what's going through your mind right now as so many families are waiting to hear about this. it's your 13-year-old niece, your 15-year-old nephew that were both taken hostage alongside your brother-in-law. have you learned -- what have you learned tonight about whether or not they are in this group? >> so we learned that they're not in group. we got a phone call from the idf to inform us that they wont be in this group. and that the situation, you know, it's very difficult. and you know, even if they are released, the dad will stay behind. the mom, my sister was murdered by hamas terrorists october 7th. even when they are released, and hopefully they will be released as part of this 50 hostages, mothers and children that are going to be released, but obviously they will be coming back, you know, without their dad and the mom has been -- was murdered. so very difficult. >> yeah, so even if they are released, it's still something. there is still so much trauma there. what's your concern about whether or not they could be split up some of them are released, but maybe not with your brother-in-law? >> you know, it's a very difficult situation. i know they will be split, you know, because they announced it's only children and mothers. obviously my brother-in-law is a 50-year-old israeli citizen. and obviously, because he is a male and because he is israeli, will not be released. so it's very, very sad state of affairs, you know, that -- but, you know, i'm not surprised. because you deal with such a sadistic and evil terrorist organization on the other hand, hamas, that killed and murdered my sister. so i'm not surprised that this is the way it's handled. they just manipulate and try to play with us israelis and parents of the hostages. in this sort of way. this is something we have to take and be hopeful that they will all release. and hamas keeps to its agreement, you know, with qatar, with egypt overseeing by the u.s., you know, that they will proceed with this sort of agreement and release them at the end of the day, maybe even 20 more. they want the extend the ceasefire over and above these four days. and that is why i'm sure they keep a few other hostages that they will then release later in return for maybe up on or two more days of ceasefire. >> you keep mentioning your sister. and i know it must be so painful to be dealing with not only your family members being held hostage, but also, you know, processing the loss of your sister. i know you came back to israel for her funeral. your father, your other sister, all of them still living in kibbutz be'eri, and you took this video of your sister's house. i want everyone to just see what the damage in this video, you know, to see what this home looks like of where your family members were. what was it like for you to see that in person? >> it was really devastating. you know, i was brought up and born on this kibbutz. i was living there until i was 25. so it's a very small community. i know everybody who lives there. i know the place. and first as you come into the kibbutz, before i even reached my sister's home, it's just devastated by this vicious and sadistic terrorist attack that happened on october 7th by hamas. and then i got to my sister's home. i was there with my boys from london just in april. and we were sitting there, you know, and watching, i don't know, football or, you know, something of this nature with the kids of my sister, with my sister, with her husband. bonding with them in some sort of way. and you know, my niece, she just was prepared for a bar mitzvah that was happening in june. we were there in april. so it was all sort of celebratory sort of environment of us together in this house that you've just seen burned to the ground. and then i come and i see something like this, it's just heartbreaking. it's really, really heartbreaking. and, you know, they did it in order they were hiding in the safety room in the house. and they burned the house down in order to force them out. and then, you know, they were seen coming out of the house, you know, you're hiding on the roof, alive. you assume my sister is alive and taken hostage. now they found that she was murdered and they found the body. i am of the belief that they might have murdered in front of the kids, because they were all together, and maybe they tried to do something to one of the children or maybe to my niece, and my sister couldn't take it. and you know, maybe retaliated and then they shot her in front of the children. i no evidence of it. but running these scenarios in my head, this is something that comes to mind. and then you can imagine that they come back leaving the dead behind, if they're coming as part of the 50 hostages, that come into, how will you call it, broken home or empty home, or no mom, no dad, you know. being exposed to so much trauma at such a young age. so it's very difficult for me as an uncle to comprehend all this, you know. circumstances well, luckily they have a great uncle. we're just thinking of you as you're processing your sister's death and just hopeful that you'll be reunited with your family members. thank you for coming on and sharing that with us tonight. >> thank you so much. i really appreciate it. thank you. >> absolutely. up next, i'll be joined live by the idf spokesman about what we are expecting to happen in just a few hours from now. what could be next on the battlefield ahead of this pause. plus, the former national security adviser to former president trump john bolton will join us. why he says this is a bad deal. i'll also take you live inside gaza, where the suffering has only gotten worse. it's almost unimaginable. the bombardment is going to continue to intensify up until that deadline tonight. the pause in fighting in israel between israel and gaza will begin in just a few hours from now in gaza between israel and hamas. but worries still loom that that deal could potentially fall apart before the hostages are released. joining me now is the idf international spokesperson, lieutenant colonel jonathan con. we have seen israel continuing to hit targets. should we expect this fighting to continue up until that midnight eastern, 78 a.m. local deadline? >> good night, kaitlan. thank you for having me again. i think so, you know. it's a very dynamic combat environment. and of course, if we will have opportunities, tactical opportunities to take out senior hamas terrorists like we just did a few hours ago, then i think we will take those opportunities. but being true to our commitment and the agreement decided upon by the government of the state of israel, when the hour comes, we will cease offensive operations and take a much more defensive posture in order to facilitate the safe repatriation of our hostages that have been spending the last 47 days in hamas captivity. >> the idf, as you just noted, you said that you've killed this hamas naval commander in a strike today. how many senior hamas operatives does the idf believe have been killed? do you have a precise number? >> we're talking about a few dozens. it all depends how we define "senior." unfortunately, there are a lot of important military commanders in hamas, both battalion commander, brigade commanders, but also specialists like the naval force and the anti-tank missile array and engineers and many others. really, a lot of combatant commandos. and it's in the upper amount of dozens that we have taken out of important enemy combatants. >> okay, but you don't have a more precise number than the upper amount of dozens? >> let's say getting close to 100. that's the last assessment that i read. >> are there any concerns about whether or not these strikes, what's happening up until that deadline could derail this deal? or is that note a concern of the idf's? >> well, everything is a concern. and of course we approach every task and opportunity knowing fully well that it is an important and sensitive time in making those necessary calculations. this specific target was a very important target for the future of the combat operations. and i suppose that is why the decision was made by senior officers to indeed go ahead and strike. but it's very important here to be clear. we agreed on this temporary pause in operations in order to facilitate the safe repatriation of our hostages. and we of course are not going to jeopardize it. but we will remain vigilant on the ground in a defensive posture in gaza, knowing fully well that hamas -- our working assumption is that they will try to leverage the situation to replenish their combat positions, and perhaps to challenge us, either with using gazan civilians as human shields by some kind of provocation, by directly attacking our forces, and of course we will be ready for that. >> okay. so it sounds like you have a lot of concerns whether or not hamas will hold up its end of this deal. we're told essentially there is this truce line that's going to go in place in gaza once this begins, once this temporary truce begins between hamas and israel. does that essentially mean that the idf will not move south during this 96-hour window? >> so what we're going to do is to remain in our positions, our estimated positions as we are now. but of course, we will not be stopping. so you won't see any significant maneuvers by the idf, but you will also see it may be reported that there will be troop movement, because to be static on the battlefield is a very bad thing to do, unwise. and therefore we are not going to be static. we will be moving, but you will not see any significant combat activity, not on our behalf, unless we are attacked, of course. >> how concerned are you if the israeli forces in gaza are going to be moving around during this? how concerned are you that that gets misread by a hamas fight they're something happens that this agreement to have no firing gets breached? >> that shouldn't be used as any kind of pretext. and as long as we don't initiate contact, tactical contact with the enemy, then that shouldn't be used as any kind of pretext for attacking or derailing the situation. listen, it's very clear who we're dealing with. >> okay. >> we're dealing with a murderous and lying organization. they may try to manipulate the situation. they may try to use civilians. they may try to use any kind of pretext of our movement or not. the bottom line is we are going to honor our word here. and it is within our interests to see this deal completed successfully, because we're hoping to get our people back. >> prime minister netanyahu has said the war will continue. we heard from the defense minister today saying they believe two more months of fighting could happen after this hostage deal is completed. do you believe that idf will go back to battle in gaza, or is there is a chance that this temporary pause turns into a permanent ceasefire? >> i believe and sincerely hope that we continue to complete the mission, which is our intention. those are the plans, and that is what we are preparing for. there is a very important mission here that needs to be completed for the sake of israelis, for the sake of regional stability. and also for the sake of palestinians in gaza. we need to get the job done. we need to rid, free gaza of hamas for the sake of israelis, and for the future of the region. >> lieutenant colo