happening now, breaking news. dramatic developments here in the middle east. the first major release of hostages since the hamas attacks on october 7th. 13 israelis and 11 foreign nationals finally free from gaza after nearly seven weeks. i'm wolf blitzer live in tel aviv, israel. >> and i'm jim acosta here in washington. president biden is vowing to return every single american hostage even though none were included in today's agreement. as the president says it's unclear if americans will be included in the next release but praised today's hand-off as a promising sign. >> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're in the situation room. the breaking news this hour, an outpouring of emotion here in israel as hamas releases 24 hostages kidnapped back on october 7th. cnn's matthew chance has details including a closer look at the video hamas released of the hostage hand-off inside gaza. >> they kidnapped and killed, but now hamas is showing its gunmen releasing israelis in gaza. for many these are disturbing scenes. 9 yoerld ohad munder being embraced. the 49 days of cap tichtivity ia aide workers drive them from the border and to freedom. egyptian television shows a convoy of vehicles head to the crossing then the hostages included ten thais, a filipino and the 13 israeli women and children disembarking for checks. israeli military posted this grainy video of the moment they all finally reentereded the country. a step says the israeli prime minister towards bringing all hostages home. >> translator: we have just completed the return of the first of our hostages, children, their mothers, and additional women. each one of them is a whole world, but i emphasize to you the families and to you citizens of israel, we're committed today return all our hostages. >> reporter: most of the hostages released in this first group under the temporary truce were taken from one of the small israeli communities near gaza ravaged by hamas on october 7th. at least 38 people there were killed, and more than 70 abducted. people like danielle anoni and her 5-year-old daughter emilia both freed in this release but the families they were visiting when hamas attacked unaccounted for. a poignant reminder of those left behind. like the family of yet he's now optimistic. >> the best is in front of us, it's going to come. whatever happened we cannot change. the young, the beautiful girl is not with us anymore. but -- >> there's still a chance. there's still a chance. >> yes. to bring what's left -- to bring back what's left of this family. it's a broken family. >> reporter: a broken family in a country of shattered lives. >> matthew chance is joining me live here in tel aviv right now. first of all, matthew, what do we know about what is expected to happen tomorrow? >> well, we think, wolf, that it's going to follow a similar kind of course. already israeli officials we've spoken to said israeli military received a list of potential hostage releases by hamas by mediators in qatar. we don't know how many names are on that list, if it's between 10 or 13 like it is today. officials have already informed the families involved so they can be prepared to welcome back their loved ones. i think you have to remember the events of today, the pause in the fighting, the releases of the hostages, and the prisoners from israeli jails as well as humanitarian relief, it went remarkably well. so i think the hope is that that can be repeated again and again. >> let's hope it does get repeated and these hostages are able to come home. matthew, thank you very much. matthew chance reporting. i want to go to cnn's oren leiberman right now. he's over at the wolfson medical center here in tel aviv. oren, i know you're at this hospital where hostages have arrived. update our viewers. what did you actually see? >> reporter: wolf, this is one of several hospitals that have taken in the freed hostages over the course of the past several hours. at about can the tonight two patients, two of the first freed hostages arrived by ambulance. a couple hours after that take a look at this video. this is three more elderly women hostages being brought in on helicopters. there actually is no helipad here at the hospital itself, so they landed at a field nearby and were brought in on ambulance. take a look at this video of hostages being loaded onto ambulances, the cheers, the unbridled joy and happiness as they were loaded here in israel and brought to the hospital for care. it is that same joy that played out in the hospital itself according to the staff here when they were brought in, when they were welcomed and they began to receive the professional medical care of wolfson medical center. listen to this. >> i think that there was no one in the room would hold his feelings and stop crying because it was a very emotional and exciting event. they met their families and met a very professional team here that was very good and prepared to receive those hostages. >> reporter: now, the hospital wouldn't say all that much about their condition, their well-being, or their mental state. they said they're going to respect the privacy of the five hostages that are here. they have setup a specialwi of the hospital just for them and their families as they go through all the checks, all the medical evaluations. and it's not just a question of their physical health. it's also a question of their mental health right now. psychologists brought in as well as other professionals to essentially give them any type of help they might need. the critical first step was reuniting them with their family. that happened here several hours ago, and crucially it's not a one-time deal here. this isn't a process that began and ended, the hospital well aware there might be more elderly freed hostages coming out of gaza over the course of the next several days, and they say they're very much ready to receive them as well with the same sort of open arms to begin that recovery process. >> oren, wolfson is not the only israeli hospital where hostages were taken today. how is that working? >> reporter: you're absolutely right. wolfson will focus on the elderly, the five freed hostages who were brought here were elderly women. but there are other hospitals that will focus on different populations or groups. so schneider medical center not all that far from us, that will focus on the children that were freed. and they have setup essentially a special area to try to make it feel as little as possible like a hospital. they want it to feel almost like a luxury hotel to make them as comfortable as possible. wolf, another example gnat is setup to receive the foreign nationals, that is part of the system here in place for the freeing of the hostages. >> oren leiberman reporting from tel aviv, ror en, thank you very much. president biden says he hopes and expects american hostages will be freed very soon even though none were released on this, the first day of the truce. cnn's arlette saenz is traveling with the president in nantucket, massachusetts, for us right now. arlette, how is the president feeling about this deal so far? >> reporter: he said this was just the start to the process but said that he believes this unfolded well. but it does come as americans were not included in that initial batch of hostages that were released, so the president said it is his hope and expectation there will be three americans coming out in the coming days. that includes two women and 4-year-old abigail adona. she's been held hostage over the course of the past seven weeks. president biden had few details to offer related on his expectation when exactly these americans would be getting out. take a listen to what he had to say to reporters today. >> we don't know when that will occur but we expect to occur. and we don't know what the list of all the hostages are and when they'll be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released. so my hope and expectation it'll be soon. >> do you know their conditions are they all alive? >> we don't know all their conditions. >> reporter: still a number of unanswered questions about the fate of these american hostages being held by hamas, but president biden today also expressed some optimism that this fight -- this pause in the fighting that's currently slated for four days, he believes that could possibly be extended to get even more than the 50 women and children that had been negotiated in this initial deal. now, president biden had been working the phones throughout the week including to the leaders of egypt, qatar, and israel. he said he'll remain in contact with those leaders, counter parts in the region as they're trying to make sure this deal stays on track. >> arlette saenz reporting for us. thank you very much, arlette, for that report. just ahead a hostage family member experiencing relief for the first time in nearly 50 days as his loved ones finally get to go home today. stay with us. you're in the situation room. one family member getting some good news as three loved ones are among those released today as part of the hostage release agreement. dori-roberts celebrating the good news as his cousin and her two daughters were freed. he's joining us right now. we're so happy doron and her two little girls are back safe in israel. how are they doing right now? i know you've been checking in. >> again, great to see you, wolf. it's wonderful to be on your show. the last i heard from them is that they were in hospital under medical care. their family is waiting to get in and reunite with them. it's been a very emotional day here and around the world. we feel very optimistic to see the great news coming from israel today. >> obviously it's a very, very happy moment for you. what are you most looking forward to hearing when you actually get to see them and touch them and have a sense of how this is all unfolding? >> well, i think like everybody else around us we want to hug them and touch them and let them know they're safe and they're home now, back with their families. we want to show them until never, ever happen again and they are safe and hope that their life can go back to what it was before october 7th. >> what worries you most about how this all unfolded and what to expect in the immediate period ahead? >> i think that my question is most regarding how those people are going to get their life together. but i have full trust in the government and the system they put together to get the people's lives back together and help support them in any possible way. and the rest of the questions are for the politicians and for the regions, for the countries around is how we're taking care of the gaza strip and palestinian people. who's going to be the next leadership after hamas will be dismantled. i don't have answers to those -- >> i know your aunt was killed by hamas terrorists. her boyfriend is still being held by hamas in gaza, we're told. have you been given any new information about him and whether or not he's also expected to be released? >> i hope that he's going to be on one of those lists. and we're really -- yes, i can hear okay. >> go ahead. >> sorry about that. yes, we really hope to see him on the news, and we're really hoping to see his name on the list and home again with his family. he's been through a lot of stuff. he's a 79 years old gentleman, a wonderful grandfather, a father, and a partner to my late aunt. we love him like family. he's always been there for us, and we're really waiting officially to receive him back in israel like the rest of them. we have no news about him since the last picture was taken and published in "the new york times." so it is unknown like a lot of the rest of the hostages -- it is unknown their conditions and how they're doing physically or mentally held as captives, and we wish to see any kind of sign. i hope the red cross will be able to reach them and check on them and make sure they're getting what they need, and hopefully they'll be back home in no time. >> dori-roberts good luck to you, good luck to your whole family and i hope everybody gets together fairly soon. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you so much. happy thanksgiving. and coming up here in the situation room, 24 released today, but what about the next batch of hostages who are set to be released tomorrow? what we're learning, we're getting new information about the list. that's coming up. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. after 49 days in captivity the first group of hostages held by hamas are now back here in israel and receiving very important, critically important medical treatment. cnn's chief international correspondent clarissa ward is with me here in tel aviv. clarissa, you were outside this main children's hospital in tel aviv when you saw all this begin to unfold. describe a little bit of what you saw. >> reporter: so there were three families who were taken in at that hospital. three of them children -- oh, sorry, four of them children, three of them mothers, one grandmother. the children 2 years old, 4 years wreld, 9 years old. the 9-year-old had actually marked his ninth birthday in captivity. and i think for that reason you saw the hospital went above and beyond to try and protect their privacy when they got off that chopper. there were screens put up so that you couldn't actually see or identify them. we heard from the hospital staff that they had eaten dinner together for the first time and now begins sort of the hard part, if you will, the trauma, the unpacking of the experience that they've had. one thing that was interesting, though, wolf, is how many people had gathered to watch the scene, this home coming. >> in person. >> in person. our cameras were obviously focused on helicopter, but behind the cameras there were lots of people some who brought their children even to witness this kind of historic moment. it was emotional. it was somber but also hopeful and excited. we spoke to one woman who was an er nurse from a nearby hospital. she'd been on shift from october 7th treating some of the wounded, she had something kind of beautiful that stayed with us where she said this is just a drop of joy in a sea of sadness. and it probably doesn't change things in terms of there will be more sadness to come, more bloodshed to come. but this drop of joy, i need today come and see it for myself. and i think that kind of incapsulates what the mood was like for all those people who had gathered outside the hospital to witness that moment as we saw not one but two helicopters coming in carrying those now free hostages. >> especially to see those little kids all of a sudden the mood here in israel changes overnight from people being very sad and depressed and all of a sudden they see these kids and their parents in certain cases showing up, and that's a pretty happy moment. >> it's a happy moment and hopefully portends more happy moments, but i think underlying that as well there's a kind of grim realization first of all what these children have been through and that they are probably not the same children that they were on october 6th, and secondly of course there are still so many in captivity and more broadly speaking the horrors of this war we've seen playing out for seven weeks in which, you know, the israeli government has been very clear this war is not going to stop. this is temporary pause, this is a temporary truce, and so it is likely to continue, wolf. >> you were telling me everyone who was involved in dealing with the kids were given specific instructions what to say, what not to say, and how to deal with the kids and make them feel comfortable, and there were a lot of toys around, too. >> they put a lot of toys -- they were very keen for it not to look like a hospital. hospitals are generally places that people don't enjoy being. they're clinical. they're a little intimidating. they wanted it to feel in their words like a beautiful hotel, and they were very specific guidelines not just for the hospital staff but for the idf, for the israeli forces who were their first point of contact once they were back in israel about how do you deal with it when the children start asking questions like where's mommy, where's daddy. you can't answer them, but you comfort them and tell them they'll soon be in a safe place. >> so heart breaking. clarissa, thank you very much. clarissa ward reporting. right now let's get the latest on the palestinian prisoners who were released today. cnn's nada bashir joining us from jerusalem. she's got details. how is this being received from the west bank, nada? you've been checking in on all of this. >> reporter: we have indeed, wolf. and we have seen today in the occupied west bank thousands of people gathering around these centers where these palestinian prisoners have been returned to, released, and reunited with their family members. we saw so many people gather in the streets today celebrating that release. it certainly is a welcome step, but we also have been hearing from some on the ground including them faally members of some of those released who told us for them this isn't a moment where they can be totally happy because of what they have seen unfold in the gaza strip. but nevertheless, this has been seen as a welcome step. and of course this is the first batch of prisoners set to be released over the next four days. take a look. a joyous celebration as this 23-year-old finally arrives home in east jerusalem after six years in an israeli prison. convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison at the age of 17 for attempted murder. police say they found a knife in her possession near the old city of jerusalem. it is a charge she and her family have long denied. she is one of 39 prisoners, all women and minors, released from jails in israel on friday. in exchange for the release of two dozen hostages who had been held by hamas in gaza. >> we saw many of those detainees now released as prisoners being carried on people's shoulders where a number of family members as you mentioned 15 minors released being carried up this road on people's shoulders to much cheering and celebration and fireworks being setoff. we've also been speaking to people including relatives who say they didn't want to see these crowds. >> translator: the celebration is not necessary. they need to be mindful of us in gaza. this celebration is wrong. i am torn to pieces. have a little mercy on us. they can be joyful, but the joy is in the heart because we are dying in gaza. have some respect for us a little. >> the release of this first group of palestinian prisoners comes as israel and hamas begin a four-day truce. a window of desperately needed respite for civilians in gaza. according to hamas run health authorities in gaza, nearly 15,000 palestinians in enclave have been killed over the last seven weeks alone. israel says it is targeting hamas in response to the terror attack of october 7th, which killed more than 1,200 israeli citizens. but in gaza it is civilians that are paying the highest price. more than 8,000 palestinians remain in israeli jails including more than 3,000 according to the palestinian commission for detainees and ex-prisoners affairs held under ministry of detention meaning no clear charges and no clear legal process. but for those gathered in the occupied west bank on friday night, this is a welcome moment of in their eyes long overdue justice. >> people want to gather and be together in this moment. and however folks internalize th