next. have a great day. back home. more israeli hostages are set to come home this morning, if a shaky truce holds. jake sullivan joins me next. president biden touts the truce. >> i pressed for a pause. >> with a day left before it runs out, what happens next? senator chris murphy of the foreign relations committee joins me exclusively. all in. foreign policy dominates u.s. politics, one republican candidate makes his case. >> we got serious problems. we need a serious president to take them on. >> is there a better way to counter trump? 2024 republican presidential candidate chris christie coming up. ♪ hello. i'm dana bash in washington. we are watching families reunite and thinking about those still waiting. we begin with breaking news. hamas is set to release more israeli hostages from gaza, including an american citizen. this is the third day of a four-day pause in fighting. israeli leaders have a list of the people who are expected to come home today after weeks in hamas captivity. 41 hostages, 26 of them israeli, are already home now. this morning, the israeli prime minister's office said they believe 201 hostages still remain in gaza. we saw a 9-year-old run into her father's arms. he was originally told that emily was dead before learning she was a hostage. this moment of pure joy was once unimaginable for him. for others, the reunions are bittersweet. the orr children were released saturday. their mother was murdered on october 7. their father is still being held by hamas. the question now, whether this fragile truce could hold longer than four days allowing more aid into gaza and more hostages to come home. jeremy diamond is live. what's the latest? >> reporter: dana, for now israeli officials are preparing for the third round of hostages to be released into the arms of the red cross. eventually, crossing into israel. we have watched over the last two days as 26 israeli civilian hostages as well as 15 foreign nationals crossed via this crossing, which is right behind me here. even though those two releases showed the promise of the deal with hamas, yesterday we saw the fragility as there were issues that led to delays in those the hostages being released. hamas claiming israel was not allowing sufficient aid into gaza. i'm learning of another major struggle. israeli officials pushed to try and include the mother of a 13-year-old who was released as part of the 13 israeli hostages yesterday but who wasn't released was her mother. that is not in keeping with what we have seen in recent days where mothers and children who were taken hostage together have been released together. i'm told israeli officials fought hard behind the scenes yesterday to try and get the mother included. at this point, her condition, her whereabouts are not known. now, dana, we are looking at next steps, not only trying to sort out whether today's release will go forward, if everything will go smoothly or if we will have bumps like yesterday. also, looking forward. we are on day three now. tomorrow will be day four, which is the last official day of the 50 israeli hostages deal in exchange for 150 palestinian prisoners. there is an option to extend. ten additional hostages per day earn an additional day of truce and 30 more palestinian prisoners. officials will turn to that issue to see if this truce can be extended. >> jeremy, thank you so much for that reporting. here with me now is white house national security advisor jake sullivan. thank you so much for being here this morning. an israeli official told cnn that at least one american citizen is expected to be part of today's release of hostages. can you confirm how many americans are on that list? do you know who they are? >> just taking a step back, dana. the 50 hostages that were part of this initial four-day deal, those were women and children. there are three americans who fall into that category. two women and one child. we know those three were missing. we cannot say for certain whether all three are still alive. we do know this. we have reason to believe that today one american will be released. i say reason to believe because i want to be cautious about making any firm statements until we actually see that individual cross the border to safety and ultimately be reunited with their family. we are dealing with hamas. we are in a don't trust but verify situation here. we have reason to believe that there will be an american released today. we have been in close touch with the israelis, with the qataris, egyptians over the last 24 hours. president biden has been personally engaged with the emir of qatar on this issue. today should be a good day, a joyful day. but until we see it happen, we are going to remain at the edge of our seat. >> do you have reason to believe the american you are talking about is 4-year-old abigail? >> here is what i will say. we are now hopeful that abigail will be released, reunited with her family. she turned 4 two days ago. she has been through hell. she had her parents killed in front of her. has been held hostage for the last several weeks. we are hopeful she will be released. i'm not going to confirm it's today. i am going to say that we have growing optimism about abigail. we will now watch and see what happened. >> jake, later in the show i'm going to talk to the parents of a 22-year-old idf soldier who is an american citizen. do you have any idea on his condition and that of other americans still in captivity? is there any progress towards bringing them home? >> dana, which of the idf soldiers are you referring to? >> his name is omar nutra. >> i actually had the opportunity to meet his parents at white house along with the family members of other american hostages. i know just listening to them that they are going through incredible pain and uncertainty and difficulty. i can't even imagine what that could feel like. i told them directly -- we have been candid about what we know and don't know. we do not know the specific whereabouts or condition of omar or other americans. because until the end of this deal, until the end of tomorrow, we will not have from the red cross proof of life or other information related to their ability to visit hostages. as we learn that information, we will absolutely share it with the parents. no, i do not sitting here today -- i'm not in a position to confirm the precise condition or whereabouts of omar or other american hostages. >> you said that you hope that you will get information from the red cross after this initial deal is complete. prime minister netanyahu said that -- also said that the red cross would be allowed to visit hostages still being held by hamas to ascertain their status. israeli officials say it hasn't happened. did lamhamas, in fact, agree to that? do you have confidence it will happen? >> that's part of the deal. we expect it will happen. i'm not going to characterize myself as confident in anything right now. again, we are in a don't trust but verify circumstance. we do believe that hamas is obliged to maintain its part of the commitment on red cross visitation of the hostages. we expect qatar and egypt and other countries to hold hamas accountable to fulfill that commitment by the end of tomorrow. >> israeli officials are signaling that they plan to resume their offensive, the military offensive, as soon as this pause expires. the defense minister said yesterday, quote, any further negotiations will be held under fire. is israel rejecting calls from the u.s. to hold off on its offensive in order to try to continue negotiations? >> first, dana, just to be clear about the terms of this deal, israel has already agreed that it will continue to pause fighting day by day after the end of the four days as long as hamas keeps releasing hostages. s really in hamas' court. if hamas wants to see an extension of the pause in fighting, it can continue to release hostages. if it chooses not to release hostages, then the end of the pause is its responsibility, not israel's. it is holding these hostages completely illegitimately and against all bounds of human decency. >> to be clear -- >> really, we will see what hamas ends up choosing to do. >> to be clear, if hamas, after this four-day pause is over, says, okay, here is the next list of hostages that we will release, israel will continue its military pause? no question? >> that is correct. ten hostages per day for as many days as hamas releases ten hostages, israel will continue the pause in the fighting. that's part of the terms that israel agreed to. that's a commitment israel made. the ball is in hamas' court. >> have any of the hostages who have been freed provided insight or intelligence to israel and u.s. officials that could help locate those still in gaza? >> we are just at the beginning of learning about the debriefings of those hostages. i will withhold comment until there can be more time for that to take place. we are just talking about the last couple of days that hostages have been released. in the early hours, it's more about caring for their trauma. >> understand. >> getting them reunited with their families. it's going to take a little wlie while to get that information. you can be sure that israel is focused on learning anything it can about whereabouts, locations and other information based on conversations they have with the released hostages in the days ahead. >> another major aspect of this deal is that it is allowing for significant amounts of desperately needed humanitarian aid, fuel, medicine, water, food, to enter gaza. president biden said there are mechanisms in place to ensure those supplies go to civilians and not hamas. what are those mechanisms? do you have any indication that they have been in place? has hamas benefitted from this pause? >> first, dana, there's the inspection mechanism. the israelis at a crossing check all of the trucks before they go in through the rafah crossing into gaza. they check to make sure that it is, in fact, humanitarian supplies and not goods that could help hamas in its military campaign. second, those trucks go to u.n. depots and to other humanitarian organizations that are vetted and trusted partners. once they are in the hands of the united nations and humanitarian organizations, they are distributed directly to the people. we have seen this work over the course of the last several weeks as humanitarian assistance has ramped up. we have seen it work that it's getting to people and that it's not being diverted into the hands of hamas. that's something that we have to continue to focus on, on an ongoing basis. president biden stays in close touch with the israeli leadership on this, with the u.n. leadership, and with others to make sure, in fact, the aid is getting to the innocent people who are suffering. >> i want to look ahead a little bit and ask about prime minister neta netanyahu. he is, as you well know, in a precarious domestic/political situation. he knows as soon as the war is over, he will face questions that he has been putting off about the failure to prevent the october 7th attacks. questions about list tenure as prime minister. is there any concern inside the biden administration that netanyahu doesn't necessarily see it as being in his interest to end this war as quickly as possible? >> look, i'm not going to speculate on israeli politics. we're going to stay focused on who is sitting in the chair of prime minister, and that is prime minister netnetanyahu. deal with him on the issues we are confronting today. president biden has been able, through his direct diplomacy with prime minister netanyahu, as well as with arab leaders, to generate humanitarian assistance, the safe debarpartu of americans, and hostage releases. president biden believes that his engagement with prime minister netanyahu paid difsh d -- dividends. he will focus on that and leave others to determine the politics, the political considerations. we will stay focussed on the task at hand. >> let me ask you it this way before i let you go. maybe it's easier than delving into domestic israeli politics. if hamas doesn't continue to release hostages, and if the military operation -- israel's military operation resumes, would president biden support that, no matter what? he has supported it, of course, until now. but would that change if israel resumes its military campaign? >> president biden has been clear that israel has a right, indeed a responsibility to defend itself against a terrorist foe that continues to say it intends to attack israel, continues to launch rockets, not during this pause, but in the days leading up to it, and continues to indicate that it will not stop representing a direct physical threat to the people in the state of israel. president biden believes any country, including israel, has a right and responsibility to defend itself against that kind of enemy. he also believes that any military operations have to be conducted in a way that protects civilians, that distinguishes terrorists from civilians, and that ensures that those civilians have safe places to be and access to life saving humanitarian aid. he has been focused on the kind of work necessary to get that humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of people in gaza. he is going to stay focused on that as a primary objective in the diay days ahead. >> jake sullivan, thank you for joining me. >> thank you. my next guest just visited israel where he stepped up his criticism of former president donald trump. now, some republicans say there's a better way for him to take trump down. chris christie is here next. as we watch for more hostages to be released today, we are going to continue to get the latest on that. stay with us. welcome back to "state of the union." happy pictures of families reunited. israeli women and children are the first to be released. 41 people have been freed over the past two days. we are awaiting the release of more than israeli hostages this morning, including at least one american. here in the u.s., the temporary truce is welcome news, despite rising questions about what comes next. here with me now is republican presidential candidate and former new jersey governor, chris christie. thank you so much for joining me. i want to start with, of course, what's going on in israel. president biden said the deal is only a start and expressed hope it could lead to a more extended truce. it expires after tomorrow. do you think that israel should try to keep this pause going in order to get more hostages out? >> dana, look, i've been very clear on this. i think israel has to make that evaluation based upon the success of what they have done regarding degrading hamas' military capability. i traveled throughout israel a couple of weeks ago. i saw the destruction that hamas did to israel, killing so many of its innocent citizens. i think that their main priority has to be degrading hamas' capability to military strike against israel and its people again. you can't ask the israeli people, who survived the attack, to return to their homes near the gaza border if you have not degraded hamas' that needs to be priority number one. i have no problem with continuing to negotiate for hostage release, obviously. we would love to see all of the hostages released. we also don't want to see another tragedy like we had on october 7th in israel. >> you also, when you were in israel, met with families of hostages. do you believe that degrading or trying to dismantle hamas is a higher priority than bringing home the hostages? >> look, it's a very, very difficult call, dana. i think for those hostage families, obviously, the highest priority for them is to get their family members home. i just think israel can wind up being able to make that evaluation itself. it is the one in the best position to make that evaluation. i would say this, the long-term peace and stability of israel depends upon the degrading of hamas' military capability. it has to be the highest priority, because hamas is trying to wipe israel off the map. they are doing so with iranian, north korea and russian assistance. the u.s. has to be supportive of what israel is trying to do military, but always provide advice that friends provide in terms of when is enough enough. we will help to make that evaluation with them. but ultimately, that's israel's decision. >> do you believe president biden deserves credit for pushing through the deal that has at least brought some of the hostages back to their families? >> look, i think that any time there's return of hostages, that's incredibly helpful. president biden and his administration have played a role in it. the terms are lob psided toward hamas. three to one in terms of hostage release. this pause as well. i think everyone can second guess a negotiation from the outside if you are not in the middle of it. what i'm grateful for is the hostages have been returned to their families. that's extraordinarily important and humane to have that done. i think president biden deserves credit for that. where i think he is starring to err in an area that i think is wrong is to say he hopes this continues, that the truce continues. he can't be doing that kind of stuff, in my view, publically. his voice has to be supportive of what israel is doing to try to protect its territorial integrity and safety and security of its citizens. that's got to be priority number one for the united states. everyone in the middle east has to know that's america's number one priority. >> governor, i want to ask about the spike in hate against jews in the united states. you"the new york times" that you believe trump has contributed to this. >> when you show intolerance towards everyone, which is what he does, you give permission as a leader for others to have their intolerance come out. intolerance towards anyone encourages intolerance towards everyone. that's exactly what's going on here. that's been going on for some time, not just with donald trump, but with university professors on some of our most elite campuses in this country. with university administrators and presidents who have been unwilling to stand up against anti-semitism on their campuses, most particularly. there should be no campus in this countries where a jewish student is afraid to leave their dorm, a jewish student is afraid go to their classes, a jewish student is afraid to go to have a meal in the dining hall. that is outrageous and it's wrong. i think governors in those states should be sending state police to make sure that they are protected on those campuses. we need to have university presidents who are willing to stand up and be counted against hate. that's exactly what's going on here. we saw this display at the macy's thanksgiving day parade. these are folks who are ignorant. my guess is two-thirds don't know what intifada is. if they did, they would be ashamed for calling the elimination of the jewish people around the world, which is what intifada is. in the end, look, i think that there have been a lot of people who contributed to it. i believe donald trump's intolerant language and conduct gives others permission to act the same. >> let me ask you a little politics. the race that you were in -- you wa want to be president. but your twin missions are to do that and stop donald trump. in the most recent poll, donald trump is winning by 42% of likely gop voters. you are third behind nikki haley. neither you nor nikki haley come close to challenging trump on your own. together, you have support of 34% of new hampshire voters. is there any scenario where you and nikki haley would somehow work together to try to consolidate that anti-trump vote? >> i think governor haley and i both have the same goal. that is to be president of the united states. i think we are showing great momentum in new hampshire. we have been gaining over the last co