be speaking again with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and we continue to remain personally engaged to see that this deal is fully implemented and work to extend the deal, as well. for weeks i've been advocating the pause in the fighting for two purposes, to increase the assistance getting into the gazan civilians who need help and to facilitate release of hostages. we know that innocent children in gaza are suffering greatly, as well because this war that hamas has unleashed has had such consequences. thousands have been killed and from the earliest days of this crisis i've worked closely with president sisi of egypt, israeli government and king abdullah of jordan and leaders throughout the region for humanitarian assistance to help innocent palestinians indeed who are not part of hamas. under this deal, the fighting in gaza has now been paused for three days. over that team 58 58 hostages he been released including thais, filipinos, and we've moved 200 aid trucks into gaza each day loaded with food, water, medicine, fuel and cooking gas. more is needed, but this is delivering life-saving results. critically needed aid is going in and hostages are coming out and this deal was structured so that it can be extended to keep building on these results. that's my goal. that's our goal to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in gaza. we've seen this is the day by day approach, hour by hour and nothing is guaranteed, and nothing is being taken for granted, but the proof that this is working and worth pursuing further is in every smile and every grateful tear we see on the faces of those families who are finally getting back together again. the proof is little abigail. more than 20 other children 18 years and younger have been released. they've been released through this deal, as well. they've endured a terrible ordeal. they can now begin the long journey toward healing. i'm going to continue working with the emir of qatar, president sisi of egypt and prime minister netanyahu of israel to do everything possible to see the hostages are freed, all of the hostages. i am grateful for the personal partnership as we go through this deal they just mentioned. as we work together to see all of this implemented and now to try to extend it further. i'll continue working with all our partners to take the hard, but necessary steps to build an integrated and more prosperous and more peaceful future in the region. a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both israelis and palestinian people. to make sure israel and palestinians alike live in equal measure of freedom and dignity. we'll not give up on working toward that goal. thank you very much. thank god she's home. -- i guess can't imagine the enjoyment and the -- i just -- i wish i were there to hold her. >> mr. president, do you have an update on the other americans who are being held and any sense as to when they will be released? >> we are hopeful, but i don't have anything firmly to tell you at this moment. >> sir, do you expect that if you use this momentum to extend the pause, have you extracted any guarantees about proof of life or other hostages or do you have an expectation of how much longer you can push this pause? >> well, look, you know the deal calls for every ten hostages released we'll extend another day. i'm hopeful this is not the end, that it's going to continue, but we don't know, and -- but i get a sense that all of the players in the region and even the neighbors that have been directly involved now and looking for a way for the hostages to be released and hamas is completely -- how can i say it, no longer in control of any portion of gaza. >> do they have control of all of the hostages or are there still other militant groups you have to deal with? >> we think there are other militant group, but we are not certain. >> mr. president, how is abigail doing? what her physical condition? >> i haven't gotten that information. i just wanted to let you know. they were going to cross into egypt, as you recall. that was en route, but an older, non-american elderly woman is very sick and was in need of immediate medical help so they arranged for her to cross directly to israel to take her to a hospital all i know is she has been held. i don't know. i haven't seen a photograph and i've just been in communication with my team, but she is safely ensconced in israel, but there is a lot more work to be done. [ inaudible question ] >> i would like to see us move to a point where we are able to -- well, let me put it this way, i'd like to see the pause go on so prisoners can come out. thank you very much. i know we have to call you -- i know he calls me with only ten minutes or so. that's the notice i get because i didn't want to be having this press conference if they weren't physically, even when they were in the red cross ambulance i didn't want to do it because they were not out. they were still in gaza. so i don't thank you enough, but thanks for your patience. >> we're here any time, sir. >> happy holidays. >> happy holidays to you guys. >> thank you, mr. president. you've been watching president biden speak from nantucket, massachusetts, to deliver the good news, very good news that 4-year-old abigail edan is now back in the hands of israelis. she is an israeli-american child. her parents were murdered by hamas terrorists in front of her. she was just 3. she just had her birthday and than happened on october 7th and abigail is part of the today's 17 hostages released by hamas to begin making their way home. this is according to the israeli defense forces. this group includes 17 hostages total, 13 israeli citizens and three thai citizens and one other and they are all now in the care of israelis. in the exchange, israel will release 13 palestinian prisoners on sunday that is according to an official out of qatar. this is all coming as we learn more about the conditions where these hostages are being kept, that at least some did not get enough food and have signs malnourishment. let's go straight to cnn's jeremy diamond. jeremy, i just want to underscore what the really important good news that this baby, 4-year-old girl is now back in israel, that this is not a time to praise hamas. it's to remember the barbaric actions to kill her parents right in front of her and then take her hostage. it's wonderful that she is okay and will be okay, but just to remember all those who were killed and did not make it out. >> yeah. that's exactly right, dana. i mean, as -- as great as it is, as incredible as it is to know that she is now out, it is important to remember that she has been orphaned by the terrible terrorist attack that hamas carried out 50 days ago on october 7th. nonetheless, dana, we are learning that the convoy of 12 israeli hostages, one of them wassal read ed flown directly to a hospital because of that urgent medical situation that the president just talked about, but 12 of those israeli hostages freed as part of this deal between israel and hamas are, in fact, now, in a convoy on the way to the qatari air base and we expect that they will be coming down this road on their way to the air base and hopefully we'll be able to take those pictures live, but it is such an incredible sentiment to see that these hostages are being freed and as we see the pictures of newly freed hostages being reunited with their families and the image of 9-year-old as he runs into his father's arms and thankfully we will see those images tonight and tomorrow, as well. we have shown the fragility of this truce between israel and hamas and the number of issues that arose as those hostages were waiting to be released and think about the fact also that their families had been notified that they would be released and then there's this multiple hours of delay which must have been exkeu excruciating for those families and those hostages were released and we did not get any indication that any major issues arose in the implementation of this deal and the fact that they were able to change plans, it seems, rather than taking through the kerem shalom crossing and to a point in central gaza for them to cross over into israel because of the urgent medical situation does show this deal does appear to be working. the implementation of this deal appears to be working and now, dana, the question is whether or not this will be extended and tomorrow will be the fourth day of the pause in fighting and the fourth day that we expect of hostages being released and there is the possibility to extend that into a second phase and we'll see if these officials and mediators are able to secure that so more hostages can get out of gaza. >> jeremy, thank you so much. let us know when you see the motorcade go by you. we appreciate it. for more on what jeremy put out there is the ambassador to the united states michael herzog, thank you very much for being here. first, your reaction to what we're seeing here and to what president biden just said which is effectively that this deal with returning hostages and a pause in the israeli military action is working. >> it is working. this is the third day that we see the release of hostages and we welcomed the release of each and every one of them and we'd like see more. tomorrow is the fourth day, and if hamas is willing and able to release additional hostages then there will be an extended pause. >> okay. what the president also said is that he hopes that this pause will continue as long as the hostages are free. so you think that it could be extended day by day? >> it could be extended day by day. the deal was 50 hostages for days of pause and for each and every -- if they produce ten hostages they get another day of pause, so that's the key. that's the deal, and we'll see tomorrow and they are willing to release additional hostages. >> 39 palestinian prisoners, we are told, were released today. do you intend to, along with the potential release of israeli hostages or civilian hostages who are held in gaza to continue to release palestinian prisoners? >> the short answer is yes. let me just refer to that and remind everybody that the prisoners that we released are people who were convicted for participating in terror attacks. let's don't forget that it was releas rele releaseded in such a deal. 2011 and look what you got. >> some sorry accused, some are convicted and some have not been adjudicated. that's fair to say. >> they went through a legal process in israel. we didn't kidnap them. >> that's true. >> we don't arrest people just for nothing. >> that's a very important distinction. the american, abigail, is the fact that she turned 4 in captivity and she, as i mentioned, her parents were murder murd murdereded in front of her. it is incredible news that she is back. there are other americans, dual citizens who are in gaza. do you have any indication that any of the hostages who just came over across the border are also american? >> we know only about abigail in this deal. we know about at least two additional american women held in captivity by hamas, but we can't tell whether or not they will be release in the coming days because hamas gives us the list every day for the next day so we'll see. i'm hopeful they, too, will be released. >> to put a fine point on the 17 hostages that just came across the border, only abigail is an american. >> yes. >> okay. the family of one of the hostages already freed today told cnn that this hostage lost more than 13 pounds after enduring days with little food during her captivity. what is israel's understanding of the condition of the others that have been released? >> we are taking them to hospitals where they are undergoing medical and psychological tests and they were kept in deep tunnels in very bad conditions. so even though they got food and so on, we all understand what it means to be in such a tunnel for dozens of days. i don't envy anybody. >> and do you have any idea yet? understanding their health and welfare is the number one priority and do you have any idea if they have information that they're aware of where they were being held? they are being debriefed and i don't think that's something we want to discuss in public. >> i understand. this initial exchange has just been men and women held in gaza. do you know if there's any discussion under way to expand that to male hostages? >> this deal portends to women and children. that's the deal and to the extent of hamas' willing to discuss an additional deal pertaining to men and we'll just have to wait and see. right now we're in this deal. have you gotten any indication about whether or not hamas is -- what you said about jake sullivan, the national security adviser for president biden said to me this morning is that this is in hamas' court. it is in their court and we'll have to see whether or not they're willing to extend a deal. >> do you have any indication? >> right now it's premature to discuss that. >> even though it's just a day away. >> okay. if hamas does not agree to extend the truce, will israel immediately resume its military campaign in gaza? >> let me be very clear. this is a pause. it is not a ceasefire. israel cannot allow itself to keep pushing against hamas following the threat on october 7th. we cannot continue to have hamas rule gaza and they will strike again and they will do so. they did five times since they took over gaza in 200 1k37 they're saying that we do so, so we'll continue to dismantle their military infrastructure and their leadership in gaza and we'll not stop. >> so the answer is yes, the military operation is -- >> the answer is yes. the military operation will resume. not before we ascertain that we released as many hostages as we can. the ball is in hamas' court, as jake told you, but once we reach the conclusion that they're unwilling to release more hostages, we will resume our operations in gaza. >> talk about the balancing act between that and the very real frustration, anger and pain that you are understandably hearing from the families of hostages who still have their loved ones across the border and bad conditions in gaza. >> this is a very big issue for israel and israel is in a national trauma since october 7th and we'll still have following this deal close to 200 and around 200 in gaza and of course, the families are in pain and they're anxious and they expect the government to continue to work for their release. i will say that all of us in israel believe that this deal was made possible by our military action in gaza and it would provide tremendous pressure by hamas and we'll have to see how we take it from here. >> you know, there are twin goals, and you just mentioned them, that at times are competing with one another. you want to completely, elimine hamas and also return the hostages. are those twin goals actually achievable at the same time? >> i don't think that they contradict each one. as i said, we believe, we strongly believe that this deal was made possible by our military pressure and that's what we intend to do. we intend to continue to pressure hamas in order to got the release of all of our hostages. >> want to ask you about civilian deaths inside gaza. the hamas-controlled palestinian ministry of health says more than 14,000 palestinians have been killed so far including thousands of children. i understand, a, that hamas uses civilians as human shields and also you say that those numbers can't be trusted. so how many palestinian civilians does israel think have been killed so far? >> we are not sure about the exact number. i don't think anybody knows the exact number and those were put out by hamas-controlled -- >> right. that's why i ask you. >> we're not sure and it's not beyond them to lie about the numbers and nobody really knows what is the breakdown between innocent civilians and terrorists. many of the terrorists also put on civilian clothes and -- >> let's just talk about children. they're not terrorists. >> obviously -- obviously, there are civilians killed in that war and that's very tragic and we -- it's a tragedy, the loss of every human life and it is not our intention to hit them. we cannot provide immunity to hamas just because they hide behind the civilian population and build an infrastructure of 500 kilometers of tunnel underneath civilian population, not as shelters for the population, but as shelters for their leadership, rockets and so on. that's the sad reality we face in gaza. >> it sounds like you're saying too many civilians -- >> yes. every civilian loss is a tragedy. what i'm saying is this is the unintended consequences of a legitimate war that we are fighting in gaza. we are doing everything to minimize the loss of civilian life. we do not target civilians. time will tell the number is how many are terrorists. i will tell you that on october 7th hamas sent 3,000 terroristses into israel. we are still counting the bodies of hamas terrorists from that day. we already have over 1,100 terrorists. the bodies of terrorists in israel, and i tell you that hamas counts them in the number of people dead in gaza. so i urge everybody to be cautious. i'm not saying there's no collateral damage, i'm not saying there are no civilian casualties. there are. this is the unintended consequence of a legitimate war. >> we are cautious and that's why i wanted to ask if israel had a number. thank you. i know you are a very busy man. thank you very much for coming in. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. ambassador. >> again, more hostages are headed home as we speak and for some it's bittersweet. my next guest has family now split between israel and gaza. we are covering the breaking news out of israel. stay with us. welcome back to "state of the union." 17 hostages are on their way as we speak, home, from gaza. among them 4-year-old abigail edan. cnn has reporters working the very latest on this story, talking to their sources and physically at the area where we believe these hostages are going to come through. jeremy diamond is one of them. jeremy, what are you seeing right now? >> well, dana, we are seeing the first police car in a long convoy that we believe is likely carrying these recently freed hostages. 12 israeli civilians who were taken hostage 50 days ago recently just crossed into gaza, and i think we are seeing them now as we arrive. i will move out of the shot so you can capture this moment of these multiple vehicles we're seeing a police car followed by a van, several vans, it appears -- and let's just pause and look at these images. >> see if -- yeah. there's people waving. there are people waving from inside these busses, and you can see some of the vehicles again with them, against the israeli ambulance and the israeli red cross equivalent. you just saw multiple vehicles going by. we saw people waving from one of those vans with windows in it and there are long convoys, vehicles with flashing lights and some israelis who just came here to celebrate this moment. b we know that there are people positioned at various junctions en route to the air base where we understand that they will be going there and then bring helicopters from there, dana, in order to go to hospitals across israel. these hospitals have been preparing for their arrival with psychological, social and medical services at the ready. they have rooms, quarantining off portions of the hospital for these hostages to be with their families and again, there is such an enormous effort with the israeli government here, but also every single person in israel feels involve in the release of these hostages mostly because it is extremely rare to run into somebody in israel who doesn't know someone who was either killed or taken hostage or injured in the