>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> today on "inside politics," a major development out of the middle east. qatar just announced an agreement to extend the israel/hamas truce for another two days. we're still waiting to hear from the israeli government. it is also unclear when the hostages who were expected to be released today will make it out of gaza. so far, 58 hostages have been freed. that includes 40 israelis, some of whom are dual nationals, 17 thai citizens, and one citizen from the philippines. cnn is all over the region covering this fast-moving story, including my colleague wolf blitzer who is in tel aviv. i am so glad that you're joining us for the hour here. this agreement is a very big deal. >> it certainly is. another two days, that means that more hostages will be released, allowed to leave gaza, go through egypt, presumably, and show up in israel. for israel, that's important news. for hamas, it's an additional two days where there won't be any fresh air strikes or ground assaults by the israelis. so they'll have some time to regroup. that's what they want. they also want more humanitarian aid coming into gaza so there's another at least two days where all of these trucks will be bringing humanitarian supplies, food, water, medicine, all sorts of other things into gaza. that's important. and another two days of this agreement, dana, will allow israel to release more palestinian prisoners and detainees. hamas wants that as well. there are some important developments and we're watching all of this closely. as you correctly point out, we're waiting to hear directly from the israeli government to confirm that another two days of this pause will go forward. >> okay, wolf, stand by. we're going to go right now to mj lee at the white house. mj, you were part of the reporting team to break this news. what are you hearing about the details of this extended truce? >> yeah, the extension of this four-day truce by two additional days has just been announced. and actually, a white house official is now confirming as well that the truce is being extended by an additional two days. dana, just keep in mind the original parameters of the original deal, it was a four-day pause in fighting for the release of 50 women and children hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners, being released by the israelis as well as humanitarian aid flowing into gaza. the understanding, though, was always that there could be an extension of this four-day truce if hamas was able to release additional hostages. ten hostages would buy hamas an additional one day in pause in fighting, but also israeli and u.s. officials had always believed too that there were more than 50 women and children hostages. as many as potentially about several dozen more hostages, so the fact that this truce is being announced seems to indicate that there is an understanding that hamas would be able to turn over additional women and children hostages in the coming days. of course, we know that one thing that hamas has insisted is that they needed this pause in fighting to be in place in order to actually gather up information about the hostages to physically locate some of these hostages which our understanding is that hamas doesn't have a full picture of where some of these hostages are located. >> okay. mj, thank you so much for that reporting. i really appreciate it. and now i want to talk about what happened -- more about what happened with this agreement. it was announced by qatar and it was announced just a couple of minutes ago. at this point, israel, as we've been told, has not yet mentioned anything about it. hopefully our next guest will be able to. he's the senior adviser to prime minister netanyahu. thank you so much, mark, for being here. can you tell us the details as you understand it inside the israeli government of this extended truce. >> so i think we have to say the following, before we talk about extending the deal, we have to implement the current deal and we're waiting for the last batch of hostages, of women and children who are supposed to be released this evening, and until a israeli soil, we can say that the four-day agreement for the 50 hostages has been implemented. having said that, my prime minister spoke publicly last night and he was -- his remarks were reported on cnn. he said that we are open to the extension of this humanitarian pause for -- as your reporter said quite correctly -- for every ten hostages released, we're willing to give an extension of another day. if hamas will release israeli hostages as agreed, we will extend. that's the bottom line. >> so that means if it's going to be extended for two more days, i understand what you're saying about what's going to happen today and i'll get to that in a minute, but just staying on this deal that was just announced inside qatar and the white house is confirming, if it is one day -- one more day of a truce for every ten hostages, if it's two days, presumably, that means hamas has agreed to 20 additional hostages after today? >> that's correct. once again, the parameters were set. these were negotiated with the help of president biden and we thank him for putting his effort and his office behind these arrangement. we wouldn't have -- i don't think we would have reached the deal without his input. yes, it was agreed. every extra day we get ten hostages. and we'll stand by that. >> were they -- so far they have only been women and children, and those were the parameters of this initial deal. what about the extension? will men be included there? >> my understanding is that there's still enough women and children in gaza held by hamas that can fill that -- for the next 20. hamas is responsible for all the hostages. they are, unfortunately, but they are the government there in gaza. they control the situation on the ground. the cessation of fighting has given them the opportunity to find every last hostage. and we're expecting tonight to see the final group of women and children and hopefully in the coming days we'll see more. >> can you just expand on what you just said, how you started in this interview talking about the current situation. what is the holdup? what is the sticking point when it comes to the group of women and children expected to be released today? >> as you know, this is the fourth and final release in the framework of the four days. but as you know, i think it was only last night that they actually got out on time. on the first day and the second day there were delays, last-minute crisis. there were all sorts of problems and the truth is, we have to remember who we're dealing with. we're dealing with a terrorist organization, hamas, and it's always like pulling teeth. i mean it's difficult. it's never easy. and that's why i urge, let's wait to see what happens tonight. that we see our people -- the released hostages safely on israeli soil. i mean, last night, we had 13 israeli women and children released. the youngest was that 4-year-old american israeli, abigail edan, right? she was kidnapped when she was 3. so you have to ask, what sort of people kidnap 3-year-olds? and i think that tells you everything everybody to know about hamas and explains why it's so difficult. these people are ruthless. if they think there's an advantage in them for perpetuating the suffering of these innocent civilians and their families in israel, they will do so if they think it's in their interest. >> she was 3 and her parents were also -- according to president biden -- murdered brutally right in front of her on october 7th. so i completely take your point. having said that, the -- they are the organization that you have to deal with. because they are the ones who have these women and children. so given that reality, that unfortunate reality that you are dealing with, what is the status as far as you know of those who are supposed to come out today? >> so, once again, we have received some good signals, but until they are on israeli soil, it's not done. we can't celebrate. it's the same for the families who have been waiting for these people for over 50 days now. once again, once they are on israeli soil, we can say it has been done. but we've got to be cautious. with hamas, you've got to be cautious. you need nerves of steel when you're dealing with these sort of people. >> mark, i want to ask about one of the sticking points over the weekend which was that there was a child released without her mother. the child was released and the mother was not. what is your understanding at this point as to why that is, particularly now since officials have been able to speak with the daughter about the last time she saw her mother. can you give any more information about that? >> i can only say the following, dana. to release a young child without a parent, that is the most inhumane thing to release a daughter and for the mother to stay in captivity. once again, that is another manifestation of what we're dealing with. these people are heartless. these people are depraved. these people lack any sense of common decency. and that is our enemy. when the fighting against hamas is resumed, i want people to remember that israel is fighting a ruthless and despicable terrorist organization. when we defeat them, it won't just be good for israel, our people deserve to live in safety and security, it's not to fear terrorists crossing the border in the middle of the night and butchering their children, but the people of gaza also deserve better. hamas has been ruling gaza for 16 years. what have they brought the people of gaza? suffering, pain and poverty. everyone in this region will be better off without hamas. >> just -- if i may, you described the unfortunate human situation here -- terrible -- barbaric human situation. but what about the why? are you concerned that her mother and others have been separated from hamas and are now in captivity by other groups inside gaza? >> look, from israel's perspective, hamas can't subcontract out any responsibility. they are responsible. and the reason for the pause was not to give any excuses because, you know, if they were -- if israel continued attacker, they could say we couldn't get out of the bunker. they've had four days of pause. they're the guys that control the gauze strip, unfortunately, it soon won't be the case. but at the moment they are in charge and they are responsible for all the hostages. >> mark, thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. and, wolf, i want to bring you back in now. your reaction knowing not only mark regev, but knowing the situation as well as you do to the news there. he confirmed this deal. but at the end he talked about when the military operation resumes. not if. when. >> the israeli defense ministry, the idf, the israeli political leadership, the war cabinet, they are all basically on the same page saying that after they obviously want to get all the israeli hostages, all the hostages out of gaza, back to israel, that's obviously a top priority, if not the top priority. they're also saying that even after that, they're going to continue their struggle against hamas. they don't want hamas to be in charge of gaza because they fear that what happened on october 7th could happen again. they're going to continue to go after hamas and resume their military activity, whether air strikes or ground assault. they're making it abundantly clear that is not going to stop. it's stopping as long as this temporary truce, a pause, they're not calling it a cease-fire, as long as this is going on, they're going to pause and the israel action against hamas. but they're making it abundantly clear that it's not going to pause forever. they're going to go after hamas and that is significant. >> absolutely. thank you. and just to underscore the news from mark regev, two additional days which will mean 20 additional hostages. and they will only be women and children. they are not yet talking about releasing the male hostages inside gaza. assuming that the hostages actually come out today, which has not yet happened. wolf, stand by. coming up, we are going to be talking more about what will happen today as we get more information about this extended truce. stay with us. welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer in tel aviv. >> i'm dana bash in washington. i went to get to the white house where john kirby is talking to reporters. let's listen. >> president-elect will be coming to washington, d.c., largely to meet with the imf and the world bank over -- over their fiscal and economic issues. while he's here in town, he'll have a chance to meet with some national security council folks, including jake sullivan. no plans to meet with the president. the president will be on travel in the middle of the week. >> thank you. >> reporter: on the remaining americans who are being held, do you have any more clarity on whether they're being held by hamas or other terrorist groups? >> no. >> reporter: all along you've been very clear about concerns that a broader cease-fire would only benefit hamas. sullivan was clear saying that hamas has been able to gain some benefit from this. how concerned are you that the longer this truce lasts that hamas will benefit and how do you weigh that? >> it's a risk. you have to expect a group like hamas which clearly doesn't abide by laws of war would try to take advantage of the pause in the fighting for their own benefit. we're watching that closely. but -- i don't want to speak for the israelis, but this is a calculated risk that we're willing to take in order to get the hostages out. it's a balance. once the pauses are over, they will go right back at military operations. >> reporter: restocking, resupplying, what is that benefit? >> i would say that any pause in the fighting could benefit your enemy in terms of time to refit, to rest your fighters to rearm them, reequip them. you know, a pause in the fighting can be seen as a benefit, but, again, i want to stress, this was always part of the calculus that hamas might try to benefit from it. so too have the israeli people benefitted by the return of their loved ones and hostages. so too have the american people benefitted now with little abigail back with her family. so, again, it's a balance. and i won't speak for the israeli defense forces. but when they have -- when these pauses are over, they have made it clear that they're going to continue to target hamas leadership. >> reporter: how many americans are being held hostage and do you have proof of life? >> we think the number is -- less than ten. probably in the neighborhood of, you know, about eight to nine. but we don't necessarily have firm, solid information on each and every one of them. >> why haven't the two american women who are with abigail, what happened with them? why haven't they been released? >> well, we certainly hope that we'll see them in hopefully today. if not today, certainly over the next couple of days. we want to see them back with their families where they belong as well. the lists are developed by hamas and then, of course, there's the israelis developed their list of palestinian prisoners that they're going to release. we're not involved in the specific drafting of the lists and the determination on hamas' side of who's going to come out on any given day. obviously, we want to see the two american women released as soon as possible. >> and with the truce being extended two days, what happens now? you want to get three days next or a permanent truce? what is the -- >> like i said in my opening statement, we're grateful that we have an extra two days to work with. that will result in the release of 20 more individuals, women and children. as i said right at the top, we would like to see even that extension extended further until all the hostages are released. that's really the goal here. get all the hostages home with their families where they belong. however long that could take. >> reporter: thank you. just a follow-up on the question about -- you mentioned that most of the meetings will be with the imf. who will he be meeting at the white house, the embassy and what are the expectations of the white house for this meeting? >> i already answered that question. he'll have a chance to meet with jake sullivan and potentially other folks here. we'll have to see how that shakes out. the president won't -- >> you've been listening to john kirby, national security council spokesman at the white house, confirming as we heard from mark earlier on this program that there will be an additional 20 hostages released who are now inside gaza as a result of this extended two-day pause. also saying that they still don't know exactly how many americans are still inside gauze. they believe at the white house it's 8 and 9 but not entirely sure. we're going to take a quick break. ahead we're going to speak with an israeli woman whose aunt and cousins were released by hamas this weekend, but she still have several other fafamily m member being held hostage inside gauze. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ . welcome back. i'm dana bash in washington. >> and i'm wolf blitzer in tel aviv. >> and, wolf, i know you spoke earlier with the uncle of a woman who was released on saturday. she was the child released without her mother. i can't even imagine how emotional that interview was, wolf. >> i spoke with her uncle. and i drove outside to tel aviv to one of the hospitals. and we met for awhile. it was a very, very emotional, powerful interview because i heard her uncle talk about how significant it was that he was finally getting together with his little 13-year-old niece. and today, by the way, is her birthday. she's in the hospital at that children's hospital outside of tel aviv. but her mother was supposed to be there as well. rya. and as part of the deal, the deal according to u.s. and israeli officials and others, if little children were released, they would have to be released with at least their mothers, if their mothers were being held as well. and rya, the mother, the sister, is still being held. she was not released. and this is considered to be by the israelis, the u.s. and others a clear violation of the initial agreement. once you release children, if they're with their parents, the parents are released as well. the children don't have to leave their parents behind and the little girl has to leave her mother behind. and i spoke with the uncle about all of this and he was very, very powerful in what he was saying. obviously thrilled that he could spend a little bit of her 13th birthday together, but so, so upset that his sister was not being released. and i want to play a little clip, dana, from our interview. listen to this. >> she told me her mother is here, they come and took us. they didn't give us a lot of time to prepare. but i had time to give her a hug and my sister was crying when the girl -- the children left. and, yeah, that's how it happened. and rya is still there. she had to say good-bye to her mother. she didn't know what is going to happen with her mother. the mother is not going -- the mother doesn't know what happens with her daughter. i'm sure my sister don't know what's going to be next. are they going to set her free? are they going to jail her again? are they going to murder her? the first thing that they said when they met me was, yeah, we've been with rya the whole time. and she told me, look at my hair. my mother cut it for me when we're in captivity. th