players. >> she calls them enablers and collaborators. >> surging nikki haley picks up a major endorsement. >> charles koch-backed group group backing nikki haley. good wednesday morning. right now the final hours of the truce between israel and hamas are ticking away and as we speak negotiators in the white house are waiting to extend it. hamas released another round of hostages yesterday with more to come today. we just heard from secretary of state blinken at nato headquarters as he prepares to head into the war zone and travel once again to israel. >> we'd like to see the pause extended because what it has enabled first and foremost is hostages being released, it's also enabled us to surge humanitarian assistance to the people of gaza who so desperately need it. >> new this morning, the family of the youngest hostage 10-month-old, they've been notifyd that the baby and his 4-year-old brother will not be freed today. hamas did allow an outside journalist to witness yesterday's hostage turnover, you see an 84-year-old grandmother in a wheelchair. to the red cross convoy as a crowd cheers and records what's happening on their phones. other images showing heavily armed gunman escorting a 17-year-old girl as she clutches her dog in her arms, she was released with her mother. this next photo, well, this the two of them calling their family for the first time after crossing back into israel. moments aek, we just heard from secretary of state blinken, the next few days will focus on extending that pause in gaza, where do the negotiations stand at this hour in. >> erica, two countdowns running right now the first countdown until the release of e israeli hostages. . >> that should happen now in a few hours. a couple of hours, it's happened a bit later or earlier. regardless it's moving forward and we expect to see that play out, there have been no major roadblocks or reports of exchanges of fire. the bigger question, what happens after that? a truce that has lasted for five days, expected to expire early tomorrow morning if there's not some sort of agreement to continue that. that's what secretary of state blinken talked about at nato. >> you're reporting from overnight about specifically behind the scenes here. with the biden administration. what's been fascinating in talking with senior administration officials. no secret has played a central role in trying to mediate, trying to negotiate, trying to manage to some degree the conflict since the terror attack on october 7th, what has been most interesting in my reporting is the intensive nature of three critical components, three pillars of what they've been working on since this humanitarian pause began, getting the hostages home, trying to extend that truce, at the same time surging humanitarian aid, they're very aware of the criticism and the crisis in gaza trying to double, triple, quadruple how much aid is going in. what comes next? those combat operations, they know there will be an tend the truce. nose near-term candid discussions about the next phase of the operations is critical. the longer term efforts intensive in the region to lay the groundwork for what a post-conflict gaza will look like. secretary of state blinken talked about that last point moments ago. >> with regard to two states, look, i think we've been very clear from well before october 7th, that we believe that this is the only path to enduring peace, to enduring security, to preservation of israel, strong, secure and democratic jewish state and palestinians have their legitimate aspirations for a state and self-determination met. >> erica, what striking about what you hear there from secretary of state echoes what president biden has said not only the durability of the idea is very much in question particularly with the current structure of the israeli government. administration officials say behind the scenes, talking about specifically the normalization efforts with saudi arabia, they think there are options there. israel hasn't laid out what they want to see next. the conversations are happening. they know there has to be a next step at some point. >> yeah, such important points. senior democrat senators are struggling to reach a consensus on whether to condition aid to gaza. it's not america's place to micro manage israel's actions. mitch mcconnell said the idea is ridiculous. >> i think it's ridiculous our relationship with israel is the closest national security relationship we have with any nation in the world, to condition our assistance to israel on their meeting our standards seems to me is totally unnecessary. >> so all this coming as republicans insist that border security must be included in any aid package. lauren fox is in washington for us with the very latest. where do things stand within the party this morning in. >> there was a vigorous debate i'm told from senators who are in democratic lunch yesterday over this issue of whether or not they should it require that conditions be a part of any more aid to israel and the democratic party is really divided over this issue, you have people like peter welch, senators like chris murphy and independent senator bernie sanders who are calling for more conditions on israel and they all have different ideas about what the scope those conditions should be, the direct fighting in the wake of any continued cease-fire in israel, there's also sort of this pause question of how long that's going to go on, you have a lot of democrats who are arguing that that should continue. so there's really a vast variety of views right now but there are also many senators who say there shouldn't be any conditions, here are two of them. >> i don't think it's necessary, i think that president biden has been very influential in israel's policies during this conflict, so i don't, israel's an ally, a friend. so no. >> we should behind israel. i don't think we should set tliens or program terse on how they go about addressing the murders, the rains, the beheadings, the torture. >> what senator tillis is referring to there, more than 40 minutes of footage that roughly 40 senators watched yesterday of the attack that unfolded on october 7th, senator tillis said he always thought that more aid should be provided to israel without conditions especially after watching that footage he said that cemented his view of the issue. so it's broader debate within the democratic party and it's also clear that many republicans are not going to support it and it's always important to keep in mind that any aid package will have to pass out of the republican-controlled house of representatives as well, while democrats want to have this debate, continue to have conversations with the white house about this, it's important to keep in mind the republican dynamic in the house of representatives. >> lauren, appreciate it. thank you. money from the deep pockets of wealthy donors the race within the race, what every 2024 candidate wants and what one scored in a big way, nik yeah haley, american for prosperity group it's backing the former south carolina governor's bid for the white house, it comes as she kicks off a two-day march through the swing state of new hampshire where she's on the rise. jeff zeleny, this was timed perfectly, maxim packet in the clear rise, how does haley build on this momentum? >> good morning, phil, look as you said, this is no ordinary endorsement, it comes with a pledge for millions of dollars in aid spending, perhaps more than important than that, the key koch network, this is not going to be a game-ender, donald trump is still in firm control of this primary campaign, but nikki haley hopes it's the beginning of game-changer. nikki haley on the move, hoping to capitalize on golden endorsement in the republican presidential candidate. >> trump is even with biden. in every poll we beat biden by 10 to 13 points. >> reporter: one of the nation's most conservative grassroots organizations has crowned haley as the choice to dethrone donald trump. unseat president biden in the white house. >> joe biden and donald trump had their chance. they can't fix what's broken. >> reporter: the question for haley is whether she'll ever get the chance and move beyond the race for second place. the highly coveted endorsement from americans for prosperity action is to urge voters to coalesce around a trump alternative. it's far from certain how many republicans are actually looking for one. >> right now, trump has my vote. >> reporter: we met wayne walk intg a haley rally on monday in south carolina. her rise intrigues him. but far from sold. >> i want to look at the candidates to see who's going to finally get my vote, but i'm strongly leaning toward trump. >> reporter: underscores one of haley's challenges, appealing to republicans for anyone other than trump. >> a vote for trump is going to be a vote for biden. i hope that doesn't happen. and that's why i'm voting for nikki. >> reporter: she's hardly the only candidate, locked in inc increasingly bitter battle with ron desantis. they'll face off next week at the fourth republican debate. >> the stage is getting smaller, when the stage gets smaller our chances get bigger. >> reporter: the views of haley a former u.n. ambassador are now coming under closer view. her hawkish foreign policy. >> you have d.c. saying do we support ukraine, do we support israel? do we support israel or do we support closing the border? don't let them tell you that, because that's a false premise. >> reporter: she also faces other potential roadblocks including chris christie's candidacy in new hampshire. haley makes clear a split ticket benefits trump above all. >> we are now in second place in iowa, second place in new hampshire and second place in south carolina. we just have one more fellow we got to catch up to. >> reporter: there's no doubt the road ahead for nikki haley is filled with many obstacles. they hope this endorsement is a magnet for other big-time donors. but this morning here, the same question exists throughout the primary, are enough republicans looking for a trump alternative or are they content with the real thing? >> jeff zeleny for us, thank you. cnn this morning has challenges accounting for the nine americans in gaza. >> next. enemies of anyone. should the children be used as bargaining chips? no, they shouldn't. this is the simple answer. they shouldn't be used as bargaining chips. no justification for this. we just want them back, really. in just a few hours we expect to see what could be final transfer of hostages from hamas under the current terms of the truce agreement with israel negotiated on both sides are racing against the clock to extend that truce even as they do, though, there's fair amount of uncertainty lingering about the hostages themselves including exactly how many they are, how and where they're being held, who's holding them, phil has some brand-new reporting on the behind the scenes efforts at the white house to freer more hostages. >> you're hitting on critical points here on why this has been so complicated over the course of the last several days. it's not as simple as just putting lists together and taking people out in exchange for palestinian prisoners, there are issues locating hostages, issues of knowing which groups are holding hostages, qataris serving as intermediaries, difficult to get lists. the americans very cautious about that and there's a reason. they have a lot of intelligence on some of those hostages, on others they don't know anything at all. it's just one of the major complicating factors. these are the missing americans still to be held by hamas. two women are expected and have been a critical focus of administration officials in negotiations over the course of the last several days, they want those two women out as soon as today. there's still hope. as of these nine, seven males, obviously the focus of the negotiations and exchanges up to this point have been women and children, to go back a couple of weeks, there was a pilot agreement of sort that got the first two americans released, judith and natalie renaud and a third american released, now 4-year-old abigail edan but her story is actually one that gives the sense of the complexity here, she wasn't in the initial hostages exchange, that i'm told wasn't a surprise for administration officials, and here's why, this gets at all of the different variables at play. administration official told me that one of the issues that they have been facing in the initial stage of hostage releases the primary group was located in the south, they're very cautious about naming where they were and how they got this information, the initial group of hostages coming out if first couple of days were located in the south, abigail, she was not. this was an issue, where these hostages are, who they are located with, if their family units are together, in particular if they have to come from anywhere in here, now what you'll see when you look up here, the red and the yellow the scale of the damage and what has transpired in the north, in gaza since the start of military operations that's been the primary focus both of the air campaign but also the ground operation as well. if hostages are in that area moving them around getting them to the south and all the way to the rafah crossing area has been a critical focus and also a very complicated one, making things a little bit more complicated part of the agreement was that drone operations have to stop for a significant portion of time each day that limits the intelligence officials can get. so many different variables that make this so complicated. when officials say they don't know where people are, how many, they're not just hiding information, there are so many uncertainties here that make this complex every single night this truce has been in place this has been an effort that's been under way and one that will continue as officials continue to try to push this truce forward. >> there has been confusion, day don't know where all of the hostages are, understand mri many people thought how could you not know. >> everything about this is complicated. cnn has learned overnight that youngest israeli hostage 10-month-old is not expected to be released today according to his family. he and his 4-year-old brother seen here in this family video, those faces you can't forget them, taken by hamas on october 7th. their parents are believed to have been kidnapped as well. that was 54 days ago, now it's important to note as phil was just saying the israeli military saying that the family are among the hostages who currently not being held by hamas and that's complicating the effort to bring them home. the great uncle of those two little boys joins us. thank you for being with us this morning. you wake up every morning and you look at your phone immediately for some news, the news that they are not to be released today is obviously not what you wanted to see this morning, how is your family holding up? >> thank you for having me, first of all, the family is not the family i've always knew. a very happy family, very united. what happening is now, everybody is sad, nobody smiles, everybody's worried about the family, you're showing the pictures, beautiful faces. how can you imagine those pictures you're seeing right now are hostages? what human being would say, yes, a 10-month-old baby and 4-year-old boy can be hostages of war? that's something that we can think of, it's unthinkable, and hamas saying they don't know where they are is ridiculous. they should know where they are. they're the ones who took them. now they're saying they don't know where they are. that's a lie. that's insane. if they really don't know where they are they have the power to find out, go ahead and look for them. >> the former defense minister told my colleague last night that hamas is trading and even selling hostages within different gangs in gaza, do you believe that's what may have happened with your family? >> i'm sorry, repeat that question again. the former defense minister told my colleague last night that hamas was trading or selling hostages in between gangs in gaza? >> that's right, they're trading, that's what we're hearing, they traded them, they're in different hands, so there should be pressure by the biden administration, the egyptian president, by qatar to say enough is enough, this is not should be happening. where are they? show us a picture that they're alive, that the kids are being fed correctly, being taken care of, we don't know if the family is even alive, that's the most faithful thing here, you wake up if the morning and that's where my nightmare starts. i have a nightmare when i'm awake, we the family the same issue. >> no confirmation as you point out. >> that's exactly what it is. for them -- for them it's joke, they're seeing us begging for the release of the little kids, how desperate we are, the big billboards showing, they're saying, we're doing what we want to do, we want to make the world suffer. it's not only us suffering, it's the whole world suffering, israel suffering, because why are we suffering? because we are human beings and we don't understand how this is possible. >> i think you're right. so many people it's indiana come prehenceable that a 10-month-old and 4-year-old are being held. appreciate you taking the time to be with us today and we'll continue to follow this story and hope for some good news for you and your family soon. >> thank you very much. washington renewed push to expel republican congressman george santos as a growing number of republicans say he's toast. his response, who cares. liz cheney's new book. she's naming colleagues and she's bringing receipts. first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. if you read the report i'd think that says it all. >> they've determined that he used his personal funds for personal reasons. he went to luxury boutiques. he spent it very inappropriately. stole from his donors. >> i think george santos is toast. growing number of house republicans saying they plan to vote to expel congressman george santos, that vote expected tomorrow. he's survived previous attempts to oust him. growing momentum for this latest effort. that put showing everyday that the new york congressman used campaign funds for items like personal travel, cosmetics and even onlyfans. santos remains defiant. >> i will not be resigning. are we to now assume that no one is no longer innocent proven guilty? or are we to simply assume that because somebody doesn't like you, they get to throw you out of your job. >> joining us now for his weekly check-in, republican congressman timb bercich. do we ever figure out the origin of the baby? >> i believe it was one of george's folks who works with him, a lady in his office, it was obviously not mine. i have one daughter back if tennessee. and my wife and i are very proud of her. >> the expulsion vote expected to come tomorrow. will you vote to expel? >> i don't know yet. i keep going back to that old thing we got here of, you know, of a court system, do we, do we throw someone out who's been convicted, it sets a precedent that we're not willing to do right now. the momentum is there. the public opinion. i told george he ought to resign at the last moment. i know he likes the show, but honestly, we all know that he's leaving and i do believe in due process, that's where i'm hun