hostages held by hamas for 48 days are expected to be released at any moment. good morning, a special edition of "america's newsroom." i'm griff jenkins. hi, molly. >> molly: i'm molly line. bill hemmer and dana perino are off. 13 women and children are being transported to southern israel at 7:00 a.m. local time in gaza fighting was paused for the first time to allow for the hostage release. and to let humanitarian aid through to civilians. the cease-fire appears to be holding. part of the deal the u.s., qatar and egypt helped broker. israel releasing three times as many palestinian terror convicts, 39 in exchange. >> griff: one of the hostages held from october 7th a 3-year-old israeli american girl. she is not expected to be among those released today. >> molly: trey yengst is live at an air base awaiting the handover. trey, to you. >> good morning. at any moment that first group of hostages will be released into the hands of the red cross and taken to this air base in southern israel where they'll be medically evaluated before being able to call loved ones. we don't know at this hour if they're taken by helicopter or bus to get here. there are conversations in the israeli government wanting to make sure this will be the most comfortable transfer possible for these young israelis and the women who will be released as part of this deal. we saw ambulances headed into this air base. they want to make sure they have all the medical equipment here. unsure of what the condition of these hostages will be like when they're received by the israelis. the idf making preparations with toys and blankets and noise canceling headphones wanting to make sure the hostages are comfortable being released. this is a group of 13 people. women and children reportedly from the same community taken into gaza on october 7th and exchanged for 24 female palestinian prisoners and 15 male teenagers. nine hours since the cease-fire went into effect. rocket alerts, it appears to be holding. the break in fighting lasts for four days. we'll see 50 israeli hostages released for 150 palestinian prisoners if all goes well. despite the cease-fire terre israelis are telling gazan forces not to leave the south. at this hour we're getting new information from the egyptians indicating 13thai hostages will also be released as part of a parallel deal. >> molly: thank you so much for keeping an eye on this. a lot of people with hope in their hearts today. >> griff: let's bring in former israeli diplomat, a former spokesperson for the israeli consulate in new york. what do you make of this historic moment as we await the first batch of hostages to be released and exchanged? >> this is an incredibly touching moment for so many israelis in israel and so many other people. israelis and others across the world. these are innocent children and women, innocent israeli civilians who were abducted from their homes by this hamas. you showed an image of one of those children who is not supposed to be released today, abigail. she is 3 1/2 years old, watched her mom and dad murdered before her very eyes before she was abducted by these monsters with her brother and sister 9 and 6-year-old hiding in a closet for 16 hours. we should never lose sight of what hamas is and what brought about this horrendous situation as we go through this process and look forward to giving them a hug and welcoming them back in israel for shabbat. >> griff: as we watch and wait to see who is released, as you point out, abigail not among them, i want the play for you yesterday the spokesman for qatar foreign minister talking about all parties being committed to this process. take a listen here. >> everybody is highly committed for the success of this humanitarian pause. the light at the end of the tunnel this crisis and why we needed to succeed and hoping and working toward succeeding. >> griff: you heard there saying he hopes this will succeed. what do you assess as we go forward in the hopes that over four days the fighting will be paused and that we will get a larger number than just the 13 we anticipate coming soon? >> israeli forces are extremely wary. we know hamas very well. we have seen hamas too many times in the past. their word -- until things actually happen, we don't consider them happening. we've seen them in 2014, after a cease-fire was announced, an hour into the cease-fire the launch and attack against the idf killing our soldiers and abducting the body of golden, blessed memory, and they keep on holding his remains, griff, to let you understand what hamas is, to make sure that his family doesn't get a proper burial. this is the kind of moral depravity of an organization that we are talking about. israeli forces are extremely wary. again, this is not a cease-fire, a pause. we're hoping to see more and more of our abducted hostages come back. but at the same time, we need to remember that the overall strategic goal of the state of israel is the eradication of hamas as a viable force controlling our southern border. the reality of october 6th can be no more. regardless of what is going to happen in the next few days. of course we're awaiting eagerly for the return of our hostages. >> griff: that is a fine line as we watch on the right side of your screen there, the rafah crossing, hostages to be released and flown to an air base not a far distance by helicopter where trey was reporting from. talk to me about the fine line, the tight rope that prime minister netanyahu must walk now because all of israel wants the hostages back but ultimately, as you mentioned, the overarching goal of eradicating hamas and preventing them from ever being able to carry out another horrific attack like the one on october 7th. >> this is very true, griff. when you think about the process that brought about the release of these abducted hostages, what happened in the last almost 50 days? israel launched an unprecedented attack on hamas which we have not done since hamas took over the gaza strip. it is because of the israeli attack against hamas terrorist strongholds that we have been able to force the hand of this very cruel and inhumane terrorist organization to release those hostages. but if we had not done so, then i don't believe -- many israelis don't believe we would have reached this point. now remember, even after our initial hostages are released in the next hopefully four days reaching about 50 or so, we still have around 190 hostages being held by hamas. again, innocent civilians abducted from their bedrooms on a saturday morning, taken into the gaza strip. the mission is still very much at hand and everything has to be done very delicately because like you said, griff, the return of our innocent hostages is israel's top priority but we can't let an october 7th reality to ever happen again. egyptian president has indicated in a recent speech he views the near future as a demilitarized gaza that is being controlled by international forces so that we can move forward into a more stable future. there are many solutions that are potentially on the table. none of them includes hamas continuing to control the gaza strip. >> griff: let me ask you about the role that the biden administration must play in somewhat of a tight rope they're walking. yesterday former ambassador to israel david friedman was on our air and said this. take a listen. >> if the pressure continues within the biden administration to handcuff israel, if that continues and israel is somehow restrained after this 4 or 5 day cease-fire ends from finishing up hamas we're talking about a mistake by america of afghanistan proportions. >> griff: what would you advise the biden administration to do assuming we are able to get through the four-day period successfully? >> i think first of all it needs to be very clear that israelis overall have been extremely appreciative of the united states, of course, and standing by israel not just morally but militarily on the ground by sending forces and u.s. marines we're appreciative but also very clear, griff, it is in the interest of not just israel, but the united states of america, the moderate sunni arab regimes and many countries in europe to see hamas eradicated as a viable controller of the gaza strip. hamas is one of iran's key proxies that allows for constant instability in the region. the onslaught against israel partially was driven by iran to derail the potential agreement that was to be signed for normalization between israel and saudi arabia. so if we are to rise to a new future in the middle east at any point that is not going to look like anything at all on october 6th, we have to make sure the mission is completed and i have every faith that the united states understands that strategic consideration and will not shackle israel's hands in getting the job done. i can assure you that there is an unequivocal demand by all members of israeli society wherever you look that hamas no longer is in control of the gaza strip. the israeli public will not accept any such reality and no matter what is put on the table as for the future, hamas cannot be part of that equation, cannot be. >> griff: we're watching on your screen at the rafah crossing in the southern part of gaza into egypt. ambulance driving. we don't know whether or not hostages are in that. it is very likely they could be. the 13 women and children israelis that are being released. we don't know if there are americans among them. meanwhile, there are 39 palestinians being released, among them 24 women, 15 teens. some of them convicted. talk to me about what it must be like to be in israel now watching this play out and how they feel about the deal. because on paper it is a 3-1 swap, which is not a good deal if you consider the numbers. >> well, when you think about -- imagine who are the players so to speak in the field. on the one hand hamas, a deprafshd, inhumane terrorist organization and then you have israel. the jewish state whose foundation is we who saves one life saves the world entirely. we value human life above anything else. even in the warfare that we're conducting in gaza against this terrible terror organization it is israel that's defending the children and civilians and sending fighters ahead. hamas cowardly hides behind its children and women and civilians. as the idf forces entered into gaza it was incredible to see how hamas is terribly cruelly and cynically useing civilian infrastructure, the hospitals, or schools where idf forces identified in a classroom right next to a classroom weapons put their by hamas and clear while students and pupils were sitting studying whatever they were studying is a different issue, they were sitting nearby planning terrorist attacks knowing that israel, the jews, will not attack them because it is a school, because it's a hospital. so for us, each life is incredible and we cherish it in the most precious of manners. that's why, when we look at the price that we're paying, i take you back to the dealing with hamas which saw the release of 1,000 palestinian terrorists in exchange for an israeli soldier. our value, our respect for life is incredible and it cannot be sum areized better than my statements made by these terrorists who often say that they adore death, whereas we, israel, appreciate life. nothing says it more. >> griff: we're watching on our screen as we see what appears to be a fuel truck possibly heading north. we know in just today's arraignment there are some 35,000 gallons of gasoline going into a desperate humanitarian situation. what do you make of the humanitarian situation on the ground and the need to continue for that supplies to flow? >> let me just say this. the terrible situation in the gaza strip is horrendous. what gazans have been exposed to. but we have to consider the reason for this situation. if we're unable to identify the cause, we'll never be able to deal with the problem. that has always been the issue with the heads of the international relief organizations who keep on decrying the situation, but they fail to point a finger at the culprit. this is the terrorist organization hamas, which has been abusing the gazan population and has been using them not just as human shields. all of the money that came into the gaza strip. the level of tunnels that israel has seen underneath gaza is unparalleled. imagine if the billions of dollars invested there would go for infrastructure and schools and hospitals so naturally this is a terrible, terrible situation. but i can also tell you that in addition, we have seen the gazan population by hamas. they have been teaching in their classrooms innocent children as they are starting their way in school, we found books like president herzog showed of mein kampf who were bred on nazi ideology. an entire population is bred on hatred and why so many of them not just the terrorists but ordinary gazans who entered into israel on that horrendous october 7th and perpetrated the terrible massacre and rape of children by people who were filled with hate. so we can no longer look away. not just for the demilitarization of hamas and making sure that it no longer controls gaza, but also the -- making sure we don't look away from incitement and hatred. we saw the result in israel on october 7th. we cannot allow it anymore. >> griff: looking live at a feed from the israeli government. now we are taking you back to the rafah crossing as we wait and watch for this historic moment. just in the last 20 seconds or so i have left. how confident are you that this will continue, this pause, this exchange? do you have a certain degree of confidence in this or do you anticipate it will break down eventually? >> at the end of the day the military pressure that the idf is applying, hamas needs this pause and we need our hostages back. >> griff: we do indeed. thank you very much for your time and we'll continue to watch this. check in with us if you get breaking news. thank you, sir. molly. >> molly: a lot of people with hope in their hearts right now. alex hogan is live at the schneider children's medical center near tel aviv. this is where the women and the children released who have spent more than 40 days now in captivity in somewhat unknown conditions. we can imagine, of course, some government officials have referred to under grounds dungens. they are headed in your direction to see the doctors there at that facility. what do you know right now, alex? >> yes, this is the schneider children's facility where we know at least some of these children will be brought. they'll be away from other patients and have privacy and where people finally reunite with their families and loved ones. nearly seven weeks. talked with a lot of families in my time here how traumatic this has been. they wonder every day what their loved ones have been through in the last seven weeks. we talk about what these hostages have lived through and the physical conditions that they likely are in. i talked with one expert a couple of weeks ago how living underground and the long-lasting effect that would have of not seeing sunlight and being mal nourished and dehydration issues on top of the psychological issues. all the children will have access to a therapist and plenty of doctors in the facility behind me. we can look at this live broadcast we're able to see. egypt says it is preparing to receive those hostages and through negotiations we're also learning now that egypt's mediation efforts have reportedly yielded the release of an extra 12 hostages. these are thai nationals. in the october 7th attacks when hamas came here to egypt not only killing about 1200 people on top of all these hostages that were taken that were israeli, a lot of foreign nationals as well. there is a large percentage of thai foreign workers in that part of southern israel working in the fields and they were a big part of the people who were taken. several weeks ago about 4 or 5 weeks ago when i was here we saw a lot of the hotels in tel aviv completely full with thai foreign nationals. they were then able to go back to thailand and big charter buses that would pick them up and take them to the airport throughout the day and night until most had gone home. they, of course, had many hostages that were taken that were thai nationals. those thai nationals through the new brokered negotiation are among those who have been released. we did hear from the thai prime minister on social media saying there is official confirmation that those thai workers have been released. we'll have to see what their condition is. a lot of negotiations being brokered now and conversations how to get them back to thailand as quickly as possible. they as well can be reunited with their family members. that's completely separate from the 13 extra people that we are likely going to see, many of them again children that will be here at this medical facility. we have been seeing people coming by honking their horns. a lot of people eager to see what is going to happen and give the support to the families who have been waiting for so many weeks, molly. right now there is one of the ministers in the country speaking to some of the fame lalls at the same gathering we typically see families gathering in the central square protesting and calling on the government to do more. there is a lot of hope today this will all come to fruition. we haven't received the official word yet that these 13 people have officially crossed. there was hope and expectation that among them in this group of 13 there could be those three expected dual citizens. a little girl having a fourth birthday is not among those 13, molly. >> molly: you've covered a lot of great ground as we continue to watch the rafah crossing. we see a lot of movement and people and vehicles going in and out. as you noted we don't know precisely where the hostages are, how the exchange, how far along things are going in the process. one of the things you talked about a moment ago was the mental health aspect of all of this. of course these hostages are getting out and going to need physical and mental help. you talked about just the capacity what it is like to be held underground. they also have information that authorities may want. they want to talk to them and maybe get some idea about the other hostages left behind. i suppose they need to be fairly delicate about that with women and children that have suffered so much recently. >> i think that's going to be the first focus is reuniting these families who have been such emotional turmoil over these weeks. after all of that is said and done the reunions we likely won't hear comments from the families today and the celebration of seeing your loved one. after that there will be an all hands on effort to comb through whatever memories these hostages can pull together about what they saw. where they were. were they all together? the 13 people coming back were all from the same village. we expect it to be along the border if they were from the same village. those were largely the villages that were attacked. in terms of what that means, we can also potentially deduce that it was a better than hoped experience for them. maybe if these 13 people were all from the same village maybe they were together. that would be a much better situation than had they all been separated. that's not necessarily to say it's true. they could have all been separated for these seven weeks and reunited for them to be now brought through the rafah crossing. but that will be a big question for some of these investigators today of what's likely to come. >> molly: one of the hope that so many of the hostage families had that fathers were still with their sons and mothers still with their babies and all of that. you are right. one of the big questions we want to find the answers to. alex hogan, thank you so much. historic day there on t