>> welcome to the special edition of hannity. i'm jason chaffetz in for sean tonight. i hope you all had a very happy thanksgiving. well, today, as part of a four-day pause in fighting between israel and hamas, 24 hostages including 13 israelis have been released from gaza. remember, these hostages have been held in gaza since the hamas attacks back on october 7th. after today's release, 240 hostages still reportedly remain captive in gaza. with an estimated ten americans among them. here now with the latest on the ground in israel as our very own jeff paul. just? >> good evening, jason. we are learning tonight that, on top of the 13 people who are released today, we are expecting maybe another 13 could come out tomorrow. but i've got to tell you, here on the ground in israel, the mood is bittersweet. mentioning sort of what you are saying, that there's more than 200 people who are still being held captive in gaza. but today was a huge and crucial first step, and if this current cease-fire that went into effect at 7:00 a.m. continues, we could still see more and more people coming out. here's what we now happen today. according to israeli intelligence, they say 24 hostages were released by hamas. 13 of them were israelis, 11 of them were foreign nationals. among the israelis who are freed, we know four of them were kids ranging from two years old to nine years old. the 9-year-old child actually had his birthday while he was in gaza being held captive by hamas. three of those people were mothers, six of them elderly women. none of them were among the americans that were being held, not at least yet. today, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke about the hostage release, saying he is working to make sure everyone is eventually sent home. >> interpreter: i emphasize to you, the families, and to you, the citizens of israel, they are committed to the return of all of our abductees. this is one of the goals of the war and we are committed to achieving all the goals of the war. >> we know that israeli officials have a list of the names of the people who they are expecting to be released tomorrow, but they have said throughout this entire process that nothing is guaranteed until it happens. local media here on the ground in israel saying that, among the people who will be released tomorrow, as many as eight kids could be released. we are hoping the cease-fire holds, and as long as it does, we hope to see more people be released. jason? >> jason: jeff, amazing reporting. thank you. stay safe out there. we appreciate it. joining us now with reaction is dori roberts, his family was among those released from hamas captivity today, and former state department spokesperson morgan ortagus. thank you both. dori, it's got to be a bittersweet day. i can't imagine the emotions going through what you are feeling. but to have at least three of your relatives come home safe, that's got to be good. but you also had an aunt, i believe, who was killed in this terror attack. >> thank you so much, jason, for having me on the show. good to see you again, morgan. we were on the show before, and it was very emotional back then, and it's an emotional day today. we are very happy to receive our family members back home. there in the hospital right now going through medical exams, region with the family. unfortunately my aunt was murdered in her body was left by the gaza border. she was murdered in front of her daughter, who is now back in israel, and we are very, very happy for the news today. with that, we have a lot of questions that still need to be answered. whether they are alone, how they are being treated, if they had contact with other hostages. we still have about 218 hostages left in the gaza strip, held by hamas. so we are taking this period of time now to rejoice and reunite with our families and our loved ones. we are very happy for all those families and all those families who received the love, but our goal and our mission is still to stay focused and keep our actions and our mission ahead, to bring everybody home safe, all of the 218 left in the gaza strip, back home to our families, to israel, and to call this a complete mission to say that everybody are back home with their family, with their loved ones, for the holidays. this is what we are about to do. so we take this time to be happy, but we still have a lot of grief. we lost almost 1400 lives on october 7th. we now try to rebuild the ones who survived and bring them back to the life they had before, before october 7th. >> jason: dori, before we go to morgan, tell me about your aunt. she was murdered in front of family members on that attack. but tell me about her. what will you remember most about her? >> my aunt was very sweet. you can see from the picture that she loved nature, she loved travels. she grew up on the kibbutz. her entire life and community was born and raised on the kibbutz. she was very sweet and kind, very noble, who always found time and attention to give to her kids and to us, the family. she always had us close and she was a sweet, sweet person that i will always remember her gentle touch and her capturing smile. her deep eyes, and her beautiful hair was always something i remember from her. and she is now resting in peace right next to my mom's grave. that's where we met last time about three and a half months ago when she was there to support me as we lay down my mom, and i will never forget that moment. right now she is buried next to her, and we are praying that we will be able to rejoin and bring our family together once again, hopefully this time to celebrate and not to grieve. >> jason: well, fortunately your cousin and those two young children ages 4 and 2 are back and safe, and they've gone through some trauma that i can't even imagine. morgan, i want to talk to you about -- look, you are a mom, but you also worked at the state department, so i wanted to kind of talk about the significance of what this is doing, what this signifies at the diplomatic level. because there is no equivalency in kidnapping a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old and murdering more than 1300 people. and what's going on today in this hostage release, it is just -- it is beyond five mobile, what is happening on the emotional level. but on the diplomatic level, what do you see? >> i couldn't agree with you more. dori, i want to say that my heart just rejoices for you and your family, to have them back. the mother, the two girls. i've thought about you guys so much. as our viewers here on "hannity" will remember, it was just a few days after the war when you and i were both on "hannity," and at that point i had been in the middle east, i was headed to israel, i could not get in, and i put myself in "war zone morgan," and i had not allowed myself to grieve or think about it. i had a 2-year-old who turned three just a few weeks ago, and when i saw those pictures of your nieces and your cousins and your family, that night on "hannity," my heart just broke. i have to tell you, dori, i have not forgotten about them, and i promise you on that night we would pray for your family, we would fight for your family, and we would do everything we could to help get those little girls back. i've got to tell you, i was furiously checking the news today to see who was going to be released, who was going to get out, and the moment i saw the graphic and saw the pictures of your cousins, of your nieces, that those two beautiful little girls were being released, my heart just leapt for joy. i was so happy for your family, so emotional for your family. but, as you said -- and i'm totally with you on this -- we think of the other children. there is an american little girl who i believe just turn 4 in captivity who is still being held hostage by these just awful, brutal terrorists. so we rejoice for the family members who were able to get out today. we pray, because we know it'll be a very, very long recovery ahead, mentally and physically, i'm sure, for them. but the president, this administration, they cannot let their foot off the gas pedal. they must continue to pressure hamas, qatar, who ever it takes to get the americans home and to get every hostage we can home. dori, you and i shared such a special moment early on in the war. there are times, to be quite honest, that i didn't know if you are going to get them back. but i kept praying, kept hoping, kept believing, and i'm so thrilled for you and your family today. >> jason: dori roberts and morgan ortagus, thank you for your perspective. really appreciate it. we turn now to new york city where, get this, pro-palestine protesters briefly disrupted the macy's thanksgiving day parade yesterday. along with chanting "palestine will be free," some apparently glued themselves to the pavement of the parade route. i'm sure everybody enjoyed that. joining us now on this and what we can expect in the coming days, as the israeli-hamas truce continues, israelis special ops veteran erin callan , and in florida, congressman michael waltz. aaron, i want to start with you, because they were innocents taken hostage in this brutal terrorist attack that literally were brought over, and there was a released today by israel of some people from palestine that went back. explain to us, who is being released and went back to palestine? because these are not the nicest people in the world. >> no. if you remember -- let me tell you where i stand with us. the hostages have always been our number one priority, jason. israel has been in the hostage rescue business for a long time. if there is a way for us to get back hostages without having to deploy special operations forces, which is always risky, it is dangerous, dangerous to the hostages, to the commandos, the special operations forces, our general staff reconnaissance units, we are going to take those deals. we want our people back. that has been mission one, operational goal number one. the exchange, the deal here, i don't want to say it was a bad deal, because we are getting our people back. in our minds, we will go to great lengths, jason, to get back bodies of fallen idf soldiers who have been in enemy territory for 20 years. we have an air force pilot who we got back after years of trying to get his body and recover it. those bodies matter to us. to get back 50 israelis, 50 jews alive, and again, they will go through a complex briefing period and that will help on the intelligence front. but regarding the exchange, these were murderers, criminals. they are minors, people who have committed violent acts toward israeli citizens. those two criminals released who had been incarcerated in israeli prisons for multiple stabbings of elderly back in the west bank several years ago, these are criminals. these are people who have so much hatred that has been driven into their blood from the age of 0, which is unfortunate, but it is what hamas has done. it is what these terror organizations due to these children systematically. they indoctrinate them, they educate them to hate israel. it's the cost of doing business in the middle east. it's the price we pay and it's very hard to have a jewish state. however, to get back at our 50 kids, our 50 adults, or 50 elderly, and we still have more to get back. they will be debriefed, we will have a close conversation with them, they will get medically checked, and we are going to make sure there is a very high level of security and operations being conducted to make sure that all the rest of the remaining hostages get transferred back safely. but this country, i can tell you, with what we saw at macy's, the youth in this country is going through a very extreme identity crisis that is violent. i want to tell you, hamas is not a social justice movement. they are not a social justice club. they are a murderous organization that has got thousands of lives, of years of blood, 1400 lives. babies killed, women raped. that conversation has started to die. what happened to the israeli raped women? we will start talking about that soon, but there's a lot of blood on their hands and his country needs to get it straight. but it also goes to law enforcement. we will see increased risk of pretty big proportions when it comes to these pro-hamas rallies, this chiefs and sheriffs out there. get your training right, make sure it is behavioral-based, make sure it is congruent with how the sympathetic nervous system is going to react, how low brain activity reacts. in israeli started breaking all of this apart. it's not going to beat uvalde or columbine. as this permeates, as they continue to create this fire. to my law enforcement, get yourselves ready, guys. >> jason: congressman, follow up on that thought and that line, because it is one thing to go out and glue yourselves to the roads during a parade, which i'm sure he is not going to enact the hearts and minds of te average american. but the propensity for more violence to continue right here in the homeland, what is your concern there? >> [coughs] excuse me, jason. look, there is a much bigger issue going on here, in that the progressive socialists left in academia made a decision back in the '60s to unite the various, the black nationalist movement, various indigenous movements. now the palestinians and others, into this kind of global oppressed, and that is what you are seeing play out now. they call it the long march through the institutions. they've been doing it for decades in academia and hollywood, in the media. now they are attacking, and this is a marxist movement, the core, the cradle which is capitalism and corporations. and you are seeing this being driven by our universities, and basically why you see -- the fact that jews are being attacked, 60% of hate crimes in this nation are being conducted against the jews and jewish americans are basically being ignored by these protesters, but you are seeing the administration pander with an anti-islam strategy, because they have shifted from caste warfare two along racial lines. because muslims tend to be viewed as either black or brown, that's why you see them being included in this broader movement. and we have to take a step back and understand what is going on. this is classic marxism and communism on the march, and when our youth believe that our institutions are inherently racist, misogynist, colonialist -- you saw neo-colonialism across a lot of the protesters' chests. therefore these institutions are bad, need to be torn down. the constitution is no longer valid, and they need to be rebuilt in a new image, which is essentially a communist socialist image. and they are doing more damage from the inside, like termites eating up the foundation, then any threats from abroad. we need to wake up as a country to what's going on. >> jason: gentlemen, aaron cohen and congressman michael waltz, thank you. i hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. coming up, president biden might be hanging out in swanky nantucket this weekend but he can't get away from his sinking poll numbers. we will break it all down next as the special edition of "hannity" continues. ♪ ♪ we're travelling all across america, talking to people about their hearts. how's the heart? good. you sure? i think so. how do you know? let me show you something. put two fingers right on those pads. look at that! that's your heart! that is pretty awesome. with kardiamobile, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds, from anywhere. kardiamobile is proven to detect atrial fibrillation, one of the leading causes of stroke. our black friday deal is here. kardiamobile is now just $69, the lowest price ever. get it for yourself or a loved one at kardia.com or amazon. israel is under attack. the war against israel began with the murder of hundreds of precious children. countless israelis are enduring the devastating anguish of lost loved ones. the jewish people have become refugees in their own homeland. i simply can't stress enough the urgency of this situation. it's more dire than ever before. your gift of $45 will make sure that the people of israel have mobile bomb shelters, emergency supplies, and the hot nutritious meals that they so desperately need. this would be an incredibly important time for all of the friends of the international fellowship of christians and jews to stand with our friends in israel because we believe it's what god would have us do. please don't hesitate. call, scan, or visit our website now to make your life-saving donation. ♪ ♪ >> jason: welcome back to this special edition of "hannity." democrats are now openly telling each other not to completely freak out about the possibility of joe biden losing big next year. but the dems have good reason to be really worried right now. donald trump leads by a significant margin in almost every swing state, not to mention overall nationwide. and, in this time of personal and political crisis for the president, what is joe doing? well, he's hiding out at the $34 million mansion of a friend on nantucket, taking a polar plunge in the frigid water with his family, watching his kids and grandkids take selfies and photos on the dock and on the beach and, of course, shopping with his son, hunter. joe doesn't seem to have a care in the world right now, and he better injure himself, because next year is not shaping up to be a fun one for him. he was a reaction is the author of the new book, "the constitution of the united states and other patriotic documents," f fox news legal analyst gregg jarrett, along with doug schoen, and tammy bruce, fox news contributor, is also joining us. doug, i want to start with you. joe biden in swing states, it doesn't look too good at this point. polls change. obama was behind and he came back. but i don't see how in the world joe biden -- the policies aren't on his side, and is not going to have more vigor. it's not like more cowbell with joe biden out on the campaign trail can solve these problems. >> jason, you are right. his poll numbers are dropping. his approval rating is at or below 40%, which is beyond a danger sign. the only thing he really has going for him is what has worked before, abortion and a negative campaign against the likely republican nominee, donald trump. and that's why democrats are rallying around him. it has worked before. they are hoping it can work again. >> now, hanging out at 8:30 for million dollar mansion on the beach while wars are raging and americans are struggling, that's not the best look, is it? he seems to be oblivious to that or doesn't care. that's just who he is, but it's not a good look, is it? >> it's how they've lived. it is an outrageous display, considering the financial issues that he and his family are facing, that are questionable, to say the least, that in fact could be dealing with money and favors from other countries. the issue of bribery being discussed. it's a very interesting dynamic when americans are still asking, how is that you can spend your life in public service and be living this kind of luxurious lifestyle? we are getting a hint of perhaps how. but i think what this tells us, jason, is that this is simply what it's been like for most of his adult life. it is what his family's life has been like. they have lift off the largess of the american taxpayer. it's a game to them. our hard work is something that gets on their beach houses, and i want everyone to be successful. make no mistake about that. but this is sort of a kind of robbery. when you are doing things for your own benefit when you're supposed to be doing things for the country's benefit, and you are doing it because it is getting you rich, and it's not just him, that apparently his entire family. on a holiday where money is a problem, where the economy is tough, where over 70% of americans don't like the direction of the country, they are almost thumbing their noses at us, and that's obviousl