year, and they were called demonic. >> think about it. they admitted she exists and then erased her from the white house stockings by taking them all away. this is the farce the biden administration is. this is the farce, he's not a good father, not a good grandfather, literally admit she existed and erased her. took everybody's stockings. >> back to what you said, michelle, no photo opportunity for them, really. it's lose-lose and i doubt we will see the inside of the other house where the stockings are hanging. probably won't get that photo. >> navy is just a little girl and i hope she has a stocking at camp david. and she's beautiful, too. thanks to everyone. merry almost christmas, now here is "america reports". >> november.

>> john: kayleigh, thank you so much. a life look at emory university, president biden and all five living first ladies are bidding farewell to rosalynn carter. >> sandra: rosalynn's beloved husband jimmy carter is expected to leave hospice care to attend the memorial service. set to get underway any moment now. >> john: married more than 77 years, the nation's longest married presidential couple and since her death, tributes from across the country have been praising rosalynn's decades of work, better mental health care and integral role in her husband's political rise and time in the white house. karl rove, former white house deputy chief of staff and juan williams, fox news senior political analyst. karl, the fact that jimmy carter

is coming out of hospice care to say good-bye to his beloved wife puts a cap on what is an extraordinary love story here as well as a political one. >> absolutely. they knew each other as children, they married early, and she was an integral part of everything that he did in public service, from his first race for the georgia state senate, his failed governorship race, return to success and the first winning race for governor, presidency, and his time after the presidency. she was not only his wife, but also a key adviser and helped shape his career and his life after the white house. played an extraordinary role for our country both as first lady and advocate for mental health. lots of people have enjoyed greater and better lives and many people have been saved from suicide by her active involvement in helping allow us as a country to have an open dialogue about mental health and

offer solutions to it. >> sandra: really interesting, karl. thank you for that. juan, president biden and first lady jill biden, long time friends of the carters', will lead the list of dignitaries. we know bill clinton, hillary clinton, along with first lady melania trump, michelle obama, and laura bush will be there to pay their respects in person. your thoughts in this moment as we await the ceremony there in atlanta? >> sandra, i thought it was really important what you just said about the presence of so many former first ladies across the political aisle. you know, it was rosalynn carter who created the office of the first lady at the white house. she was the first first lady to have a press secretary and left notes for mrs. reagan, you know, their successor, with regard to how to conduct the white house to make it a national treasure,

especially this christmas season. we keep in mind that yesterday the bidens decorated the house in such a way and again it was rosalynn carter who had the idea you had to maintain this white house in a very specific honored way for the imagination of the american people. i remember when i first came to washington, this was 1976, just after they were elected, and you know, one thing that stands out is as a young man i was told no hard liquor in the white house. they only made u.s. brand wines available and less in the way of state dinners, more in the way of picnics, and this was rosalynn carter who was then really known as, i'm not sure it was known publicly, but as steel magnolia, she was quite charming and low key in her tone and her southern accent, but in terms of white house personnel and her own agenda and her influence on president carter, she was known

as a steely presence. that's why she was nicknamed steel magnolia. >> john: and came from humble roots as we know and she never forgot where she came from, even though she walked the hallowed halls of the white house. karl, jimmy carter entered hospice care in february of this year, and at the time, suffering from brain cancer, we thought perhaps he doesn't have that long to live, brian kemp the governor of georgia along with the first lady of georgia. he hung in there, turned 99 and grandson jason said he's coming to the end and he's very, very physically diminished but i think he was proud and happy that he was there for her, rosalynn, until the very end and he wasn't going to miss this for anything. and you have to wonder, karl, as we were talking about, the fact that they have known each other since they were kids, they were married for 77 years, jimmy

carter, despite his declining health, hung in there so that he could be there for rosalynn in this moment. i mean -- that's an incredible story. >> yeah. what a sweet commentary on their relationship and think about it. he was 22, and i think she was 19 when they married, extraordinary life and they both came from humble circumstances, lived in plains, georgia and what was interesting was when they finished their time in washington, where did they go? back to plains, georgia. not atlanta, they were active in the carter center in atlanta but they lived in the house that they had built as a young couple in plains, georgia, as he ran the family's peanut business, and a remarkable story, but i agree with you. i could just see the former president who she was a steel magnolia, but he also had rather firm opinions as every president

who followed him found out because jimmy carter has not been afraid to make his opinions known, particularly on the international stage regardless of what the current administration may think at the time. >> sandra: fair enough point, juan. karl, great point. juan, to that point looking back at the carters' marriage, one for the record books. married in 1946, 77 years together makes them the longest married presidential couple in u.s. history. their grandson, jason carter, is set to speak there today in atlanta. he has said my grandmother in addition to being a partner to my grandfather was a force on her own. jason, their grandson, a former state senator and one time democratic nominee for governor called her the best politician in the family. distinction that jimmy carter never disputed. >> i don't think many people would dispute this. when you talk about her in terms of that official role, you can't get away from the fact that she

was the first first lady since eleanor roosevelt to testify in congress, and this gets back to what karl was talking about in terms of her willingness to talk about mental health issues, to talk about reaching out to americans who may be dealing with drugs and other issues, and there she was in front of the congress making testimony that had impact, travelling to go visit foreign countries even to carry that message, and of course, again, picking up on what we have been saying, even after the white house, working on mental health issues, creating fellowships at the carter center in atlanta for journalists and others, dealing with mental health and caring issues. and even beyond that, obviously, and i think this is the most famous, wearing those construction hats with jimmy carter as they went to work to build housing, you know, hospice for america. so yeah, habitat for america,

excuse me. >> john: passed away in hospice care in plains and she was then transported to the carter presidential library in atlanta where she lay in repose and karl, over the course of time that she was there, hundreds upon hundreds of people came by to pay their respects. usually you hear that for a president or a very famous politician. not so much for a first lady that shows the admiration people in georgia had for her. >> thousands of people. and she was a very open and accessible person. she was as the first lady of georgia, she was as first lady of the united states, and even in her years afterwards. she was a visible figure on the scene, mental health, habitat for humanity, the work of the carter center in promoting peace around the world, these were things that were important to her husband and they were important to her and may have been important to her husband

because they were important to her and she played a very public role but a very open person. people in atlanta told me it was not uncommon to see her at public things in earlier years after they left the white house when she was more active. but marvelous human being and great example for our country. >> sandra: as jimmy carter kwiped recently to the associated press, 2021, said my wife is much more political than i am. and bill clinton also in attendance there today, they will be, at least, attendees are expected to include vice president kamala harris, her husband, jill biden as we mentioned, the former figures lady, secretary of state hillary clinton, laura bush, michelle obama, melania trump, as we just saw walk in a moment ago, the governor, brian kemp has arrived with georgia's first lady marty kemp. mayor dickens of atlanta also

expected. none of them are expected to speak. this is going to be, we are told, a focus on the family, and her memory, juan. they are going to reflect on mrs. carter's taste we are told for simple elegance over modern glitz, and it will very much be, juan, a personal message about the former first lady. >> i think all of us could be honored if our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren chose to speak at our funerals and i think that's what we are going to see today is family speaking about personal love. the kind of love that mrs. carter demonstrated when she went to visit her husband of 77 years while he was in hospice, he went into hospice in february and still survives as we speak, you know, age 98. but it was rosalynn who went to visit him and i remember hearing

from him about their fishing contests, sandra, and that she was not just kindly sitting there while he was fishing, but they would have competitive fishing contests and that she was a better fisherman than that southern georgia kid, jimmy carter. so you have a sense this relationship and the fact of family speaking today tells you something about, you know, that the essence of her was as, you know, you can't redeem the kind of love that is reflected in the success of a family. >> john: juan, we were speaking a moment ago with karl about the idea that jimmy carter's family firmly believes that he hung in there despite his declining health and problems in order to see his wife off. jimmy carter has defied the odds. diagnosed with brain cancer mid 1990s and has survived it this long. at some point we will be telling

his story, and hopefully it's not going to be for years to come, it would be great to see him celebrate his 100th birthday. but as the case with ronald and nancy reagan, inseperable couple, and she was very much the person who protected him and supported him, compare that relationship to the relationship jimmy and rosalynn had. >> she protected, the case with rosalynn carter and with mrs. reagan, nancy reagan, they saw themselves there as a companion and protector for someone who was in the public spotlight and a spotlight that can be excrutiatingly brash and harsh. so the difference would be that mrs. carter was not one to have the kind of public, you know, los angeles, california type of

presence that mrs. reagan did. mrs. reagan knew celebrities and invite people in and quite the celebration, state dinners took on a new significance with nancy reagan in town. with mrs. carter, it was kind of the flip in that yes, she's protective and looking out for jimmy and she's representing jimmy and she's in front of congress, but she's always trying to play it down, kind of in the background a little bit. and at times, nancy reagan was in the foreground. >> sandra: reading directly from her family statement upon her passing rosalynn's carter's deep compassion for people everywhere and untiring strength on their behalf touched lives around the world. we have heard from thousands of you, her family says, since her passing. thank you all for joining us and celebrating what a treasure she was, not only to us, but to all humanity.

stand by if you could, juan and karl. we are going to go to our senior correspondent steve outside the memorial service in atlanta for us. steve, what is the scene like there? >> sandra, beautiful fall morning here and thousands of people are really lining the roads here trying to get a glimpse of what they can outside of glenn church here on emory university. you mentioned star-studded ensemble of people here. remarkable for rosalynn carter who left plains, georgia, population 600 at age 18 and now coming to honor and remember her. three u.s. presidents, five current and former first ladies, so really an incredible turnout for her and a testament to all she achieved. jimmy carter after her death said she was my equal in everything i achieved. i owe -- we did it all together. really giving her a tremendous credit and he paid credit to her in office as well, giving her a

very important task, she sat in on cabinet meetings as well, had her own staff. so, really, someone who despite really humility transformed the role of first lady in the white house as well and really getting her due today with people coming to see her and pay their respects to her. sandra. >> sandra: a beautiful story she leaves behind and so many of the residents say she made it a better place. one georgia resident saying she gave so much back to the community, to our world. steve -- go ahead. >> john: steve, one of the last times we saw even a photograph of president carter and rosalynn is whether joe and jill biden went and visited them in plains, that was a number of years ago. as juan pointed out. he had hospice care in february, not seen since and if he does attend today's memorial, today's tribute service, the first time

he's been seen in public a long time. have you confirmed he's going to be there? his grandson said he was going to make the trip from plains up there, that he wanted to send rosalynn off in a big way, that that would be potentially one of the last things that he does, at least publicly. do we know if he is actually going to be there today? >> we do know he's in atlanta, he made the trip up 120 miles north from plains. we do know if he does attend, he won't speak. but keep in mind, 99 years old, has been in hospice care for the past ten months, and family members say he is in frail condition. but you've got to think with every ounce of his strength he wants to make this, be there for her and share in the honor and remembrance of his wife of 77 years. john. >> john: get back to us if you spot any more folks continuing,

seems to be a bit of a delay here in the event getting underway. put the picture back up a second ago, there is the photograph, the perspective is a little odd here, joe and jill were a little forward, which gives the appearance of being of enormous size compared to the carters, a lot of people thought that was humorous, but one of the last photos, and jimmy is in great spirits there as he's welcomed by jill and rosalynn carter, looking fantastic beside the president. we will be following this to see when all of these dignitaries will arrive. >> sandra: indeed, their seats are saved. karl, a moment ago we were remembering that when they left the white house in 1981, it was their decision to head back to plains, to go home, about 120 miles south of atlanta. jimmy carter, as we remember

when he entered hospice care, this was in february, 99 years old, a series of hospital stays he did have, you look at the outpouring of support from that local community that they chose to return to after they left the white house. people from across the state, since her passing, they have made their way to plains over the past week to celebrate her life and her legacy as that town of several hundred say their good-byes and that was really a moving show of support, so many paying their respect, right there locally. go ahead, karl. >> jimmy and rosalynn carter intimately, knew them as friends and neighbors and for a long, long time. one thing i want to pick up from our earlier conversation, take a look at these presidents and their first ladies. something that all those first ladies, whether it is nancy

reagan, rosalynn carter, barbara bush, laura bush, melania trump, jill biden, that is they are strong women. maybe part of the success of their husbands due to the fact they had the smartness to pick a partner in life who was strong and with opinions and careful counsel and good advice, maybe that's the reason why these men rose to the nation's highest office, they were fortunate to have strong women as rosalynn carter as their partner. >> john: look back over the histories of the white house, eleanor roosevelt, lady bird johnson, and rosalynn carter, nancy reagan, barbara bush, laura bush, so many as karl pointed out strong women have been in that position, and when it came to rosalynn carter, did she look back on her predecessors and say either i'm going to model myself after that, or i'm not going to take

any cues from that, i'm going to be my own person. >> i think she took some cues. remember, i mentioned earlier that she was the first first lady to testify in congress after eleanor roosevelt, but she was also influenced by bess truman, she actually died at 97, older than the 95 today here for mrs. carter. but i think that for her it was the country's been through turmoil, they are coming after watergate and all that, and all the arguments over -- and she saw the first lady as part of this kind of, you know, calming influence on the nation, that the first lady should reassure people the white house is here, the government is steady, and we are steady and we talked about this love thing before. i think the love thing is very important, that she is standing by her husband, karl spoke about, you know, strong women.

i think that's exactly on target. sometimes we don't focus on that because the husbands are in the spotlight, but boy, she was just strong, tenacious and very much determined as a protector of her husband. and by the way, do you know that jimmy carter's mom, miss lillian, delivered mrs. carter? >> john: didn't know that. >> she was a nurse, miss lillian was a nurse, rosalynn, then, by the way, named eleanor rosalynn smith was born, the woman delivered her was miss lillian who came over from plains. >> john: that's incredible. >> sandra: the church in atlanta, the tribute service at glenn memorial church in atlanta, falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady who died november 19th at her home in plains, georgia at the age of 96. karl, she died peacefully, we were told, at her home there,

age 96, 2 days after the carter center announced she was entering hospice care at home. as we reflect on her life, karl, obviously it is being highlighted as it should. she was a tireless advocate of mental health reform and made this her mission in life to tackle the stigma around mental illness and she improved a lot of people's lives by doing so. b in the 1960s and 1970s, mental health and impact on families and lives and question of suicide, these were things we did not talk about and she bravely stepped forward to talk about these issues, first as the first lady of georgia and then first lady of the united states and as i say, began a national dialogue that has saved, we don't know how many families, how many lives have been saved

by the efforts of she and others who were courageous to talk about it and talk about it openly. >> john: let's take a pause here and we'll take in some of this as the president and the first lady come in, and outside, former president bill clinton and former first lady hillary clinton in the front row, i believe melania trump and michelle obama are there as well. we have the family arrayed on the steps of emory university there, with the pastor, tony loudon, as the honor guard from the u.s. military will carry the casket in. let's pause for a moment and take this all in.

service will begin. sandra, that was quite a scene there with jimmy carter being brought in to say good-bye to his beloved wife. he has not been seen in public for a long time now, as his grandson jason said, he is in declining health. what a feat of tenacity it was for him to be there today as you can imagine in his condition, and his age, just the trip from plains, georgia to atlanta would be exhausting. and now there he is at this tribute service. it's really amazing to see. >> sandra: first time in quite a long time the american public has seen the former president, but he has arrived, and quite something to see all the first ladies lining up in a major show of support for rosalynn carter, you saw melania trump in the front row, standing next to michelle obama, laura bush, and the current first lady jill

biden standing next to the current president joe biden, and lovely gesture of support to his family as the president stood there and as the ceremony will soon be underway. >> john: juan, a final thought from you and then final thought from karl. >> i was thinking, john, we are seeing all the dignitaries, but i think something that touched my heart was that people in their hometown, you know, where they went back to, plains, georgia, georgia southwestern state university where she attended school, people stood as her casket went by on its way to atlanta, you know, to rest first at emory and then the carter center and now back to this church at emory for the funeral. but it's the local people who loved her and i think will remember her. >> john: all right. juan, karl, thank you so much for joining us, as we took this moment to follow the tribute to

rosalynn carter, passed away at the age of 96 and the tribute service will continue from her. sandra. >> sandra: thank you, john. we are now awaiting a pentagon briefing on the temporary truce between israel and hamas. it is now entering day five with at least ten more hostages expected to be released today. but still remains unclear whether any americans are on that list. meanwhile, israeli forces say the youngest hostage captured by hamas, the 10-month-old baby that we have been following for days, her family, had been handed off to a separate terror group inside gaza. one relative of the child describing the unbearable pain for all of them earlier. >> we are waiting hopelessly, trying to remain positive. every day counts for that baby. it's been two months, almost two months, he was nine months when he was kidnapped, he's going to be 11 months, it's crazy.

>> sandra: very emotional interview, that happened on this network earlier this morning. nate foy is live in northern israel where officials report hamas has violated terms of the ceasefire. nate, what can you tell us is happening right now? >> well, sandra, both israel and hamas blame each other for in their view violating the terms of the temporary ceasefire. idf says there were three explosions in northern gaza that injured several idf soldiers, none of them seriously, but there was concerns that this would impact today's prisoner hostage exchange which it does not appear that it has, in fact we just learned that the red cross now has ten israeli hostages in their care in gaza right now, making their way to the rafah crossing. the video, the fifth straight day now that hostages have made their way back to israel in exchange for palestinian prisoners. we know this is ten israeli

women, nine women, actually, as old as 84 years old and a 17-year-old girl named mia lemberg, just seen going to the red cross with a dog that apparently has been in her possession for the past 53 days. again, this is the fifth straight day that there has been an exchange. another 30 palestinian prisoners going back as part of that deal. those israeli hostages will make their way into egypt and then israel either by bus or helicopter once they have been evaluated medically and psychologically, and then reunite with their families. i want to show you the scene from northern gaza earlier today. take a look at this video, this is the most blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement so far. again, none of the injuries to israeli soldiers are considered serious. right now over 150 hostages remain in gaza, but not all of

them are with hamas. the idf says 10-month-old baby and his 4-year-old brother were both handed off to another terrorist group in gaza but israel and the boy's family still hold hamas responsible. >> maybe it's part of psychological war against us, i have no idea. it's working really good, the last four days have been nightmare for us. >> this has been 52 days for a baby and a boy in captivity. there is no precedent in modern history for something like this. >> sandra, psychological warfare has continued today. there was a delay in getting these israeli hostages back but then they are with the red cross and on their way back to israel. back to you, sandra. >> sandra: nate foy live in northern israel and fox news alert, confirming 12 hostages

released tonight, this is per the idf, breaking just now, will be released. ten israelis and two foreign nationals. exactly what we know, based on information received from the red cross going through the idf, 12 hostages, including ten israelis and two foreign nationals are on their way toward israeli territory. that just in. john. >> john: bring in retired lieutenant general keith kellogg. we don't know who the foreign nationals are, we hope they might be two of the 8 or 9 americans who are still being held by hamas or palestinian islamic jihad, don't know which. william burns is currently in doha, qatar, ahead of the mossad, having talks with the qatari prime minister trying to get the americans out. with this ceasefire violation, but yet at the same time the hostages are still being released, what do you make of where we are in this process? >> yeah, john, thanks for having me. i don't think they know where all the hostages are.

i think they are not too sure. >> john: this is hamas. >> hamas. what i think the administration should do, and the cia director is there. we worked with qatar in the last administration, and the chief political adviser for hamas, and i say get those two together. >> john: not just the political adviser, the head of the political wing of hamas. >> say one, accounting of where everybody is at. do you have a full accounting of the people, where are the americans at. i think kind of an insult to the americans who have been -- keep pusher of the whole ceasefire to not have any americans come out except the ones recently come out the other day. so i think a real problem on accountability, where they are at, where they are coming out. i think hamas is using this very, very well strategically, what i mean by that, they are pushing this because they want a ceasefire, they want a long-term effort and i think this administration is actually into

that game where it's a ceasefire or a pause and it works against the israelis, because the israelis want to finish this job. eradicate hamas but in this administration, it's not a primary goal or secondary goal, tertiary one. >> john: it's playing into hamas' hands, why they took the hostages the first place so when their back was against the wall they can slow roll it by saying we will release some hostages here, hostages there, as long as there's a ceasefire and as the ceasefire is taking place, of course, hamas is regrouping, rearming, and bringing international pressure to bear on israel to make this ceasefire permanent so that hamas can survive. which is exactly the opposite of when every israeli official and literally every israeli that i talked to when i was over there said. they said enough of this game of cat and mouse with hamas. this has got to end. one way or another it has to end. if hamas has its way it's not going to end. >> where i come from, decency

and depravity should not be in the same neighborhood. i think israel should be allowed to finish the job. they have to eradicate hamas. if they don't, it's going to go on and on and on, and they can bring in somebody else to represent the palestinians. you have dalen, sitting in uae right now, part of the old organization but a relatively young man who was involved with the palestinians, bring somebody like that in. bring somebody in who can work with the israelis. >> john: one of the stories we have been following today is the story of the 10-month-old, 11 months old now, i think he had a one month anniversary at least in captivity. we have no idea what the status of kafir is. maybe he's among the ten israelis, it watches the flow of news, and oh, here is how we can gain some good p.r.

what his great aunt said about what hamas is doing. >> i can't say we are surprised about the level of cruelty and unhumane behavior from hamas. in this deal, in this ceasefire, they signed an agreement to release all women and children. tomorrow is the last day, supposedly, of this ceasefire, of this agreement as it was signed. and still no news about my family, if they will all be returned or not. >> john: you can imagine the stress that the family is under. now, hopefully hamas wouldn't let a baby die in captivity, we don't know, though. but i just wonder if given the flow of news today, and hamas looking for a p.r. victory, maybe kafir is among the hostages who have been released.

but we have also heard that he was turned over to another terror organization. don't know if it was palestinian islamic jihad or somebody else. >> accountability, i don't think they know where they are at. let's make sure we fully understand and realize. 7 october they killed 31 americans. these people were not democrats, they are terrorist organization, designated in 1987, they want to eliminate jews and eliminate the state of israel and we have to treat this primarily as a hostage recovery issue and i think we are shortchanging the israelis. they are looking at this much differently. this to them is something that is existential in nature, a fight for survival and we need to realize this and support them the best possible. i hate to say this, but i still believe, i don't think they know where they are all at. i'm not sure you are going to get a full accounting. >> john: hamas is everything

that you've said they are but they also know how to play to international sympathy. look at college campuses across america. that will tell you that. i go home every day to graffiti sprayed on an overpass on the george washington parkway that talks about freeing gaza, ceasefire in gaza, free gaza. they know how to play the p.r. game. the goal of the leader of hamas in gaza is to survive. and they know how to do that. that's why they have the rabbit war and have tunnels underneath 300 miles of gaza, this is how they can survive against a far superior military. but if they can bring enough international pressure to bear against israel that -- obviously would not be political suicide in israel, but it would be potentially very difficult for netanyahu to say we are starting the bombing again. he's determined to do it, but how does he do it without being

an international pariah. >> everybody needs to stand up to them saying there is a level of moral certitude here. this is wrong. what they have done is beyond the pail. we have not seen this type of ex termination of the jews since the holocaust. and you are picking a moral path. what side do you want to be on? and when you stand in front of the press and the president should do this, he needs to use that ability to stand in front of everybody and say this is where we are at. but the second part of that, because there's a duality here, tell the israelis we have your back and finish hamas off. the only way it's solved is if they eradicate in the pure term, eradicate hamas. >> john: the president almost seems he's going wobbly on that, he knows he's losing political support of arab american, in

michigan they are saying we are not going to vote for you. and the margins in the 2020 election, 250,000 arab americans, concentrated the word in the dearborn, michigan area he looks to lose michigan if he stands side to side with the israelis and not a nod for the palestinian side, the best way to do that is say let's keep the ceasefire going. john kirby has said on many occasion, and the president, too, the ceasefire would only play into the hands of hamas. we are not hearing that to the same degree we were weeks ago. >> we should read the book "profiles in courage" again, maybe figure out where to go when kennedy wrote it years ago. moral ee -- equivalent, take a

stand. in israel, and what happens on 7 october is a clear mark line. we say you are on either this side, the right of decency and justice or depravity, and the decency of the democratic nation in israel. >> john: thank you, transferred from the international committee of the red cross into israeli custody at the rafah crossing. sandra, so another day, another dozen hostages released. and you wonder, sandra, how long will hamas drag this out and how long will they drag out this ceasefire in an attempt to potentially make it permanent. >> sandra: that is a question at this hour. johnny joey jones joining us, former marine bomb tech and fox

news contributor. while we are seeing hamas release dozens of hostages, joey, we know there are hundreds more that remain and hamas may not beholding all of them. this rival terror group, the palestinian islamic jihad, cla they have as many as 30 hostages. it's unclear if they have any americans. so, there is a lot we don't know at this hour, joey. >> absolutely. i think one of the problems that may arise from this is that israel being strategic has kind of split gaza north and south down the middle. we don't know what kind of communication between the south and the north of gaza exists for hamas or between hamas and islamic jihad. i hosted a lot over the thanksgiving weekend and idf and israel we interviewed, kind of said they felt like they had the opportunity to communicate and find out where these hostages were and islamic jihad and hamas were not necessarily at odds.

but now new reporting some of these hostages are held by families. i don't know if it's folks that came across the border and took hostages and brought them to their home, and one report of hostages escaping hamas control, i'm not sure how that happened. but hamas is saying back to israel some negotiations they may not know where some of the hostages are. >> sandra: we are looking at the pictures happening right now, the transfer of these israeli prisoners into israeli custody, this is near the rafah crossing, the egypt-gaza border, just before the 9:00 evening hour there, local time. we are watching this happen, joey. all of this as we know that there is currently a 10-month-old baby still remains hostage by hamas and the great aunt who you just heard from a few moments ago said they don't know their family's location,

how heartbreaking and stressful for them. here she was earlier, listen. >> there are different groups inside the gaza strip, hamas is controlling there powerfully. i think in my opinion, again, that's saying that don't know where they are is another way of stalling and buying time. >> sandra: just a brutal reality, while some are released, so many still are left behind, joey. >> when we followed the taliban and saw in afghanistan a few years ago, the foot soldiers don't always take orders directly and don't always communicate well. i don't know hamas is much better organized than that. but there is a fear here. we have the number, 240, i think maybe like 236, fear of how many of those might not even still be alive, and is hamas honest about that. maybe not even by the order of

hamas, but just the sheer brutality of how they took the hostages that some of them, and hamas is not very forthcoming about that. the other side is the amount of communication and how things are being communicated. you can believe hamas is probably getting a list of names because israel is being pressured by the u.s. and by other countries and even countries like russia and iran are going directly to hamas for certain the hostages from thailand and the one russian national that was released, and so when they come up with the answer we're not sure where we are, you are skeptical and fear the worst. >> sandra: on the screen live a moment ago, the red cross fans, we are told, do now have the hostages in those fans. the list of the ten israeli hostages that have just been freed, their names and ages have been released. as i go through this list, the youngest, 17 years old, to the

oldest, 84 years old. ten of them are now in those red cross vans. they have been transferred over to israeli custody. the red cross vans have just driven away. joey, as we take this in, what an incredible moment you think in the middle of this war and all that we have witnessed that the world has witnessed leading up to another one of these hostage release moments. >> it's one of those moments you don't know how to react. you want to react with joy and relief. these are more lives saved and brought back to families to start a process of healing. but they symbolize at the same time a fight that was started by absolute brutality that has seen the loss of thousands of lives on both sides and still shows more than 100 hostages still in captivity with their fate completely unknown. so for every life saved, every life brought back, you know, are there handfuls that now may not

be accounted for, and you see a family with a look of relief and joy when they are reunited, we'll find out in a day or two, see videos of family members being reunited and then we have to think how many families won't get that moment. how many families have no idea, one thing that sticks out are the young men that won't be released, that will be the last to be released. and then on top of that, the idea of more than americans released, is hamas trying to use those americans to buy their own lives back. because israel has, they have a target on individuals, and does hamas see their situation so dire, they think certain hostages can be currency to keep themselves alive. there's a lot of strategy in war, but also just absolute heartache and on moments like this, at least we know some people are starting the process of healing and that's a good thing. >> sandra: going through the names and ages of the hostages released and turned over, thank god, to the red cross a few moments ago, so they can make their way back to their families, the first on the list

here, 84 years old, all of these stories have been told while they have been held captive. she was taken captive as her neighbors witnessed the terrorists surround her, they placed her in a car that was driven by gunmen during the initial terror onslaught of october 7th. neighbors described her as a grandmother to many, the times of israel posted pictures of her in her kitchen, she cooked for family and friends. how her world, her entire life changed in that split second moment. she lived alone, she was in her home safe room by herself that morning when those terrorists invaded during that widespread massacre that took the lives of 1200 israelis. and now, joey, we pray that she is in a condition where they can bring her back to the health she was in before this happened. we just don't know. we don't have information on

their health or how they were treated while they were held captive. >> no, i think the one thing i want to remind people is that we see these moments where hostages are released and hamas tries to use this as propaganda, to show empathy or care. and it's really important to remember all of these hostages were taken hostage while their friends and family around them were being murdered. some tortured and brutalized. the act of taking them hostage was a form of torture. the act of keeping them hostage was a form of torture for them and family members. nothing about this shows anything good about hamas. it's a strategic move to buy themselves more time, to buy more supplies, and maybe bring back more terrorists to join their ranks. idea they are doing anything good by releasing hostages, maybe they are not doing as much evil as they could, that's where that stops. israel should be ready to continue the fight. a long as some of these

individuals exist, places, things like october 7th are potential happenings in the future. >> sandra: looking again through the list here, amia lineberg, 17 years old, she was taken captive with her mother, 59 years old, gabriela lineberg, initial reports did not disclose whether she was also freed but she is indeed on the list. so a mother and her 17-year-old daughter have also been turned over and are in the custody of the red cross in israeli hands right now. joey, if you could stand by with us as we watch this happening right before our eyes there at the rafah crossing. >> john: we see the israeli ambulances ready to receive the hostages, ten israeli hostages, two foreign nationals, we don't know where the foreign nationals are from, but we are told by folks in our jerusalem bureau

that they are not americans. we don't know where they are from, but we are told they are not americans. you are talking, sandra, of stories of the hostages, tamar metzger, 74 years old, her son said i didn't win the lottery today, my mother remains in captivity. but guy metzger did win the lottery today, his mother tamar metzger is coming home. general, as we look at this from a strategic standpoint, hamas has managed to drag this out now for five, maybe six days, and its intentions i would assume are to drag this out as long as possible to give it a chance to rearm, regroup, maybe more importantly for hamas is try to mobilize international pressure on israel to not resume military operations. >> yeah, john, i think you are right. the longer this goes, the harder

it is for israel to restart up their offensive operations. israelis are doing really, really well. they had a good operational plan, executed very, very well. i think everybody needs to look to the next step. what i mean by the next step, what follows on this whole thing of -- >> john: pause for a second, this is video that was recorded a little while ago of the hostages being transferred from the custody of the international committee of the red cross into israeli custody. so just want to let you know. this is not happening right now. this happened just moments ago. go ahead. >> i think what they need to do, figure what the next step is after the hostage recovery. in the situation, here is what i want to say. i hope there are some people in there who are hard-nosed and emotionally as well. this is always hard, it's hard to talk about hostages. but we have got to allow, we the united states, we have got to allow the israelis the opportunity to finish the job. if they don't do this, john, this is repeating, be repeated

time and time again. and so this is going to be a hard-nosed effort by the united states and i don't think we are there. the united states is so focused on hostage and ceasefire and pause they will pressure the israelis not to begin operations again and what's going to happen then, you will see recurrences later on. >> if hamas is allowed to survive, because benjamin netanyahu, gallant, so many other israeli leaders said the only way to prevent october 7th from happening again is to decapitate hamas, take it out of gaza as a political force, take it out of gaza as a military force. otherwise, and we heard former hamas official in lebanon say october 7th will happen again and again and again. >> and they need to go through and finish the job out there, and this sounds hard but i believe this. the leadership, you made the

word before decapitated, this includes the guys in qatar right now wearing the suits. i'm talking about the whole political leadership needs to go. there is alternative leadership for palestinians that is out there. >> john: who? >> you have mohammed dalen in uae -- >> john: these were the hostages released today, we are running those photos. >> there are people they can bring in. and he was able to work with the israelis before. maybe that's what you have to bring in. you don't want to bring in abbas, he's passed his time. >> john: 17 years into his four-year term. >> he pushed the pay for slayers, it's not going to work. >> john: i heard israeli officials say maybe fatah could take over gaza, because it had influence there before hamas took over and israelis are saying no, no, it will be just

as bad if not worse than hamas. >> in 2019, we went to bahrain, and tried to bring the palestinians on board on the peace for prosperity, and tried to show the palestinians if you do this, we can really make gaza look like, you know, a beautiful area to live in and work in. they wouldn't even show up to the conference. so they didn't want to be part of this whole thing on the abraham accord or peace for prosperity at all. they missed the boat and we saw that when we put together the abraham accords. a way to do this. not through the force of arms. >> john: i'm not sure what the process is here near the rafah crossing there but looks like the hostages have been transferred from international red cross custody to a processing area and from there transferred to the ambulances. do you have any idea how that works? >> sandra: yes, the red cross

came to initially take some of the hostages as we saw on the screen, the ambulances had been waiting, although the hostages were transferred directly inside per the video that was just fed in to us. we don't have any further detail than that. but that did just happen moments ago. remarkable to see the smile on one of the hostages' faces as she was loaded out of the van and digging through her, some of the information on the hostages, again, here is the video just in to us that happened moments ago, those hostages getting out of the van and transferred into israeli custody, the red cross there to greet them. one of the women released who was with her partner on the day this happened, who was the father of two boys that were taken hostage has since been released, the father was left behind. the father has been released. these are the stories that are

coming together, remember, john, so many families were taken, whether it was mothers and daughters or fathers and their children, and the fathers were kept behind. so we are piecing this together to see who is emerging from these fans right now, some of those pictures we are putting up a moment are some of those hostages that are now back into israeli custody. >> john: as we watch the transfer taking place here, next hour we will be speaking with rachel goldberg, her son was kidnapped from the supernova concert back on october 7th. he was taking refuge in a bomb shelter with a group of other young people who tried to escape the hamas attack. they ran there from the festival site. hamas threw a number of hand grenades into that bomb shelter. some of the young people were able to throw them back out, but a couple of them did explode