hello and welcome, everyone. i'm michael holmes with the

latest on the israel/hamas war. an american woman and her teenage daughter with undergoing medical e value weighs in israel after they were released by hamas on friday. they were visiting family close to gaza when they were taken hostage by hamas two weeks ago. hamas is believed to have about 200 hostages. back home in illinois, natalie's father spoke about reuniting with her. >> i've been waiting for this moment for a long time, for two weeks. i haven't been sleeping for two weeks. tonight, i'm going to sleep good. i spoke with my daughter earlier today. she sounds very good. she looks very good. she was very happy. and she's waiting to come home. i'm going to hug her and kiss her, and it's going to be the best day of my life. >> we have more now from cnn's

whitney. >> reporter: the walk to freedom in a snapshot. 59-year-old judith and her daughter natalie are now safe after two weeks as hamas hostages. they're headed home after many prayers and tears. a community's fear now replaced by joy. >> our prayers have been heard for judith and natalie, and we are so overjoyed. >> they traveled to israel from illinois and having missing since the hamas attacks on october 7th. they were visiting for judith's mother's birthday. she had no idea if they would ever return. >> i was worried about my sister and my niece. my niece is not even 18. she's supposed to be celebrating her birthday on the 24th of this month. we know young women are being raped and injured, and judith

is -- she's not very, very healthy. arer she says hamas kidnapped 11 other family members, and they are still missing, though cnn cannot independently verify that information. >> as you can imagine, we are devastated, and we are having quite a hard time. >> reporter: natalie's brother said he's looking forward to hugging his sister once again and helping her recover however he can from the trauma. >> my sister natalie is doing well, is composed. we are ready to start this incredible journey of healing and trauma relief for her. >> both judith and natalie are artists, kind, giving, generous souls. >> reporter: the office of the israeli prime minister said the forces met them at the border on friday, along with the international committee of the red cross, transferring them to

a military base in the center of israel. the families and friends of hundreds more are left to wait and wonder. >> they've gone through the most evil period of their life by people that inflicted just terror and horror to them and to so many others. our job is to be there for them. >> reporter: according to the white house, president biden spoke with them friday by phone. u.s. officials are racing to bring home the ten other americans still in hamas hands. >> and cnn's katie joins me live from london with more on this development. i know there's not a lot, but tell me what more we do know about how the hostage release came about and what, if anything, hamas might get in return. >> reporter: morning. clearly this is a diplomatic sus

s -- success. israel is saying this has come about because of military pressure that is on hamas at the moment. of course, this is not something that hamas would agree with. they have said they released these two on humanitarian grounds, particularly because the mother has been in ill health, something the israelis dispute, saying there is nothing humanitarianism in hamas. this back and forth is what we've come to see a lot of in this war. for the civilians and hostages as well, this is a sign of hope that things might change. certainly, the biden administration have been very relieved to hear this. have a listen to what secretary of state anthony blinken had to say about it. >> we welcome the release. we share in the relief that the family and loved ones are feeling. but there are still ten additional americans who remain

unaccounted for in this conflict. we know that some of them are being held hostage bayby hamas, along with an estimated 200 hostages. >> obviously, those 200 are going to be the focus now, particularly the americans you mentioned, but all of them are of grave concern. this success story may be a sign of hope, but there are many still in danger yet. >> to that point, is there any sense that we're getting that other releases could be in the works in the near term? >> well, you would like to hope so, and slecertainly the source that spoke to cnn yesterday said that's the hope now. the u.s. said they were involved very much so in making this happen and qatar also had a key role in made ediating. the hopes is that will happen

again. friely countries, egypt about releasing other foreign nationals. it remains to be at the scene. clearly, we are still witnessing a dire humanitarian crisis on the ground in gaza, for all civilians, let alone the hostages that are being kept there. the situation is very concerning. unfortunately, information is scarce. the committees involved are either not discussing the details or don't have them. some of the families are left seeing horrendous videos online they may or may not be able to identify some of their relatives in. a really difficult time for families. there is good news, but a lot remain to be seen. >> great reporting, katie. now, the idf says it is

preparing for the next stages of the war against hamas. this is tanks lined up near the border with gaza where the prospect of a ground incursion still looms. the spoke person said the current priority, though, is the return of all those hostages. in gaza itself, as you see there, the hospital, it says that israel has demanded the immediate evacuation of the building ahead of an air strike perhaps at some point overnight. the world health organization says such a demand will be impossible to carry out given the hospital currently houses around 12,000 displaced people, plus hundreds of patients. the idf explained why it could be targeted. >> this is another example of reading right into hamas' play

book. it's because hamas are using those hospital grounds or near those grounds to launch rockets. again, i think any normal person anywhere in the world and in america, if they wanted to carry out a war, why would they do it from the hospital knowing the idf is going to respond? our goal is to try to move civilians out of the way. hamas' role is to bait us into killing civilians. they win either way. they kill israeli civilians, they take it as a win. they bait us into killing their own civilians, they win. that is why they have to be destroyed and completely taken out. >> the u.s. and its allies are urging the country to be strategic and have clear aims with its goals. they've told cnn there should be a particular emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties or

any more civilian casualties from efforts on the ground to assaults in the skies now, israel's iron dome has accepted another rocket attack an hour ago. they appear to have been aimed towards the center of israel. nick robinson is there with more. >> reporter: just as that news was coming out that natalie and her mother were being released, hamas, or one of the other groups inside gaza launched a massive amount of rockets right at that time headed towards central israel. within an hour, they fired multiple rockets towards the center of israel. they were intercepted again. in that intervening hour, they fired five salvos, that is way more they've fired in an hour period than we've seen the past

week or so. >> the israeli city -- is believed to be the most heavily bombarded in the juewish state. it's right of gaza. >> reporter: this is life in ashkelon, the most fired upon city in israel since hamas launched its first rockets 12 days ago. here, fear still grips some. others carry on. ignoring the sirens wails. >> when we are outside, we are very careful. when we are inside, god is protecting us. every missile has an address. you don't need to be afraid. >> reporter: in a city where 90% of businesses have closed, this supermarket is a lifeline.

>> there's a lot of businesses that are closed. >> they're closed. it's working because people have to eat. they have to drink. >> so you come like once a week or -- >> once a week. people afraid. rocket, i was lying on the road, and to put my hands on my -- >> reporter: getting to a bomb shelter isn't an option for everyone here, prompting the city to help evacuate thousands. >> we still have around 35,000 people that actually live without shelters. so each and every rocket, it means a direct risk for them. so we are trying to find solution for them. >> reporter: more than 1,200 rockets have targeted ashkelon. while most are intercepted by the iron dome, about 200 have made direct hits, displacing families from their homes,

causing casualties, and shuttering businesses like this bakery. >> when we got here, everything was in pieces. the door was out of place. there was the smell of gun powder. everything was destroyed. we are starting to put things right. >> reporter: in the basement of an unassuming building, ashkelon ceo takes us inside trying to track rockets headed into the city. >> rescue, police, ambulances, everything comes from here. >> so before the rock even lands, you can see where it would land? >> we have some estimation where it's going to land. >> reporter: until then, the first responders wait and pray. jeremy diamond, cnn, ashkelon. >> as of now, people in gaza waiting for shipments of critical supplies are still

waiting. u.s. president joe biden says they should get some relief this weekend. he says trucks carrying much-needed humanitarian aid should be able to get through the border crossing soon. they were supposed to head into gaza from egypt friday as part of a delegate deal. but president biden said the trucks were delayed because the highway had to be repaved after israeli shelling there. cnn teams on the ground say repair vehicles have entered gaza from egypt to fix that side of it. those delays only adding to the anger. clarissa ward was at the border crossing as pro-palestinian protests erupted. >> reporter: for days, they have been waiting. more than 200 trucks full of aid desperately needed in gaza, but stuck on the egyptian side of the rafa border crossing. u.n. secretary-general antonio

gutierrez hoped to be here for a much-needed diplomatic win. instead, he found himself in the midst of a protest, his remarks drowned out by the crowd. people are chanting over and over again, with our blood, with our souls, we will defend palestine. there's a huge amount of anger and emotion, much of it directed at the west. and much also at western media, who people here fear have favored israeli voices over palestinians. a protestor started shouting at me. we invited her to do an interview with us. >> when 1,000 palestinian babies have died, you don't feel the seem as when i tell you one of your own has died. but these are our own. egypt will stand with palestine.

all these international institutions are standing for israel. who's there for the palestinians? and don't call it a war. the jargon is more infuriating. it is not a war. it's not equal footing. >> reporter: for many, it is deeply personal. palestinian man holds up his i.d. >> i have seven sisters, and my father, grandmother, uncles, all my family is there. i can't contact with them. i don't know -- >> reporter: are they okay? >> i don't know if they are okay or not. >> reporter: as egyptian soldiers stand by, the co demonstrators get more animated. protests are normally illegal here, but today, the egyptian president called for people to take to the streets. this is rapidly becoming a very

chaotic scene right now. they're trying to get the secretary-general out of here. they're ordered back onto buses and escorted out through the crowd back to an airport where piles of aid sit by the runway, so close to where they need to be, but held back, the u.n. says, by complications over how to monitor the trucks that enter gaza and how to establish a continuous humanitarian corridor. when you saw the anger of those protestors, most of it leveled at israel and the u.s. but also at the international community for failing to stop this situation, what's your response? >> i think what's important to say is we are doing everything we can we can, engaging with all parties to make sure sooner r rather than later, we are able to have continued aid to the population. >> reporter: no timeline?

>> i think it should be as quickly as possible and with as many as possible trucks to cross in the first few days. >> reporter: but that is little comfort to the people of gaza for whomever day, every how is vital. clarissa ward, cnn, ra if, a, egypt. when we come back -- more demonstrations in the middle east. we're on the ground as people protest israel's strikes on gaza and the palestinians caught in the middle.

protests intensifying across the middle east against israel's bombardment of gaza in the wake of the terrorist attack on the country two weeks ago. the cries of support for the palestinians caught in the cross fire is reaching fever pitch. we want to caution some of the video might be disturbing. >> reporter: in downtown, they

are gathered for prayers. but it's not just call to prayer that's drawn these crowds today. but a call to action. and solidarity for the palestinian people. this protest is a pledge, they chant, that the people of jordan will not leave gaza alone. thousands of men, women, children, entire families, draped in the palestinian scarf. a symbol for many of palestinian resistance. you can hear how loud the crowds are. thousands of people have taken to the street protesting against the continued bombardment, protest in kol solidarity with palestinian people. we are doing this for our families, we are dying in gaza. the least we can do is stand here in solidarity with them to

support them so they know we are with them in our hearts and everything. there is palpable outrage here in jordan of israel's ongoing bombardment and deep seated anger directed wards israel and israel's western allies. many here even calling on the governments to close down the u.s./israeli embassy. for days now, protests have taken place not only across jordan, but also across the wider region. in cairo, hundreds gathered into hope square. >> we need justice! >> reporter: hours earlier, the border crossing between egypt and gaza, u.n. secretary-general was forced to cut his visit short after protests erupted

there. gaza has faced relentless israeli air strikes for almost two weeks now. and protests across the arab world and the wider region are at a boiling point. iraq, turkey, yemen, and with gaza on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, this protest movement is only growing stronger. cnn in jordan. still to come on the program, u.s. president joe biden speaks with the two hostages released by hamas. how their release is increasing hopes soon more might be set free. we'll be right back.

the father of one of the american hostages released by hamas on friday says his daughter is happy and wanting to come home to chicago. teenager natalie renan and her mother judith have been held captive in gaza after being abducted where they were visiting in southern israel during the october 7 terror attacks. u.s. president biden spoke with them on the phone the offer support. you can see that conversation there. the israeli military says it hopes for the release of more hostages. >> what is unique is these both two are american citizens. i think the mother is dual american citizen.

the daughter is solely american. these are the first two, and what we know is hamas is trying to paint itself as a human rights organization now after having given back two of the hostages. the rockets are reigning down on israel as i'm speaking to you. let's get back all the hostages. >> joining me now, aaron david miller, former state department middle east negotiator and senior fellow with the endowment. always good to see you, sir. what is your read into the release of the two u.s. ha hostages? would hamas have released them without a deal? >> first of all, thanks for having me. we're in a long, dark tunnel. this is the first light. i'm keeping my expectations pretty low. i think the motivation for the release had to do with pressure

on one hand and propaganda on the other. there's a statement from cutter which talks about -- seemed very upbeat -- i want negotiations to try to free the hostages, and to use their words, deescalate tensions. the external leadership has been funding hamas to the tune of anywhere from 3 to $10 million a month, subsidizing in gaza object assumption that hamas was primarily interested in governing and stabilizing the situation in gaza. that's what we're preparing for, but it's certainly not what we saw on october 7th. but it's also propaganda. i mean, it's cruel manipulation dribbling out the hostages, and as you'll know, they released two americans. and that harks back that

selection process harks back to where they separated the jews and the israelis from the other foreign nationals. i think it's cruel ma nip alli -- manipulation, and i think we're going so see more of it. >> it's often said -- and i think you have too, you can draw up a workable theoretical way forward on the back of a napkin. but the problem is neither side has been willing to take hard steps. can you see those hard line positions changing any time soon? >> no. in large part because the events of october 7th were so unbelievably brutal savage, went beyond anything the israelis had ever experienced in all of their

c conflicts. maybe akin to the suicide tear, but this went beyond. this was indiscriminate willful killing up close. it was the taking of hostages for specific purposes. it was taking dead israelis with hamas back to gaza in an effort to bargain with them because they know how important, what a value the israelis place on redeeming their civilians and soldiers alive or dead from the battlefield during captivity. so i see no flexibility. >> there's a difference between retaliation and revenge. i'm curious if you think -- how much of what's happening in gaza now among the civilian pop ewe la -- population, not the terror groups is increasing the

radicalization among what was an undeniable terror attack leads to more radicalization nonetheless. >> gaza is already looking at people half of whom are under 1 a 5, already huge problems with power outages even before the israeli strikes and clean water. i don't think there's any doubt about that. insurgence -- it's the history of insurgency. the victimization generates from one angle. in the end, more young men and women who are willing to commit violence, sometimes atrocities, as a consequence of that rage and anger. the problem for the israelis might be they were confronted with something that was so far beyond anything they had seen before, 1,400 civilians.

in '73, israeli lost 2,800 soldiers. this was half that number in 24 hours, and they were civilian. what were the israeli alternatives? the palestinian ministry has already killed 3,000 palestinians and have a looming ground evacuation. when it will take place is unclear. >> got to leave it there unfortunately. thank you so much. appreciate it. >> michael, always a pleasure. take care. >> cheers. as a deal to normalize relations between israel and saudi arabia seeps to have stalled now, the saudi prime minister telling cn n n any such agreement needs to feature the palestinian cause. what it could mean in terms of a

political solution for the palestinian group. >> do you see normalization between saudi arabia and israel as providing an opportunity for a political horizon and a political solution for the palestinians? is that the best option at this point? >> the saudis have made it very clear, the link between their future relation with israel and the palestine, it's there. and that is where we feel very assured on that. it's not priceless. it's with price. now, maybe this issue will be deferred for a certain period of time to come, but the issue the saudis have brought back the question of palestine to the table. >> do you think that normalization could be the best

bet for a political solution for palestinians going forward, r ironically, as some of our viewers might see it? >> otherwise, because -- piece for piece does not work. because you have no problem with the palestine -- >> all right. back to square one for u.s. house republicans after a candidate for speaker fails to win enough votes for the third time. that and perspective from an expert when we come back.

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they discussed efforts to free hostages in gaza and humanitarian assistance plans for gaza discussed earlier this week. mr. biden also confirmed israel ace right to contain citizens while warning of the obligation to protect citizens in gaza. this is the first known phone call from the two leaders since the deadly attacks. they met face to face on wednesday. meanwhile, the republicans have no path forward after jim jordan failed to get enough votes. several republicans jump into the race after the party rejected jordan, but it's up clear if any can get to 217 votes needed to win. one jordan ally tried to blame it on democrats. >> clearly there is another void. we are going to have a couple more days of chaos as we try to

figure out what's next. it reminds me how incredibly irresponsible it was to put this house into absolute chaos without any kind of a plan for how we were going to move forward. >> a vacuum was triggered by a block of hard-line conservative republicans. without a speaker, the house is frozen amid conflicts abroad and a deadline next month. michael is a president of the global policy institute. always good to see you, sir. how does what's happening with republicans in the speaker chaos, let's call it, impact the president's request for more money for both israel and ukraine? you've got internal squabbling now impacting far more than who

holds the speaker's gavel. >> that's right. it has new implications. 17 days, no new speaker. they're not going to meet again until monday. they won't vote until tuesday. so there's a huge backlog of important things and some big deadlines coming up, including a potential government shutdown. but the ongoing chaos has been laid out in public display for the most part. congress is closed for business, emotions are running high. jim jordan kept on losing support instead of gaining support. his support collapsed faster than a third grade science project on the third ballot. what we're seeing is under chaos, the question is is chaos the seintent, is that the goal. it doesn't appear that way. donald trump is a chaos maker. but in the house, they need someone that can bring people together. and blaming democrats as your

previous clip showed because democrats are sitting back saying why should we help you because you're the ones who are going to go against us in the legislature, so don't expect the democrats to help. >> i mean, why would they help elect somebody that is actively speaking against their own policies. now, it seems like the house speaker is a poison. if not jordan, scalise, or mccarthy, then who? this cannot go on. >> it can't go on. you can see a couple of scenarios. one, you might empower the temporary speaker. that's not a long-term solution, but it's a short-term band aid. you might continue the debacle, and the leader would be none of the above. you might go back to kevin

mccarthy. you could do like a movie sequel, go back to the second run for mccarthy. oddly enough, some people are talking about a coalition where you might need to bring in some democrats to vote for the speaker. that seems very unlikely. there's always the non-member is brought in as a healer. that may be the last. >> who might that be. i'm curious if you think there will be fallout at the ballot box of republicans over their dysfunction, or do you think voter memories are too short? >> there are very few voters that are in play. the republicans have a solid base, and the democrats have a solid base. there is only about 12% at most of voters who are available for switching over. that's a lot. those folks will determine the next election. do they have a long-term memory? if we have a government

shutdown, i think the republicans will fair very poorly in the next election. >> we're in the midst of any number of global and economic crisis, but when it comes to the global ones, how does the u.s. look to the rest of the world? >> well, we look like a weak giant. we look like a fumbling giant. but i will give president biden some credit. he went to a war zone. he displayed admirable leadership qualities. the u.s. and israel are as close as two coats of paint. but -- and this is an important but -- he also issued a warning, which is what friends do to friends. he warned the israeli leadership, they need to be clear headed, ask hard questions, and you can't let primal feelings dictate policy. that was safe advice, and there's why you can see the great contrast in objects

between president biden, who is in a war zone acting like a leader, and donald trump who's in a courtroom acting like a criminal defendant. that's what's at stake, and that's what's going on. >> yeah. yeah. and meanwhile, here's a country that can't even run a government. michael in los angeles, always good to see you my friend, thank you. >> thank you, michael. still to come here on the program, as israel battles hamas, children injured, dying in a war they don't understand and have no part in. we'll have a report when we come back.

>> welcome back. israeli airstrike aimed at hitting hamas killing people who sought shelter in a church in gaza. damage left behind at greek orthodox church campus in gaza city, the israeli airstrike rained down causing one of the church buildings to collapse, according to cnn analysis.

>> they thought they were safe here. the detrucks followed. >> palestinian authority said 17 people killed and cnn cannot confirm the nuchlt as the war against hamas enters its third week it seems children suffer the most as they often do in conflict and the stories are heartbreaking. this next report contains graphic images some viewers might find disturbing. >> why, why have you gone my son? you wanted to be a pilot. you're only sweeng he says, kissing his boy's lifeless body. every day of there war last brought pain, pain no parent wants to ever live through.

every 15 minutes in gaza a child is killed they say. more than 1500 killed so far in a war that's just beginning a war they didn't choose for which they are paying the heaviest price. the lucky ones still with parents to home hands. he doesn't know the strike that left help injured took his mom dad and three sisters his aunt the only one left to comfort hit. he wakes up, cries, they give him painkillers. he goes back to sleep. [speaking foreign language] >> i'm worried about the shock when he finds out his parents are gone. he was so attached to his parents. he used to play football with his dad and families say they heeded the israeli military warning and moved south thinking

it would be safe but it wasn't. injured in the hips and legs she lost her mother and siblings in an airstrike. [speaking foreign language] >> a girl in the third grade what did she do her aunt asks? did she shoot israelis? we are peaceful people. we didn't launch rockets or shoot. we didn't do anything. >> nine-year-old mahmoud was out playing. leases in hospital with head injuries. we were playing in the garden and a missile landed on us he says. trees fell on me my mother father and grandfather are injured. ply brother brought me unconscious to the hospital. most of the injured in gaza doctors says are women and children. the health care they need is on the verge of collapse. around half of gaza's population are children most have only ever

known life under blockade and war now in this kill box no place safe from israel's bombardment. many have flooded the hospital grounds. the constant buzz of military drones over head has become part of existence in gaza. some finding little escape from this living nightmare no child should ever endure and they say their neighborhoods was flattened by airstrikes. >> we have been living in so much fear panic anxiety she says. whenever i hear airstrikes i don't know what do. i plug my mom. 7-year-old julia says she holds her mom and sides and they're now living under the stairs. i get upset when i see injured here in the hospital julia says. when i grow up i want to become

a doctor so i can treat them. it's a war on hamas they say, but it is the youngest who bear the brunt ensnared in violence they can't control. cnn london. >> that's for watching this hour of cnn. i'm michael holmes. i'll be back with more on the freed american hostages at the top of the hour.