a palestinian journalis working with french national public radio was culled by an israeli missile strike in gaza city. the committee to protect journalists says he's one of at least 23 journalists who have been killed in the war between israel and hamas. eight others are reported injured, and three are missing. for information about how you

can help humanitarian efforts, go to cnn.com/impact. thanks very much for watching. "erin burnett outfront" stlive from israel starts right now. "outfront" next, live from israel, two women released tonight after being held hostage by hamas for more than two weeks. what does it mean for the other hostages and for israel's potential ground assault? i'll talk to two people who have reported extensively on hamas' tactics along with the niece of one of the hostages just freed hours ago. we'll hear from a doctor rushing for cover as he was taping a message for "outfront." the sound of strikes nearby deafening. we'll speak to a woman who miraculously escaped the music festival only to be taken hostage by hamas and have a gun put to her head. you'll hear her incredible story of survival. let's go "outfront."

and good evening. welcome to a special edition of "outfront." i'm erin burnett live from tel aviv tonight. we begin with the breaking news. hostages freed. making their way to a medical center in israel in tel aviv after being held by hamas for over two weeks. they are 79-year-old nurit cooper and 85-year-old yocheved lifshitz. both were taken from their homes in the southern israeli kibbutz of neroz which is just near the gaza border. both of their husbands were kidnapped with them. they were not released. we do have some video of lifshitz making her way to an ambulance. her daughter releasing a statement that reads, in part, i cannot put into words the relief that she is now safe, i will remain focused on securing the release of my father. we also have new video of cooper in a stretcher being treated by medics. her husband is still being held by hamas. that is the reality. while these two women are free, and that is something that is important and so wonderful for their families.

there are still 218 civilians being held against their will. hostages in gaza, this is according to the idf, ten americans are still unaccounted for. and that is why according to sources american officials are pressing israel to delay its ground offensive, something that appears to have been successful over these past few days. tonight we are learning more about what that potential ground assault may look like. here is the israeli defense minister as he visited a navy base today. >> reporter: keep preparing for our operation. it will come soon. we are preparing thoroughly for the next step. a multilateral operation in the air, ground, and sea. do your work, get ready. we will need you. >> get ready, we will need you. and israel again putting out new video ahead of the ground assault. because as each day goes by, they feel the need for the world to remember why they are in this position. there is a reason for it, and it is the unspeakable brutality that the world witnessed from

hamas. i warn you that what you are about to see is graphic. it is body cam video from hamas militant. because so many of them were wearing go pros. the militants inspect the car to make sure that the people inside are dead after it was shot at. this is horrific. it's hard to comprehend. there is a lot worse out there that they documented. this is why israel is ramping up its assault in gaza against hamas. they took out 320 military targets. that was one of the biggest airstrikes in recent days. and the targets they say that they took out also they say several commanders including the rocket division. this of course is in one of the most densely populated areas. there are few places for anybody who is an innocent civilian to hide. earlier tonight, "outfront" spoke to dr. hatem. he works at the nassir hospital in gaza. he wanted to send us a voice memo. he did gather the dispatches. in one of them you're going to

hear the reality of daily life in gaza. listen to this. >> about the critical supply, we have running a critical supply, iv fluid, antibiotics. some of the -->> and you hear that explosion in the background. i do want to note, we did speak to him after that blast. he is okay. but that is the reality of his life in the hospital hearing that as he's trying to tell you what's happening. cnn analyzed that audio, and at the same time that he had made those recordings for "outfront," the exact same time you heard that explosion at 2:30 p.m. local time today, cnn confirmed that there was a strike at a home near the hospital. that appears to be what you're hearing. and as this is all unfolding,

tensions beyond israel and gaza are rapidly escalating. according to u.s. intelligence sources tonight, iranian-backed militias are prepared to step up attacks against u.s. forces in the middle east. we're going to have a lot more on that in just a moment. begin, though, with nic robertson who is live along the israel/gaza border and matthew chance who is here with me tonight in tel aviv. nic, let's just begin with you. is there any impact that this second release of hostages may have on israel's plans to launch a ground war in gaza, certainly it appears while they are ill in health to be part of a strategy of one or two every few days, which, of course, would delay this in an unsustainable fashion for israel? >> that's exactly what hamas appears to be trying to do, one or two a few days at a time. is it going to put israel completely off track? hamas' manipulation alone. international pressure, the united states and other countries whose nationals are being held by hamas who are

speaking to israel about the importance of hostage releases. is that kind of pressure going to have an impact? it certainly appears as if it is. although israel says that the u.s. is not putting pressure on it in that way. but it's been interesting that the idf actually had to put out a statement because of reports in local media here in israel that there were riffs opening up between the prime minister and his military leadership. the idf saying that's not true, everyone is joined up. but i think that gives you a sense of the pressures on the prime minister, the impact that this drip, drip, drip of hostage releases and whatever's happening behind the scenes, whatever hamas is talking about in terms of other releases. in terms of is that pulling the troops away from their positions and their armor that are close to gaza. no. they're still in position. and i think it is a matter of time. and that seems to be the indication coming from the military commanders now.

it is a matter of time before that incursion happens. is hamas trying to put them off track? 100% yes. >> all right. nic robertson, thank you very much in sderot where he has been monitoring the back and forth of this massive israeli presence along the gaza border over these past 17 days. "outfront" now, the niece of yocheved lifshitz who was, of course, released by hamas just a few hours ago. rudy, i know you've been desperate for answers about your aunt tonight, a miracle. i know your uncle is not released but she is, she's on her way home. how did you even respond? i know you were hopeful, i'm sure, after friday when hostages were released. but did this come as a complete surprise? >> yeah. you know, when everything happened on the 7th, i was in a shock and i couldn't believe it.

and today it was also, like, a bit of a shock but in a good way, of course. >> i know you've been staying in close touch with your relatives, and all of you trying to get answers. do you know anything more about her release, rudy, or why they released her and her friend or any other information? >> um, i really don't have any more information. i was surprised, you know, even though for the last couple of days, there were rumors that, you know, but it was denied by the israeli officials. i don't know anything yet. i think she's on her way to israel right now. she might actually already been there. but i'm not sure. there's a big time difference, you know, ten hours' difference

between where i am and over there. but i saw the pictures of what you're showing right now. i can't even express how happy i am and relieved to see her. but, at the same time, you know, i can't forget my uncle and the rest of the people that are still -- we don't know what's going on with them. not even know if they're alive or whether, you know, situation is. and i can't wait to see everybody, you know, come home safe in one piece, and then they will have a long healing process to go through. but i can't wait until we'll see all of them back home.

>> well, i can only imagine that, and i know just seeing even the -- the fact that she had that little smile in the ambulance is, you know, something about that -- gives some warmth to the heart. >> this is my aunt. she's always smiling, always look and find the positive, the good thing in every situation. and, of course, i'm sure she's also happy to be released. it might also be a shock. but she's such a really brave and amazing, amazing lady. i am so proud of her. i can't wait to actually see her in person. >> well, i hope you'll be able to do that very soon and that your uncle will soon be released as well. i know you got to be awaiting that. but i know they've been married

for over 50 years. so, i hope that they will soon be together again. rudy, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for talking about her with me. >> thank you. and "outfront" now, two journalists who have reported on hamas extensively. matthew chance our chief global affairs correspondent, and shlomi, an israeli journalist for israel pulse. thanks very much to both of you. the whole world is struggling to understand what happened here. i guess, matthew, let's start in the moment we're in right now that we're now seeing these what appears to be very clearly putting out a couple and then a few days later an attempt to drip a process. it certainly gives hope that they're alive, which may be shocking given the horrific and inhumane behavior that was evident in the attack itself. what do you make of what they're doing right now, hamas? >> it gives hope that there are people alive, it gives hope that people can be brought out alive

as part of this process that's underway. but i think it also is potentially a tactic by hamas to avert that land operation that we've been expecting. and it's a tactic that's working. it's been 17 days since these attacks took place in israel. and virtually every day of that has been promising, and it hasn't done so yet. perhaps it's giving space to this process to yield more results in terms of people to get those people out of gaza. >> you have obviously -- both of you have spoken to senior hamas leaders. you actually -- you've had extensive conversations with them. but on the day of the attacks you reached out to a senior hamas commander who was involved and he responded. >> he responded. i have an american phone number. he answered. i was surprised. and i told him, you murdered

children, you burned babies. and he said we don't. and i started to beg him and i told him, you have babies, you have one baby, 9-month-old. please release him. and he started to say, no, we can't, we are starting in a war, it's a very complicated situation. and, believe me, i found myself starting to cry with a hamas trying to beg him to release only the babies. and then he shut down the phone, and later on he sent me a message. >> he texted you? >> he texted me. he wrote, shlomi, the death in gaza must stop, the death in gaza. i'm talking about saturday, the black saturday on october 7th. here there is mass killing against the civilian population. there are entire families that have been exterminated, families in gaza exterminated after we

count 400 dead in israel, and most of them babies. and we will not be able to talk about the prisoners until gaza stops. we saw these pictures, old women. it's heartbreaking. old women, 18 years old, they are not prisoners, they are hostages. >> does, matthew, this behavior. israel has allowed hamas to exist as a government, right? to essentially rule gaza, knowing that it was a terrorist organization, but they had felt that this was somehow could function. and that something of this brutality could come out of this group. >> i'm not sure israel had much of a choice in it in the sense that these people were elected. >> right, it was an elected government. >> you're right, they haven't moved in to destroy them quite yet. in terms of could this have happened, was there any indications of this. i myself visited gaza several

times and actually seen palestinian militant groups including hamas sort of training to carry out operations. this is years and years and years ago. but you don't have to go that far back. even just a couple of years ago, there were hamas setting up kind of fake kibbutzes and showing how they could storm them. that was all on israeli television. hamas put it all out. and there's been various radio interceptions as well. the israeli authorities do not seem to have conceived of the idea that that kind of an attack would've been possible, and if it were possible, it would've been successful and they were wrong. >> you have seen horrific videos that you describe of actual graphic. they're hard to even imagine. is this consistent in any way with the hamas leadership there now that you have spoken to so many times, or does it shock even you? >> it shocked me. >> something happened in hamas.

i think the viewers must know that what happened in gaza in 2007, they made a military coup, they kicked out the plo, they shot them and took control over gaza. this is what happened in gaza. so they were elected in 2006. but they made a military coup. and i interviewed many of them, especially the head of the hamas leadership. and, for me, it seems like, you know, ordinary people in a terror organization, but all the time they knew the boundary of control, the boundary of power of hamas. now, happen something different. they came with hundreds with instruction to slaughtering, to rape, in every direction and also to take a video. to take video, they got an order

to harm the people of israel and harm the morale of israelis. >> matthew, you had a chance to sit down with one of the founders of hamas in one of the many interviews you've conducted. when you see now years later young guys with go pros documenting the brutal rape and dismemberment of women, beheadings. they documented this on their own go pros. can you draw a line between what you saw then and what you see now? >> it's a difficult question to answer. i mean, i think it has something to do with the inhumanity of this conflict generally. the fact that palestinians and israelis as well are not really willing, in some ways, to understand how much suffering they cause on the other side. some people might not like hearing me say that. but i think that's sort of a

definite feature of this long-running generations-old conflict. and this is the latest terrible expression of that. >> horrific. all right. well, thank you both so very much. i appreciate it, as we all just try to even, trying to put words around to understand what is happening, what happened, and what is -- >> and if i can add just one word. we shall overcome. we must. >> words that certainly ring with significance to anyone watching in the united states as well. thank you so very much. and our breaking news coverage continues after this. i'm going to speak to a father whose daughter is one of the ten americans still unaccounted for here in israel. he is very hopeful that she will soon be back with him. plus we're going to check in with the cnn producer who, along with his family, has been trying to get out of gaza. we've been sharing ibrahim's story to you. they made it to the rafah crossing, but officials are denying their crossing.

and then, she escaped the music festival massacre with her partner. then later was captured by hamas. but she did something amazing that helped her get free. >> i don't know from where i have this courage to do what i did.

we're back with breaking news tonight live from tel aviv. two more hostages are free tonight after being held by

hamas for 17 days. this comes after those two american hostages natalie and judith raanan were released on friday. and now two more, so now four total. more american hostages are still alive and being held in gaza. certainly what we've seen so far is giving hope to families that we've spoken to. many had thought that maybe their loved ones weren't alive. now there is a hope. "outfront" now, the father of one of the ten missing americans, many of whom are believed to be held hostage after the hamas attack. son-in-law is also missing. they were in kibbutz neros just a couple of miles from where the elderly women also lived. one of whom is the founder of the kibbutz. when you hear two hostages from neroz being released tonight and, of course, friday there were two others, does this give you true hope for your daughter?

>> good evening. thank you for having me. my approach to this entire episode is one where i see it upon myself to remain level-headed and not to get boyd by one maneuver or another as employed by the hamas. i'll take it as it comes, and when my daughter is released and my son-in-law, then -- and they arrive home safe, then i'll find time to breathe a sigh of relief. until then, i'm not going to allow myself to get caught up in their games, in their manipulative games of playing with people's lives like this. >> i know you're in washington. that's where you're joining me from tonight. you've been meeting with lawmakers there.

i know you're from philadelphia. you raised your daughter near there for a few years before settling in israel. are you learning anything new about her situation from the u.s. government? do you feel that they have real information and intelligence? >> the -- first of all, i believe it's clear and i don't think i'm divulging any secrets if i say that american and israeli intelligence agencies are working very closely on all of the cases gathering intelligence as best they can. i understand -- my understanding is that americans are using all of the tools at their disposal developing channels of communication with hamas in order to advance negotiations to the release of the hostages.

and i think i -- from the way i've been getting information from these sources, i have confidence that they're doing everything to the best of their ability to obtain the release of all the hostages, not just the american citizens among them. >> yes. well, the kibbutz nir oz was one of the first areas attacked by hamas. what they did to the kibbutz is horrific. the burning and destruction, we saw it in be'eri, the children's toys are particularly hard to see. i know that you called your daughter on the morning of the attack. is there anything more that you can share about what you know she went through and your son-in-law went through that morning? >> well, officially, my daughter's designation, as well as my son-in-law, has been

changed from missing to probably abducted, which, to my understanding, means that they didn't find any bodies anywhere of theirs. so, that's -- okay. i just take that as it is. again, until they're back home safely, i'm not going to let myself get overly confident or overly hopeful that there will be a sound resolution to this crisis. >> well, yehuda, i appreciate your time. and all of your ability to manage it the way that you do. and i hope that you will allow that for yourself. thank you very much. you're looking on your screen at the video of the two hostages who were released tonight. we actually believe that we may

have seen that loud helicopter as wolf blitzer was on the air coming over here heading to a hospital in tel aviv landing on the roof not terribly far from here. and that appears to have been the helicopter that came from down near that rafah crossing where those two elderly women who live in nir oz were released. they are now in hospital being taken care of tonight. and we, of course, are hoping for their speedy beginning to their long recovery. also tonight, there are growing fears about a rise in attacks against u.s. forces in the middle east, and the war escalating even further. the pentagon announcing that two drones targeting u.s. forces were shot down today in syria. as the white house also warns that iran actively is facilitating attacks against military bases housing american personnel in both iraq and syria. the state department has ordered nonemergency personnel out of embassies in iraq. so when you add all of that together, it is a sinister, it

is a stressful and worrisome situation. and it comes in the context of the u.s. shot down 15 drones and four cruise missiles near the coast along the red sea of yemen. that was a nine-hour span of interception as alex marquardt has reported. "outfront" now, seth jones, his work on analyzing this conflict is being utilized right now extensively by the u.s. government. he is the senior vice president at the center for strategic and international studies. so, seth, i appreciate your time. based on what you see right now and the fears of getting rid of anybody but essential personnel in embassies. look, after what happened in places like libya, the precaution is always an important thing. but we've seen 80,000 people demonstrating in front of a consulate in turkey a few days ago. how serious is the risk right now? >> i do think it's serious. we've seen actions, concrete actions taken by militant

groups, all of them linked to the islamic revolutionary guard's major paramilitary organization. those are the attacks against the u.s. in the concooil fields in syria. the two bases in iraq that have been targeted. the land attack cruise missiles coming from yemen. so those are actions taken. second, the u.s. intelligence has stated publicly that today that it has intelligence of iraqi groups and other iran link groups prepared to strike targets. that's future intelligence about intentions of iranian -- and finally, we do have the embassies including baghdad where there is growing concern. so, i think you put all those two together, and the tensions are escalating. >> and you've been talking, i know, with people, sources at u.s. embassies in the region. what are they telling you? >> well, i think what they've

said repeatedly is that there is a real risk when this ground war starts of both civilians in multiple countries in the middle east, massing and demonstrating particularly against u.s. embassies, also israeli embassies overseas, and, second, responses by iranian-linked groups against u.s. military bases in the region. so, they are saying that they are starting to get out of some embassies nonessential personnel. that is an indication. we saw a little bit of that in ukraine before the russian invasion as well. >> yeah, we did. and you saw a lot of that in the sense, canaries in a coal mine. thank you very much. next we have a new dispatch from gaza on this monday. you're going to hear from ibrahim our cnn producer who's been desperately trying to get his wife and two young sons to safety. today, a setback.

they have received the gaza border with egypt. it is a huge accomplishment but a setback today. and a story from a survivor of the hamas attack. she was held for hours and then used as a human shield. >> how does he go with you? >> he hold me in the back like this. >> so you're a shield? >> i am a shield, a human shield.

welcome back to this special edition of "outfront" live from tel aviv tonight. we have stunning new aerial footage from gaza. i mean, looks like bakhmut. the death toll in gaza now topping 5,000, according to palestinian health officials. now, we told you earlier about dr. hatem at the beginning of the show. he is the head of the neonatal unit at nasser hospital in southern gaza. you heard the voice memo that he sent us that was interrupted by a loud blast. now, when we heard that on his tape, we were actually able to trace back that there was an explosion at that time to a home near the hospital.

here is more of what he told us. >> about critical supply, we have running of our critical supply iv fluid, antibiotics, and some of the. [ explosion ] oh, my god, i can't continue talking. it's terrifying here. and in the last few days, it's more scary situation. >> of course, he's there taking care of primi babies, neonatal unit. you hear the panic in his voice as he is still trying to do his job as a doctor. the situation is horrible there. and some vital aid has begun

trickling in. it is trickling in. and it is very far away from pretty much anyone who needs it. as we've been doing every night on "outfront," we have another exclusive dispatch from the journalist who is inside gaza. ibrahim and his family moved from the north to the south. and they were hopeful that they would finally be able to escape through egypt. those hopes, though, for now, still hopes, not yet successful. ibrahim and his wife and their two young sons, age 11 and 7, evacuated northern gaza when israel told civilians to leave. they complied and fled to the south. and now they wait and wait. here's the update that ibrahim shared with us today. [ speaking in a global language ]

[ speaking in a global language ]

[ speaking in a global language ]

that was ibrahim dahman, our cnn producer who is in gaza tonight hoping, hoping to be able to leave. joining me now lieutenant colonel, international spokesperson, a familiar face to our viewers. colonel, i appreciate your time. you obviously heard from ibrahim dahman on there. you heard from that doctor. i know that there have been strikes there. it is south of the original evacuation point that the idf had urged all gazans to go past for their own safety. obviously, though, there have been strikes there. is that something that's going to continue, is that now an open strike zone as far as the idf sees it? >> hello again, erin. thank you for having me. what's happening all over the gaza strip is that we continue to target hamas, whereas, of course, we are aware of the enhanced presence of civilians in various areas, and we are careful not to strike them.

as i also think that your producer insinuated. but we continue to hunt hamas commanders. we continue to actively search and use the intelligence that we have available to create new targets in order to strike hamas wherever they are. that is ongoing. and we have to be clear. we never said to anybody, in no language, not in arabic, not in english, that we are not going to strike south of that area. we just said that northern part of gaza is going to be a main combat zone, and it should be evacuated because that will be a very dangerous place to be. >> so, let me ask you a question on that. i want to show the video again because it is reminiscent of bakhmut in the days as bakhmut began to be completely destroyed, the northern gaza drone footage that we have. and you point out that you have been striking very specifically. actually, if you add up your number of strikes even versus palestinian reported number of

civilians, the strikes are precision. they are precision. you put out today more commanders that you say you've killed, one in the rocket unit. the basic question for you, colonel, is how much is left? you've taken out a lot of the command. you've taken out a lot of the infrastructure. are you 10% done? are you 80% done? >> yeah, i mean, i heard you gave a very succinct breakdown of it before with wolf blitzer. i can not say how many percent yet. i can say that there are, unfortunately, many, many more senior hamas officials, senior commanders, operatives from the so-called select or elite terrorists. and there's many more targets, both infrastructure, weapons storage, and many other things. so, no, we are not done. and there are many more targets, and many more new targets are created as we extract more

intelligence. also fighters and terrorists that we are extracting intelligence from who we have captive, they create new targets that we attack in the gaza strip as well both in the south and in the north. it's an ongoing campaign where we generate new targets as we speak as well. >> "the new york times" just reporting tonight some new information. they're saying the biden administration is concerned that israel right now lacks achievable military objectives in gaza and then they go on to report that the pentagon has sent officers to help israelis with the challenges of fighting an urban war, perhaps some with experience in places like mosul or fallujah. can you confirm that the pentagon has sent these officers? including a three-star marine, lieutenant general james glynn. >> i can confirm that we are very closely coordinated and that there are boots on the ground and that we share intelligence and we share

perspectives and goals at the highest levels in israel and of course in the military. i cannot confirm any such report in "the new york times," and i can only confirm that today i read something else in "the new york times" that i found very interesting. something that i haven't seen in a long, long time, and that is close to an apology for their horrible and unprofessional coverage of the hostage incident. >> they did issue an apology for that. thank you very much, colonel. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, erin. , and next, you're going to hear from a woman who managed to escape the music festival massacre. she escaped but then was later captured by hamas fighters. she survived and she escaped by actually confronting the gunman. she's going to tell you her extraordinary story.

how's the chicken? the prawns are delicious. oh, i have a shellfish allergy. one prawn. very good. did i say chicken wrong? tired of people not listening to what you want? it's truffle season! ah that's okay... never enough truffles. how much are they? it's a lot. oh okay - i'm good, that - it's like a priceless piece of art. enjoy. or when they sell you what they want? yeah. the more we understand you, the better we can help you. that's what u.s. bank is for. huge relief. yeah... ♪ tonight, two hostages taken

hostage by hamas now released after being held for 17 days. another 218, though, are still being held in gaza. and one woman could've been another one of those numbers, another hostage. you're about to hear her incredible story of survival. she was held captive by hamas. she was held for hours, told her children she was going to die, and was used as a human shield. she was at the nova music festival with her boyfriend when the attack started. the two frantically fled and looked for safety. >> he was tic erical. we were driving for five minutes and then he saw a shelter near kibbutz be'eri. so he stopped there without teting me he decided to stop, he was very afraid. he go out from the car. so i'm going after him. after 20 minutes, we start to

hear shootings, and some guys tell us there are terrorists. so i'm calling and saying there are terrorists here, let's go. we are going to the car very fast, drive for -- and when we are going to the car, we can see them going and shooting everybody. >> you can see them? >> yeah, two terrorists shooting all over. the traffic has slowed down, and we see a gunshot. so we are getting to kibbutz be'eri into the center of the kibbutz. we are putting our car in some place and knock on people door. one family open us. it was 7:00 in the morning. we told them, we are israeli. we look like israeli also. we came from the party. and we are afraid from the

rockets and we are here, please help us. they immediately give us shelter, and they are, like, 70 years old. tao was very hysterical and the woman was very helping, she was very calm, and she explained to him, relax, and we start knowing each other. and in 7 1/2 they are getting sms, messages of terrorists in the kibbutz and everybody needs to go to the safety room. and the time is ticking. and -- >> so this is after five hours? >> yeah. we're sitting five hours in this room. and in this time, people are --

they entered into my home, they are shouting, and then she doesn't answer anymore. >> did you realize when that happened that they were being killed? >> yeah. because there's no answer. so we don't know if it's killed or kidnapped. we were very innocent. we didn't think about these things. at 2:00, the terrorists is -- >> seven hours. >> yeah. five minutes after that, we are hearing crash all over the house. you hearing shotgun shoots. and a lot of screaming. you understand there is no one or two or three terrorists, you heard a lot of people. >> a lot of voices. in that moment when you're sitting there, and they're coming, i can't even imagine how you felt. >> i didn't believe that this happened to me. and the owner of the house is

holding is holding the door. and for one hour, we succeed not to let them go in. but they are screaming all over, you know? and after 15 minutes, they throw a grenade -- >> they throw a grenade? >> it was black. and after ten minutes, they succeed to open the window of the safety room and ask for us toro hiding in the closet. so, they didn't know that we are there. but two minutes after, the door is open and three terrorists are putting gun to our head. >> did you -- >> i didn't believe it. >> did you think you were --

were you even to think? >> i think about my children, that they are going to lose their mother for nothing. because i didn't supposed to be there. it was -- i was so sad that i'm probably going to die for nothing. because i didn't do anything. and just maybe going to kill because i'm jewish. at least ten -- ten terrorists taking two of us to another home. i don't know from where i have this courage to do what i did, but the terrorists that talk hebrew, he see me, that i'm looking at them. i look at them. he told me, calm down. we don't want to kill you. we just want to take you to gaza. and he tell me -- he asked me, you have friends in the police or the army? i said, yep. he told me, so let's call one of

them. so, i told him, my phone is -- i don't have my phone and i don't remember numbers. and then he bring another phone. we called 100-911. the police is answering, and i'm talking with them. i'm talking in hebrew. i'm telling him hello. i'm in kibbutz be'eri. they kidnapped us. we are hostages in the house in the kibbutz. please come. >> why did they want the police to come? >> they want to kidnap -- that's what's funny. they thought the army is there, so they want to stay alive. >> so, if they took you to gaza, the idf could kill them. the idf wasn't there, but they didn't know. >> after two hours, the police arrived. and by the -- get to inner

stress, the terrorists pull the guns, you know, shots starting to happen between both sides. and it's one, two, three, and then wow, 100. we all -- the hostages and the terrorists all lie down. >> you have a bruise. >> yeah. like this. i feel something very hard. and then i understand -- when it happens to me, i understand that i'm going to die, that i am not -- it's not possible to get alive from this situation. and i'm starting to cry for myself. and the commander is, you know, next to me. but we have enough, you know,

stop crying and i put my hands in my head. he talked all the time in arabic. today i know that he talked with the police and asked for surrender. and because i was calling to the police, they know that there is woman with the name -- so they told him, go with samina outside, but your clothes on. and for the next ten minutes, they put out -- was naked and going with me slowly to the police. >> and how does he go with you? >> he hugged me in the back like this, okay? >> like -- so you're a shield. >> yeah, i'm a shield. yeah, human shield. and he goes me to the police, but it's taking us for minutes. they are -- everybody's -- and i'm telling, don't shoot, don't shoot. >> what does the hamas do? do they see him then? >> they see him.

and they told him, if you were going to do this, they will shoot him. and they didn't do it. >> and they didn't do it. >> yeah. >> she'll never know why. >> yeah. no one escapes alive. and then we are -- 20 policemen from israel. he pushed me a little bit. i run to the police. he get arrested. and i'm safe. but i understand that my boyfriend and the others are still there with 40 terrorists. just once around 5:00, the police don't understand the big -- >> they had no idea. even 5:00 in the afternoon, they had no idea. >> no idea. i may be, you know, don't understand. i'm telling them, no, they are faulty. they tell me, look, the test, we are faulty. i'm telling you, more from you. and they don't believe me. >> so, did you know that the terrorists had shot -- >> i didn't know.

in this time, i had hope that he was still alive. for three days we hope he was alive. but then tuesday, three days after the attack, they have an announcement. and that's it. and he was dead. and everybody was dead. i think it's a dream that maybe i'm going to wake up. i don't understand it. you understand what i'm saying? >> i do. >> i know i know the information, but i don't feel the information. i know he's dead, but i think he's okay. >> you can't feel yet? do you -- >> i don't -- >> you don't have the emotion yet. >> yeah. sometimes i have the emotion, but most of the time, i'm living in denial. but i know i'm -- it's not a -- because it's weird for me that he's gone. he was younger than me. i'm 44 and he's 37. so, it's weird to me that he

won't get to my age today, you understand? >> he'll never be 44. >> yeah, never. never be 40. it's very sad. >> so many stories, perfect stories. how did they not kill you? >> so, i think i have an answer. >> yeah. >> also in the hamas, there are a lot kind of people. there are radical people, and there are more, you know -- >> moderate. >> yeah. and i think, and i understand, after the situation, that the commander that surrendered, that he can see -- >> it's radical. >> exactly. and i know, after the police told me, that there are two commander there that are very radical. they said, nobody's getting out. we are going back to gaza with

everybody lives. >> right. because some of them are -- >> most of them, they are children, 20s, okay? they're afraid to die. and they want to get to gaza with us. >> you can tell that they were also afraid to die. >> yeah. they are humans. they are humans. they are afraid. >> yasmin, what -- i know you said you can't necessarily even feel sometimes. >> yeah. >> you have children. >> yeah. >> thank god for that. >> when i was in the closet, because you need to understand, we are -- in one hour, it was -- this was the most -- >> and the space is tiny. >> yeah. we were like this. and we are very sweat because it was hot in the closet. >> yes. >> and we are holding our hands. and then i decide to write my children a, you know, last word.

and i'm with my girls, i love you. i'm probably going to die, so be safe. be careful. stay sweet. it's very important for me that my sweet children will stay close. >> and now when you're with your youngest child, your son -- >> yeah. >> we're talking about children the same age -- that he wrote you a note. >> a note, yeah. my son told me that he wants to take me along with his sister to the room and he wants to give me something. he wrote me two sentences. i hope you will be happy, and please don't be sad anymore. i love you. and they told thank you that you tell me that, and i will try to be more happy, like i used to be. >> yasmin is an extraordinary woman. thank you so much for joining us. us. "ac 360" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com