you're watching "cnn news central." hope you're having a happy and healthy thanksgiving. grateful you are sharing part of it with us. i'm boris sanchez in washington, d.c. the israeli military is warning there could be changes at any moment, just hours before 13 women and children are set to be released from gaza. at midnight eastern time, a truce between israel and hamas is expected to go into effect. about nine hours later, hamas is set to free that first group of hostages. right now, the israeli government has a list of those captives and says it has notified their families. this plan coming together after a one-day delay, but the qatari government, which mediated the deal, says it is hopeful it will go as planned. >> we are hopeful, i don't know if i should say confident, but i'm very hopeful, and as i said, the commitment we have seen from both sidese very

positive to deal with this very positively. we are seeing a good level of commitment over the agreement itself, the details hashed out. the first, you know, glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, this crisis, and this is why we need it to succeed, and we are hoping and working towards it. >> we have cnn team coverage on the ground in israel, covering this from every angle. we are live in jerusalem. jeremy diamond is live near the border with gaza. but we start with oren liebermann, live in tel aviv. bau oren, there are a lot of moving parts set to begin in just a few hours. walk us through how the release of hostages is scheduled to play out. >> and boris, all of those moving parts have to work in a very specific order for this to go through. it was meticulous discussions and planning that got to this point, and it was because there were still some questions essentially about the logistics of it, that we saw that 24-hour delay to get us to this point. it starts about eight hours from now, when that pause in fighting

goes into effect. shortly after that, hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks lined up in rafah outside of gaza will begin making their way in. that aid desperately needed. nine hours after the pause in fighting begins, around 4:00 in the afternoon, we expect to see the release of israeli hostages held by hamas, 13 women and children. that will work by transferring them from hamas to the red c cross, and then the red cross will bring them to the border crossings either through egypt or directly into israel. then, that first batch of 13 women and children will be taken to hospitals, obviously, for evaluation and checkup. if they are younger than 12, they will meet their families as soon as possible. if they are older than 12, they will meet their families at the hospital. then, according to an israeli official, once it's confirmed that the hostages are in israel, there will be a release of 39 palestinian women and children held in israeli jails. they'll be released from two israeli prisons, then transferred to an israeli prison in the occupied best bank.

at that point, they'll be allowed to head home and go to their families. this is the first day. this then needs to work out repeatedly over the course of four days, and it is so delicate, that's why the idf was warning that it could essentially change at the last minute, until the process begins, and even after the process begins, it could still change. however, the country foreign ministry in their press briefing earlier today said they see a commitment from both sides. they asked, what happens if there's a violation of the cease-fire? there they said they would be in communication with both sides to walk them back from the ledge. if the first two days work out, there becomes the possibility that the pause in fighting could be extended for the release of more than 50 israeli women and children over a longer period of time, but as of right now, boris, from where we're standing and how delicate this entire situation is, that is a very big if. >> yeah, oren, the israeli

military has said the handover process of hostages is going to be complicated. you sort of laid out how it's supposed to go, according to the plan, but there are a lot of logistical challenges that they'll likely face. >> of course. now, first, how the red cross moves inside of gaza, that part is a very close hold. making sure they get from hamas to the red cross, to the idf, that in and of itself is difficult. it's worth noting that the idf has prepared essentially a document of guidelines for israeli soldiers to receive the hostages, how they're supposed to handle them, what they're supposed to ask, reminding them they are now safe, having crossed back into israel because of the trauma they faced over the course of the past nearly seven weeks. all of this has gone into the planning, meticulous details about how this is supposed to work out. troubleshooting all of the pathways. nothing here is easy, especially when you have israel and hamas with so much distrust there. it was an incredible effort to get them to the point where they

could agree on this document, and now, of course, we see, if it holds and how long it holds, and then, if it's possible to build on that for the release of more, first women and children, but then perhaps expanding it to elderly men. however, it is worth noting that prime minister benjamin n netanyahu has repeatedly said that israel's mission is still to destroy hamas. >> jeremy, with just hours to go before the temporary truce goes into effect, israel continues to hammer gaza with air strikes. what are you learning about that? >> absolutely, boris. we have been hearing intense bombardments of the gaza strip. perhaps the most intense we've heard in the last couple of days. in just the last hour, we heard and saw some very large explosions coming from the direction, it seemed, of a refugee camp, where we know israeli forces have been operating heavily. i want you to listen and watch these explosions, and i'll pause

for a moment, so you can hear the sound here. and you can hear, that was just the first round of explosions, the sound reaching us, obviously, after you can actually see the visible explosions on-screen, but this was what we had at the top of the last hour, and in the top of the hour before that. you can hear there, the secondary -- second round of explosions there, going off. and so, these have been the scenes tonight, and we expect this to continue into the night. israeli military officials have made very clear that they will continue fighting in the gaza strip up until they are given the order to stand down before that 7:00 a.m. truce. we will see whether or not that truce actually comes to be at 7:00 a.m., whether both sides

respect it. there have been violations of cease-fires and truces in the past in previous wars between israel and hamas, but this is obviously a very, very delicate situation, and we also know that one thing israeli officials have made clear is that this is merely a pause in fighting. it is not a permanent cease-fire, and they have made very clear that once these initial round of hostages get out, perhaps ten after that per day for extensions of that pause in fighting, at some point, the israeli military will return to its mission in gaza, which the israeli prime minister laid out as retrieving all of the nearly 240 hostages, and also, of course, eliminating hamas from its power in the gaza strip. israeli officials indicating very strongly they intend to move south, deep entire gaza. >> and jeremy, the idf actually confirmed that it has detained for questioning the director of the al shifa hospital, that they

recently seized. what can you tell us about that? >> that's right. the israeli military confirming that it and the -- israel's internal security services has detained the director of al shifa hospital, gaza's largest hospital, detained him for questioning, and why, they say it's because of that network of tunnels that israel has begun showing evidence of that appears to exist below al shifa hospital. in recent days, we have seen, as the israeli military has put out more evidence of the tunnels that appear to exist under al shifa hospital, showing not only that tunnels exist, that built-out rooms, one of which appears to have an air conditioner in it, another that had a bathroom, a kitchenette, as well. effectively, the israelis are saying, look, this hospital system -- tunnel system used hospital resources. they say that will question the

director about his potential connections to hamas, his knowledge of this tunnel. it is important to note that a doctor from al shifa hospital told al jazeera that the director of the hospital was actually arrested while traveling with a world health organization convoy headed south, that part the israelis have not confirmed, but they've confirmed he's been detained and he will be questioned. they haven't said for how long. boris? >> jeremy, thank you for that update. let's pivot now to nima, because we have learning more about the palestinian prisoners that are expected to be released as part of this deal what are you learning? >> well, under israeli law, israel is allowed to arrest children as young as 14, so, we know there will be teenagers 18 and under in that number, there are some 380 teenagers held in israeli detention. we will assume there are around 33 women. they are expected to be among

them. there is disappointment, though, boris, because initially israel published a list that showed that 50 palestinian prisoners would be released, and i think it's important to stress here, just picking up on what jeremy said, the escalation of the bombardment of gaza. it's very difficult for palestinian families tonight to, you know, initially have believed that possibly there could be enough numbers that their loved ones could be amongst them, but then also to know that in the leadup to this very -- to this point delicate, as oren called it, truce, that the bombardment on gaza continues, and let's not forget what that means. that means civilian deaths. and that's part of the reason that there has been so much international pressure, led by president biden, to get israel to this place. so, the fact that there is an escalation and the potential of deaths in the final hours towards the cease-fire is heartbreaking for so many of the palestinian families to see,

boris. >> and nima, 39 palestinian prisoners in all said to be released as part of this swap. you mentioned some of the makeup of those that are being released. i imagine the process also of swapping them is going to be somewhat similar to the hamas hostages being freed, and that the red cross is going to get a chance to examine them? >> absolutely. very kind of closely matched. the difference is that the israeli army has made very clear that the war will continue, and therefore, these hostages could potentially be rearrested. that's the difference between the view from the palestinian side, the families waiting for the prisoners to come home, versus the joy and hope that i imagine the hostage families in israel are feeling tonight, that there are no guarantees, even

the trucks coming in from rafah will be enough to staunch even the prelim minary needs. this pause, if hopefully it goes through, and at the moment, right up until the final moments, that is not guaranteed, will be a brief respite that will not be sufficient to quell the concerns of the families of the remaining palestinian prisoners, or at the very least, even give those in gaza that desperately needed live-saving support, boris. >> nima, jeremy, oren, thank you all very much for the reporting. we want to dig deeper now, get some military analysis with retired army colonel peter mansour. thank you for sharing part of your thanksgiving with us. there are going to be nine hours between the truce starting, and the first hostages being released. i imagine that is an extreme ly precarious time. why do you think the deal was structured that way, to allow for nine hours between the

cessation of has pillties, and then the exchange of hostages and prisoners? >> the word of the cease-fire and when it begins and enforcing it has to filter down through the chain of command on both sides, and it may be even more difficult on the side of hamas where their fighters are in tunnels and maybe not in contact with their senior officials, so, the nine-hour gap there is to make sure the cease-fire is holding before the hostages are exchanged. >> jeremy mentioned that during pauses like this in the past, we've seen a bit of shakiness, some fighting happening. is there a threshold, do you think, during a pause like this, for smaller hostilities that may break out during that nine-hour block? what do you think each side should tolerate? >> yeah, i think each side

expects that there may be some small exchanges of gunfire and they won't be tolerated, but that won't necessarily end the cease-fire. i think the israeli side will have much more discipline in the cease-fire than hamas. just because what i said, fighters in those tunnels may not be in close contact with their superiors. but let's hope it holds, and as it takes effect, i think, as the days go by, it will be -- the cease-fire will hold once it's in place. >> to the point you just made, this truce is with hamas, but hamas isn't the only group that's holding hostages. there are other parties involved, including the islamic jihad. do you see the potential for other players in gaza to potentially violate the truce? >> there is that potential. i was assuming that hamas was

speaking for all the various warring parties in the gaza strip, but if that's not the case, then you can expect violations of the cease-fire, we'll just have to wait and see how that plays out on the ground. >> sure. so, looking forward, if hamas releases the 50 hostages and this plan goes through and they continue releasing ten or so a day, we've heard the potential of a two to three-week pause that could play out that israeli officials said they are open to. what do ifd troops in gaza do during that time? do you think that kind of break can have an impact on their offensive posturing? >> it's beneficial for the israeli defense forces at this point to take an operational pause, resupply their forces. retrain their soldiers on urban warfare tactics.

they can use the two or three weeks to their benefit before they continue offensive operations to clear gaza city, and then potentially move into the southern part of the gaza strip and finish the defeat of hamas down there. >> obviously this kind of handover is a very delicate operation. there are a lot of third parties involved. are you surprised this was delayed by a day? >> oh, absolutely not. there are so many moving parts to this cease-fire that a delay of 24 hours was almost to be expected to iron out the final details, get the communications working on the ground. but you know, for at least, for more than 40 families, it's going to be a day of thanksgiving one day late tomorrow when their loved ones are released. and we can hope the cease-fire holds and that more hostages are release into the future, and this also gets the two parties

talking. even if israel continues its offensive operations in gaza, it will at least have communication with people with their blood on their hands that they need to talk to in order to finish this war once and for all. >> an important point, and a lot of moving parts to this. colonel peter mansour, thank you so much for walking us through it. >> thank you, and happy thanksgiving. >> same to you. still to come, an angle of this deal that we haven't fully delved into, because aid groups are getting ready to dlooifer fuel and supplies to gaza. one humanitarian group who says four days is not enough time. we're going to speak to a member of that organization when we come back.

a temporary truce between israel and hamas also means that critical humanitarian aid can reach gaza. a convoy of aid trucks is currently lined up at the rafah border crossing in egypt, ready to bring desperately needed food, water, and medical supplies. the head of the u.n. relief agency operating in gaza says the people there have been, quote, stripped of their dignity. officials say that a massive, sustained humanitarian effort inside gaza badly needed to save lives. let's discuss this with shanna lowe. shanna, thank you so much for joining us, and happy thanksgiving to you. your organization has argued that a four-day pause is not enough time to address the humanitarian needs in gaza, but within that window, what is your group ready to do? >> we have 53 staff on the ground in gaza who have been

preparing for this very moment, waiting for the opportunity where it's safe for us to be able to expand our operations. already, we're working -- we've been working to distribute cash to gaza's most vulnerable families. we will continue to do that, and we've been managing a number of sites in gaza for internally displaced persons, providing them with hygiene kits, food and other goods, and we hope to be able to expand those efforts as the pause begins. >> so, prime minister netanyahu has said there might be an additional day of the pause for every ten hostages that's released by hamas. that could mean a several week pause in the fighting. what more can be accomplished with that extra time? >> well, we really need more than four days. four days is just not sufficient to access all parts of gaza,

northern gaza and gaza city have effectively been severed from the rest of gaza. so, for us -- and there's been communications challenges reaching people up in the north, so, for humanitarian agencies, we need to do an assessment and figure out what the needs are, how many people remain there, and what is most needed, so, we need lots more time, and we need more than the 200 trucks per day that have been allowed to enter during this pause. this is 46 days, more than 46 days of hostilities, where little has been getting in to reach people in gaza. we have 1.7 million palestinians internally displaced. many of them have brought nothing with them when they left, so, those people are all in need of blankets, mattresses, food, medicine, clean water. >> and shanna, the israeli government has vowed that as

soon as this arrangement with hamas is over, they are going to resume this war. your organization has written in a statement that it would, quote, be a disaster to reignite this conflict. tell us more about your organization's view of this. >> you know, the amount of humanitarian suffering that the 2.3 million palestinians in gaza have been facing is just unimaginable, catastrophic. and to reignite the hostilities after a four-day pause will only lead to increased suffering. we've seen that the israeli military is ramping up to move to southern gaza, which will lead more people to be displaced. we are incredibly worried about people being forced out of gaza, forcibly transferred, a violation of humanitarian law. mass deportation and continued

forcible transfer, as we've already seen from northern gaza down to the south would just be catastrophic at this point. >> shanna lowe, thank you for your time and perspective. we do appreciate it. this just into cnn. you're looking at video from ireland where violent clashes broke out. the latest from that country, when we come back.

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we're following a developing story overseas right now. you're looking at video of violent clashes taking place in dublin. we see a bus on fire in the irish capital. police in riot gear. there's also video on social media showing men and officers fighting. this comes as police are investigating a knife attack in dublin. several people including a 5-year-old girl were apparently hurt. a man in his 50s is currently detained. we'll of course stay on top of this story and bring you the latest. elon musk is facing a growing crisis at twitter. more than a dozen advertisers, including some of the world's largest media companies have cut ties with the social media site that's now known as x. this comes after a damaging report showing an unnerving

amount of anti-semitic and pro-nazi content being shared on the site, including tweets from the ceo himself. but rather than apologizing and ensuring his advertisers that he takes their complaints seriously, musk is suing the media watchdog that released that report. this is not the first time that a tweet has gotten the billionaire in trouble. a recent college graduate is now suing musk for defamation. cnn's donnie o'sullivan has that report. >> i was like, is this for real? >> reporter: 22-year-old ben brody was at home in riverside, california, when -- >> i started getting messages from my friends. you're accused of being a neonazi, ben, look at all this stuff. i was like, okay, this is just some prank. >> reporter: but it wasn't. 1,000 miles away near portland, oregon, two far right extremist groups had gotten into a fight. ben brody was not there, but

online trolls tried to guess who was involved. they found random photos of ben online. >> they said, oh, this person looks like him, he has to be this person, you know, there's no way it's not him. it was just, like, an assumption that went wrong. >> reporter: the person in the video resembled ben, and even though it was not him, they blamed him. they pulled information from his fraternity page and turned it into a lie that he was a federal agent that was infiltrating the group. a so-called false flag operation. >> hey, what's up, guys, my name is ben brody, and i wanted to address the false accusations against me. >> reporter: desperate to clear his name, ben made this video. he even posted timestamped surveillance footage showing him at a store in california at the same time the brawl was happening near portland. but the false claims about ben's

involvement continued to spread. even the owner of twitter, now x, elon musk, weighed in, posting to his millions of followers, "looks like one is a college student who wants to join the government and another is maybe an antifa member." >> i knew this was snowballing, but once elon musk commented, i was like, boom, that's the final nail in the coffin. >> reporter: and how much did it intensify after musk's involvement? >> it massively intensifies it. this guy dmed me, he was like, now even elon musk thinks you're a fed. and what was really scary, too, is that these people were threatening to tell my school, and i was scared that i wasn't going to graduate. >> reporter: ben's friends and others tweeted at musk, telling him the person in the video was not ben. >> this case, at its core, is about elon musk being reckless and making an accusation about this young man. >> reporter: mark bankston is

brody's attorney. >> ben published a video to try to clear his name, it didn't work. so, there's this feeling of helplessness that there's millions out there, millions, who think that ben was involved in neonazi activities. >> and that is how i know you lied to me. >> reporter: he's known as the lawyer who successfully sued alex jones for the lies he spread about the sandy hook elementary school shooting. now he wants to hold elon musk accountable, writing, musk made these false and damaging a accusations against ben brody and it's led to severe personal harassment and permanent damage to his reputation. >> how did we get to a place where somebody so powerful can make that kind of accusation based on something so flimsy? from just a anonymous people on the internet. >> reporter: his home address was posted online and he worries his name will be forever associated with neonaziism.

>> someone posted, a cklansman lives here. i was terrified. >> reporter: ben says b ssays, jewish, this has been especially painful. did you think your life was ruined? >> yeah, completely. neo nazi fed, ben brody. >> reporter: ben is seeking damages in excess of $1 million, but he and his lawyers saw it's about a lot more than money. >> we have to change how we deal with information, how we spread information, and how we attempt to influence others. >> the fact that this is happening to private people, that's just terrifying. and it's going to happen again unless someone stands up to this guy. >> reporter: elon musk's lawyers have until the 5th of january to respond to this lawsuit in court. one of musk's lawyers telling me last night that they expect this case to be dismissed, but really, this lawsuit really lists page after page, instance

after instance of where it appears that musk is repeatedly, over the course of many months, engaging with conspiracy theorists on his x platform, and sometimes appearing to engage or even amplifying racist or an anti-semitic conspiracy theories. now, that is obviously something we're expecting musk's lawyers to contest in court, but really, as you saw in that report there, ben brody, the 22-year-old, his life really turned upside down by these conspiracy theories. back to you. >> donie o'sullivan, thank you so much for that. this is now a gut-wrenching waiting game for those families of those kidnapped by hamas. will their loved ones be among the first released in just a few hours? we're going to speak to the family of one hostage, when we come back.

right now, the families of hostages being held inside gaza are waiting anxiously to hear news about their loved ones. the first group of people to be released as part of the deal will be women and children, which means that for the families of hostages who are men, there's likely still a more anxious waiting ahead. joining us now is a man whose brother-in-law is being held captive. thank you so much for being with us. first, i'm just wondering if you've gotten any information about him and how he's doing? >> thank you so much, and i wish to wish anybody who is watching

happy thanksgiving, if they celebrate. we have no information about his well-being or whereabouts. the last we've heard, about three weeks ago, he was alive, but it was indicated that this was for a specific timetstamp, and the situation is just so fluid, had what was known three weeks ago can't be relevant now, which is why we will keep pushing for the release of all the hostages, irrespective of their gender, their age. he deserves to be home, reunited with his wife, my sister, and his two daughters. >> how are they holding up? i understand that they, at one point, were being held at gunpoint on october 7th, and they were fortunate to be rescued and make it out, but this has to be an excruciating process for them, and obviously for you, as well. >> yeah, it's been an excruciating seven weeks now.

i feel like we're in the midst of an odyssey, and it's an ongoing journey of the unknown of wherether he will return to or not. all of our family is displaced around israel, scattered around. all of them were victims of the attacks of october 7th. my sister and the girls were targeted, as terrorists barged into their home. and they were held captive for hours. luckily, they were rescued. they're dealing with the trauma, they're dealing with the grief for the loss of the community that they saw burning literally and figuratively, and yet, my sister, a brave woman, continues to fight every day to voice the cry of my nieces, for the return of their father. they received the care they need, but what they really need right now is for everyone, irrespective of their political

disposition, is to unite behind the releasing of the hostages. >> i'm wondering if this initial deal to temporarily pause hostilities and release some 50 hostages between israel and hamas, it gives you some degree of hope, i assume, that a gr greater deal for others will soon come? >> first and foremost, it gives me a reason to be joyful for the first time in several weeks, because children and some -- some women will be reuniting with their families. some of those children lost both of their parents, they are orphans now, and they'll be rescued and returned home, so, there is a degree of happiness there, but there is also a degree of sadness from the fact that seven weeks in, and we are not able to release all the hostages. there is some optimism, but it's

a barometer, and for this past seven weeks, we moved from optimism to a pessimism, and we are sometimes faced with the realization that perhaps it won't be a happy ending here. we still hope for it, and i call all the international community, all the relevant stakeholders, israeli government, as well, to continue and do all they can to ensure the release of all the hostages, all of them need to return to their home, to their loved ones. this odyssey, ongoing odyssey, needs to end, just like it wdid with of disus returning home. >> you did share with "the new york times" a piece where you described the humanity of the hostages, and you painted your sister and her family as

spiritual lovers of nature and mankind. tell us more about them. >> yeah, he is a loving man, dedicated to raising his daughters, dedicated to allowing my sister to develop her career, avid reader, he loved nature. my sister, as well, shared his optimism about humanity, optimism about raising a family on that region of israel. the israel-gaza border. because it is that region that fills people with hope that perhaps one day we can live with peace in our neighbors in gaza, but that cannot happen with hamas being behind the border. our family grew up to terror. i grew up on the border.

my growing up experience, living with rockets and terror attacks, so was my sister, but i still insist that we have to be optimistic and hopeful about the future, while being realistic how we can achieve it and achieving it right now is ensuring the release of the hostages, and ensuring that hamas can no longer play a part in the realization of the hopes and dreams of both israelis and palestinians. >> your optimism is very much appreciated. we hope that soon you and your family are reunited, and you can have thanksgiving dinner that you might have had today. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. i wish peace upon us all. >> thank you so much. stay with cnn. we'll be right back.

that the hostage deal between israel and hamas which is set to include americans is set to kick in in just a few hours. cnn's arlette saenz is traveling with the president. she joins's now. even the israelis have pointed to the outsized role president biden played in these negotiations. how is he responding to today's news? >> reporter: well, boris, president biden struck an optimistic tone about the prospect of this hostage deal but said he would not provide any updates until it is completed. now, one big thing the white house is watching for is how many americans might be part of this initial batch of hostages.

it's believed there are three americans that could be part of this release including 3-year-old abigail edan whose parents were killed on october 7th during that hamas attack. here's what president biden had to tell reporters a bit earlier today. >> are you expecting the 3-year-old girl to be among the hostages released? >> keeping my fingers crossed. >> reporter: so the president there hopeful. now, officials say that they will inform the families of american hostages once a release is complete. that essentially means they will need to have an american official or a trusted third party set eyes on these american hostages before they notify their families. but the who is is hopeful this will all start to take place tomorrow. >> on a much lighter note, i believe the biden thanksgiving trip included something pretty chilly, right? >> reporter: yeah, it did. president biden's granddaughter naomi posted a photo of the

family saying that they all par took in annual thanksgiving polar plunge dipping into the cold waters here off the coast of nantucket. you can see president biden there wrapped in a towel along with his son hunter biden, daughter ashley and all of his grandchildren. the bidens also visited a fire station where they dropped off five pumpkin pies for the firefighters and first responders working there. they also called in to the thanksgiving day parade as well as making calls to all branches of the military this thanksgiving. >> arlette saenz, thanks for joining us. happy thanksgiving. and thank you so much for sharing your holiday with us. we hope you enjoy that cranberry sauce whether from a can or made from scratch. our special coverage continues in a moment. stay with cnn.

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