base in israel. from there, that is the first opportunity to have contact with the families that they have not been able to speak to for nearly 50 days. they will have a medical evaluation to be taken to one of the several hospitals ready to receive them. but you have to think about the families of those 13 hostages who were released today, and also the families of those who are still waiting for their loved ones. you have to imagine some sense of hope when you are seeing the scenes of the convoy crossing into egypt, and being received that way, and knowing they are very, very close to finally getting back on to israeli soil. this is an ainge pssooi t--

anxiety-inducing riddled time, and these families have been watching through the public reports of the talks and how close they are been the deals have fallen apart, and then watched a couple of days ago, the process was delayed 24 hours and now finally, perhaps a point to get to embrace their loved ones, at least the families of the 13 hostages released today, and providing some hope for the families of those in gaza that a deal is possible to release them, and hamas can indeed deliver on its side of the bargain to deliver these hostages to the red cross into egypt and eventually and hopefully soon into israel. >> and jeremy a testament to the selflessness, because we have heard from so many of the hostage families that even though it is not their loved ones coming home, because they got a call from the israeli government yesterday telling them whether or not it is their family members, they are saying they are still so happy for the

13 families who are getting their family members back in a short time. thank you, jeremy diamond. john, one aspect of this as the officials are approaching with a lot of caution and prepdation to israel and all over, this is unfolding pretty much as we had expected and this is the lengthiest part here, the transfer of the hostages, but so far, it is going as expected and hearing from the officials that they expected it to go. >> and they are watching with hope that it will continue to do so with this added twist that there are the thai hostages that were released also today that we were not told that was going to happen leading up to it, kaitlan. just so you know what kaitlan was talking to jeremy a moment ago, and there was some video inside of the west bank, and we believe that was the location where some palestinian prisoners are being released from or at least moved to, and i was told

that we would have that video again, that is from inside of the west bank. we believe that might be a location where some of the palestinian prisoners, 39 of them today, will be released from the ofer prison on the map, to the other locations there, and jeremy diamond was reporting from thekerem shalom crossing, from the rafah crossing, and new video there from the rafah crossing, and that is video from moments ago, and that is a convoy of the red cross ambulances moving through. let's look inside of there, and we can't know for sure who is inside there, and it is possible, but we do not know for

sure, but that those are some of the hostages. and the 13 israeli hostages, and perhaps the dozen or so thai hostages also being released by hamas terrorists from inside of gaza, and new pictures, and the best pictures of yet inside of the ambulances, and moving through the rafah crossing, and once they pass through the area there, they will be out of gaza and into egypt, and again, these are the first time that we have seen the images there, and there were men in the back seats there, and we know those were not the hostages there, and perhaps there, and that could have been the thai nationals i suppose. we do not know the gender of the thai nationals, but if you are seeing a man for the most part, it is either a thai national or a red cross worker, not one of the israeli hostages and unclear who is in the last vehicle, but we will try to get more information, but the 13 israeli hostages are en route now, and

the known path was from inside gaza through the rafah crossing, and that is the video that we saw there, and they will be taken farther south here to egypt to the nitzana crossing to the haretzim air force base where they will receive more treatment, and then moved by helicopter to hospitals around the country. again, this is the process going on right now. the video getting in by the minute, and we don't know when it is going to come. so we will bring it to you as it happens. these views, these images of the hostages sensing freedom for the first time in more than 48 days. where am i going to now, guys? all right. kaitlan, back to you. >> yeah, john, as we are watching all of this unfold, minute-by-minute here, and officials in israel are doing

the same thing. the prime minister benjamin netanyahu and prime minister, they are watching as well from the military intelligence office space where they are keeping a close eye to make sure that what they have been facilitating and negotiating this deal with hamas through ansintermediater from qatar to make sure it goes as planned. so how does this work for the other 37 here? all of this is being carefully monitored, and one big unknown is the condition of the hostages. we have not gotten any medical update or what condition they are in, and that is something they are bracing for here in israel to prepare for any scenario with all of this. cnn's chief national correspondent clarissa ward is outside of the children's hospital that could receive some of the hostages, and we expect children among them, though we

do not have official confirmation of who is in this group. clarissa, any new activity at the hospital, and it is a lengthy process as we are seeing the hostages making their way eventually to israel, and what are you seeing at the hospital right now? >> so, behind me, and i don't know if you can see it, but there are some flashing lights, and that is the hospital's helipad, and we have seen a number of ambulances sort of parking up alongside that helipad, and again, we don't know if that is where the hostages would arrive, but the assumption is that the children who are released, and if they are with their mothers, and their mothers are in reasonable physical condition, they will be brought here to the schneider children's hospital, and if they need more extensive care, they will be taken to another

hospital. but here at this hospital, they have gone to great pains, kaitlan, to make sure they have done the best job they can to prepare for the arrival of the hostages. they have taken over an entire area of of the hospital, and really gone to lengths to make sure it does not look like a hospital. they want to create what one staff member said a beautiful hotel. there is a lot of thought going into a lot of toys so that it is going to be feeling warm and intimate, and the hospital has gone to great pains as well to hand pick the staff who will be working with the hostages who will be arriving. obviously, they want to ensure they have the top psychiatrists and social workers to be ready to greet them. >> clarissa, we will check back with you, but i want to go to jeremy diamond in kerem shalom, the border crossing between

egypt and gaza and israel. >> we are hearing helicopters and this is the first time. and maybe it is dark, but let me see if my cameraman mathias can catch the helicopters very, very close to this crossing. we are two kilometers and witnessing two helicopters landing very, very close to the ka karem shalom crossing point. and now, between gaza and egypt, and there is not an official crossing point, but it has been used in the past, and there is a way for people to get from

israel to egypt and it was the place that was used with gill lead shalit. and as we know there are effectively two points where we believe that they would cross over. one is the nitzana and the other is kerem shalom, and the bright lights that you can see is the kerem shalom, and now next to us, we have the two helicopters that have touched down, and flashlights from people who are maybe getting off of the helicopter. so, this is obviously a developing situation, kaitlan.

these appear to be blackhawk helicopters from what our understand is. military helicopters landing again two kilometers from where this crossing point is. >> okay. jeremy, you have been at this crossing point for hours, and this is the first time we have seen two hl elicopters in that time span to arrive there, and we are waiting to see if they are there to facilitate the transfer or what we are expecting to see next. >> yeah, that is right, and there have been military personnel there -- >> and do you -- >> reporter: i am able to see -- there is dust kicking up into my face right now, but these are two helicopters landing two kilometers from the kerem shalom

crossing, and we happened to be here, because we knew it was a vantage here, but there is some photographers brought to this point in order to witness the possible crossing, and again, we have not fully and officially confirmed that they are coming through the kerem shalom crossing, but this activity would suggest that it is very very possible. i think that with the light now, you might be able to get a better look at some of the helicopters, and not clear if they are picking somebody up here or if they are moving on. but, certainly, most activity that we have seen at our location as we know at this moment that convoy of hostages is in egypt making their way, it would appear towards israel. which crossing we don't know. and this is certainly the closest to rafah crossing and the closest to drive to, and so i suspect in the next half hour or so, we may get a clearer

picture of exactly what is happening and whether or not they are in fact crossing here. >> yeah, jeremy, i can show the people on the map where you are, and give people a sense of how small these distances are here. this is the crossing that jeremy is talking about which is officially a crossing from southern gaza into israel, but as jeremy said, there is a way to get from egypt to israel through there also from kerem shalom if they handle it a certain way. we do expect the hostages to be moved south from the rafah crossing there, and the dots there, and the distances, and you are talking about barely a couple of miles there from the rafah crossing and the kerem shalom crossing there. so it is possible that they mo moved out from gaza from egypt

into rafah and as jeremy said, maybe brought back much farther south to the nitzana crossing, but this process is under way including video that we saw not long ago of a convoy of red cross vehicles with people sitting in the back of these red cross vehicles. there appear to be both men and women inside of them, and it was hard to get a good look at their face, and obviously among the israeli hostages, we were told only women and children as part of the first group, and we have learned that there is a group of thai hostages and workers from thailand who were taken by the hamas terrorists some 48 days ago, and 12 of them being released also, and so we were trying to discern if they were in the back of the vehicles or not. once they move from here, and whether it is from the kerem shalom crossing, we do expect them to go to the nitzana

crossing to the air base. what are you seeing here, jeremy? >> no, we saw the two helicopters land here, and you saw it live on air, and they are sitting here, and some folks have gotten off of the helicopter, and others are getting on, and it is not clear from my vantage point, because it is quite dark here. but, again, this is what we are seeing the activity and more than we have seen all day. i can't confirm anything at this point. >> jeremy, while we have you here, and you are at kerem sh shalom, and rafah is not far from you, and on a normal day, from goods and people moving from egypt into gaza, and then

now, how complicated this situation is. >> reporter: yeah, it is extraordinarily complicated because the kerem shalom crossing is where goods would cross into gaza. it is one of the largest places for humanitarian aid and commercial goods to go from israel into gaza, but the crossing points, and all crossing points between israel and gaza, and kerem shalom included were closed after the october 7th attacks happened. so instead, what has happened as aid has started to trickle into gaza in recent weeks is that the aid has been exclusively going in via the rafah crossing, but the israelis are performing checks on all goods going in, and they are conducting a layer of security checks on those trucks of humanitarian aid and more recently of fuel and -- and

it appears that the helicopters are taking off again. i think that you can hopefully still see the shot, john, but it looks like the helicopters are moving. let me pause for a second. okay. they are moving in a different position, but they are not altogether leaving. john, in terms of getting things in and out of gaza has been complicated by the war, and complicated by hamas' attack on october 7th, and now there is a whole new layer of difficulty, but it is not unusual for egypt and israel to coordinate over the entry and exit of people and goods into gaza. as you know, the gaza strip has faced significant blockade

effectively of certain goods and a lot of activity in and out of gaza, and not just from israel's crossing into gaza, but also from rafah and there is a reason why journalist, and we have wanted to get into gaza for weeks during this war, and the israel-gaza crossings are closed, but in israel, they will not let journalists in that crossing either. i think that there is an arrival here, and there are lights around them, and perhaps cameras, and i am not sure if you have a better view on these officials, john, than i do, with the bigger screen. >> i am not looking at the bigger screens here, but we are seeing the people milling about those helicopters in the lit area. that is in kareem shalom which is a crossing between gaza and

israel. okay. so now, we are going to go to that video which is now live from rafah. these are egyptian ambulances lined up waiting at rafah -- a number of egyptian ambulances lined up waiting, and a dozen, 13, 14 ambulances waiting there. we believe there are 13 israeli hostages being released, 12 thai hostages. we believe they were brought over the border, the rafah crossing from gaza into egypt moments ago, and this is appearing to be a group of ambulances waiting to maybe greet them there, and the number of ambulances there shows you the obviously concern for the wellbeing of each of these

individual hostages being released right now. there's rafah -- hang on. there's a little girl. these are live pictures, and the first time that we are seeing that right now, and for the first time we saw a little girl getting out of one of those ambulances and walking into a building there. could have been that it is one of the israeli hostages, the young children released not long ago as part of this deal. we will keep our eye on this, and see if we see anyone else. kaitlan collins is waiting alongside me, and kaitlan, did you see that? it did appear to be a young girl walking from one of those ambulances right there. that could have been our first clear look at one of the children released today.

>> yeah. she appeared to be with a woman. we have been told by israeli officials who would not confirm identities for obvious reasons that they expected the families to be included in the group of hostages and not to be separated as they were released by hamas. i will say, john, we have just now official confirmation on the actual numbers that we have been talking about. and there have been some questions about how many thai nationals in the group. the red cross which of course facilitated that transfer, and again, that moment there with the little girl in the yellow shirt at the bottom of the screen, and the red cross is saying that they are relieved to confirm, and i am quoting them now "the safe release of 24 hostages." we belief ve 13 of those were t ones that were negotiated from the qataris, and now, what you

are seeing is the rafah crossing and the convoy we believe holding the hostages, and still, john, a number of ambulances here, and the condition of the hostages, and what they were going to be greeted with upon arrival, and they didn't know. so that is going to be one thing here, and of course, you been seeing some elderly people in the group that we are looking at, and we are still waiting for that official list from the israeli government. there is another woman going inside of the door into what we believe is this medical facility. >> an older woman there being led in, presumably a medical worker there with her arm around the older woman. a short time ago we saw a young girl led in, and not exactly clear who the stewards are here presumably with the red cross, the international committee of

the red cross helping the people out or through. again, at this point, it does appear that we have had a look at at least two of the hostages that have been released. a young girl and an older woman. this process playing out before our eyes at the rafah crossing. this is egypt now. so they are free, whatever you want to call it. they are free, no longer in the hands of hamas terrorists, but in safety, inside egypt for the first time in 48 days, and impossible to know, kaitlan, what is going through their minds, and impossible to know how physically they are people we saw there, the young woman and the young girl, and the older woman were walking without aid, and they were moving along right there. remarkable to see that first look we believe at any of the hostages now for 48 days,

kaitlan. >> yeah, it is also remarkable how we are seeing this play out minute-by-minute live before our very eyes, and previously, when we saw the hostages released, i am thinking of judith and natalie ranan, and we got a photo of them walked by israeli soldiers and we did not see a video of them, but one released by hamas and one that we did not show for obvious reasons, but there was one that jeremy was showing with the helicopters and who they are intended for and who is going to get on them at kerem shalom, and here at the rafah crossing with the ambulances, and clarissa ward is at the children's hospital preparing for the hostages as they are released, and now, clarissa, john and i are viewing

what we believe are hostages, but it is not revealed who are the identify of these people, and what are you seeing from your vantage point? >> kaitlan, i can't stand in front of the shot, because we are using a major zoom lenses, and we have pushed in as hopefully, you can see now. this is the scene at the helipad at the schneider children's medical center, and swred definitely noticed an uptick of activity. earlier on, we saw a few ambulances parking, but now, you can see that there are a number of paramedic, medical personnel, and we have also seen a significant security presence, and some people talking on their phones. so, definitely, an uptick in the amount of activity that we are seeing here at the helipad. this is expected to be the destination for a number of those hostages particularly

children, and any children who are with their mothers who are in reasonable condition. those who are more seriously injured or have medical conditions will be taken to different hospitals, but here, they are expecting arrival of some of those children, mothers if they are traveling with their mothers, and they have gone above and beyond to try and create an area in the hospital that is not looking clinical or look like a hospital. they have tried to decorate it and make it look as warm and intimate as possible like a hotel. they have filled it with toys they told us and said they have hand-picked the medical personnel with expertise in children trauma and psychiatrists and each family and group or hostage that arrives will be paired up with a social worker. there is a heightened sense of the importance of this moment, and of course, there is a lot of tension and nerves around it,

but really the focus is, and i'm trying to be as sensitive as possible to the state of the hostages and in particular the children will be in after going through the trauma that they have been through these last seven weeks. we have talked about earlier how the ministry of welfare has put out guidelines and a comprehensive list of the idf soldiers and any personnel coming into contact with the hostages before they arrive here. you can see the car there with flashing lights driving past. they have been told not to answer the questions that the children might have, where is mommy, where is daddy. of course, a lot of the children may be orphans, and they may not know that they are orphans, so they have been given instructions of how the deal with the questions and told to say, i am sorry, sweetheart, i cannot answer your questions, but i am here to take you to safety, and you will be reunited with people you know who can answer your questions and small

things like don't pick the children up without asking them first, and offer first. we know that there are teddy bears in some of the locations where they may be identifying them and carrying out the cursory medical examinations on the children, and noise canceling headphones for helicopters that are likely to be embarking on to be taken to the various hospitals. there are five hospitals where we believe they may be coming, but this is certainly at the schneider medical center for children is the primary destination for those hostages who are children or those traveling with the children who are not seriously injured, kaitlan. >> yeah, bracing for what is about to come their way obviously, and something that is a welcomed moment here in israel, and bittersweet one, john. to remark on the images that we

saw earlier, that is outside of israel where we saw that children's hospital in petah tikva. and this is playing out as they had hoped it would be. and there are still many to go, and more than 200 hostages held by hamas in gaza, but to see the hostages in this moment brought to safety, and eventually brought back to israel is just a breakthrough of a moment that, you know, there haven't been many of those since october 7th happened. >> no. what you are looking at took place at the rafah crossing and the moment between gaza and egypt. visio, and the first video that we have had of the group of hostages who were released by the hamas terrorists today. we did see video of a young girl

walking from an ambulance into a building there. and we saw the video of an older woman walking into the building there. and we have reracked it so you can see it is again, and there is a line of ambulances, plural, for the 24 hostages that we know have been released today that includes we think 13 israeli hostages and that would make 11 thai hostages. a number of these vehicles, unclear if it is one ambulance per hostage, but certainly a lot of medical care on the scene right there. it was from these vehicles, and i think that it was walking from the vehicle to the structure that we did see the pictures that i would love to see again here of that little girl, and indelible image of a little girl being moved through, and then we

also saw the picture of the older woman being moved through, and those were the two picture, and those are the two pictures that are most important to date to see people that we believe have been in captivity now for 48 days getting their first taste of freedom for some time. that is taking place right here at the rafah crossing. rafah crossing again, and we believe they are being tra transported from southern gaza over to border into egypt, and we have this video of a young girl from a short time ago. let's look at it. there she is going into the building. not clear if the woman traveling is an aide worker or relative, and as kaitlan acknowledged, we believe that some of the

children might be being released with a mother today, and we don't know if that took place there. we also saw video a short time ago of an older woman who appeared to be a hostage again being led from the ambulance into the building for a treatment there. we will go to oren liebermann now who is in tel aviv which is hostage square, and the area where the people gathered there, oren. what is happening at this moment, and how much are they seeing of this process, this release process? >> reporter: john, a little bit of the beehive of activity here as the crowd is waiting for all of the updates. a lot of the tv networks have set up here, and one of the locals is here, and from the whatsapp groups and they are able to closely follow the developments, and they know they have enteredegypt, and the 13 children and women have begun their way home, and there is a

festive mood here with the music playing, and they are joyous of the occasion than the first of the hostages have come home. this is square of difficulty and pain over the course of the last seven weeks. i don't know if you can see me, but there is a table with a seat for each of the hostage, and a table set out for the sabbath, and for the calls of the posters and the demonstrations and the sleeping in the tents and the trying to get into the defense ministry to meet with the war cabinet when they say "bring them home now" at least for a small group now is now. and that is a cause for them to have a little bit of a celebration here. is that everybody, no. they know many difficult days ahead, because the process is playing out so slowly, but this will change for what we have seen for so long, john. >> and now, from tel aviv, 13 israeli hostages, and 12 thai

and 1 filipino citizen. now, goe to the r-- we go to th rafah crossing again. jeremy diamond, what are you seeing? >> yes, these are military helicopters and this is related to the transport of hostages potentially. our producer went down there. and the soldiers were told to come here for that reason, but they don't know what the instructions are in terms of where they will be transporting people or when or how many or any information like that, but they were told to come here related to this broader mission of getting the hostages into israel and onward to their families. now, i don't know whether or not hostages will end up getting in these helicopters, but these soldiers at least were given orders related to the recovery of these hostages.

so, indeed, there are two helicopters that land here a little bit ago, and we are going to wait and see what the next saga, what the next phase of this saga entails. >> jeremy diamond at the kerem shalom crossing which is very, very close to the rafah crossing. the rafah crossing connects gaza and israel, but you can get through there to egypt, and i don't know if you can make it out, because it is only a total of like eight miles there, and very close. so you can see from gaza border there. so you are talking about a var very small distance, and it is possible as the 24 hostages from the rafah crossing to the kerem shalom crossing, and we are told

that they would be moved once inside of israel proper, they would be moved by helicopter to th e hatzrim air base. and now, we have seen two hostages released, but not the 24 that we been told, and the logistical challenges that these people are all okay and getting them back to safety inside of israel, and obviously very dark now, jeremy, and now back to kaitlan in tel aviv. >> yes, john.

while we are waiting for this to play out, and waiting for the identities of the identities to be given out that will be given once they are safely out. and we are told that by an israeli source that most of the hostages and not all of them, and we don't know that exactly, but a majority of the hostages that have been released just now from hamas from the kibbutz near oz. that is where there was a lot of devastation in the october 7th attack, and it was estimated that a quarter of the population of the 700 people there were either murdered or kidnapped into gaza. it was the kibbutz where they burned basically the kindergarten to the ground. they went into homes, and you heard the testaments from the people who did survive that attack about how devastating it was that day, and how they saw some of the worst violence on october 7th.

john, we are now seeing as we are hearing they from the kibbutz near oz, and right now, we are watching the line of people boarding, and they are going inside of a bus. you can see the elderly woman stepping into the white bus with assistance right here. you can see the line of people behind her, some men, and another woman. we belief we saw a child at the beginning of the line. it is unclear if it is the same child that we saw earlier. we know that we have heard from egyptian sources that several of the hostages who are being released today, and not just the 13 israeli hostage, but the thai hostages who were kidnapped that day, and they are boarding the bus right in front of us, john. >> again, 13 israelis, 10 thai

h hostages and one filipino hostage. we are told that the young girl who we saw earlier was at the front of the line. but boarding that bus we clearly did see one child and some older women and then men. okay. we are going to be seeing the pictures again? okay. take a look at the pictures again. at the front of the line there, you saw a younger girl, an older woman, and there is a different vantage point. a couple of older women there, and now what appear to be a number of thai hostages. 10 thai hostages and one filipino hostage boarding the bus. that is the rafah crossing. we can't be sure where that bus is going to go, but it is

possible that it is going to head not far, and a mere number of small handful of kilometers south of the kerem shalom crossing and then enter israel. apparently, those are the thai men and one filipino hostage boarding the bus, where, kaitlan, we did see the first person to get on was that girl, that young girl that we saw, and now free after 48 days in captivity. what's next for this bus, we are not sure, but within the next several hours, all of those people we presume will be back inside of israel. >> yeah, we believe that the next stop for that bus is going to be here in israel where there is a number of hospitals that are preparing to receive them. i mean, this reintegration process that the hostages have to go through is not just about

their physical wellbeing, these medical checkups, but meeting with therapists and officials here to talk about what they have seen, what they have experienced in the 48 days they have been held. these people have not known freedom since october 7th since they were kidnapped by hamas into gaza, and where we know from two of the hostages previously released, they were in a complex tunnel system underground, and they had been underground for so long, that natural light, sunlight shocked them, because they had not seen it so long, so that is the mindset that so many of the people that you have seen now have gone through. there are major questions about what else those conditions have looked like, but we know what we have heard from the other hostages that were released. one thing that we were told is that as soon as the hostages, the israeli hostages made it to the border, they were going to try to facilitate a phone call

with the family members, and they were not to immediately be reunited with them, but they wanted them to have a first conversation with a loved ones that they have not had for so long, and it is a huge sigh of relief for so many of the families to see this actually unfolding, and obviously still waiting for them to get here and into israel. >> again, we are getting new information about who these people are, and where they are headed. the group of 24 hostages freed for the first time in 48 days experiencing freedom held by hamas terrorists. we will take a break and the special live coverage continues after this.

all right. the breaking news. some 24 hostages have been released by hamas including 13 israeli hostages, 10 thai hostages and 1 filipino hostages. they moved south from gaza over the rafah border crossing into egypt. we saw pictures a short time ago of them moving out of ambulances and you could see a young girl right there, and one of the israeli hostages released and we also saw a number of older women, and then a number of the thai hostages as well moving in

the rafah crossing and then boarding a bus. where the bus is headed, we are not sure at this point. we can show you one of the places that we expect the hostages to go soon. and that is the hatzarim air base, and that is where matthew chance is, and what are you seeing with the latest? matthew. >> yes, that is right, john. here at the air base, preparations have been under way for some time to cater for the arrival, the first stop of the arrival of the 13 israeli hostages, and perhaps the internationals from the thailand hostages and the filipino, and we don't have clarification yet. but it is a sensitive operation,

and you have been seeing the buses, and according to the israeli officials here on the ground near the air base speaking to us is that the plan at the moment is that the hostages to be driven, the freed hostages to be driven by road in buses to this air base, and the reason they are doing that, they said is because the helicopter flights can be scary, and they don't want to further traumatize anyone who has not been on a helicopter before. that is the reason they are going to be driving them by road. we will see how that develops. that is a fast-changing situation, and that plan could change, but whether they are coming here by bus or flown here by helicopter, and this is the place where we understand that they will be received by, you know, get initial checkups, and make phone calls to their family members, they'll be properly looked at physically and

medically to assess the immediate needs and food and drinks and a change of clothes if that is necessary. it is not clear if they are in the same clothes when they were abducted so violently on october 7th. so they will be looked at here, and there are shower facilities here. after that, they will be loaded on to the helicopters and taken to various hospitals around the country, and in particular tel aviv not sure about the exact medical needs, and the timing on that. and once the hostages come by road and get to the border of israel, it is going to take about an hour, because it is about 30 miles away, and perhaps longer to the border, depending where they come across to this base. then they are going to be processed from half an hour to two hours depending upon, you know, the specific needs. so, you know, where, bracing ourselves for several hours now, before these people sort of arrive here and are processed and then finally board those

and travel to the hospitals else the where in the country. but again, a very sensitive, anxious period underway right now. >> to be sure for these people experiencing freedom for the first time in 48 days. hath ewe chance the at the air base, you're look at video now of these hostages boarding a bus. that was at the rafah crossing a short time ago exactly where the bus is headed is not really clear, but again, that was at the rafah crossing. i can show you on a map where this is all taking place. so you can situate yourself. matthew chance is at the air base. the rafah crossing, i want to go not far from rafah now to where jeremy diamond is. you have been seeing some

helicopterer activity there. you have an update for us. >> reporter: we saw two helicopters land earlier this the hour. you saw is live with us. we have just learned that at least one of these helicopters is indeed a medical helicopter, which can be used for medical evacuations. we do not know whether it's here as a precaution or here because it's going to be used for one of these hostages, or for some other reason, but certainly, when you look at the amount of activity that we are seeing here and all of the indication that we have gotten about the likelihood of this being the location where the hostages will cross, it's certainly increasingly looking like that may very well be the case. again, we do not have that fully confirmed as of now, but that does appear to be the likeliest scenario at this point. as we were talking about before, i think it bears repeating, we

know that in the past, this rafah crossing has been used for these types of situations. in 2011, people were taken out just like these hostages tonight. and then he was brought into israel via this crossing. so that maybe the scenario we are begin oging to watch play out. >> just so people understand, to drive from the rafah cross to where you are, how long would that take? >> i could not tell you, to be honest. i don't want to guess. but i do know it's obviously relatively short distance. the gaza strip as a whole at its widest point is 6 kilometers wide. so not a very long drive. it could be something that could be done, i believe, if i'm

recalling a conversation i had recently in about 20 to 30 minutes or so. so it is certainly very close. again, it depends on what speeds they are moving we know there's ambulances involved. so how it comes together and also the other question is how long are they at that crossing point before they actually start moving to that air base in southern israel. >> jeremy, i get it. sometimes it's hard to know exactly how far or close things are when you're standing there literally in the dark. but the important thing to keep in mind, we're not talking about great distances. so they boarded that bus, and if they were going towards you, it would not take long to the get there. if they are going to the air base where matthew chance is, that could be an hour or so. so it's possible we see them again shortly, or it's possible we may not see that bus again for some is time.

but the welfare of these individuals is of paramount importance. let's duoto orrin lieberman in tel aviv. this is a location where israeli citizens have been monitoring the progress of this hostage release. what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: very much so. there's a crowd behind me. you can see them here over my right shoulder that's watching a tv studio setup. that's important because they have a monitor there, a tv that shows them the latest. so they are staring at that very closely to watch owl of the updaytimes and the movement of the women and children from gaza. now we know into egypt and make ing their way back to israel. on my left here is the the table we have seen set up for some time now. a chair for each of the missing hostages set up. given the fact it's now friday night, it's set up for the sabbath dinner here. this hostages square has become a focal point of some of the demonstrations, frank ly, some f

the protests. many of the families of the hostages set up tents here to try to force the war cabinet meeting right behind me to meet with them. that was a meeting that only came to fruition the last few days. even then they were frustrated by the lack of answers they got from the government. one man that left early said there was no new information given. you can see how desperate they were were for answers about their loved ones. it was 24 hours after that that we got word a deal was coming into place and would be a acted upon as we're seeing now. so it has been incredibly difficult moments here for all of the families that have come here. to demonstrate, to be together, they have described it as a new family to get through the past seven weeks. now for the first time in so long, a different emotion creeping into the picture here. and that a bit of celebration. just a tiny bit of joy for the 13 on their way back to israel. they have wait sod long for this moment. a the lot of the signs say bring them home now. and for weeks, that was just a

dream, a hope. tonight for some it at least, that dream coming trueing. >> orrin lieberman with israelis watching the progress who are have now moved out of gaza over the rafah crossing into egypt. we are following their movements very closely. we just got our first video of what we believe to be a number of those hostages, some 24, 13 iz yalys, 10 is thai hostages, they have been released. they are on the move right now. this is cnn special live coverage. you're look at that video, including that little girl in the yellow shirt. our coverage continues, right after this.