projected for some on trump's list as nominees. we're still watching all of it and we'll bring you what pops out of all of that today. thank all three. it has been a compressed moment for all of us. on capitol hill they'll resume momentarily. we've been watching closely the future attorney general for the united states. she is pam bondi and trump's pick for that and we have breaking news. let's get to that. "outnumbered" starts now. let's get to that. "outnumbered" starts now. >> this is fox news alert as we begin here on the wake of several hearings that have been going on today. several of president-elect trump key cabinet picks are on the hill, several ongoing, the confirmation hearings. we'll bring you the latest on all of this. including secretary of state nominee, marco mendicino, cia nominee john ratcliff, and transportation secretary pick sean duffy, also the marquee

hearing we've been monitoring all day is of course attorney general nominee pam bondi who has been before the judiciary committee. it's been a busy day, and we'll monitor each and one of the hour. and hello, this is "outnumbered." and i'm here with harris faulkner and emily compagno, and kennedy, host of "kennedy saves the world" podcast and our guest, charles payne. >> my overall objective is return the department of justice to the core mission of keeping americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals, and that includes getting back to basics. gangs, drugs, terrorists,

cartels, our border, and our foreign adversaries. that is what the american people expect. and that is what they deserve from the department of justice. if confirmed, i will do everything in my power -- and it will be my great responsibility -- to make america safe again. if confirmed, i will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the department of justice and each of its components. the partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. america will have one tier of justice for all. >> harris: you know i said breaking news, and now we want to get to that. it has been confirmed here at fox news a ceasefire deal has been reached between israel and hamas after 15 months of war and

the taking of those hostages -- many from different countries. but certainly america on that list. the hostages are in part part of this agreement. let's go straight away live in tel aviv. >> harris, this is breaking news right now, according to a source familiar with the ongoing talks a ceasefire deal has been reached between israel and hamas. i do want to just read to you what this source just sent. quote, "gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following the qatari meeting with the hostage negotiators following a push by the group." there were reports that the hamas officials were trying to get israel to change its position about the philadelphia corridor. i'm told by the qatari prime minister himself was in the negotiating room and pushed the

hamas officials to accept the agreement on the table. what we are looking at here that will be signed tonight, a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas that will implement a pause in fighting between the two sides for 42 days. this is a six-week agreement that will ultimately see 33 hostages released from hamas captivity in gaza. we are told by a number of sources, some of those hostages were killed and their bodies will be returned to israel. but at least 23 of them are believed to be alive. this is critical information for the israelis. they have been negotiating over the past several weeks trying to get together the details of such an agreement. now they will have to give up a number of palestinian prisoners in exchange for these hostages being held inside gaza. in a briefing earlier this week, i was told by a senior israeli government official that hundreds of palestinian prisoners will be released as part of this agreement that will ultimately be implemented in

three separate phases. we're also told if phase 1 moves forward as planned, that by day 16 of the ceasefire agreement, intense discussions about phase 2 will start. at which point they will move forward with implementing phase 2 later on. and then ultimately if everything goes as planned, israeli forces would withdraw from the gaza strip. all of the hostages and the bodies being held by hamas would be released. and you would have an end to this more than 15-month conflict that erupted here in the middle east on october 7th. harris. >> harris: i want to slow us down for a bit. this is in two phases. talk to me specifically about this phase 1. because you can wait 16 days for the other phase, who knows if we'll even get there. but this is the one that counts because this is all about the hostages. so those details again. 23 are believed to be alive. do we know how many are americans among them? >> so we don't know how many of the israeli-americans are

included on that first list. but just to give you a sense of the sourcing in all of this, we've been talking not only with the israelis, but with the qataris, with hamas leadership and also with the incoming trump administration to get a clear picture of what is happening in these negotiations that just concluded tonight with a resolution to weeks of back and forth conversations. according to many of the officials we've talked about, phase 1 will focus on 33 hostages. a source familiar with the list says that among those people that will be released the young girls who were the observers in the israeli army along the border -- five of them -- who were taken by hamas on october 7th into the gaza strip, they are expected to be released. among that list also any sort of humanitarian hostages. to give you a definition of what we're being provided with from israeli officials, humanitarian hostages mean any women, children, or anyone who was injured. along that list you'll also see

any elderly individuals. people 50 and above. the people not included in phase 1 will be young male soldiers that were taken on october 7th and any of the male civilians that will taken into the gaza strip on the horrendous day. if it moves forward as planned, we are told by officials in the region that on the very first day of implementation -- and this could be as early as this weekend, three hostages will be released. they will be exchanged for palestinian prisoners. there will be a six-day waiting period to ensure it moves forward and then additional hostages will be released. there's a lot of distrust among both sides of this agreement. it's a very shaky deal. but again it has moved forward to the point where it appears tonight, according to regional officials, phase 1 there start to be implemented in the days ahead and as early as this weekend we will see alive israeli hostages released from the gaza strip. harris. >> harris: look, i was watching last night on social media and you know they were

playing music in some of the squares around the country of israel and people praying and hoping that this could be true about the hostages. so i know that that country now sees some hope with regard to this. what i'm questioning is about who they're letting go, do we know? what is the exchange for these prisoners? and what do they anticipate will be the recidivism of killing among the terrorists and how soon? >> yeah, harris, i can tell you that surprisingly this hostage deal is not popular among all israelis. even some of the families of those being held inside gaza have expressed concern about the agreement on the table. but the israeli people are in a catch 22. they want their hostages home that were taken more than 15 months ago. but they also don't want to release convicted terrorists. but that is exactly what is going to happen. according to an israeli government source that i spoke with earlier this week. as part of this entire

agreement, hundreds of palestinian prisoners will be released. among them people who are convicted of murder. and so you have to look back in a short history here for the region. there was a hostage deal where 1 israeli soldier was released from gaza a number of years ago for 1,000 palestinian prisoners. now among those prisoners was sinwar, the leader of hamas, and one of the masterminds behind the october 7th massacre and there is a concern that some of the prisoners could go back to committing acts of terrorism. harris, i want to read as we are speaking, we understand that president-elect trump has taken to truth social commenting to the news out of the middle east, and he says, quote, "we have a deal for the hostages in the northeast. middle east. they will be released shortly, thank you." that's an important part of the entire story. remember the president-elect from just in the days after the election was being very, very clear with hamas that a deal needed to be reached before he

was inaugurated to get these hostages home. and just days before the inauguration, that deal was reached in the middle east. and this process will begin. harris. >> harris: my cohosts will come in with their own questions. i just want to reset for everyone who may just be tuning in and learning of the agreement between israel and the savages -- the terrorists hamas have now reached a deal. and we're not certain, you know, if freeing hostages will happen imminently. immediately. what that time table will look like. trey yingst is doing a brilliant job of reporting from the middle east, and things don't happen until they happen, and we are looking at dozens being released. some will come in the form of remains. at least 23 are believed to be alive. and you heard trey lay out the parameters of who will be freed now. according to this reported agreement between israel and hamas. young women, the observers who

were with the israeli army and taken hostages, the elderly, women over the age of 50. male soldiers, male civilians may be released -- and this is the deal -- in ph phase 2 which will be 16 days after this agreement is made public in full and everything begins to take point. so maybe that's today. maybe those tonight or tomorrow, we don't know. but 16 days after that, we'll look at men being freed as hostages by hamas. kayleigh. >> kayleigh: you know, trey, as i think about this, i think today's january 15th. and i think about three days from now, it's january 18th. that day was dubbed the saddest birthday in the world because kafir bibas turned 1 in captivity. my family, my children know his name, and we pray for him and his brother, and his mom, and his dad. his family pleaded for a deal. they said please, please do this

before it's too late. on the one hand, you think of the hostage families and what it means for them as they wait with baited breath to see if little kafir can celebrate his 2nd birthday with his family and you zoom out and the secretary of state made comments that caught my eye, and i want to read them, this is paraphrasing, antony blinken noted that new recruits nearly replaced the losses incurred in the war in gaza. what are you hearing? that is a stunning think if new hamas recruits have replaced all of the victories israel has had in the last two years. >> yeah, kayleigh, bottom line for the israelis is that they have to accept the reality of the situation on the ground. and it's not great when you look at the strategy for the military. i was inside gaza in the area of jabalia last week with israeli forces and they were fighting hamas militants in the northern part of the strip, more than 15

months into the war. hyou heard secretary of state antony blinken saying they believe hamas recruited as many fighters as they lost and we're talking anywhere from 17 to 20,000 since the beginning of this conflict. and so the war will take a pause, it's not over. and the israelis have not reached that critical objective that they laid out at the very beginning of this conflict -- to completely dismantle and destroy hamas inside the gaza strip. there are massive questions about what the day after looks like inside gaza. and while the focus for the israeli people right now is just ensuring that these hostages come home, they do look at the death toll among their soldiers and they point to that as often times something that will stick with the israeli psyche for decades co to come. more than 400 israeli soldiers killed fighting hamas since the ground operation began in late october and they don't even know if this ceasefire deal will hold. they don't know if all of the

hostages will come home. and even talking to top officials here in tel aviv and also in jerusalem, they're not sure among the list of hostages that they've received from hamas who is still alive. and so it is just a horrific situation here in the region. and while there will be a pause in the fighting that will allow according to the initial statements and reports that we're getting from negotiators, some of the hostages to be released, more aid to enter the gaza strip, and a deal to be in place for a short amount of time, it certainly does not mean an end to this conflict, and it doesn't mean an end to the suffering for people here in the region. kayleigh, harris. >> trey, for those in your region to your point that see this as a long standing, you know, centurys' worth of hatred and infighting, and including the date of october 7th as significance for hamas and those terrorists sympathizeers, the question is, you know, this is seen as a pause in the battle, but certainly not the war. we know that the stated

objectives of these terrorist groups who are acting in concert right now include surges and waves of continued terror attacks and that this hamas invasion of october 7th was merely a test, a first step to see what, in fact, the response would be of israel, europe and the united states of america. so my question to you is what is the sentiment there as well as with your contacts of how long this pause will be in effect and hopefully the vigilance that needs to be remained -- needs to be maintained by united states and our allies in anticipation of further october 7th's. >> yeah, without getting too deep in the weeds here, i want to give you a sense of what the situation on the ground looks like now. the israelis are not in control of the gaza strip. they currently are in the corridor that cuts through the northern part of gaza and the philadelphia corridor in the south. as part of this agreement, they will withdraw from those key corridors and they will lose the

ability to conduct limited raids from inside gaza against cells of remaining hamas and islamic jihad fighters. as we look forward in the region, there are real questions about who will be in control of the gaza strip because you have a domestic situation for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu that is serious, there are parts of the far right coalition that are keeping the prime minister in power and threaten to leave if a ceasefire deal went into effect if a deal was signed, like we are reporting tonight, and according to the reports in israeli media, there was horse trading behind the scenes with the ministers basically to say, look, we'll get some of the living hostages out of gaza, but the war will not end. what that means is that some hostages could still be inside gaza if fighting resumes and also it's a clear indication that the prime minister will have to consider some of these ministers if he wants to stay in

power and he doesn't want the government to collapse. it's an incredibly difficult domestic situation and then the broader issue of the islamic jihad and hamas cells in places like the west bank and where there was a drone strike from the brigades there. this is a conflict not over, and the war will continue in some capacity. >> harris: trey, i have to step in quickly, and i thank you for all of the detail in answer to the question you were asked. some of that is why they need at least 16 more days for phase 2, i imagine and you're laying it out beautifully, and what everyone is looking at on the left side of the screen and this is tel aviv and remember i was telling you about the demonstrations that began last night, and they're a few hours ahead of us, and many of them may have gotten a rather imminent feeling that something was going. well, they're in full strength. can we hear any of this with

what we are bringing in via satellite? [sounds of drums] >> harris: okay, let's listen. >> [protestor speaking] [drums] >> harris: what we're watching right now is the support for the deal that would free hostages and, you know, obviously some of this is in hebrew so we can't understand all of this. i want to bring trey yingst back in and i want to welcome our guest, darren gobbe, a former blackhawk hiel hawk and command,

and it can't just be in tel aviv, what i watched last night was in several places across the country welcoming the idea of getting the hostages back, and this is just part one. >> yeah, absolutely. the demonstrators are in tel aviv in israel's second largest city and they are seminars demog out of israel's version of the pentagon, and meeting for 15 months, and demanding the release of the hostages and we have been close here speaking to them, and they note the hostages that will be released part of the deal have been held for almost 500 days. remember the first agreement back in november 2023 into december 2023. it was around 50 days that the hostages had been held. nearly ten times the amount of time inside the gaza strip, and i interviewed some of those people who were released from hamas captivity. and the stories that they told from the tunnels inside gaza were horrific. things of sexual violence,

assault, threatening these hostages with executions. and so you just think these people who have been inside gaza for nearly 500 days, what they must have gone through during this horrific experience. >> harris: look, we know from some who have come home, and i know i have personally spent time with the parents of omer who lived on long island, and we recently got the message he did not make it. a young man who just joined the israeli army to help out before he continued on to college here in new york. so we know from some of them what may have happened, what was really playing out behind the scenes and how torturous it was, and trey, please stand by, we will continue to go back with you for reporting, and i want to bring in colonel darren gobbe, and you and i have talked all along about this and how we might reach this moment. but they're calling it phase 1, and there is celebration in the streets. there is hope in the streets of tel aviv and other places across the country of israel. but this is also not a done deal.

these hostages have not yet been released and so we hope and we pray. but what is going on, do you suspect, behind the scenes dip p diplomatically in our role as the united states? >> good afternoon, harris. good to see you again. i suspect that behind the scenes the debates will continue for quite a while to see what has israel given up in terms of their national security, in terms of the ground they've gained in gaza, and by the way, also, in lebanon. and they're going to monitor very closely the specific terms of the deal and whether or not they're beinge adhered to by boh sides. if they learned anything specifically from history, and hamas, and the way yas yasser at trained hamas is war is deceit, and any deal they strike is usually done only to give themselves some sort of an advantage for a period of time.

>> time. >> yeah, to where they can reengage what they were doing before. hopefully not. obviously we would love to see hostages return to families and that will be a scene that will be wonderful to see. but how long will it actually last? >> harris: can you give us some perspective on why there's 16 days? does that amount of time have some significance? i'm trying to figure out, so you're going to hold the male soldiers and men back for 16 days until the next phase. i mean, this is a situation where so many of their worst who imprisoned in israel get to go home now back to gaza, anywhere, any country, i imagine who would take them. it doesn't just have to be, you know, across the border from israel. so why 16 days and do you think that that is a stall? >> well, yeah, 16 days could certainly be a stall, and when i see that number, i make a lot of

assumptions. and possibilities about what that could mean and one is does it give time for israel to actually reposition forces in accordance with the deal that is signed? >> harris: well, that's plausible. >> -- to move people. second of all, where are the hostages? do they actually have to be returned somewhere further than the gaza strip? we don't really know where they are or how many they are and hamas themselves may not really even know themselves either because hamas does not operate like we understand a true military force where there is a single person in garage and everybody just simply obeys them. they could have taken a hostage and moved them somewhere else and the hamas leadership who are not in gaza may not know where they are. so they are trying to give themselves some time to do some of these things. hopefully there's some positive stuff built into the timeline. the details we haven't seen yet. i guess we'll know whether or not this deal holds. my guess is within a week we'll know whether it will stick at

all. >> harris: colonel, i really want to try to get an understanding of america's role at this point because we're about to have a new president come in and as my cohost kayleigh mcenany pointed out, you may see some of this because of what incoming president trump said to hamas all hell will break out if you don't let the hostages go before he takes office next monday at noon. so you can't ignore that. he said it more than once. the world takes him seriously. i would imagine within the world, so do the blood-thirsty killers of hamas. so what is our role at this point? and as biden leaves -- the current president -- are you concerned at all about any sort of promises or dealings that have gone on? i mean it's very, very much like quicksand in the united states with regard to the border, for example. him taking out of play more than 600 million acres for oil production in this country. are you worried that he would make one of those legacy point

deals in this and what might it look like? >> i absolutely am worried, and in fact, i wrote a long piece about this, describing the fact that i thought america's point of greatest risk is between a trump victory in november and the inauguration. and the kind of deals that joe biden would put on the table or sign that seem to be designed specifically to do as much damage as he can in the remaining days of his administration. and you mentioned some of those already. could this be another one? that remains to be seen. but like you said, trump said there will be hell on earth to pay for not having a hostage deal in place before he comes in. whwhat is a big difference betwn a typical incoming president and this one -- well, this one has a track record and he's proven the fact that he's willing to be very aggressive, and he's going to fulfill what he says he's going to do. hamas leadership does not want to find out what that is. we know one thing about hamas

leadership, they're not in gaza taking the risk of the people there and the rest of the people that they hire on the hamas actual quasi military side. they don't want to find out what it's like to be a direct target potentially of a trump fulfilled promise just like he did with soleimani. >> harris: exactly, i said you want to know what he will do, you can't ask the iran-driven terrorist soleimani because he's gone. you can't look back to a situation and remember back to when he was president a few years ago and you know the war in syria and when weapons were used, he sent the tomahawk missiles in there, and some of the leadership even then on the ground working against us and trying to kill the people in syria who would fight back. you can't ask them either because he took some things out of play. not just weaponry but some killers, too. kennedy has a question for you, colonel. thank you for being with us. >> lieutenant-colonel, thank you so much for taking the time and as we talk about american

politics, informed policy, and the overlap between two administrations, you know, we also think about the threat here and the homeland, and just a few short weeks ago, a murderous american citizen radicalized and mowed down dozens of people in new orleans as they were celebrating new year's eve. this person pledged allegiance to isis, and i am wondering as we have focused so much on hamas, is there a correlation here between the potential strength and isis growing while we did not have our eye on them? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, if you back out of this and look not only at israel and gaza, but you start bringing in russia, ukraine, china and the fentanyl, what is happening in syria, and all of the different pieces and parts around the world and you build a bigger picture, what you see is that

they all know that our greatest weakness in america right now is our border and the lack of control over it. and i know for a fact that there are people coming across the southern border that are here for purposes that terrorist groups would be here for. whether they are isis, al-qaeda, or sympathizers, whether they be drug gangs. that is a significant risk to the homeland because what is the greatest way a nation overseas could distract america from being able to respond in force to a true threat somewhere, you know, in the pacific, middle east, europe. doesn't matter. is to create significant crises in our own homeland with our own infrastructure and one guy driving a truck is one example. there are thousands more possibilities there. >> harris: the back drop, of course, is the border situation which we can never avoid talking about because we have so many people we don't know who is really here, who have come across and the 8-plus million people who have come during biden's time.

the vetting was so poor or nonexistent among those who came here illegally, in particular. colonel gaub, thank you very much, i want to appreciate your time, and i want to reset, when you are watching the screen, you see the hopeful celebrations and the preamble, if you will, of welcoming home of hostages expected to be let go in a deal that is going on for weeks and officials in qatar and hamas have confirmed that a deal has been reached while israel is yet to comment. the agreement still needs to be approved by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's cabinet. that has yet to come. but i just want to read you some deal points here. expected to deliver an initial 6-week halt to the fighting between israel and hamas terrorists that will be accompanied by the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether. in the meanwhile, over six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months of

captivity. and we know from trey yingst's reporting, it is believed that 23 of them are still alive. i want to bring back our correspondent on the ground trey yingst, and trey, you no doubt are starting to see and hear the celebrations and looking all around. tell me what it's like to be in israel right now with a pending possible agreement once the cabinet in israel says that it will happen for hostages to go free. >> yeah, harris, the prime minister's office tells us they expect that vote to be tomorrow to ratify this agreement and start the process to get those 33 hostages out of gaza. it's a monumental period right now for the israelis. it is also a period of mixed emotions because they understand these hostages will come out and they will pay a serious price in getting them home. they will have to give up hundreds of convicted palestinians that are currently sitting in israeli jails. some of them will go back to

gaza and others to the west bank. we're told by a senior israeli government official that these are individuals who were convicted of terrorism in some cases. and so it is a time of mixed emotions but also a time of high anticipation for the israeli people because they don't know if some of these hostages will be coming out dead or alive. just to give you a sense of what this has been like for israel over the past 15 months, remember, we were in southern israel on the morning of october 7th. we watched as wounded and dead israelis were brought to a triage point and treated. some were reunited with their loved ones, and others went straight to funerals in the days that followed. this has been a collective trauma for the israel people. they have waited day in and day out for the agreement like the one that was signed tonight. and they have also waited for their loved once to come home. they have see the hostage videos released by hamas inside gaza. the psychological warfare

infecting this population in a way that is hard to put into words. the only way i describe it is when you look into the eyes of the people released from gaza and they tell you what it was like to be held by this group, hamas, in the tunnels beneath the gaza strip. and they have had blanket look in their eyes because what they experienced was so horrific. seven separate times we went into the gaza strip with the israeli military, often times looking at where the hostages were held. sometimes going 40, 50, and 60 feet under ground into cells that had no light and had no s. and i can just tell you the people that you saw on the sidee outside israel's version of the pentagon, they have been gathering every week and calling on the international community to just pay attention, to not forget about the israeli people and the hostages that have been held for the past 467 days inside gaza. to describe today, it is a mix of emotions for the israeli

people. high anticipation and also uncertainty about who is going to be released as part of this agreement that finally was reached today in doha. >> harris: trey, we have an announcement from donald trump, the incoming president about the deal on his truth social just moments ago. he says "we have a deal for the hostages in the middle east. they will be released shortly. thank you." all in caps and an exclamation point. we don't -- you know, obviously he's giving his national security advisories and he is knowing things more in real time. we don't know yet exactly what will happen with the cabinet. but from what you are hearing, trey, is it likely then that that vote that happens, there are enough votes in the israeli cabinet to make it go forth? because you reported a little while ago as we were both pointing out, not everyone in israel wants it to happen the way it is happening because of the terrorists that are being released and exchanged. >> yeah, absolutely.

it's a great question. look behind the scenes, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been making quiet agreements with members of his cabinet to not collapse the government in the process of reaching this agreement with hamas. but you hear the president-elect's words there. and i think it's critical to talk about the influence of the incoming administration. on a briefing earlier this week, i asked a senior israeli government official about the pressure that president-elect trump put on hamas, his team that is already here in the region taking part in these conversations, their involvement. and they actually thanked the president-elect and his incoming administration for these conversations because there's a real understanding that if this works and there is a deal to end the war inside gaza, it could lay the foundation for broader peace in the region. harris. >> harris: we will come back to you as the news warrants, and it is on full-time right now as we watch the ceasefire deal and that vote that's coming up in the israeli cabinet to see if it

will go forth. trey, thank you. we'll bring you back. >> joining us on the phone is bret baier, editor of "special report," fox news and special anchor, and you think about the iranian hostage crisis, you think about carter, and you think about president reagan taking over. the hostages released just after president reagan was sworn in. now president biden is obviously still president but you have to imagine that president trump saying there will be hell to pay, put a fire under and a tail wind behind these negotiations. >> no doubt. good afternoon. i think that it's important following up on what trey just said that you look at the the context of what president-elect trump said with his envoy steve woodkoff down in mar-a-lago, reiterating if it didn't happen, all hell would be to pay, and all of the questions it would look like, and there was a back end, and a lot of pressure, and

a demand that hasn't been there, and woodcoff and others praised the biden of working together on working on a deal over weeks. but it is really to the credit of president-elect trump that he put kind of force behind it. not just to hamas leaders. you have to remember that the pressure goes both ways, and bibi netanyahu, the prime minister would want to see something in good light with the incoming administration and the incoming president. and also to trey's point, quickly, that once it happens, if it happens as expected, it does lay the groundwork for the continuing of the abraham accords which started, of course, under president trump, the first administration, and the normalization between israel and saudi arabia. which is still very, very real and was very close to happening prior to the hamas attack october 7th. >> it's a great point. you know, i was there for the signing of four of those peace

accords. it was a huge historic accomplishment, and jared kushner believes that saudi normalization would have happened had trump been given a second term right after the first. i wind you are what you think of antony blinken's comments that new recruits have effectively replaced what israel has done. if that's the case, you have to think that israel is worried and concerned, hamas is not gone, they're not nullifyed, they're here to stay. what does it mean the ceasing of the war yet hamas is still strong. >> yeah, i think that's exactly what trey was pointing out. the pushback inside israel is one, the palestinians being exchanged, who are they, and could they plug back into the terror network that has caused israel so much grief and turmoil over the years, and two, hamas hasn't changed its colors. it hasn't changed its stripes as far as what it wants to do. and its stated goal, and

negotiating with hamas is a double-edged sword. you don't know if they go back to the way they were automatically. i think there's a lot to learn from this deal, and hopefully, most importantly the hostages get released, all they can possibly get out. >> without question, and i want to read a comment i am looking for and it is the cousin of the mom of kafir and the youngest captain being kafir, and he said this: if they wait more, we might only get bodies in nylon bags. it's time to bring all of the people who survived for so long back alive. this young child never celebrated a birthday not with his parents, not with his grandparents, not with kids in kindergarten. he never celebrated a birthday. i want to talk us into the mind of what these hostage families are going through as they see 33 released and they sit there and wonder and pray and read every detail. i'm reading reports they could be women and children released first. as they sit there and pray and hope and hold their breath that

those pictures that you look at are their relatives who will return. >> yeah, it's amazing. i mean, we've all interviewed the families at one point or another over the months. and i think that you know, their feelings and waiting have been excruciating and this is the first sign of light that it possibly could come to an end. but it's going to be phased. and there is going have to be patience the way this is worked out, and we should see in the next day or so the first iteration of this moving forward. >> bret baier, thank you very much. you know, emily, as we look at this and as we think about this, you know, we've covered the stories, we've seen their faces, they're in our communities. we as a country haven't forgotten. i remember passing light post and seeing those little children and my daughter saying who is that, mommy. these are families. this could be quite a joyous day if some of them come home. >> i note that there are

still -- there in israel certain that remain untouched sinceved october 7th. that still bear the blood and the destruction from the horrific attack of october 7th. and with my eye toward deterrence and prevention as we enter into this new chapter, you know, i just note the role of intelligence and the appropriate stewardship of such by our elected officials. as we speak right now, john ratcliff going through the confirmation hearings on the hill and reports are that he and his hopefully new role as director of the cia will encompass a more aggressive agency at that point. and i think the whole point when we humanize these victims because they were humans and they were families, and it's absolutely atrocious to note that that is exactly the root of all of this. these are human beings, that we need to aim and strive toward protecting our aallies and our friends that under the past four years arguably have not been

protected with the same level of vigilance they should be. and looking forward and hopefully our relationships with allies restored and invigorated so that moving forward, something like this never happens again on our soil or anyone else's. >> let's bring back trey yingst, he is live in tel aviv, israel. and trey, the other side of the coin is what is happening among hamas. you are deeply sourced among hamas and leadership there. what is happening now as they are with these hostages preparing them for return? >> yeah, i spoke earlier this evening with a senior hamas official who is no longer in the gaza strip who confirmed that a deal was reached. but we've talked to a number of these officials as the story developed over the last 15 months, the information they provided is based on propaganda, what they want us to know about the situation. not providing details on the state or location of the hostages, and they believe that they will be able to control the gaza strip after this is said and done. and that is the real question

about this ceasefire agreement that was reached tonight in doha, what does it mean for the future of gaza? once these hostages are out, who is going to control the gaza strip? u.s. secretary of state antony blinken just yesterday said hamas has been able to recruit new fighters and replace the thousands that have been killed since the beginning of this war. but then you have the civilian population inside gaza. remember, there are more than 2 million palestinians living in gaza and their support for hamas varies. there's been growing frustration with the group about the october 7th attack because they have seen the result, the destruction that came to the gaza strip, thousands of palestinians civilians killed as a result of the israeli air and ground campaign. and just two days ago, i got a text message from a doctor in northern gaza, and he asked me two times, what about the ceasefire, what about the ceasefire, and tonight i am speaking with individuals in gaza and there is a sense of relief among the civilian population because this 15-month war is at least temporarily over and it is going to give the

population there an opportunity to get humanitarian aid, to be able to live in gaza that is not in a state of war. and then again it raises that final question: once this is over, will the israeli, with the help of the americans and the incoming trump administration, be able to come up with a solution that will give gaza another option? not the palestinian authority, necessarily. an organization that traditionally has participated in a number of things like the pay to slay campaign. encouraging terrorism and acts of violence against israelis. but a more moderate palestinian government. if that is possible, it's an open question. but it is an opportunity for the entire region -- the israelis, the americans that are watching and helping very closely in these talks to find a solution for the 2 million civilians living there. >> trey, we'll be back with more. and we are bringing in the new york israeli consulate spokesperson. we have spoken extensively about the hostages. you have held you are their pictures.

we've spoken as some are released and you have spoken to the joy of the families as they hug their children once again. you said before, it's every parent's nightmare to see their kids in the hands of monsters, have you heard from families? what are they saying as they wait with baited breath to see if their family's names are on the list. >> yes, and this is kafir kidnapped at 9 months old, and at this point, they're family, and this morning, i spoke with some of the people who hope to see their loved ones, the elderly ones, and you can only imagine the atrocious treatment and condition that these innocent people snatched from their beds on a saturday morning have endured at the hands of this terrible barbarian terrorist organization of hamas. we've seen the testimonies that came out only after 52 days of captivity of the people who were releaseed last year. we have seen testimonies of

marking the flesh with hot iron of children. we have seen testimonies of sexual assault. we have seen horrendous testimonies off torture. you can only imagine what these people have gone through and in exchange, in what is a perfect moral e-equ e-q equivalance, has getting the murderers, and it takes me back to new york when we are seeing people marching on 6th avenue, and beyond supporting hamas, supporting the cruelty and this blood thirsty terrorist organization, i think, right now all of our eyes and hearts are focused on these families and these hostages because these innocent people must come back home and we are all eagerly and tearfully waiting for them to come back. >> shahar, we are looking at the live images on the screen and i was trying to read some of the signs, and one sign said "bring him home" and had a pingt of a

picture of a young man. i'm curious how the families hear? do they wait in a room together? do they see them when they walk off the bus and reunite? when do they find out and how do they find out? >> every -- first of all, israel at the end of the day is a small family. but bureaucratically speaking to your question, there is an idf officer assigned to each of the families. they are continuously keeping in touch with, you know, keeping -- letting them know what the situation is. whether there is a deal or even before the deal, whether any new information came out. whether hamas published any video. whether any new evidence is coming from gaza as to the conditions of their sons and daughters. so there is a very close-knit team that accompanies the families. and they are all wrapped with our communal hearts. we are all standing with them at any given moment. every soldier who goes into gaza with fire in their eyes goes in

there to save kafir and his brother, and all of the other innocent hostages, men and women, and elderly people who are held by hamas. our hearts go out to them at this moment, and like trey mentioned, we've all been traumatized by what hamas did on october 7th. and i want to make it clear that whether we have this deal for 42 days or a temporary cessation of war, as long as hamas is in power, the war will never end. >> you know, shahar, you were instrumental in getting the 9-year-old boy's story who loved his rube rubik's co cube and yot get that image of him running to his parents. thank you, shahar. >> amen, amen. thank you. >> harris: so much gratitude for mr. azani there, and he whether he says as long as hamas is in power, there will always

be war and that is reality of israel is facing, but all of us, hate spreads, it's infectious. the incoming president posted on truth social, this epic ceasefire agreement could only have resulted in our historic victory in december. and as i? edsignaled to the worldthat ourd seek peace. and i'm thrilled that american and israeli hostages will be returning home to reunited with their family and loved ones. with this deal in place, my national security team with efforts special envoy to the middle east steve witkoff will work closely with israel and our allies to make sure gaza never -- all caps -- never becomes a terrorist safe haven. we will continue promoting -- again all caps -- peace through strength throughout the region as we build upon the momentum of the ceasefire to further expand the historic a abraham accords.

this is only the beginning of great things to come in america and indeed the world. we have achieved so much without even being in the white house. just imagine all of the wonderful things that will happen when i return to the white house and my administration is fully confirmed so they can secure more victories to the united states. before we go to our next guest, i want to ask to hear from the potentially incoming secretary of state at his very own hearing was asked about gaza and the war there. let's match marco rubio on a potential hostage deal. >> do you agree that a permanent ceasefire in gaza must include -- absolutely must include the release of those hostages. >> well, it must include it because if it doesn't, there won't be a ceasefire for long. that is the linchpin of what happened. hamas has been severely degraded. but these people, including a number of american citizens, need to be home as soon as possible, and that will remain a

priority in any engagement we're involved in in regards to not just a ceasefire, but a permpermanent ceasefire moving forward. >> we're reporting it's not unlikely that marco rubio will be the next secretary of state. he's having a smooth day. we're picking up sounds and clips for us and playing those when we can. he is one of six people today in confirmation hearings. pulling trumps vision potentially into place and you see the eminence with which particularly those people who will handle our diplomacy and our fighting forces -- those people are very important all the time. but particularly now if part of this deal is going to release hundreds of killers that we know of as terrorists in the middle east back on to the open market for themselves. i want to bring in a man who knows this very well. he is the former u.s. ambassador to israel david freeman.

and ambassador, you and i were together the day that donald trump in his first term moved the embassy -- importantly -- from a political location from some in the world to its home city jerusalem. as you watch this now, tie it all together for me, the journey that we've taken in the last 466 days since this war began. >> well, harris, thanks for having me, and what i would say is that when god willing that first picture emerges of a hostage being reunited with his or her family, i will be in tears. 10 million israelis will be in tears. and probably hundreds of millions of other people around the world will be in tears. it's been that traumatic and difficult and my enduring thanks to my old friend who i knew could do this, president trump, for getting this done. it's so important to so many

people. >> harris: look, i want to quote a guest that we had on a few moments ago, he said something that made an impression on me. he said as long as hamas is in power, war will never end. he said whether the ceasefire lasts potentially 42 days or whatever it will last, hamas is going to do what it does until hamas is no longer. >> i think that's a very important point and some time are misinterpreting this as a capitulation to hamas or agreement that hamas can continue to rule the gaza strip. and president trump, first of all, i was hearing his comments just in real time as you put it out. and he put the words never again in capital letters, that hamas will never again rule the gaza strip, and that is important. when you think of the team that president trump has assembled, of course his own words themselves, and you heard mike waltz earlier say that hamas has

to be decapitated. you heard your colleague pete hegseth testifying yesterday that he supported the killing of every single member of hamas. you heard future secretary marco rubio saying there will never be a ceasefire if hamas stays in power. you've got brian mast who is the incoming leader of the house foreign affairs committee when he was asked where do you stand on hamas, he said i stand on their throats. so there is no ending here that there is no future here for hamas. and frankly i think it's the recognition by hamas that their days are numbered. you know, that there is no future for them. that caused them to make a deal today that frankly we -- people thought they agreed to 7 months ago but apparently weren't willing to do. this is all because of their recognition that with the incoming administration they have no future. >> harris: well, they cut it close. we're five days away. can you stay with me for a moment. there are two things that are playing out simultaneously that are unbelievable.

on the left of the screen in tel aviv, there is the celebration of hope and anticipation that hostages will soon be freed. on the right side they are celebrating in gaza. let's listen to gaza for a moment. [no audio] >> i was told we would have the sound of that. let me know, to the team when we do. ambassador friedman, what are they celebrating? >> i mean, this is probably being sold to them as some sort of a victory, and look, it's hard for israelis to watch the hamas supporters celebrating. but that celebration is going to be short-lived. i mean, right now, this is about getting the hostages back and israel is paying a high price to get them back. but israel is not agreeing to end the war. hamas has no future. and i'm hoping -- i'm skeptical. but i'm hoping that may be some

of them are celebrating the possibility that hamas is coming to an end. that with this, you know, hamas loses its leverage, and someone can come in and rule the gaza strip which is less malign. but i'm not a very good psychologist into the minds of these people. >> harris: i was hoping to get some audio, and now we have more light on the situation. they are on each other's shoulders and looking jubilant. as you say -- wait, we can hear some of it now. [[c[crowd noise] ]drums] [crowd noise] >> harris: i want to ask you quickly, ambassador, if you could understand of any of what was being said and what you think this is now that you can hear some of it.

>> you know, i'm not sure, but, again, you know, their only source of information is what hamas tells them. >> harris: right. >> maybe they're being told by hamas -- because, you know, again, this is going to end up being a defeat for hamas. it may tak take six weeks and iy take another year before it is cleaned up, and this will end up in a defeat for hamas and hamas may be spinning this they will remain in power and maybe that's their narrative, and it will be short-lived. >> harris: my colleague, charles payne, is here with a question. >> ambassador, thank you very much, and the biden administration initially gave so many mixed signals on this, and in many ways i felt, at least as an outside observer, an emboldened hamas. we know president trump will not do that. will there be a way, you know, talking about an avenue for your

adversaries to retreat. what kind of efforts are being made, if you can talk about it, to at least find sensible people in gaza that understand that the path they're on now means total destruction and that if they do want to rise up because there has to be a lot of dissatisfied people there, they will get some help from israel and perhaps the united states so that they can take control of their nation and it's not hamas who is once again leading them down this path of destruction where they put hospitals, babies, and everybody else in the line of danger. >> well, charles, it begins with the eradication of hamas. as long as hamas is there, it is absolutely impossible for anybody to rise up who will put the interests of his people and his children ahead of the grievances of the past, ahead of the hatred for israel. so as long as hamas is there, it is virtually impossible. but the key point as you talked about the difference between biden and trump. the key word is daylight. there was massive daylight

between biden and israel over the last 15 months, and every time hamas saw that daylight, it empowered them, and made them thing they can hang in there and they can potentially emerge victorious and in control. the loss of life was meaningless to them. that is part of their battle strategies. they didn't care about that. trump comes in and the daylight is completely shut. it's shut by his words. it's shut by the words of his team. and that's the first step that the coalition between israel -- the rock solid hand in hand, no daylight relationship between israel and america is what gets this started. at least the eradication of hamas. but it's not -- there's no quick fix, charles. i wish there was. you got to get rid of that's terrorists before the decent people can emerge. >> former u.s. ambassador to israel david friedman and thank you for your expertise. we love israel. we pray for the best.

kayleigh. >> kayleigh: politically, personally, and if you are among the families that could be holding the signs, you are praying your idf officer contacts you and their name is on the list. if they're not the 33 hostages in the first phase, you pray that the conditions hold so they are in the second phase or the third phase and all hostages come home. politically speaking you cannot look at this in isolation from the election of donald trump, and the days after, they wanted a cessation, and china wanted peaceful coalition, and russia is ready to speak with the u.s. we're in a safer world, a new world, and one where the hostages come home. >> harris: you were mentioning and we all kind of were remembering all of the families, and i know bret baier mentioned it with whom we have spoken, and they are waiting in anticipation, and i had the parents of omer who now i think would be 22 or 23 because they've had birthdays in captivity in 466 days, and it was confirmed shortly after we spoke that he was dead.

and we prayed together on air, and i was just hopeful that they would get closure. some of those who will come home will not be alive. but this is still closure for them. >> it is still closure for them. i pray we see that moment where the babies come home. and kafir, his second birthday is with his family. >> emily, a quick last word. >> with the celebration and acknowledgment of this historic moment that indeed it's because of the incoming commander-in-chief, i argue that the real work to deter and to again salvage our ally relationships begins now. >> harris: amen. kennedy. >> i pray for peace and i pray for life. you know, not just for the americans. but for the other hostages, their families, and everyone in the region. >> harris: amen. thank you for being with "outnumbered" for this breaking news, and always, ♪ ♪ >> sandra: and we bega