i'm margaret brennan in washington and this week on "face the nation," could the fragile, temporary truce between israel and hamas hold? and does it signal we're near the end of this brutal war? for the first weekend in almost two months relief and joy in israel, with more than two dozen

hostages returning home as part of a deal with hamas in exchange for palestinian prisoners held by israel. we'll bring you an exclusive interview with one of the deal's architects, the prime minister of qatar. on the fate of the remaining hostages and just how long this truce could last. plus, national security adviser jake sullivan and a look at the global consequences of gaza's humanitarian crisis with the leaders of two of the u.n.'s aid organizations. finally, back home we'll check in on congressing sprawling year-end to-do list, including a border deal that could tighten asylum rules. it's all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪ good morning and welcome to

"face the nation." it is day 3 of the brief pause in fighting between israel and hamas, and a third group of hostages is expected to be released today by hamas in exchange for israel releasing palestinian prisoners and allowing in humanitarian aid to gaza. hamas has given the list of 13 hostages to israel for review, and multiple sources tell cbs news that an american name is on that list. the truce, negotiated by qatar and the u.s., is expected to last for at least four days, and it's unclear at this hour what will happen this week on day 5. we'll have an exclusive interview with the prime minister of qatar in a moment. first, here's the latest from imtiaz tayib in the west bank. >> reporter: after seven weeks in captivity freedom for a second group of hostages, including 9-year-old irish israeli emily hand, who was initially presumed dead, now in her father's arms. just one of many overjoyed

reunions. in all 13 israelis, six women and seven children and four thai nationals were released last night. and 39 palestinian prisoners. six women and 33 children, including these teenage boys who were given a hero's welcome in the occupied west bank. since the start of the agreement a total of 41 hostages have been released and 78 palestinian prisoners. but there were fears on saturday the fragile deal between israel and hamas was close to collapse after it was delayed for hours when hamas accused the israeli military of repeatedly violating the terms of the agreement, forcing egyptian and qatari mediators to intervene. while in gaza the pause in violence allowed war-weary palestinians to return to their homes in the north of the strip, only to find entire city blocks gutted by airstrikes. hamas leaders said israeli forces had been preventing aid trucks from entering the area, a

stark reminder of how brittle the truce agreement is, as israel continues to vow it will resume its campaign to destroy hamas after the pause. despite the growing international pressure for a longer break in the bombardment that has so far killed almost 15,000 palestinians, according to the hamas-run palestinian ministry of health, and has displaced over a million more. many of whom have fled to the relative safety of the south of gaza, where cbs news producer marwan al gul reports. >> the feelings of the people here in the south, actually, it's mixed because they could see each others, and very sad too. they heard that they lost their houses. they lost everything. >> reporter: there is still some optimism that the four-day break in hostilities could be extended after israel offered to prolong the ceasefire by an extra day for every ten more hostages released. and israel has already received the names of the next 13

hostages that are due to be released, and hamas has been alerted of the names of the 39 other palestinian prisoners, while in gaza for the first time since the war began a qatari delegation has entered the palestinian territory, margaret. the first foreign diplomats to do so. >> imtiaz tayib reporting from the west bank. we're joined now by the prime minister and foreign minister of qatar, sheik mohammed been abdulrahman al thani. it is his first interview since qatar helped broker this hostage deal between hamas and israel. qatar has also facilitated getting americans stuck in gaza out of the region. good morning to you, sir. >> thank you very much for having me, margaret. >> sheikh, the white house told us that at least one american is expected to be released by hamas today. you've seen the list of hostages. will we see 4-year-old abigail edan released today, and are you

confident this exchange will happen? >> well, so far things are moving in the right direction. we've been working very closely with the u.s. government, with the white house of course, and we are hoping that we will see the release happening shortly, and within the list they include abigail, the young girl, 4 years old. >> will we see more americans released soon? >> well, we are hopeful, actually. there are still some names which supposed to be on the first group. until now we didn't get the confirmation yet. but we are working on daily basis and making sure that every day we have the list of the next day. so we are hopeful that to have -- to have a confirmation of a proof of life for them and hopefully there is at the end of the agreement.

as i mentioned, things are happening on a daily basis and we are focused on today's operation, and hopefully that will happen very shortly from now. >> well, mr. prime minister, i understand a qatari delegation visited israel yesterday and gaza today. do you expect that this four-day truce will be extended, and if so for how long? >> well, actually, we are hopeful. according to the agreement that been agreed upon in the last few days for this four days pause, the agreement has a provision that if hamas will be able to prove, to locate and secure some of the hostages that are within the criteria of the first group, which is women and children, then it will be extended. depends on the number that they will have. this is something we cannot

confirm yet until we get to the fourth day. then hamas should present the list if they are available with them. our delegation who have reached to israel and to gaza, they are totally two separate delegation. gaza delegation is focused on ensuring that humanitarian aid are sufficient, that the humanitarian aid that's going in gaza and it's pure humanitarian mission. >> do you know where ya yahye sinwar, the hamas commander believed to have planned these attacks, is right now? >> well, i don't think that this information is available with anyone except the people who are close to him, and this is information really that doesn't relate much to what we are doing right now and the ongoing negotiations. our communication throughout the

years we've had with hamas has been very exclusive to the political wing and the political representatives in the office here in doha, and that's it. and we don't deal directly with -- or never have any dealing with the military wing. >> qatar is home to a very large military base. qatar is a major non-nato u.s. ally. but in this country a number of republican lawmakers in particular have publicly called for your country to hand over those hamas political leaders. what is the future? will they remain in qatar? >> margaret, our relation with u.s. is a very solid relationship and alliance that been established throughout the decades. we've been working together very closely in ensuring peace and stability in the region. and in several occasions qatar

has been always stepping up to this partnership and if you recall afghanistan and currently right now we've been working very closely with the white house, with the cia and state department to ensure that this deal is happening. the president of the united states is in constant contact with the emir and i've been in constant communication with our colleagues in the white house, cia and state department as well. there is relation that's based on trust, based on mutual interest of both countries. this office when it's established, it's established in coordination with the u.s. to establish the communication with hamas. and it's been always useful not only for the u.s. but for the u.s., israel and for the stability of the region. and as long as this is something useful and also right now we are in the middle of the negotiation, we will always keep the communication open with

everyone. >> do you see an opportunity in this short truce to have some kind of diplomatic agreement to end the conflict? and will qatar play a role in the future of gaza? >> well, our relationship, margaret, is with the palestinian people, with the palestinian cause. our support for the palestinian people has been ongoing for decades. and this is what qatar has stood for. whoever is governing the palestinians, it's their choice. and i believe that our focus right now is how to end this wr, how to ensure that this is not repeated. and the only way to ensure that this is not repeated is to resolve it peacefully, to have a political solution and provide the palestinian people with a political horizon for a state. and then the day after and who will govern gaza, gaza and the west bank should be one unit, one country under one leadership that will be chosen by the palestinian people.

>> prime minister, i appreciate your time in the middle of this intense diplomacy. we will be watching and hoping for progress. >> thank you very much, margaret, for having me. >> a source with knowledge tells cbs that a group of hostages was just handed over to the red cross. we'll be following that. we spoke earlier this morning with white house national security adviser jake sullivan before the prime minister and asked him whether the u.s. could confirm americans are on the list to be released. >> well, margaret, we do have reason to believe that americans wil be released today. at least one american will be released today. i cannot confirm who it will be or that it will absolutely happen because until we see that american out of gaza, in safety and ultimately in the hands of their loved ones, we won't have full confirmation. and so we have been in close touch with the israeli

authorities, with qatar, with egypt, and we do have reason to believe that there will be an american released today. but let's wait and see what actually happens because of course we are dealing with a terrorist group here and we can't immediately trust. we have to verify. >> understood. but as part of that diplomacy this is that delicate exchange. palestinian prisoners, aid going in. are all those other pieces on track today? >> well, there continues to be quite a bit of intensity around the logistics of the delivery of humanitarin assistance. that humanitarian assistance is flowing. it has been flowing for several hours this morning. the israelis have indicated the list of palestinian prisoners they're prepared to release. so that should be on track. we have every reason to believe that this will come together again today. it has for the last two days. but implementation of something as intricate and complicated as this is difficult. >> i know this first phase of the deal is focused on women and children. there are ten americans unaccounted for at this point.

do you anticipate this truce will be extended and that all the americans including the men will come home? >> i have every confidence that ultimately all of the americans and all of the individuals being held hostage will come home. we are determined not to rest until that happens. but whether or not this particular deal gets extended, that's really up to hamas because israel has been very clear as part of the deal, it is prepared to continue the pause in fighting for every day that hamas produces an additional ten hostages. so the ball's in hamas's court. if hamas chooses on the fifth day and the sixth day and the seventh day to continue to produce hostages, to return them to their loved ones, to return them to safety, then israel is prepared to continue the pause in the fighting. if hamas decides not to do it, the responsibility will rest squarely on hamas's shoulders. >> your deputy, john finer, was on "face the nation" last sunday and told us israel believes hamas leaders are hiding in the south of gaza, combat operations

are planned for that area. but he said they should be held off until civilians are accounted for in israel's military planning. is the u.s. satisfied with the assurances provided by israel? >> well, really, this is about operations and not just about conversations. so what the united states is hoping to see and frankly what i believe israel is hoping to see is the conditions being set whereby any military action only takes place after civilians have been accounted for and have the opportunity to be in safety, to have access to humanitarian assistance, and to be out of the way of any military operation that is conducted. that's the conversation we're having with the israelis right now. it's a constructive conversation, and the details of it will remain behind closed doors. but the basic notion that continuing military operations should learn lessons from the north to be applied in any further undertakings, this is something that we have been

discussing with the israelis at length. >> president biden was asked this past week about the call by some of his fellow democrats to put conditions on military aid to israel, and he said it was, quote, a worthwhile thought. what specific conditions are you considering putting on u.s. aid? >> well, margaret, what the president actually said was it's a worthwhile thought but the approach that i've taken, i joe biden have taken, has helped generate results. it has been high-level presidential diplomacy, deep personal and oftentimes private -- >> he said it wouldn't have gotten us where we are now. >> that has led to a deep personal and private engagement that has led to a substantial and increasing amount of humanitarian assistance going into gaza, thousands of foreign nationals including american citizens being able to depart safely from gaza, a pause in the fighting for the first time since the conflict began, and a hostage deal that is bringing hostages home to their loved ones after 50 days. that has all been the result of

what president biden has described as the approach that he has taken in this conflict. and when he answered that question, he acknowledged the idea but then he said in the same breath that the approach that he has taken is what has been generating results. >> are you saying that what the president was indicating was no, there won't be any restrictions? >> no. we all saw what he said. he acknowledged the idea -- >> so there might be restrictions? >> -- and then he said but the approach i'm taking -- margaret, the president made clear in his comments that he thought the approach that he is taking is the approach that has generated the results that we have seen so far and he is going to continue to engage in exactly that kind of diplomacy. in fact, he has a call set up for today with prime minister netanyahu. and i think you will see the united states continue to do what we have been doing and particularly president biden continue to do what he is doing because that is what is generating results. >> okay. senator sanders has an op-ed in the "new york times" making very

specific demands in terms of restrictions on aid saying there should be a freeze on settlement expansion in the west bank, a commitment to a two-state solution. are those reasonable things to require of the israeli government before additional aid is handed over? >> nobody has been a stronger advocate for a two-state solution than president joe biden, who has been speaking about it -- >> understood. and the current israeli government has not been. >> -- publicly as well as privately. and as far as the president is concerned this is the sine qua non of a lasting peace in the region. we need to see a two-state solution, palestinians and israelis in equal measure of dignity living side by side in peace. >> do you think this is the moment for that diplomacy given what prime minister netanyahu has said, given what some members of his government have said? >> we believe that this is absolutely a moment for us to be

working with everyone in the region, the israeli government, the palestinians, the arab countries, our european partners, others toward a two-state solution, and president biden laid that out in detail in an op-ed that he wrote in the "washington post" not long ago. so the answer to your question is yes, we do think this is a moment for that kind of diplomacy. >> jake sullivan, thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> and "face the nation" will be back in a moment. stay with us. e pretty much the , but at fisher investments we're clearly different. (other money manager) different how? you sell high commission investment products, right? (fisher investments) nope. fisher avoids them. (other money manager) well, you must earn commissions on trades. (fisher investments) never at fisher. (other money manager) ok, then you probably sneak in some hidden and layered fees. (fisher investments) no. we structure our fees so we do better when our clients do better. that might be why most of our clients come from other money managers. at fisher investments, we're clearly different.

we go now to the commissioner general of the united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees, philippe lazzarini. welcome back to "face the nation." >> good morning, margaret. >> i understand you're joining us from amman, jordan this morning. roughly 108 of your staff members in gaza have been killed according to your reports. that's the highest number of u.n. workers killed in the history of the united nations.

we are very sorry for your loss. i'm wondering, given that you are sharing your location coordinates with both parties, why is there still such a high death toll? >> yes, margaret. this is definitely a devastating news. the united nation never, ever lost as many staff in such a short period in a conflict. now, it is also true, margaret, that about 70 of our location sheltering more than 1 million people have been hit since the beginning of the conflict and we have about 200 people who have been killed, 100 injured and this despite the fact that we are constantly notifying the israeli authorities but also the de facto government of hamas about our location.

>> who is hitting these locations? i've seen your own u.n. reports that say you discovered some unrwa schools have been used for mili purposes, israeli tanks nearby. you've also seen weapons storage in some of these facilities. is that hamas? >> we will definitely need to have an investigation about all these allegations. for the time being we are in no position to determine who has been behind each of the incident we have reported up till now. but clearly here this has been a blatant disregard of international humaniarian norm, a blatant disregard of u.n. premises and a blatant disregard of civilian population. >> the white house says israel's combat operations in south gaza should not happen until there are assurances about protecting civilians in the south of gaza.

have you been given any kind of assurances here? are you confident you can operate there safely? >> margaret, we are confident because there haven't been any safe place until now in the gaza strip. people w initially asked to move from the north to the south, and we have seen that a number of people have been killed in the south. so there haven't been any safe places. yet having said that, we have this week reached more than 1 million people, more than half of the people sheltered in u.n. premises and we will continue to ask the israeli authorities and the warring parties to ensure that these places be respected in line with their obligation with international humanitarian norm. >> how dire is the humanitarian situation? >> i went back last week to gaza for the second time. the situation is much worse than what i saw the first time.

just to give you an example, i visited the vocational training center of unrwa. we are sheltering 25,000 people there. and met a father with his five children living in a four square-meter, basically sleeping on the floor, no mattress, no blanket. winter is coming. and also saying my dignity has been stripped. and his story is the story of hundreds of thousands of people in the gaza strip. >> we have to take a break here and we'll continue our conversation on the other side of it. please stay with us. honey, i think i heard something. ok. ♪ from christmas tree mats... to floorliners... cargo liners.... no drill mud flaps... seat protectors... and more... weathertech has the perfect holiday gift.

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we'll be right back with a lot more "face the nation." stay with us.

welcome back to "face the nation" and our conversation with philippe lazzarini of the u.n. relief agency for palestine refugees. mr. commissioner general, how much aid is getting in to gaza now as part of this