>> and that is a tragedy, what is unfolding in gaza and my heart breaks also for the thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering in the gaza strip. but we have to understand is that israel didn't ask for this war, israel never wanted this war, israel didn't ask for 235 or 240 of its people to be taken hostage, israel never wanted this. we had a cease-fire on october 6th. hamas is the one that broke it and violated it with that massacre and murderous rampage through our communities when it killed all those people and took them hostage. and therefore israel is in a battle today for the safety and security of its country, and this is what it has to do and i hope and pray that these hostages, these 13 tonight, will come home, will be safe, will be healthy, and that the rest of the 50 will come home in the next few days but we still have a long road ahead of us, jose, to secure the rest of the hostages and to defeat hamas. >> thank you for being with us today. i really appreciate it. >> thank you. stay with us, we'll take a

quick break and come back with a whole lot more. breaking news coverage as first group of hostages is released. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc and i thank you for that. e diaz-balart reports" on msnbc and i thank you for that you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪

good morning. just over 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. 6:01 p.m. in tel aviv. breaking news on msnbc, a regional diplomat with knowledge of the situation confirms to nbc

news that the 13 israeli hostages have been freed and are in the hands of the red cross. they are in egypt. a live look at what is now known as hostage square in tel aviv and these pictures that are just coming in, what we believe to be the convoy carrying some of those hostages in the area there, the border crossing between gaza and egypt. those are just coming in to our newsroom and let's take a look at these images and if you're just listening to us on radio, what we're seeing are a number of jeeps with red cross on them, very clearly identifying them as red cross vehicles are crossing into egypt and we see there a group of people, about four in the back of the ambulance jeep, two in the front, driver and someone in the passenger seat,

and about four or five people in the back part of these red cross jeeps/ambulances. this is just coming in to us as we point out that it is 6:03 p.m. and there is three people that clearly you can see their faces on these images that are just coming in to nbc news. slowing them down a little bit, but you see two people in the front and three or four per vehicle crossing into egypt. we have been able to confirm that this group of 13 israeli hostages has indeed been released. there is also a side deal that many weren't aware of by which hamas has released 12 thai

nationals, also released today. but these pictures that we're just now seeing together for the first time show a group of people being now entering into egypt in these red cross jeep/ambulances. joining us now is nbc's erin mclaughlin in tel aviv and david rhodes, senior executive editor for national security for nbc news. so, erin, what more do we know about these hostages? >> reporter: well, first, jose, it is important to state that the images that we are now seeing, it is impossible to overstate the significance of that footage to not only the families of the 13 israeli hostages that we now have confirmed have been released today, but also to the other families of the remaining

hostages, the vast majority of the hostages, they will be looking at that footage and seeing hope. one woman telling me with every release brings new hope of another release and another release. remember, this is expected to be a four-day cease-fire at minimum, but today was very much being looked at as a proof of concept that this release process could in fact go forward. so these images, again, just this tremendous symbol of hope, in terms of what we have confirmed, we have confirmed that 25 hostages in total have been released to date. 13 israeli hostages and 12 thai hostages. the thai hostages, according to the prime minister, the 13 israeli hostages according to the israeli military. we also have new clarity on the timing of the israeli hostage release, according to the israeli prime minister's office that that release happened about a half hour ago, that the

israeli hostages were moved to the red cross. and now all eyes are going to be on the prison in the occupied west bank. it was around this time per the schedule that was made public that we expect some 39 palestinians, women and teenagers, to be released from that israeli prison, to be sent back home to their homes in the west bank, east jerusalem, as well as gaza. we're awaiting on confirmation of that process. but, certainly all of this a remarkable, hopeful moment for so many families in the region. jose? >> indeed. we're looking at live pictures there of the square in tel aviv that has been renamed. you can see the people are just all around, there is some photos of some of the children that have been held as hostage. erin, also, we learned today and it was, i guess for many unexpected or a surprise that

there was also a group of thai nationals that was released in a separate deal. >> reporter: yeah. that's right. the thai prime minister announcing that they had been released on twitter. remember that on october 7th, as hamas stormed the kibbutz, they were attack indiscriminately and apparently took a number of thai hostages into gaza. they had been farm workers in israel and now it appears that the thai government has in fact secured their release. now, one big detail here is the identifications, of course, of all of the hostages. we don't have that yet. that list has not been made public. my understanding from an israeli official is that at this point they will be being transferred to specialized israeli military personnel that have experience training and handling children

and dealing with the youngest of hostages and they will be going through this identification process. it is unclear how long that process will take. and then from there, medical evaluation and from there according to this israeli official that all important phone call for the first time in 49 days, the opportunity to call their families via a video link before being transferredfacilit. that is the process as we know it. we're waiting to see if the israeli government will, in fact, release the list of hostages that were let go by hamas today. it is unclear if we can expect that tonight or at some point in the future. jose? >> david, i'm just wondering what you are feeling and what you are seeing today, the significance and the weight of this. >> just, you know, joy. joy, absolute joy for these 13 hostages and their families. i want to -- it is amazing seeing this footage, it looked like some of the passengers are older folks who have gray hair.

but what i really want to point out here is the international red cross. you saw this, you know, the lead car, a woman driving it, every car is the icrc, they're based in switzerland, they help in hostage exchanges all over the world. they just do extraordinary work. so, they are the neutral parties, this is the standard in these kind of exchanges. if you want to evacuate a hospital, for example, it is the icrc that is often trusted by both sides. so i just want to, you know, salute them and their efforts and all this. but a huge step forward for these families, but, again, the total number of hostages is believed to be 240, more releases over the next three days. this is, again, a tremendous step forward, there will be palestinians released as well by the israelis. this will continue hopefully for the next several days and even past that. >> david, the white house said that they don't expect americans

to be along this group released today. how hopeful are we that americans will be included in later groups. >> i think they absolutely should be. our colleagues at nbc ran a detailed story about how these negotiations went on. a u.s. official talked about five excruciating weeks of negotiations. the u.s. played an enormous role in this, president biden personally was on the phone repeatedly to different leaders in the region, qatar and egypt helped mediate as well. so, i am hopeful and i think it would be extremely disappointing to the white house if the americans do not come out in the next three days. there are ten american hostages that are there, abigail, the young woman who was mentioned earlier, the child who turned 4 told is one of the u.s. citizens, hopefully she'll come out in the next few days. and if they don't, i would expect, you know, major pressure from the biden administration to

help those american citizens. the president has said there is no higher priority for him, so these ten americans should come out in the next three days. i hope. >> and david, we're showing the images and we're getting -- we have access to all kinds of feeds from the entire region. this, i'm being told, is what this source is describing as a convoy of ambulances that will be transporting the prisoners or people that are being released in one place or another. the ambulances, as you can see, are on standby. there is no movement for them. they're all ready to go, but this is happening as we speak right now. and, david, just what are your expectations that this pause and, you know, you were

mentioning, you know, obviously it is for three more days ideally. if they say that if ten hostages are released every day after those four days, the israelis would be willing to keep that pause for another 24 hours. just seems as though the math there is very complicated and difficult for 212 other people. >> yeah, that's the long-term challenge. again, one of the diplomats in the region was involved in these talks said they hope that these first rounds will be a confidence building measure. again, there is also hundreds of aid trucks that are being allowed into gaza today. israeli drone strikes have been halted for six hours a day and this will continue. the bigger challenge, though, and, again, our colleagues uncovered this as well, is that hamas has been consistently saying that they only control about 120 captives.

they have leads possibly on roughly 20 more, so that leaves 100 hostages out of the 240 that hamas says they don't control. they claim that after they launched this, the attack on israel, and broached the boarder wall, that average palestinians went in, others went in and grabbed prisoners. that's the big problem, as hamas, i think, has a -- has the responsibility to find all 240 prisoners. this entire situation was created by hamas' attack on israel. but that, i see in the future, is becoming a major problem. where are those 100 hostages that hamas claims they don't control. >> erin mclaughlin and david rhodes, thank you so very much. to continue our conversation, we're joined by david ignacious and jeremy bass.

david, first, what is your reaction as we see what is going on there and just this group of 13 being released into egypt. >> so, jose, mine is that of everyone watching, a sense of joy and relief that some of these captives are returning to their families on the way to their families. i do think this is a bittersweet moment for israelis as they think about all of the hostages who remain captive and there is not yet a pathway for the release of the male hostages who are being held. i think about the timetable going forward can this continue without interruption over the four days? 13 hostages a day. and will it continue beyond that? there is suggestions that israel will extend the pause if hamas

can find and deliver additional 20 perhaps women and children that they are said to have relatively easy access to, that would extend this period, adding to more joy of the families. and then finally, jose, the question that haunts me is how is israel going to restart this war? israel is saying this is a pause, their job is not finished, they do intend to destroy hamas. it is hard to restart a war that has been stopped when people are watching images of civilians walking the streets with their donkey carts, going back to normal life, high intensity conflict again is going to be very difficult to watch. >> i was just speaking to colonel lerner from the idf and i asked him that specifically, in other words, hey, pauses are just that. how do you restart and then, you know, he insisted that the

mission is for israel to dismantle and destroy hamas. how do you do that, david, going forward, after these pauses, and when everything is -- we're seeing what we're seeing? >> well, that's the question facing the idf in the coming days. they promised return to high intensity conflict. we know what that looks like. there are images of bombardments from the air, from heavy howitzers and tanks on the ground, returning to that level of warfare will take a lot of discipline for the idf. the international reaction is very hard to judge. the world will get used to this period of pause and calm, a sense of relief, a sense of deliverance for the hostages, so i think israel will have a difficult time moving forward. this will be a period, i just

would underline, in which humanitarian assistance for the palestinians who suffered so terribly in gaza will be delivered, will be seeing images, not simply of hostage release, but of humanitarian aid, of medical care, of all the things going into gaza that have been needed. so maybe that will change the international situation. but when the moment comes, for the guns to start up again, that's going to be very, very difficult. >> yeah, jeremy using your experience at the defense department and the cia what do you see as going on right now, maybe like behind the scenes? >> well, first, i think for the biden administration this is an important moment because this is the worst hostage crisis that has faced americans since the 1970s, since 66 americans were held hostage in the embassy in tehran, and, of course, those were adults, we're talking here about children, women, noncombatants. at that time we knew exactly where the hostages were. they were all u.s. government

officials in a u.s. government facility. here, we don't know the whereabouts. we don't know the well-being, we don't know if some of the american hostages are alive. so to have ten americans held hostage for this period of time including as you referenced now 4-year-old abigail has been just a devastating situation for the american people and the biden administration has had to lean very far forward in working the diplomatic channels with qatar, with egypt, obviously with the israelis shoulder to shoulder to deal with this hostage crisis. i don't think the biden administration, the american people are going to be able to rest until all americans are released. as you have been talking about all morning, 13 people out of some 240 is about 5%. so 95% of the hostages will still be held by the terrorists. and i don't think the israeli people, the american people, i don't think the world can rest until all the hostages are returned home.

>> and thank you for bringing that into perspective in a very clear picture. and, david, you know, you're talking about the world reaction to it, certainly the pressure, the united states, specifically the president of the united states has been so clear from day one on his unequivocal support for the people of israel and specifically playing such an important part in these negotiations, you know. david, i know obviously you know this, but the prime minister of spain and belgium were in israel yesterday, meeting with netanyahu, now at the border crossing there in egypt. how do you think going forward the world will be watching this and pressuring for the rebeginning, rebirth of the war to maybe not go forward? >> so, i do think through the

period of hostage release, and prisoner release, we should remember from israel, that there will be a general global sense of relief and celebration. this will also be a period in which there is greater humanitarian assistance for palestinians. people will want to extend that. so, the pressure for hamas to keep adding more hostages that it can deliver will be significant. there is an expectation, i think, in israel, that this probably will stop when total of women and children is about 100. as you near that 100 women and children, and they are freed, it is going to be, i think, much more difficult for the release of male civilian prisoners who would israel release from its prisons. that's a question that hasn't been approached. i think the world will begin to

look to the future transitional status in gaza, in the expectation that hamas' power will be destroyed. that's israel's goal here. i don't see them backing off of that. people will begin to discuss, as they should, over the next month or so, what new governing authority would take over in gaza to begin to rebuild, put people back in their homes, to provide some more stable path forward, if that's not hamas? i think that's where the conversation will be and should be. that's -- we call that the day after question, we're not at the day after yet, but it is coming and people should get ready for it. >> david and jeremy, thank you both so much for being with us today. we just now have coming into our newsroom confirmation that israel has released that group of 39 palestinians that have been in israeli prisons, they have just been released.

this is part of this agreement that begins today for an exchange of prisoners for hostages. more coverage of the release of the first group of israeli hostages when we come back in just 60 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. s. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. heart failure and seemingly unrelated symptoms, like carpal tunnel syndrome, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeat could be something more serious called attr-cm, a rare, underdiagnosed disease that worsens over time. sound like you? call your cardiologist, and ask about attr-cm. [sneeze] dude you coming? because the only thing dripping should be your style. plop plop fizz fizz with alka-seltzer plus cold & flu relief. also try for fizzy fast cough relief.

pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now, get max strength topical pain relief precisely where you need it. with new tylenol precise. 23 past the hour. major developments in the israel-hamas war. 13 israeli hostages have been released thus far. none as of today have been americans. nbc news also confirming 12 thai nationals have already been released under a separate deal and we just got confirmation that a first group of prisoners that israel has been holding have been released and they are now on their way over to the

part of the agreement between israel and hamas hammered out in qatar. joining us now with the very latest is military historian colonel peter monsour. thank you for being with us today. just your thoughts on what today and this moment means. >> well, it means that israel and hamas are talking, that there is diplomatic connection between them and that's a huge step, even though the release of only 50 hostages and 150 prisoners and israeli jails doesn't seem like a lot in the grand scheme of the destruction of much of the gaza strip. at least the two sides are talking. and that is a huge plus for the path for peace going forward. >> so, what can do you think be accomplished in the long-term, or can this possibly be something that could bring in

the long-term more communication and more agreements? >> possibly. but for israel, they have said repeatedly this is an existential conflict. they will not stop until they destroy hamas. they will use this operational pause to rest their forces, resupply them, integrate replacements for the casualties they have sustained and train them for next step of the operation, which is to go into southern gaza and complete the destruction of the military arm of hamas. now, if that's possible, i don't know, but that's what they're going to try to achieve and should they achieve that, then they have to think about the day after and the day after is they have got to start negotiating with people who have blood on their hands on a long-term political solution to the conflict. >> and the destruction of hamas, the complete destruction of hamas, which is the israeli

clear mission statement, you know, in urban warfare, in a place that has, you know, 2 million civilians living there, where there is a vast tunnel structure underneath, what apparently includes hospitals and schools and all kinds of civilian areas, it just seems as though the civilians in gaza have very little control over their future, and that future could very well be one of untold number of civilian deaths. >> yeah, the future for the civilian population unfortunately is pretty bleak. i compare this to the battle of manila in february 1945 and world war ii in which u.s. forces attacked and destroyed 20,000 japanese soldiers who were entrenched in the city. and in the process, in the three

weeks of fighting, 100,000 filipinos died. and that's a huge number, but the population in manila at the time was about a million. so the parallel is about the same, and we're at 13,000 plus palestinians dead already. 35,000 plus wounded. and those numbers are going to go up if israel continues its assault into the southern part of gaza, which it says unequivocally that it will. >> sorry to interrupt you, we're just seeing these pictures that are coming across our screen there with what are that group of hostages, that are now being transferred into these ambulances. and these are pictures just coming in to our newsroom. we're seeing them together for the first time, and those are the ambulances that we were talking about, just a couple of minutes ago, that are on stand by. there we just saw the first

person, first image of a person, an elderly woman, being -- holding her arm and her hand as they transferred her to one of these ambulances and we're going to -- let's stay with these pictures for just a bit if we could. different angles of the ambulances that are on stand by to receive this group of 13 israeli hostages. also we have to remember that nearly a dozen thai nationals have also been released today by hamas, something that much of the world was unaware was happening. negotiations and discussions, but that group of also nearly a dozen thai nationals has been released today. and these ambulances on stand by as you can see to receive some

or all of the hostages that have been released. and are now in egypt. so, lieutenant colonel peter monsour, i apologize for interrupting you. i'm wondering, you know, you're talking about the battle of manila in february of 1945 and how so many civilians died. the question is, is there anything, is there anything that can bring hope to the people of gaza that they, they may not be facing that same possible reality? >> well, the israeli defense forces have weapons that are much more precise than existed in world war ii. that may lower the death toll and they're not deliberately targeting civilians as the u.s.

forces back in 1945 did not either. and you also have a lot of international pressure on israel to abide by the geneva conventions, to limit civilian casualties. so all this comes into play. so far we have seen gaza city assaulted and 13,000 dead is a lot. it is not 100,000. so, the long-term hope for the palestinians is a political resolution providing a group of political sovereignty to the palestinian people. >> well, still 13,000 dead and many of them, you know, women and children is just horrible. colonel, i thank you very much for being with us today. i appreciate your time. i want to go to nbc news correspondent david noriega, he is in ramallah, in the west bank. what are you seeing and what are we learning today?

>> reporter: yeah, jose, a lot has happened since i spoke to you in the last hour. the prison where the 39 palestinian prisoners are set to be released is a little bit of a ways behind me down this roadway. a crowd of palestinians has gathered here tonight to receive the prisoners. there was a confrontation between that crowd and the israeli forces in the prison area. israeli forces deployed tear gas, the crowd moved away, we're now seeing some of the crowd move back. we saw some red crescent ambulances head toward where the confrontation happened and then head back. so we can assume there are some injuries, but we don't know how serious. possibly just people being treated for tear gas. you know, just to go back to who these people are, who are being released these are palestinians who were detained by israeli forces. mostly through military depension detentions, military courts, many have not been convicted yet or charged yet.

from israel's perspective, these are dangerous people detained because of violent activity or attempted violent activity. if you talk to the people gathered here tonight, they will say these are detentions that happened under military occupation, unjustified. i spoke to the father, for example, of one of the people who son the list of prisoners to be released tonight. he said his 17-year-old son was detained for reasons he doesn't know. he wasn't involved in any criminal or violent activity. and he was just a high school student, not involved in any kind of political activity. as you can see, we have ambulances heading back toward the direction of the prison. this gives you a sense of what life is like in the occupied west bank. this has turned into an incident of confrontation and unrest and people would characterize as repression by the idf. it is a tense situation. what was happening before and what will probably be happening during the course of the night, you have people waving palestinian flags, chanting,

singing songs, and at some point i don't know what this unrest will do in terms of potentially interfering with the actual physical release of the prisoners. from what we're hearing, that transfer hasn't taken place yet, even though it was supposed to have happened, you know, supposed to have started to happen maybe two and a half hours ago. you know, we'll keep you posted as we learn more. it is possible we'll need to move this location to somewhere a little calmer. but that's what we know so far. jose? >> so, david, just because it is dark, it is 6:33 where you are, we can see some movement behind you, but just if you would, just turn around and tell us what you're seeing there. >> reporter: yeah, so, look, right now it is relatively calm. this is -- the crowd of people that has been gathering here since the afternoon and into the evening. you essentially have movement of people toward the prison, and then israeli forces pushing them back. using tear gas, earlier we saw

reports of them deploying rubber bullets as well. a push and pull, trying to get closer to the prison and the israeli forces pushing them back. right now it seems to be a little bit of a stand still, but i have been seeing some groups of people moving once again toward the prison, that's why if i had to guess i would say this kind of push and pull is going to repeat itself over the course of the evening. again, my big question is what does this mean for the people who are waiting for their loved ones to be released? is this going to interfere with that release? what does that mean, even in a larger sense for this agreement, which is a tenuous agreement, where by the authorities on the palestinian side are going to want to make sure they see these prisoners released because that was israel's half of the deal. this is -- it is developing very quickly. we're hearing more ambulances. as far as i know there haven't been any serious injuries. this is the kind of thing that i think happens pretty regularly in the west bank, but we're

going have to see how this plays out in the next minutes, hours and through the course of the night. jose? >> david noriega, thank you. we will stay monitoring where you are, i very much appreciate it. i want to bring in christopher o'leary, the former director of hostage recovery for the u.s. government. thank you for being with us today. what is your reaction to what we have been seeing and by the way, we're getting confirmation from the red cross that 24 hostages have been released. this doesn't specify whether it is 24 of the israeli hostages that would make it more or if it is part of the group of israeli hostages and thai nationals who are also being released today by hamas, but according to the red cross, there are a total of 24 hostages that they have received and are now on to the egyptian side. so, christopher, just your

thoughts on the impact of today. >> i'm happy to see it has gone through. so many moving pieces to this and a very complex environment. so, that's always a concern. obviously what you're seeing going on in ramallah is indicative of how emotional and potentially volatile this entire thing can be. the arab street is certainly in gaza in the west bank is on edge. they want to see their prisoneners released. at the same time, they have a a generational hatred against israel. so, you know, it is going to be tough to keep everybody calm through this to continue the negotiated releases over days. i do think -- >> and -- i'm sorry, go ahead. >> i do think, you know, the criticality of the qataris in this cannot be overstated. they are the ones who are really bringing this all together and they're coordinating, you know,

multiple entities, egypt, israel, hamas, iran, the united states, they are really the sin sinnergizing entity here. >> take a listen and take a look at these pictures. we just saw an elderly lady being taken by her hand and arm and just as we were finishing our conversation, christopher, a little child was being put on to that white bus and, again, for the folks that are listening to us on radio, what we're seeing here is a white bus that is receiving a line of people, we have seen women, children, and they're being put on a bus. we have seen other people being put into ambulances, walking into the ambulances. but, christopher, as -- let's stay with this, with this live

shot, if we could, with the pictures. christopher, just -- the difficulty and the fragility of these negotiations, you talk about qatar being so important. lots of hamas leadership lives in qatar. but there are so many players, the fragility of something like this, not only that it starts, but then the fragility of it continuing for days. >> yeah, so, i think my biggest concern is, two things, two concerns. number one, just something happening on the street, you know, that a protest turns into an altercation between citizens in gaza or citizens in the west bank, with israeli forces, and it, you know, just spirals out of control from there. that is certainly a possibility and a real concern. but the other part is the actions of palestinian islamic jihad. they are much further down the spectrum on the islamist, you

know, continuum, they are also a more direct proxy of iran. they have broken cease-fires in the past. they are not controlled by hamas, so, you know, they could ruin this for everybody, so that is really what i'll be looking to over the next few days to see if this holds. >> and just thinking of your experience, your vast experience on this, christopher, as we see these -- this white bus there, receiving folks, some going into ambulances. what kind of resources are needed and usually provided to people that have been in a hostage situation? in this case, we're talking about 49 days after witnessing the most horrendous things in their homes and in -- and in their everyday existence, how their life changed 49 days ago, what is some of the resources that are usually provided and that are so needed? >> so this is very --

preplanned, well rehearsed, every resource will be there for each of these victims. it is rare to have so many victims being released at the same time. but for each of them, they will have a medical team that works with hostages, they will have a team of counselors and victims, assistant specialists and psychologists who will help them with their reintegration process. and then they will have as we talked about a couple of days ago, there will be intelligence professionals there, when the time is right, and if the victims are ready, to start discussing the details of where they were held, who was holding them, and move through that together, the intelligence needed to hopefully locate and recover the other hostages. i will also say, and this is something i don't think anybody is really talked about yet, the fbi will talk to some of these people eventually as well. not only the american citizens, but the other victims when we get the opportunity because we will look to bring charges

against members of hamas and palestinian islamic jihad for acts of terrorism, for hostage taking, for the murder of american citizens, and we will indict them in a u.s. court and as long as it takes we will hunt them down around the world and seek to bring them back to the united states and face justice. >> such an important thing you just brought up, christopher o'leary, thank you very much. we're seeing there that bus, that first bus, white bus right in the middle of your screens. it is on the move and it is carrying some of the 24 hostages that the red cross says it has received after being released by hamas. it is 41 after the hour. we're going to be right back after the break with more coverage. this is breaking news, the release of this first group of hostages held by hamas. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. agility.

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45 past the hour. back with our breaking news this hour on the release of hostages out of gaza this morning. these are live pictures we are showing you. the bus you're seeing right in the center of your screen being followed by an ambulance is carrying -- is transporting a group of hostages that have been released, according to the red cross. 24 hostages have been released today by hamas. we have to remember that there

was the original understanding that 13 israelis would be released today and then also we found out that another group of nearly a dozen thai nationals were also to be released today. the red cross saying they have received 24 hostages. joining us now is amna navaz and lauren whitney, world editor for axios. there was -- in this last second delay of a deal that led to more strikes by israel on thursday, but now it has taken effect, how do you see the significance of this day as we see this bus with these ambulances? >> jose, i've been watching live pictures along side of you and i think we should step back and just note what a remarkable step this is. this now marks what could be the longest pause in fighting if a

four-day truce just holds -- does hold. it marks the release of hopefully all of these, we know we're expecting 25 hostages released by hamas today. you said earlier it is confirmed 24. so i think we need to wait and see if those numbers shake out. and also the 39 palestinian prisoners, women and teenage boys, being released back to their families, largely in the west bank. this is a day of reunion for all of them. this is a day we know that many of those israeli families and families from many other nations, there are dozens of people among the hostages from different nationaliies being held by hamas. and even proof of life, knowing their family members was alive and well was a question until they were released. i was heartened to see that little girl walking into one of the buses. we do not have confirmed details on anyone's identities yet. some of the information is just starting to come out now. but we do know among the

hostages is believed to be the youngest american hostage, a 3-year-old girl named abigail mor edan, her parents were killed trying to shelter and save her and her siblings. her two older siblings were rescued by idf forces. i spoke with her family recently and i know that they are waiting with bated breath to see if abigail is among those released. she was 3 when she was kidnapped. today is her 4th birthday. it will be remarkable if she is reunited with them today. but, again, there are belived to be many more women and children held by hamas. on the other side we believe hamas will be releasing up to 150 people held. i think it is important to note too for the hostage families, they're still waiting for the release of their loved ones.

>> thank you for mentioning abigail, who is 3. and today turns 4. 4 years old today. what she has witnessed, what she has experienced and she is not being released today. and we don't know when she will be released. but today she is celebrating her 4th birthday after witnessing and experiencing what you talk about in a far away place in a far away circumstance. israeli officials say that for every ten hostages hamas releases from here on in, there san option to extend the cease-fire, the pause, by another day. do you think we're going to see a four-day halt in fighting maybe getting extended? >> sure. israeli officials that we talked to are cautiously optimistic that hamas will agree to release

more hostages after this initial four-day pause in exchange for an extra day or two of the pause itself. they're optimistic because israeli estimates put the number of hostages that hamas has higher than what hamas said they're willing to release. that's part of the reason. also israeli officials are hoping during this four-day pause hamas can locate hostages, particularly children and women who are with other factions in gaza, including palestinian islamic jihad, we believe has dozens of hostages. there is another this is day on the pause. as we know with war and conflict, anything can change at any moment. the fact that the hostages got out today and the palestinian prisoners are being released is a good sign in terms of the pause. as we move forward, it's going to be day by day, hour by hour

to see how it plays out. >> indeed. we are just now getting confirmation -- i'm going to read it to you. it's just crossing our newsroom. among the people that have been released today, we have two names so far. margalete moses, 78 years old. adina mosh, 72 years old. those are the first two confirmation names and ages of the people that have been released today from gaza. i was thinking about this. with a pause, if it's four days, six days, ten days, there is also going to be the reality of when that pause ends, what comes next? just wondering, how does that

dynamic play? what does israel face not just on the battlefield but also on the battlefield of world opinion? >> it's such an important point, jose. i know our focus is on the hostages today. we are thinking of all their families. we expect fighting to resume whenever this pause does en. hamas leaders have said their fingers remain on the trigger. israel remains committed to eradicating hamas, whatever that looks like. we have seen the longer the war goes on, the less people abroad, particularly recent polling here in america shows the less people support it and israel's conduct. this is a day of reunion for many families. that's a step in the right direction. it's an important reprieve for the 2.2 million gazans who have been living under constant bombardment and are living through barbaric conditions. some aid, not nearly enough, will begin making its way to them. they have been without water, without food, without

medication, critically without fuel. that fuel needed to distribute aid, fuel needed for people to cook on something other than fires outside, fuel to keep incubators running so premature babies don't die as they have been. that fighting will resume as we expect, more palestinians will lose their lives. we will see how the world reacts in the days and weeks ahead. >> thank you both so much for being with us today. more coverage of our breaking news when we are back after a quick break. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. the subway series is getting an upgrade. the new #33. the teriyaki blitz. with double cheese and teriyaki-marinated meat.

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55 after the hour. moments of hope in israel. these are pictures, as you can see, a bus and ambulances carrying a group of the first 13 hostages. this is moments ago. being released after being held captive by hamas for 48 days. joining us now, medical contributor and pumonologist dr. vin gupta. thank you for being with us. you serve as a critical care physician in the u.s. air force medical reserve. what are your concerns when it comes to the health of the hostages? >> good morning. thank you for highlighting this. immediate concerns, focus on dehydration. we are hearing that there isn't enough clean water across gaza. not just to the hostages but to

all gazans, dehydration, malnutrition. gastrointestinal problems, diarrhea as an example, these are the biggest concerns to stability of the hostages released. they will get looked at. respiratory infection, that's a big problem here, especially in crowded, poorly ventilated areas. lastly, trauma. are there signs of broken bones or bleeding? that's a big part of the triage once they get seen. >> we are just getting word by the idf that all 13 of the released hostages are now in israel and they are actually reunited with their families as we speak. what medical treatment are they going to be receiving now? >> jose, what's likely going to happen is they will be monitored in a medical setting, even if they have been reunited. and then triaged based on if they experience clinical problems, based on the severity.

they will get a full body assessment. make sure there isn't broken bones, basic labs to assess for malnutrition. we are talking about women and children. that's the initial focus. if there's instability, they will be looking at that initial presentation, initial vital signs. >> i understand the 78-year-old woman, who we have been able to identify, is a cancer survivor and has diabetes. what are some of the health challenges that these hostages could face? >> the biggest one here, in addition to the fact that -- let's say somebody with diabetes wasn't getting dialysis, that's going to have immediate and medium-term consequences. this is about the mental trauma. ptsd, we see this all the time, dealing with mass casualty

events and direct combat. individuals that have experienced that, ptsd is the biggest medium to long-term concern. that's a thing to look out for. >> thank you so very much. that wraps up coverage for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. e of your time. shop big deals now through november 27th! get bedroom furniture up to 65% off. area rugs up to 80% off. lighting up to 60% off. and everything ships free! plus, pay your way with the wayfair credit card. shop wayfair's lowest prices of the year during black friday now through nov 27th. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪