>> prime minister, just as a follow up, the last truce that was in place in november 2023 did fall apart on the eighth day. what has changed in this agreement that will ensure that this has less likely to fall apart than that agreement was? >> well, the agreement on november was to build the momentum in order to lead for a longer term agreement, which we have today. but unfortunately, the agreement in november was very transactional. so it was like a day by day. but this agreement has a clear mechanism for the first 42 days, and there is a clear mechanism to negotiate phase two and three. and all the details of the agreements will be published in the next couple of days, once the details are finalized. thank you. so at al jazeera, al arabiya. >> your excellency adnan from al jazeera. question number one. do you think that this agreement

will lead to a permanent ceasefire? in other words, do you believe the guarantees are strong enough to ensure that israel will commit to all articles of the agreement? question two between today and sunday, what will the situation be like in the gaza strip? and question three, if you allow me, what contributed to the success of the mediation this time around, and what did qatar offer this time, and what will qatar's role be like in the implementation of the agreement? truth be told, you had me lost because i was focused on question number one. can you please go over the questions again? question number one. do you believe that this time the ceasefire, the deal will lead to a permanent ceasefire? all right. wait here and then you'll ask the other questions later. regarding the implementation of this agreement. first off, like i said, the implementation depends upon the parties as well as the goodwill of the parties. and this is what we are hoping.

of course, regarding the guarantees, the best guarantee would be the commitment of all parties to the agreement and the articles of the agreement. in addition, there are guarantees provided by the guarantors and the mediators of this agreement that will guarantee the continuation of negotiations throughout the first phase. while we wait for phase two, where we will be announcing the complete withdrawal and the end of the war, a series of measures will be taken in the next few days in order to reinforce and shield this agreement between today and sunday, when the agreement enters into force, what will the situation be like in the gaza strip? of course, we ask that the situation be calm between today and sunday. however, the parties recognize that the agreement requires a couple of days in order for its articles to be implemented correctly and for the engagements therein to be honored. and we hope that over the next few days there will not

be any aggressions or any military operations. last question. what is it that ensure the success of the mediation efforts this time? what role did qatar play and what will qatar's role be like in the future? as i mentioned earlier, at the end of the day, it all goes back to the parties of the agreement. we in qatar and our partners and the arab republic of egypt. at the end of the day, we are mediators. we are trying to bring viewpoints closer together and bridge any gaps between the two sides. of course, the success of the agreement depends on a number of factors, and there are a number of variables that are happening around this. i cannot go into the details. however, as i stated earlier in the past few days, let's go from the qatari prime minister for president joe biden on this hostage deal that will end the fighting in gaza. >> he has at long last, i can announce a cease fire on a hostage deal has been reached between israel and hamas for

more than 15 months of conflict that began with hezbollah's brutal massacre on october the 7th. more than 15 months of terror for the hostages, their families, the israeli people, more than 15 months of suffering by the innocent people of gaza fighting in gaza will stop. and soon the hostages will return home to their families. the elements of this deal were what i laid out in detail this past may, which was embraced by countries around the world and endorsed overwhelmingly by the un security council. the deal is structured in three phases. phase one will last six weeks. it includes a full and complete cease fire, a withdrawal of israeli forces from all the populated areas of gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by hamas, including women

and elderly and the wounded. and i'm proud to say americans will be part of that hostage release on phase one as well. and the vice president and i cannot wait to welcome them home. in exchange, israel released hundreds of palestinian prisoners. and during phase one, the palestinians can also return to their neighborhoods in all the areas of gaza. in the surge, humanitarian assistance into gaza will begin, and the innocent people can have a greater access to these vital supplies. you know, during the next six weeks, israel will negotiate the necessary arrangements to get phase two, which is a permanent end of the war. let me say it again. a permanent end of the war. there are a number of details to negotiate, to move from phase one to phase two. but the plan says if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the ceasefire

will continue as long as the negotiations continue. i've spoken to the mayor of kuwait and the president of egypt, and we have pledged to make sure the negotiations will keep moving forward for as long as it takes. then, when phase two begins, there will be an exchange of for release of the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers. and all remaining israeli forces will be withdrawn from gaza, and the temporary cease fire will become permanent. and finally, phase three, any final remains of hostages who have been killed will be returned to their families, and a major reconstruction plan for gaza will begin. this. this is the cease fire agreement i introduced last spring. today, hamas and israel have agreed agd the whole ending the war. you

know, those of you who have followed the negotiations can attest the road to this deal has not been easy. i've worked in foreign policy for decades. this is one of the toughest negotiations i've ever experienced. and we reached this point because because of the pressure that israel built on hamas, backed by the united states, hamas's long time leader, sinwar, was killed. hamas's strongest supporter, iran, launched attacks on israel, and those attacks failed. after my administration organized a coalition of nations to stop them. and after i ordered the u.s. ships and planes to come to israel's defense, we also shape israel's strong and calibrated response, destroying iran's air defenses. but avoiding an escalatory cycle of an all out war. the united states also organized a coalition of 20 countries to stand up to attacks by the houthis, including their missile

attacks in israel. then hezbollah, another hamas's strongest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield, and its leadership was destroyed. with our support, israel's israel negotiated a ceasefire with them, and after that, lebanon finally elected a new president who's nlah. and he can begin a new chapter for the lebanese people. a helped to shape change the equation. and so now the terror network that once protected and sustained hamas is far weaker, iran is weaker, iran is weaker than it's been in decades. hezbollah is badly degraded. and after more than 15 months of war, hamas's senior leaders are dead. thousands of hamas fighters are dead, and the military formations have been

destroyed. with nowhere to turn, moscow finally agreed to releasing hostages. you know, there was no other way for this war to end than with the hostage deal. and i'm deeply satisfied this day has come. finally come. for the sake of the people of israel and the families waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people in gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war. the palestinian people have gone through hell. too many innocent people have died. too many communities have been destroyed. and this deal? the people of gaza can finally recover and rebuild. they can look to a future without hamas in power. you know, the bible says blessed are the peacemakers. many peacemakers helped make this deal happen, including an extraordinary team of american diplomats who have worked

nonstop for months to get this done. secretary blinken led the effort. secretary jake sullivan, is it not? national security adviser jake sullivan, bill burns, jon finer, brett mcgurk, amos hochstein and the vice president worked relentlessly as we work to deliver this deal. i'd also note this deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration. in these past few days, we've been speaking as one team. this has been a time of real turmoil in the middle east. but as i prepare to leave office, our friends are strong, our enemies are weak, and there's a genuine opportunities for a new future in lebanon. there's an opportunity for a future free from the grip of hezbollah in syria, a future free from the tyranny of assad. and for the

palestinian people, a credible, a credible pathway to a state of their own and for the region, a future of normalization and integration of israel and all its arab neighbors, including saudi arabia. at the g20 in delhi in september 23rd, i rallied key countries behind a vision of an economic corridor from india across the middle east to europe. that vision can now become a reality. there are risks as well, including isis and iran, even in a badly weakened state. but but we're handing off to the next team a real opportunity for a better future for the middle east. i hope they will take it. let me close with this. i have my friend for years in the united states senate, former senator george mitchell, who did so much to forge peace in northern ireland, once said about diplomacy. he said it is a 700 days of failure and one day of

success. 700 days of failure and one day of success. well, we've had many difficult days since hamas began its terrible war. we've encountered roadblocks and setbacks, but we've not given up. and now, after more than 4400 days of struggle, a day of success has arrived. god bless all the hostages and their families. may god protect the troops of all those who work for peace. mr. president, the future of gaza. >> now, as you were saying, the implementation of this deal will be in the hands of the next administration. and basically they will shape the future of gaza. so how do you see this future? and also how much credit do you give to the trump team for this deal? trump is already taking credit for it. >> well, you know, this is the exact framework of the deal i proposed back in may. exact. and we got the world to endorse it.

secondly, it's america's support for israel that helped them badly weaken hamas and its backers and create the conditions for this deal. and thirdly, i knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team. so i told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice, because that's what american presidents do. mr. president. >> thank you. >> you told me in the how many americans will be released when the hostages are being released. >> all the exact detail of how many people are being held, how many bodies will be returned, unless we'll all be forthcoming. all of it. all of it. thank you. >> you will hold. >> i'm confident. thank you. >> birx credit for this. mr. president, you or trump? is that

a joke? >> oh. thank you. >> an extraordinary and historic moment. joe biden announcing from the cross hall of the white house that, as he put it, at long last, there is a ceasefire deal to end the war in gaza and to gain the release of the hostages. it is indeed the deal that he first laid out in may that won the support of the international community, including the united nations. as he said it at long last ends 15 months of terror for the hostages, 15 months of suffering for the innocent people of gaza. but of course, that all began on october 7th, when militants seized military bases, seized civilians in a horrible attack that killed 1200 people. but also the president acknowledging that for the last several days, his administration and the trump

administration have been, quote, speaking as one team and now, beginning on sunday, this deal will take effect. i want to bring in nbc news international correspondent raf sanchez hagar. chemali is former director for syria and lebanon at the national security council. marc polymeropoulos, a former cia officer and msnbc national security and intelligence analyst, is still with us and with me here. christopher o'leary, former director of hostage recovery for the u.s. government, now senior vice president for global operations at the soufan group. so much to get to. and as we just heard from the president, some of the specifics of the deal still have to be revealed, still have to be worked out, certainly after this first phase. but tell us what happens now starting on sunday. >> yeah, chris. well, i think that is the big headline out of these two consecutive press conferences, first by the prime minister of qatar and then the president of the united states. we do now know that this deal will go into effect on sunday.

the prime minister said the exact timing of it is to be determined. of course, that raises the awful prospect that there could be more bloodshed in the intervening days before this cease fire goes into effect. the prime minister appealed to both sides for calm even before the formal end to the fighting begins on sunday. i thought the other big headline from president biden, he said, americans will be part of the release. during phase one, he did not say exactly who would be coming out, but he did say that american citizens will be released in phase one of that deal. now, the prime minister appealed for calm over the next couple of days. while this cease fire is put into effect, you have seen people out in very large numbers on the streets, the ruins, devastated streets of the cities in gaza. they are celebrating. they are jubilant

that these 467 days of war appear to be coming to an end. one of the big questions is when and where will they be able to return to their homes? and that has the potential to be one of the most sensitive parts of this implementation. what we saw last time was large numbers of palestinian civilians during that one week ceasefire in november 23rd, trying to return to their homes in northern gaza, and israeli forces using lethal force, at some points shooting people to stop them from crossing israeli lines. so the hope here is that we will not see that kind of conflict, that kind of bloodshed in these intervening days before this ceasefire deal goes into place. but you could see the president describing himself as deeply satisfied that after these many, many, many months of negotiations, this deal has now been reached 467 days.

>> hagar but we did learn from the prime minister in doha that hamas will be releasing 33 israeli captives, including civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people, civilian, ill and wounded, in return for a number of prisons of prisoners who are being held in israeli prisons. what are what are the logistical and political complications of getting that done? sure, it's one of the things that made it difficult to reach a deal in the end, is that they were trying to figure out the exact details of how those hostages are going to be released, how the prisoners are going to be released, who's handling that, how many on each day. >> they're not going to all be released at once. >> it's a small group every few days so that you span it over the next six weeks. that's when all those hostages are going to be released. and it's important to know that the work is still cut out for the trump administration. there are a total of 94 hostages being held

by hamas. it is believed that two thirds of them or less are alive. and so they're still going to have that that many left. >> and now this opens the door. >> it is exciting news because it opens the door to that second phase that president biden was talking about, where a permanent end would be discussed. but again, these things are so tenuous, so difficult. so we have a reason to celebrate today, for sure. >> very difficult to get to a day like this. >> it is. it is in. everyone's going to take credit, but the fact is that it is because of the shifting geopolitical dynamics and the fact that hamas has never been weaker or more isolated, particularly after the fall of assad. and the fact that you had both biden and trump pushing for this for different reasons, with different messages that were complementary. >> that said, again, like you said, the logistical details of these are very it's very difficult and these things could blow up at any moment. >> but sunday, i do expect this to go through, and they're going to have to be very it's going to be a lot of work to make sure that everything goes into line

and stays on top of things. and even as that is happening, christopher, you have another negotiation going on to bring us to phase two and phase three of this. >> and that's my biggest concern is the fragility of this. >> and there's a lot of steps that need to get through to make this a lasting peace, and to get all the hostages and the remains home as well. so that's going to take some ongoing negotiations and trying to make sure there's no outbursts of violence on the ground, getting the communication down to the individual fighters, hamas fighters in gaza is going to be difficult. they all still have a grievance against israel and israeli soldiers. they've been in conflict with them. so making sure that sticks on the ground level is a concern. the logistics of getting the living hostages and the bodies out to meet their side of the agreement is difficult. and one thing that should not be forgotten is hamas is a non-state actor. >> it's a terrorist organization. >> so they are involved in these negotiations, but not at the same level and legitimacy as

israel, the united states, qatar and egypt. so trust but verify as this goes on. and then the last point i'll make is the, you know, internal politics in israel as well. ben-gvir has already stated he's not looking to support this and will look to destabilize the netanyahu government as things move forward. >> mark, let me pick up on that, because joe biden just said that hamas senior leaders are dead, thousands of fighters are dead. their military formations have been destroyed. if this cease fire holds, where does this war started? when hamas kidnaped innocent israelis, leave that terrorist organization and leave the situation on the ground. >> so i think that's a that's a really big question. you know, what now happens in terms of the governing authority inside of the gaza strip? you know, there has been one of the red lines israel has talked about is that, of course, hamas can't come back into power. so what? and something that has not been settled yet is what is the

entity that does come back. you do have the palestinian authority, of course, in the west bank, and they would be the logical entity to come in. i think that that is what the united states government position is. that's, in fact, what a lot of israeli national security officials, probably reluctantly, are looking to see as well. but the one person who does not want to see that is prime minister netanyahu. and the key question on that, chris, is how does the trump administration deal with that? we need to have an entity that takes control in gaza. there is an entity out there. will president trump, in his initial days in office, put the same kind of pressure he's done on netanyahu to get to the cease fire agreement? will he do so to ensure there's a governing entity in gaza? and i think that's the next time you might see the new administration putting pressure, ironically, on the israelis and not on hamas. >> key question, hagar, what do you think the chances are that he's able to achieve that? >> well, it's going to be difficult. >> i will say the one thing that

that you have here, going for president elect trump is that leaders in the middle east, they like to curry favor with leaders they like, and they have grievances against netanyahu and mbs hold grievances against president biden for a number of different reasons. and they also like president elect trump for also a number of different reasons. and that's very that's common there in the middle east. >> and so i would imagine, for example, when you're talking about a saudi israel normalization deal, that's something that's very possible and something that would include a two state solution. >> and the light at the end of the tunnel. and you've got two leaders that are going to want to make that favor and do that for president elect trump. >> and that's just how that's just how it is. >> i'm not saying that with any kind of partizan agenda. and so but that said, this is this is a conflict that, as all of the previous panelists have said, have mentioned, you're going to have palestinians and gazans who are going to have grievances. given the way israel approached this war and the humanitarian crisis that has ensued. and so you're going to see whether

hamas is eradicated or not. you're going to see them. >> you're going to see many of them being driven into the arms of the enemy, and maybe under a different name, but with with similar goals. and that's a problem. >> and so these things are very fragile and very difficult. and the trump team definitely has its work cut out for them. but they are benefiting with the of the with the fact that they are inheriting this situation at a time when iran is on the defense. >> hezbollah has been decapitated, assad has fallen. >> hamas has never been weaker or more isolated. and that does will make it easier to pursue good policies and policies toward peace and stability in the region. but again, it's relative. i don't want to i don't want to pretend that it's going to be an overnight success. yeah. let let me go back to the other part of phase one, because i think that's critical too. and that is the aid portion of it that that it's going to open up the possibility of aid going into gaza. i want to read exactly what the prime minister said. he said phase one will include the rehabilitation

of hospitals, health centers, bakeries, allow the entry of fuel and civil defense equipment, as well as basic necessities for displaced people who lost their homes as a result of the war. what is the status of the humanitarian crisis that we know has continued to build on the ground in gaza? >> it is an absolutely dire situation, crisis inside of gaza, and it has got worse in recent months. october 2020 some of the lowest levels of aid getting into the strip of the entire war. and the situation has been especially acute in northern gaza, where israel has been carrying out this extensive military operation, they say, to root out hamas remnants up in the north of the strip. but in the process destroying several of the remaining hospitals there and denying large amounts of aid, getting in a very, very,

very significant portion of all of the buildings inside of gaza have been destroyed. now, much of the strip is in rubble. gazaa million people, is now largelyba with the israeli military five times since the start of the war. the level of destruction is truly comprehensive, and it is likely to take decades and billions of dollars from the international community to rebuild in there, israel says the reason for that level of destruction is that hamas, embedded among the civilian population, that it hid in tunnels underneath of those densely populated cities like gaza city, like khan younis, like rafah, like karbala. but it is truly stunning when you are inside of gaza as far as the eye can see, it is just rubble and devastation. so the hope here is that an influx of humanitarian

aid, especially an influx amid a ceasefire in the fighting, will bring some immediate relief to people who very badly need it. but there is just a herculean task ahead to try to reestablish a totally devastated health care system, to try to get schools up and running for children who, many of whom have not seen the inside of a classroom except as a shelter for 15 months now, and to try fundamentally to make gaza a livable place. but the ambitions, as you said during phase one, an influx of aid, fuel, getting in and trying to get those hospitals up and running. and the hope here is that phase one will translate into an extended ceasefire, into phase two, an end to the war altogether. and it is only then in phase three that that reconstruction effort, supported by the broader international community would get underway.

>> but in these early days, christopher, so you have those two things going on, right? number one is the devastation inside of gaza, but the suffering that has continued to go on starvation, illness, and then simultaneously, you'll have the red cross, who will be once again critical to bringing the hostages back home. how do you guarantee the safety of the aid workers that will be needed in both sides of that process, both releasing the hostages and getting aid to gaza? can it work? >> i don't know that you can guarantee it. >> so what was being talked about and alluded to a little bit, you could have splintered of hamas. >> so if you point back to things like the peace talks that led to the end of the troubles in northern ireland and the good friday agreements, you had splintering from the republican movement and spin off groups. so hamas might be dismantled as an

organization, but their grievance and their ideology will not end with the ceasefire. so will you have committed individuals who will not support this deal much the same way we have ben-gvir speaking out against it. in israel, there may be players on the ground in gaza who are not supportive of this, although, you know, sinwar and haniyeh master plan in taking hostages in the first place, was likely to be able to endure and survive and come up with a ceasefire. really, this asymmetric tactic was what they needed to try to survive this war. >> i want to bring in joel rubin. he is the former deputy assistant secretary of state and president of the washington strategy group. joel, give us your big picture. take on what we're seeing today and how we got here. >> well, chris, it's a great day first and foremost for american foreign policy. >> and, you know, really, american foreign policy is at its best when it's bipartisan. and i think we're seeing the benefits of that right now where

president elect trump essentially is back. joe biden's plan, the plan that was announced in may, that did get a lot of criticism from republicans. that's now the de facto plan that is going to go in force. and it's the one that that president elect trump supported. so that's very important also, of course, very important. and your panel's really touched on this, is that the security environment for israel is one now where the israeli public feels more confident. and in polls now, coming out of the israeli public sentiment, there is support for a cease fire deal. and that gives political space to prime minister netanyahu. and we're going to see him take advantage of that and push back against his most hard line folks in his coalition. then, of course, the x factor here is the region. the middle east countries are now fully invested in this qatar, egypt, turkey, saudi arabia. they are there. they were at the table there talking about a future. they're talking about potential peace. while they're going to have to pay for it, pony up a lot of funds and work

with the israelis and the americans on a reconstruction project, as well as a political program for a day after. but all those big picture factors coalesced. and so president biden and his team, big kudos for sticking with it all the way to the end, almost to the fully the 11th hour of the administration to get this really important deal done for the hostages and the palestinian people. >> joel isaac herzog, of course, the president of israel is speaking right now, but it's in hebrew. so we'll see what he has to say about this. but when you talk about the political space for benjamin netanyahu, how much is there? i mean, what does all of this mean for him internally, politically? >> well, he has a clear mandate inside of israel. he has the 68 members in the knesset that's out of 120. he grew his coalition to include some more moderate members. that gives him some space inside his cabinet meetings. when the foreign minister is ben-gvir and smotrich object and we'll hear them eject. they're already

objecting. well, netanyahu can call their bluff and say, you can leave the coalition if you want, but i have the support of enough members as well as a soft cushion from the opposition for this. so in the near term, he has that space. the big, hard question, of course, is what's he going to do with it and what president elect trump going to do with it? you know, president biden is handing off an opportunity for him now with a calmer region. no assad in power, iran defanged, hezbollah decimated now a cease fire. well, president elect trump really lean in and try to make sure with the credibility he has and he has a lot inside of israel to try to ensure that this process goes forward peacefully. so i think the prime minister, he does have some space. he does need to take advantage of it. >> you wrote something interesting in the lead up to this, joel. you wrote success has many fathers and it's time to share credit. talk a little bit more about that. >> yeah. you know, chris, look, i mentioned a moment ago as

well, american foreign policy is at its best when it's bipartisan. and what we're seeing is that obviously president biden and his team, they've been working this for months on end. and they are the primary ones at the table for the united states. but there is also president elect trump's team. steve witkoff, the person he appointed, has been reinforcing president biden's message. and this may be, quite frankly, the best, if not the only, example of cooperation between the trump transition and the biden administration. it shows that things can work, and we do need that in american foreign policy. we do need to have teamwork. we do need to have alliances across the aisle. and then, of course, in the region, as discussed, there are many countries now that have been involved. and i think also it's worth noting, it's very important is that this should put the lie. the question about israel's acceptance in the middle east. no country came to the side of hamas. they all came to the side of trying to get to a ceasefire. and these other agreements. the only one that

did was iran and hezbollah, and they've been marginalized and they've been pushed to the side. and so i think for israelis, they should have confidence. and there are a lot of hands in that in that huddle that should all be high fiving right now as they look forward to hopefully a day forward of negotiation and not war making. >> what do you think, joe is going to be key to keep this deal from falling apart, especially as it moves from the first phase? and there are negotiating phases two and three. >> yeah. what happened the last time in november of 2023, when they had a cease fire, was they had this experience. they had the first phase, they had the release of hostages. and then frankly, hamas broke it and they started attacking again. and this is going to require and i think you got to it on the earlier panel, some real authority inside of gaza, quite frankly, someone to ensure that hamas and the outside groups, the other ones that it's been talking to, like the palestinian islamic jihad, with whom it needs to coordinate to get

hostages back, that those groups do not become spoilers. this is the hamas way of being a spoiler. and so this really does put the pressure on qatar and on egypt in particular, to reinforce to hamas that it has no room to do anything to restart hostilities after this first period. >> joel rubin, thank you. it's always good to see you. and now i want to bring in david rhodes, senior executive editor for national security for nbc news. you have a unique perspective, as many of our viewers know, because you were held hostage and we were talking a little bit earlier about that moment that we hope will indeed happen when we see the first round of hostages released. it's as fresh in my mind as i'm sure it is in yours. the last time it happened, and the joy that you feel, the relief you feel. but we're going to learn a lot about what these 467 days have been like, what it was like for them when they were taken hostage, what it's been like for them to even survive under the

conditions that we have some inkling that they have been held under. so what do you think we will learn and what could that mean for the road going forward? and what are the political implications, frankly, for both sides? >> it's extraordinary that these, you know, the talk is roughly 30, 33 people have survived what has gone on 15 years of sort of all out, i'm sorry, 15 months of all out warfare and for their families also, i've talked about this before. it's terrible on the hostages, obviously, but for these families that have been tortured every day thinking that they should somehow get to bibi netanyahu, get to joe biden, bring them home, finally, this this could come to an end. there's other families who've already lost their loved ones who've died in captivity. so it's an extraordinary moment. but i and i agree, though, as everyone has mentioned, there's a danger here of spoilers. there's a danger of this unraveling, but it's unquestionably a momentous day for these hostages and for their families. >> and what do they face when they come back? and again, you know, we can only hope that this

holds long enough that that the hostages can be released. >> they'll be thrilled at first. they'll struggle with a lot of trauma after that. and as hostage taking has become more common, there's actually a community of former hostages. i'm part of it here in the united states, but also of families that help each other and get them through this transitions, and they will rebuild their lives. it's a common thread i've seen among former hostages that this is part of your life. this is a chapter of your life, but you don't want it to define you. you don't want to let these hostage takers define who you are. so a lot of struggle ahead, but a lot of joy ahead. >> also, talk about the long term for these hostages, for the help that they can get, but also the security. >> so the great thing is within the us and a lot of countries have replicated it, we have a process for reintegrating them first, making sure that they're physically well. and these hostages have been in deplorable conditions and in an active war

zone. so that's a little different than a lot of other hostages. >> they're in urban warfare, subterranean. it is assumed that most of them were held. >> so no sunlight, limited nutrition. so getting them physically on the mend, but also mentally to make sure that they are both whole of body and mind and able to reintegrate into to normal society over time. it's going to be very difficult process. the us has built a good system for that, but then there's also things they have to get back to normal life. >> they have to get jobs, they have to reintegrate with their family. >> that's going to be a process for all of them, and it's going to be different for each one of them. the us government has a good system in place, but there's also several ngos and support communities that really build out on that. and there is, you know, really the standard the us has set has been replicated by other partners around the world. >> so many years ago, david, i went to a reunion of the iranian hostages and saw exactly what we were just talking about, which

is everybody recovers reintegrates differently, everybody at their own pace. everybody had, you know, a different way of processing exactly what they have been through. some of them wanted to talk about it more. others didn't want to talk about it at all, except to the other people who were there, who they had shared this experience with. but when their stories are told, what is the power of that? and what is the peril, perhaps, of that? >> i found that telling the story and writing about it really helped me process it. so they might feel that way, but it's different for every individual. but i just want to emphasize this is an if they can come home, they will have struggles. but it's just an extraordinary moment and a wonderful, amazing thing. they will rebuild their lives. they will have to find some of them new careers, but some will resume their lives. so i just know that will happen. i see it happen over and over again, because there's the determination that once you get out of this sort of danger, you know you're going to live your

life to the fullest extent you can. >> i want to go back to ralph sanchez. i mentioned that the president, herzog of israel was speaking, but it was in hebrew. what do we know about the statement that came from the israeli government? >> yeah. chris. so this is the first time that we are seeing a senior israeli official on camera since the news that this deal was sealed. president herzog, a quick reminder of the constitutional structure in israel. he is the largely ceremonial figurehead head of state. it is ultimately prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who is the decider here. president herzog, though, said in speaking in hebrew, we are in the most critical hours. i support the prime minister in the negotiation team, and i call on the members of the cabinet and the government to accept and approve the deal and bring our daughters and sons home. so a quick reminder here, chris, that this negotiation was hammered out in doha, qatar, but it still needs the formal approval of,

first, the israeli security cabinet and then the broader israeli government. we were expecting those votes likely to take place sometime tomorrow. and the question is, will far right members of benjamin netanyahu's government try to tank this agreement? we have already heard from itamar ben gvir, the most extreme member of the israeli government, the national security minister, saying he is explicitly against this deal. there are questions about whether other far right members will also vote against that. it does appear that netanyahu has the votes inside of his cabinet to push this deal through. we are not expecting internal israeli politics to scupper this agreement, but until this is voted through the security cabinet, it is not final and it seems unlikely that we will hear from prime minister netanyahu until that vote has gone through. and just a reminder, chris, that while

polls show pretty consistently a majority of israelis are in favor of ending the war as the price of bringing the hostages home, there is a minority in israel who believes that this agreement is effectively handing hamas some kind of victory, that it paves the way for them to regain control inside of gaza. and many of the people who think that are among prime minister netanyahu's right wing voter base. so the prime minister has a political task ahead to try to sell this to his own constituency. and it will be important, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the israeli political arena. >> chris, and we are watching part of that constituency continuing into the evening in tel aviv, israel. 9:41 p.m. on the streets there, most of whom, based on the signs that we saw from those gathered who want those hostages home and are relieved and celebrating some relief that this long nightmare.

nearly 15, actually more than 15 months may be over. we're going to take a quick break and have much more on the cease fire and much more on the cease fire and hostage deal right dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading without fingersticks. dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. ♪♪ when you're looking for answers, it's good to have help. because the right information, at the right time, may make all the difference. at humana, we know that's especially true when you're looking for a medicare supplement insurance plan. that's why we're offering "seven things every medicare supplement should have". it's yours free, just for calling the number on your screen. and when you call, a knowledgeable, licensed agent-producer can answer any questions you have and help you choose the plan that's right for you. the call is free. and there's no obligation. you see, medicare covers only about

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say, until it is fully implemented and everyone has been returned. i want to bring in nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel, who is in jerusalem for us and has a profoundly deep understanding of this region. we haven't mentioned this yet, but we should mention the extraordinary cost of this war just in terms of lives so far. according to the palestinian ministry of health, richard, more than 46,000 people have been killed on the israeli side since october 7th. over 1200 people have died, of course. 790 israeli civilians were killed during the october 7th attack. talk about the broader implications of this for the entire region, richard. >> so we are not out of this yet, but if we want to start

having a little bit of perspective of what has happened over the past 15 months, and the reason i say we're not quite out of it yet is this deal has to be ratified. there's a 42 day phase when the first 33 hostages have to come out, according to the deal. then the second phase, when the remaining hostages, dead or alive, come out, and then the final phase when the remains of, of hostages come out and the reconstruction begins, israel has to withdraw their maps that have been exchanged. so there's a lot that can go wrong here. but if we want to look back at all that has transpired since the october 7th attack, that, that, that that morning on october 7th, when hamas launched a surprise attack and really changed the map of the entire middle east because hamas came in. israel was caught off guard. there were several thousand hamas fighters. there's been tremendous criticism internally about how israel

could have such a tremendous intelligence failure and not have seen this attack coming. israel was caught off guard, spent several days trying to take back its territory around the gaza strip, and then launched this war. but the war didn't just stay in gaza. it devastated gaza, and most of the people of gaza were displaced. the cities, entire cities in gaza have been flattened. i've been inside on visits with the israeli military, and i haven't seen that level of devastation anywhere in the world. there are places that it truly looks like a moonscape, and the people who have been forced down into southern gaza, and there are 2.2 million people, are going to now start heading back to the north, which was the area of gaza that was the most damaged, and realize that their homes, their neighbors homes, everything they knew is gone and has been reduced to rubble. for israel, this has been a tremendously

traumatic experience. it has been divisive. it has seen fights between the left wing and the right wing, fights between hostage families and the government hostage families. accusing prime minister netanyahu of deliberately trying to use this incident to score political points to favor, to curry favor with the right wing. this has been a traumatic experience for israel, and it is traumatic right now you're seeing liberations in gaza. people are are ecstatic that the bombs are going to stop falling. they are ecstatic that they can now get some basic food and water and supplies. but you're not seeing those kind of celebrations here in israel. there are people who are happy to be putting this chapter behind them. they are happy that israel, which was starting to feel like a pariah among nations, will now be able to turn a page. but this is a somber day in israel. they know that they're going to be getting

back some hostages. they know they're going to be getting back some bodies. this is not a great victory day celebration by by any means. but the map of the middle east has changed. the gaza is now in ruins. it is no longer run by hamas. we don't really know who's going to take over in the future. the war extended beyond gaza with hezbollah, which is iran. iranian backed militia no longer in effective control in lebanon. so a potential new page, a new beginning for lebanon, the government in syria, the dictatorship of bashar al assad, which was also backed by iran, has been toppled. there are profound geographical and political changes that are still playing out as a result of that terrible morning on october 7th. and they and they will, i believe, continue to have an impact on this region for years, if not decades to come. >> richard e

much for that. just moments ago, my colleague lester holt spoke with the father of american hostage edan alexander. he is a 21 year old american who served in the idf. he was stationed near gaza on october 7th. and lester asked how he feels, knowing that his son is likely not going to be in the first group of hostages released as part of this deal. >> mixed feelings. i'm on the other hand, i'm really happy about everybody. >> but on the other hand, we have four american hostages that were murdered on october 7th and still being held there. >> so. but hopefully the parents will get the their loved ones for the proper burial and we will get our loved ones to live our lives happily ever after. >> let's bring in nbc's daniele hamamdjian, who is in tel aviv's hostage square. and i think, as richard just pointed out, there are many israelis who wanted this to end, who want to see the

return of the hostages, who want to see the families who have lost loved ones to be able to have the remains of their loved ones brought back. but i wonder what you're seeing and what you're hearing on the ground there from people who are out at almost 10:00 at night there in tel aviv. >> yeah, well, this is hostage square, which has been ground zero really, for the family members of the hostages. and you can see behind me photographs of the hostages. bring them home. now, that's the slogan that you can see all over the city of tel aviv. and there are tents in the back. it was set up in the early days for the family members, and they have been there ever since. but i have to say it is fairly empty here tonight. i mean, one woman came up to us and said, i ran here as soon as i heard, but where is everybody? and the answer is, is that there is no, as richard said, there's it's

too early to celebrate or even for the family members of the hostages. some of them are at home. they want to see if their family members will be on the list on which list, but is also a deep sense of disbelief that this is actually going to happen until they see the hostages come back to israel. i spoke just moments ago with the cousin of shiri bibas, who is a mother who was abducted on october 7th. many will remember her because she was clutching her two children, her nine month old, very close to her as she was abducted that day. that little boy, that baby boy. nine months at the time. he would be two years old today. we don't know how if he is dead or alive. hamas claimed that he they were killed in airstrikes last year, but they just don't know. there is no evidence, no official communication by the government. but he too says there is

disbelief until the hostages come back to israel. he's jimmy miller, the cousin of shiri bibas. >> i will, i will believe to everything when i will see it in my eyes that it's happening. >> i will believe it only in the second that i will see. okay, the cars of the red cross that didn't make nothing to all the hostages, even visit the hostages all this time crossing the front from gaza to israel. that's the only moment that i will believe that something it starts from this deal. and i really, really hope that it's going to continue. and it will finish in the best way that all the hostages will going to be over here in israel. >> when you hear. and i want to point out something that i heard from someone who showed up at sort of a protest outside the defense ministry, not far from where i'm standing. that was moments ago. there was a lot of anger there, anger at the government for not accepting a

deal that was first introduced to them back in may. this is broadly the same deal. now, israeli officials will say that hamas was only interested in dictating the terms, not actually negotiating, but in the past 24 hours, you know, the far right, very controversial national security minister itamar ben-gvir, effectively raising his hand and saying, i was the one or i managed to block some of the hostage deals and i hope to do it again. that has sparked fury among family members here, but some of them are scared of criticizing the government because they're afraid that their family member, the hostages, will not be on the first or second list. so that gives you an idea of the sense of the atmosphere here tonight. but as i say, hostage square, fairly empty people waiting to see what happens in the next few days. >> back to you, as everyone is, as israel and hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage daniele hamamdjian, thank you so much, david. christopher, thank

you both for sticking around with us. that's going to do it for us this hour. a reminder, as you've seen on your screen, president biden has a major speech tonight and essentially a farewell address. but coming up now, katy tur reports, we'll now, katy tur reports, we'll continue do your dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ for relief that feels ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo.

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as the same day your loan is on deck. >> good to be with you. i'm katie tur, breaking news out of the middle east in just four days time on sunday, israel and

hamas will