. >> edan alexander. >> edan alexander. i am convinced, margaret, that this deal would have never happened had president trump not been elected. the trump effect so to speak. the families believe that. they were effusive in their thanks for him and the truth that he put out that put hamas on notice that there will be consequences if they don't let our people go. >> there is also obviously the party israel here that feels some pressure to get this done. one far right member of the netanyahu government resigned, another this morning said he will bring down the netanyahu government if it does not return to fighting in a way that leads israel to taking over the entire gaza strip. does mr. trump support annexation of the west bank in >> well, very different things. what we are talking about here is making sure that hamas is destroyed as a terrorist organization. hamas is no different than isis or al qaeda or any of the worst of the worst that has so brutalized the middle east over the years. and what we have made clear to bibi n

three of them are presumed to be alive, including new jersey native edan alexander. he is an idf soldier who was stationed near gaza when he was taken hostage on october 7th, 2023. despite the deal, his family is still filled with anxiety. >> he's not on the humanitarian list, and these are the first to go, so we have to sit tight and see what is exactly happening. >> joining me now, congressman josh gottheimer, a democrat from new jersey. congressman, thank you so much for being here today. this has been quite a day. the revelations that have occurred with the cease fire and beyond. unbelievable. and. well, a long time coming, frankly, for so many. you have. have you heard from the parents of edan alexander and how are they feeling tonight about the possibility that they could be reunited with their son? >> well, as you know, this overall is an incredibly promising. >> we're not there yet, right? and there's phases here. and until the last hostage is released, until the last american comes home, we won't be there. and, you know, i speak to the family regularly. they

a short time ago, i spoke with adi alexander, he's the father of american hostage edan alexander. asked him how he's feeling with the news of the deal. >> i'm very happy and grateful that finally, finally this deal is being sealed. it's unbelievable. >> there are so many american families who you all created this incredible bond. we've talked to you over the many months. what is your feeling for the entire group now of americans especially? >> mixed feelings, 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. but hopefully the parents will get their loved ones for the proper burial and we'll get our loved ones to live out lives happily ever after. >> what do you know about the conditions edan has been in? >> other than the last video on the thanksgivings weekend, which showed us a sign of life, we have no additional information. >> have you played over in your mind what the moment will be like when you're able to embrace your son? >> just hug him and hold him and just to hear what he

three of them are presumed to be alive, including new jersey native edan alexander. he is an idf soldier who was stationed near gaza when he was taken hostage on october 7th, 2023. despite the deal, his family is still filled with anxiety. >> he's not on the humanitarian list, and these are the first to go, so we have to sit tight and see what is exactly happening. >> joining me now, congressman josh gottheimer, a democrat from new jersey. congressman, thank you so much for being here today. this has been quite a day. the revelations that have occurred with the cease fire and beyond. unbelievable. and. well, a long time coming, frankly, for so many. you have. have you heard from the parents of edan alexander and how are they feeling tonight about the possibility that they could be reunited with their son? >> well, as you know, this overall is an incredibly promising. we're not there yet, right? and there's phases here. and until the last hostage is released, until the last american comes home, we won't be there. and, you know, i speak to the family regularly. they're

and edan alexander, a military age male.th siegel and sagi ken will likely be released in the first group of 33 over the coming 42 day period. we don't yet know the fate of edan alexander. the american edan alexander has not been listed in the first tranche because he's a military age male, and so we have to press continuously against hamas to fulfill their agreements here and ensure that this deal happens so that all americans can be reunited with their family. >> can i follow up on that point? you referenced what happens in the next phases of this is a very difficult challenge. what happens if that breaks down? where does that leave this process? and certainly where does that leave the remaining hostages? >> well, your point, michael, is exactly right, which is this is incredibly fragile. and at any moment this process could break down. and that's what happened back last november when some americans came out, some hostages came out and others were left behind. this deal was put on the table eight months ago. president bide

john: adi alexander, whose son edan, is being held in gaza. thank you very much for your time.nd i hope you and your family and edan are all together soon. adi: thank you, john. john: in today's other news, president biden and president-elect trump spent their final full day in their current roles by thanking supporters -- but in very different ways. before his second tour of duty as commander-in-chief, mr. trump visited arlington national cemetery and laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. this evening, at a downtown washington, d.c. sports arena, mr. trump is to hold what's being billed as a maga victory rally. for the final full day of his presidency, mr. biden visited with supporters in charleston, south carolina, the state that revitalized his faltering campaign in 2020. he attended a church service and visited charleston's international african american museum. tiktok has restored service to the 170 million u.s. users of the social media app. less than 24 hours after it went dark because of a federal ban, tiktok powered back on. that was after president-elect t

two of the three americans still in captivity would come out in phase one, the other american, edan alexanderuld come out of donald trump can see this all the way through to the end, but it is 33 hostages, 42 days. if they get to phase two, which would be negotiated over the next six weeks by the trump and administration, as well as regional partners, qatar, egypt, and israel, they would be able to get to potentially a full withdrawal in that second phase if they can get there, ultimately, by phase three, they would be able to bring back and reclaim the remains of some of the americans who died in captivity. >> norah: the presence incoming national security advisor suggested that hostages could be being hugged by families is donald trump is sworn into office. is that a possibility? >> margaret: perhaps even the day prior. by sunday weeks back to see the first female captives released. >> norah: thank you, margaret brennan, robert costa come into all of our correspondence. our coverage will continue on cbs news when he 47, your local news, and some of you on "cbs evening news. >>> right now on

edan alexander, sagui dekel-chen, and keith siegal.tel aviv, most of the demonstrators who week after week have demanded that israel's government bring the hostages home didn't come out tonight, but those who did expressed cautious hope and also fear. yifat kalderon's cousin ofer was kidnapped on october 7th, 2023, from his kibbutz. do you feel a huge relief tonight? >> no, i'm going to feel a huge relief when it's going to be done, when we going to get all the 98 hostages alive and the dead ones back home. >> reporter: you won't believe it until you see him? >> yes. >> reporter: it's been 467 days since hamas attacked israel and killed or kidnapped 1400 people. since then, according to hamas health officials, israel's war r in gaza has killed just under 47,000 more. and norah, that war has not ended. our colleagues in gaza tonight report that there is more heavy bombing. for everyone who has been touched by this war, sunday still feels a very long way off. >> norah: elizabeth palmer, thank you. president biden praised the gaza cease-f

edan alexander, a dual american citizen, was serving in the idf, stationed in southern israel the morning of october 7th. while it's believed he won't be released in the first round, his father speaking just hours ago, saying he's never lost hope. >> unfortunately for the families that are waiting for their loved ones to be buried in israel, the nightmare is over, as well. >> reporter: gil dickmann, cousin of hostage carmel gat who was killed in captivity, praising president-elect trump. >> i think trump was the x-factor in bringing this deal to life. >> reporter: the framework of the deal spearheaded by the biden administration, qatar, and egypt, has been on the table since may. but after trump's election victory in november, there was renewed momentum to close the agreement. >> 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. >> reporter: with just days before he takes office, trump calling it an epic agreement. t

edan alexander, sagui dekel-chen, and keith siegle.n tel aviv, most of the demonstrators who week after week had demanded that israel's government bring the hostages home didn't come out tonight, but those who did express cautious hope and also fear. ifat calderon's cousin was kidnapped october 7th from his kibbutz. do you feel a huge relief tonight? >> no. i'm going to feel a huge relief when it's going to be done, when we're going get all the 98 hostages alive and the dead ones back home. >> reporter: you won't believe it until you see him? >> yes. >> reporter: it's been 467 days since hamas attacked israel and killed or kidnapped 1400 people. since then, according to hamas health officials, israel's war in gaza has killed just under 47,000 more. and that war isn't over yet, our colleagues in gaza report more heavy bombing. for everyone involved in this conflict, one way or another, sunday looks a very long way off. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, tel aviv. >>> on capitol hill, several of president-elect donald trump's cabinet picks face

. >> like edan alexander. >> correct. ah. >> i talked to his family multiple times, are likely not going to come out in this first phase. >> and hamas will hold them because they see them as the most valuable hostages, and they will exchange them in later phases for an end to the war and for that withdrawal from gaza that i was talking about. >> and we're looking at live pictures of what has become known as hostage square in tel aviv. and, audie, just thinking about the moment of where we are now, five days left of joe biden's administration. if everything goes as we are told, it will. kim just said, sunday is the day we are likely to see some of the hostages being released. we haven't seen that since last november. i mean, it has been a very long time since we've seen those joyous reunions, and it's going to be the day before donald trump is inaugurated. the last full day of joe biden's presidency. >> i know people want to draw a lot of parallels there, maybe even to carter and iran. right. you know, there are some big d

they believe it is unlikely that 21 year old new jersey native edan alexander will be released in the first phase since he serves in israel's military. alexander's father adi, joins us now. adi, this must be an incredibly emotional moment for you. how are you and your family processing this news? >> hi, jake. >> yeah, it was very emotional. long coming. we've been so close before, and finally, the parties managed to pass it over the finish line. and we really are grateful. >> what is your understanding of when edan could be released? >> my understanding is it could happen between now and 42 days from now, and we really encourage the parties that are still in doha. do not wait 16 days to start to negotiate for the second phase. do it tomorrow morning. um, don't waste the time. it's been too long. 15 long. uh, months. and we have to keep pushing. >> so your wife yael spoke at a protest recently and appealed directly to president elect trump, urging him to use his influence to get the deal done and, quote, show the world what the united states can do. do you feel like this happened in pa

to be speaking with two of the families later this morning, including the family of american edan alexander, who is still believed to be alive and expected to be released as part of the second phase of this deal. what assurances did you give them, and will you give now that the deal won't collapse before we get there? >> well, i gave them the assurance that getting their loved ones out of those horrific tunnels is top of mind for president trump. it's top of mind for his administration. and we have been in constant contact with, excuse me, our allies in qatar, with the egyptians and of course, with the israeli government to make sure this deal happens in the first place. and, donna, i'm convinced, as were they, that had president trump not been elected, this deal was stuck. it was dead in the water. and once president trump and they were so thankful, put his tweet out, that started talking about consequences for hamas. if they didn't let our people go, that that was the momentum they had that they had been praying for to get this deal going. a lot. i you know, i told him, look, this is goin

there's a third living american hostages, military age male edan alexander.s not on the initial list, and there's concern that he will be held until a later phase because of his status as a, quote, healthy military age male. if you can speak of someone in good health after 470 days in captivity. so three living americans and then the remains of four americans who were murdered. omar neutra, itkin god, and judy hagai, those also need to be repatriated with their families. until we can say all americans willie, are home. all right, jeremy bash, we appreciate your insight into this deal. thanks so much. meanwhile, both presint biden and president elect trump have been watching today's movements very closely. of course, let's bring in aaron gilchrist at the white house with more on that. aaron, what are you hearing? well, good morning. we expect to hear from president biden in the next few minutes here. the white house was scheduled a speech, a remarks from him for 1030 this morning as he was leaving washington, d.c. i can tell you, he just landed in charleston,

they're the parents of edan alexander, an israeli-american soldier with the idf who was born in tel aviv, raised in new jersey. he's 21 years old. his parents join us now. i appreciate you coming back on the program. how? first of all, how are you both doing? how do you believe? i mean, do you believe a deal will will actually get made, that this will actually happen? >> hi. good evening. um. the deal is going to happen. like, we are going to see something on sunday or monday. we're going to start seeing releases of hostages. um, it's very it's very emotional. like yesterday i was sitting watching the television, seeing the prime minister of qatar giving the the statement that the deal is on. and then president biden and you know, and i'm crying and i'm not like it's very it's very emotional to know that the deal is coming. we are not sure that our son is in the list, and we don't know when we are going to see him. >> have you have you gotten any word about your son? >> uh, yeah. the, um, uh, if you remember, anderson, the the thanksgiving weekend. yeah. hamas releases his video. that wa

and edan alexander, the idf soldier, an american citizen. they are the three who are believed to be alive. then there are four murdered hostages. i spoke to his dad today, omar neutro, whose parents have also been very vocal and out there, and god and judy hagai, those are the four murdered american hostages. it's important, stephanie, from the perspective of american policymakers, that all the americans come out in the in the first phase, we don't want to risk the deal falling apart and leaving any americans behind. >> president biden said this is the result of many, many months of intensive diplomacy. so that's got to make all of us wonder why exactly did it happen today? >> well, first, i would say it's the result of intense advocacy by the hostages and their families. and as you know, inside israel, this has become a major issue, a kind of 24 over seven vigil on behalf of the hostages and their families. and i think about the americans like rachel goldberg and john poland, whose son, hersch goldberg-polin, was taken hostage on october 7t

but we are also thinking about, as you referenced, edan alexander, a military age male, an american citizen who may not be in the first tranche, and his parents, you know, are going to be very concerned, as we all would be concerned that if we don't implement this right, you know, will they see their loved one? and there are also the remains of omar and itai and gadi and hagai. and so there is judy, excuse me, gadi and judy, hagai weinstein. and so there is a deep concern that the americans who have been held for so long will not come out if the parties don't stick to the deal. and i think on monday at noon, it's going to be the trump administration's job to hold the parties feet to the fire. there can't be any spiking the football. no declaration of mission accomplished. this isn't a time to celebrate. this is a time to redouble our efforts to ensure that hamas sticks to the deal, and that israel can also facilitate the release that they're obligated to undertake, and that these hostages can all come home. by the way, andrea, i don't think this means peace is breaking out in the middle eas

and i think of people like edan alexander, who is an israeli american, a member of the idf.ow you think it will look to get those folks who were in the idf out in a in another phase? >> yeah. look, it'll be tremendous to get them all out. and because they've been held now for, what, 15, 16 months under horrible conditions and under the threat of being killed on a daily basis. as i said earlier, of those 99 or so hostages remaining, we think about a third of them are probably dead. so it would be good to get for those families to get the remains of their loved ones home. uh, but again, that's getting all those persons home means that israelis are going to israel is going to have to compromise on security. are they going to back away from controlling the the rafah egypt border in the philadelphia corridor? will they, uh, be allowed to create a larger buffer zone in northern gaza? and again, the questions i have is who's going to govern? it's hard to see israel allowing hamas to return to power in gaza. that just leaves them back to where they began. hamas has been rebuilding i

edan alexander, that israeli american soldier, because he is a member of the israeli military, is not expected to come out until the second phase of the deal, and that is assuming that this ceasefire holds and that negotiations are successful and that we do move from phase one to phase two, that is a big if, given that prime minister netanyahu has indicated that he is determined to continue this war at some point. chris. >> raf sanchez, thank you. in 90s, joe biden and donald trump seem to be distancing themselves from the tiktok ban that the supreme court just upheld. so supreme court just upheld. so what does washington do now? -what've you got there, larry? -time machine. you gonna go back and see how the pyramids were built or something? nope. ellen and i want to go on vacation, so i'm going to go back to last week and buy a winning lottery ticket. -can i come? -only room for one. how am i getting home? sittin' on my lap like last time, ronald. fine, but i'm bringing this. [ whirring ] alright. or...you could try one of these savings options. the right money moves aren't as far-fe

edan alexander, who sits in the tunnels in gaza right now and he's alive and he's only going to be released if phase two of the deal is implemented. there are also, uh, three. i'm sorry, four american citizens who are unfortunately already dead, but their bodies are in captivity in hamas's hands. their bodies will be recovered only if the deal goes through to phase three. that's why president trump and his team, they know this, and they know that if they want to get all americans out of gaza, they have to implement all three phases of this deal. >> all right, barak ravid, as always, thank you for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you jessica. >> still ahead, president-elect trump returning to the washington area tonight where supporters are already there. they're getting ready to take part in inaugural celebrations. we're going to be joined by a senior adviser to the president elect. that's next. you're in the cnn newsroom. >> the inauguration of donald trump monday at eight on cnn. >> 36 hours of steady rainfall has left many homes in the metro area. who knows what tomorrow will bring?

and the key is to bring them all home immediately, including edan alexander, as you pointed out, whos a 21 year old who is from new jersey, an incredible family, and i was glad to see all the hostage families featured front and center, because we can't lose sight of the ultimate goal here, the goal here, which is to get all of the americans home without any delay, get all the hostages freed. um, as, of course, humanitarian aid surges into the region. and we continue to make sure that the terrorist organizations, including hamas, hezbollah, all the other iranian proxies, like the houthis, don't have the ability to attack our interests, our freedom, our democracy, america, as well as, of course, our critical. >> one second. sorry, congressman. we were just having a problem with your signal. let's continue. i think we're back together. um, another another thing. >> did you hear me? i don't know what you heard. >> i heard you heard me there. i heard 99% of that answer. just not the end of it. which? which was probably. yeah. we need to get it done. um, you have also got to get it done. y

and keith siegel, edan alexander, the final remaining living american hostage.hase because he's a military age male. it's important the americans try to get him out as soon as possible. >> and by later phase, you mean that's phase two, phase two, phase two. and i want to bring up something that national security adviser john kirby said on msnbc on thursday. he said, quote, the biggest point of peril is actually getting to phase two. >> that's right. because of course, you've got to trust hamas and they're going to be dribbling these hostages out. and the israelis are going to be pulling back from their military positions in the gaza strip. and after phase two, they're going to be completely out of the gaza strip, and they're going to have to put a security cordon around gaza. and it's not until actually phase three that the remains of all the hostages will be returned to their loved ones, and that includes the remains of four americans taken omar. neutra, judy and gadi hagai. and they also need to be returned, repatriated to their loved ones in israel. >> now, a

just moments ago, my colleague lester holt spoke with the father of american hostage edan alexander. 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

edan alexander will not be part of this entire first phase of hostages that are being released over theext six weeks. do you, sir, have any sense of when he could be coming home and what his current condition or whereabouts are? >> well, as you pointed out, alex, it's a significant and emotional day and seeing romi and emily and aaron, you know, out and with their on their way to their families is it's very heart wrenching and something that i hope and pray that we will have adon and the americans coming home soon as part of the 94 remaining hostages that we need to get freed, especially those americans. >> and as you point out, adon alexander, who's now 21, has not seen his family, as you know, in 470 days. and, you know, i talked to the family all the time. they're just remarkable people, incredibly strong and optimistic. but, you know, we know that this first phase, this, this 42 days, that right now, he's not set to be part of that first release, which is why we must keep moving forward here, not take our eye off the ball. we know that hamas has been shameless in their statements, e

can be prolonged beyond six weeks to return a further 64 hostages including another american edan alexanderernight trump saying, quote, a deal should hold, but if it doesn't, there will be lots of problems. guys? >> george: okay, tom. thank you very much. will reeve at the desk right now. nfl conference championships going off this sunday. what do you got? >> will: i got a lot, george. hard to believe there's only three games left in this nfl season. the two coming up this weekend are going to be fantastic. we've got the in division rivalry between a team nobody thought would be here and a team burdened by expectations. and the rematch between the defending champs and the team that has maybe its best chance to finally beat them. two of the nfl's biggest names facing off at quarterback this weekend. the chiefs' patrick mahomes, already a three time super bowl winner and two-time mvp. >> mahomes! it's there! >> will: and the bills' josh allen an mvp finalist this year. >> allen straight ahead! bull dozes in for the touchdown! >> will: hoping to bring the bills one step closer to their very fi

edan alexander, egede, darian and keith siegel will be coming in the first phase. edan, for example, is is young. he's a young man and is in the idf, so that is unlikely in the first phase. thank you so much, mj. i want to go to the region to jeremy diamond. jeremy, i just got some reporting from our colleagues over there and they're talking about the sense and the feeling right now inside hostages square. we heard a lot about it from bianna golodryga earlier in the afternoon. but what they are describing is a moment of relief, but not celebration, because only a handful of hostages are due to return at first. and those who do come back are in unknown condition. >> yeah, that's right dana, and there will still be many moments of uncertainty as this ceasefire is implemented. as those hostages begin to emerge from the gaza strip. the last time we had that week long ceasefire at the end of november of 2023, it was only the day of sometimes a few hours before that, the families learned that their loved ones were on the list for that day. this time, in addition to that u

and then, of course, edan alexander, who was an idf soldier and american citizen. and we believe that he is alive as well. so three living hostages, the four whose remains we are also expecting to come out are the remains of omar neutra, whose parents have been advocating so forcefully and so effectively for his release. itai ken, whose parents have also we've come to know and i spoke to his father earlier today and then god and judy, a guy who were killed on october 7th. that, of course, is in addition to the other americans who were killed, like hersh goldberg-polin, who was murdered on september 1st, and whose parents, john and rachel, have been on the world stage meeting with the un, the congress, the pope, the president. and so it's a bittersweet moment. and i would just say that no matter what happens this sunday, it's not going to be over, because the way the deal is structured, nicole, there's a 42 day gap between the time that phase one is implemented and the time phase two is implemented. and at this hour, we still don't know whether all of the americans

a third american, edan alexander, is expected to be released in the second phase, along with israelii, david's 24 year old brother, evyatar, is also expected to be in that second wave. he says the wait is torture. >> i'm going to cry from from happiness and joy, but also it's going to be very sad for so many young men who will not be rescued soon. >> do you think it's a good deal in general, despite the shortcomings? no, it's a very bad deal. >> i think it is a very bad deal. but we cannot. we cannot go against it because. because it saves lives. it saves lives. >> yeah. and richard, obviously when this news first broke, i'm sure you thought the same thing that i thought, which is, okay, this is maybe this is going to happen. it's probably going to happen because you have two american presidents that are now leaning on israel and hamas to make this happen. but you knew the obstacle was going to be bibi netanyahu not managing negotiations with hamas, but managing negotiations with the most extreme right wing members of his own cabinet. and sure enough, that happened. >> absolutely rig