and i heard you talking with richard about steve witkoff. it's pretty clear that if one reads the israeli press that he went from doha in qatar to jerusalem to see prime minister netanyahu on saturday night, and from all reports was very clear that he needed to agree to this deal. so we're seeing something emerge that reflects the leverage of the incoming president. we're also seeing a change in the regional balance of power. all that creates the possibility, i think, to take advantage of the leverage of the new administration to do a normalization deal that the saudis were not going to do a normalization deal unless israel was out of gaza. now they're not out of gaza. this deal isn't necessarily one that guarantees israel will be out of gaza. but i do think one of the things that qatar was saying to hamas was, you're insisting on ending the war and israel getting out once you have this pause, pretty hard to believe that it would trump in as president that israel is going to resume the fighting. now, of course, if hamas goes ahead and doesn'

steve witkoff and adam boehler. all of them have showed their commitment, and i am positive that they will continue to push for this topic, especially since they are still u.s. citizens that are being held hostage. and i know they have a personal commitment to make this to the finish line. and i would also like to thank as well, the different members of congress and senate that have been with us, which has been a bipartisan issue while we've been getting support from both sides of the aisle. and i would only hope that the 119th congress and its committees would also be helpful in making sure that there's no daylight between the trump administration and congress and making sure that there are different levers that can also be provided by the congress and the senate to make sure that all the hostages come out. >> ruby, as you're talking, we're seeing your beautiful son in that photo behind you. can you tell us about him? >> yeah. so he's the middle sibling, so he has a elder sibling and a younger sibling. so he's the

steve witkoff and mr. adebola, all of them have showed their personal commitment to me and to my family to getting this done. and you know, next week we will be at the inauguration. we were invited by the president trump's inauguration team. and i have this vision that, you know, when president trump is giving a speech, he could come and say to me, mr. khan, i'd like to share with you that your son is coming out as well. so i still have that hope of happening. >> you've mentioned so many of the people who have worked so tirelessly over the course of these 467 days to make this moment a reality. but there is, of course, the deeply personal side. the families of the other hostages. and no one can fully understand what this time has been like in the way that they can. how much of we just got, i should say, we just got a statement from the families of the american hostages and thanking the tireless collaboration between israel, egypt, qatar and the united states, and going on to mention the work that was done.

steve witkoff is someone whockgr comes from a nontraditional background. when i was goingg to say e what is is' parents and national negotiation? >> back to the geniuses of president trump's first term, nonpolitician who defied the experts and got north korea for example to stop firing off nuclear missiles to bring peacee the fundamental structure of the so-called experts in d.c. have been trying for decades ha> failed to periods me have gotteg it wrong time and again, jason. >> you have to speak deliberately and say what youl e are going to do so he says there will be hell to pay, they knowei president trump will not mess around. >> laura: there are still questions about the terms of the deal and thousand of palestinian prisoners to bdes e released, te are some really bad dudes inabou that group. are you concerned aboust that? as to how it will actually beousl carried out and the effects of? >> great question. of the details will be importanh how it moves forward but theges fact the cease-fire and we have ne othe commitment for hostageso be released, none

him this week, he said that he was a terrific help by ironing out some of the details and that steve witkoff is the middle east envoy for donald trump and he is a major player. i've talked to the israelis, i've talked to u.s. officials here and there, and everyone says that witkoff did make a difference. he wasn't in the negotiations, but he was shuttling back and forth in doha. of course, the hostage families all along, the american hostage families are so eager to see the surviving hostages. but knowing that, as ruby khan and others have said today, that they are waiting and hoping for the remains also to be released and not happy. frankly, they're happy for the hostage families, the americans who are getting their kids, you know, home or their people at home. keith siegel, 65 years old, aviva's husband. we all know him and know him through her. she herself being held hostage initially and then released. but there is tremendous sadness on both sides, israel and gaza, and hope that this could be the beginning of something different. mr. let's tap into some of that emotion now. andrea, thank

one of his closest friends, steve witkoff.n the con men tried to fire and taken down by secret service, one at the first questions that president trump said is how is steve? he was with him that afternoon. they are close and see things similarly. i think steve witkoff was wanting to see a resolution on the issue and he took on ambitious task to be middle east envoy appeared to the next goal will be to rebuild a new coalitn between saudi arabia and israel something that was close. we all remember brett's interview and with benjamin netanyahu. there will be a reshuffling here that has a lot of promise in the coming weeks. >> john: you know, there is a lot of belief, too, that interview they had said to hamas the world is changing around you. when hamas saw what saudi arabia was doing, we have to do something to get the entire region off balance. martha, we will see you at 3:00. we appreciate it. >> sandra: all right, martha thank you brent settler retired navy captain and pentagon official, brent. >> one of the key details in th

steve witkoff and urge him to be present physically in qatar where having mr.ve witkoff give a commitment of the incoming trump administration, all the things being negotiated, has been a critical. they definitely stepped up and we have to be thankful this is happening. unfortunately, only 33 are coming out, meaning there are still 65 families that are waiting for their loved ones to come down including my family and four other u.s. families as well. we just need to ask the president and his team, the also met mr. michael waltz a few weeks ago, and we saw his commitment, the incoming special president -- and we are positive they will get does to the finish line. there is a 42 day gap between phase one and phase two, the incoming administration trying to shorten that period of time because of there is one thing that is predictable in the middle east is that it is unpredictable. getting hopefully things done as quickly as possible. >> martha: we hope that for you. this is so painful, i cannot imagine. a look at this beautiful picture of your family and your son a

and this last visit of steve witkoff, uh, in israel on saturday, uh, pushed things forward. and we are grateful that both presidents worked with collaboration on this issue. it was really important. and, um, uh, good job. >> yeah. yeah. rosenberg at the atlantic writes that the the pending presidency of trump convinced hamas that they were not going to get a better deal in a week. and two, netanyahu is very eager to stay on trump's good side, and that was part of his motivating factor, is that. is that your understanding, too? >> yeah, i agree with that. absolutely. i completely agree with that. um, and again, once you put the deadline and all the parties trying to push forward for that deadline, i think it was, uh, it was a great achievement. >> adi, we've been talking to you since this horrible calamity happened on october 7th of 2023. what has kept you and yael, your wife. go. how have you been able to hold it together during all this? >> first of all, it could end up differently. on october 7th. over the last year for our son. um, as you know, uh, his post was surrounded

>> number one what steve witkoff has been fantastic. he knows how to craft big deals and has the absolutely trust of president trump. we have been in steady talk. that's one. number two, we have made it clear to the israelis. and i want the people of israel to hear me on this. if they need to go back in, we're with them. if hamas doesn't live up to the terms of this agreement, we are with them. hamas is not going to continue as a military entity and it certainly is not going to govern gaza, bret. so, i mean, i want feel hear that crystal, crystal clear. by the way, bret, this is president trump who took out soleimani. who took out baghdadi. i think all these terrorist organizations understand now the type of man and the type of leader that they are dealing with. >> bret: we talk a lot about normalization between israel and saudi arabia. the expansion of the abraham accords because we made the trip to saudi arabia and interviewed the crowned prince mbs back in september of 2023. just a little clip of that. >> there were reports that you

. —— steve witkoff. they will have to get across the detail. might not be part of the first 33. hot hostages and might not be part of the first 33.— of the first 33. not only that, the foundation _ of the first 33. not only that, the foundation of _ of the first 33. not only that, the foundation of this - the foundation of this agreement was laid by months of diplomacy by the biden administration. there is no doubt that steve witkoff and the president's presence, his unpredictability, the fact benjamin netanyahu can't be certain what he would do, that help the agreement across the finishing line. this is on donald trump now, this is his agreement. for it to crater in the next several weeks as the first foreign policy challenge of the administration... you have to wonder, how much currency, how much time, effort and energy will donald trump spend on trying to ensure it is implemented in full and it leads to phase two, which conceivably could mean the end of the war and some israeli withdrawal and a better future, security and prosperity for the

steve witkoff said one of the americans will be released in 14 days.check that, but that would be good news clearly for the families. keith siegal is one of the hostages. his wife who was also one of the hostages. she was released much earlier and is still in washington. >> ian pannell, our thanks to you. ian has covered this conflict from the very beginning. after greeting the families, they have just announced the 47th president of the united states. of course, this arena is filled with supporters who gathered early this morning. >> thank you very much, everybody. appreciate it. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> so now the work begins. we won, we won, but now the work begins. we have to bring them home. and, you know, tonight i'm going to be signing on the j6 pardons to get them out. as soon as i leave, i'm going to the oval office, and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people, a lot of people. and thank you to steve witkoff. he's a great guy. he's a friend of mine. he's a very successful man. he's a great negotiator, wonderful guy, people lo

he sent steve witkoff, his designated negotiator side by side.his immediately brought credibility and momentum to what was clearly a stalled process. two abe officials told the "times of israel" that trump's team did more in one meeting to sway israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu than joe biden did all year. not that biden's team didn't do any work. of course they did. but hamas wasn't scared of president biden. and probably wasn't even sure if he was being kept in the loop. but the opposite is the case with trump. he was born to make deals. and he uses leverage when necessary and really smartly to get things done. even cnn had to concede that the trump factor was huge. >> the x-factor here is that donald trump is about to be president. and the very public pressure that he was putting on hamas and on israel to get this done. >> they are looking at what is going to happen the next four years. i think all of them knew that if there is no deal by january 20th, they would start on the wrong foot with donald trump. >> laura: i will say. that's a

steve witkoff has been praised by the outgoing biden administration.ident trump. and now these families are meeting with the president. >> yeah, steve witkoff is doing this for none of that praise. has very little experience in this kind of diplomacy or hostage release. bret, we are looking at the screen. i think there is no discussion, no disagreement whatsoever as to which president biden or trump this families credit with the fact that the loved ones are coming home soon, we hope. this is part of what president trump has said all along. part of why he is the commander-in-chief again. he reminded people no new wars under his watch. peace in russia, peace in the middle east. bringing hostages and detainees home part of his first term. big part of it. i think his remarks says the promise of america is really all of us. they see it here. >> president donald j. trump, 47th president of the united states. >> so now the work begins, we won, we won. now the work begins we have to bring them home. be signing on the j-6 hostages pardons to get them out. as so

deep w steve witkoff for the incoming trump administration was and that the region trying to get this done and it is possible all working together that j.d. vance is clear as i'm sure the president-elect will also say he believes that threats and actually got the needle moving. when i pressed j.d. vance what does that mean? he said empowering and allowing israel to do what it has to do wipe out everything left of hamas. but also financial sanctions enabling terrorism within the region. it goes beyond hamas. clearly go to a broader message that there will be hell to pay in that region. josephine went the hostage families have weighed in with their concerns and the concerns of the hostages get lost and who is taking credit for all of this. they released this statement, the hostages and missing families headquarters. with the families welcome with overwhelming joy they bringing of our loved ones home. we want to express profound gratitude to president trump and president biden in both administration and international mediators for making this possible. don't forget, these are families wa

so giving creating that confidence by having steve witkoff participation, i think has been been criticalt this has been a very good partnership, and we hope that together we get this over the goal line. >> now, with hezbollah all but destroyed with hamas and the war potentially over in gaza, with syria, the regime now gone, isn't iran appreciably weakened without its proxies? and what is your expectation about what israel might do next? >> yeah, this is a dramatically transformed middle east for all the reasons you've said, and it has put iran on its back feet in ways that that we haven't seen before. it's lost its best proxies in hamas and hezbollah. it no longer has syria and assad. and as a result, i think there's an opportunity to transform what's what's happening. and also to have something that deals with the fact that it's what's happened in the last couple of years has come at a terrible human cost to actually get to a broader transformation in the middle east. >> but let me interrupt you to ask, since you yourself have said that iran is a week away from having enough fissile mat

joining us now is president trump's special envoy to the middle east steve witkoff. a key player in the negotiations between israel and hamas. thank you for being on the show and willing to serve the country. hamas told "the new york times" we're prepared for a dialogue with america and achieving understandings on everything. how do you see that? >> well, i think it's good if it's accurate. we were able to demonstrate that president trump's policies peace through strength work. everybody listens and getting those three people out, that was a big deal. four more coming out i believe this weekend. and it is a testament to how the world perceives president trump's presidency. >> bill: when you met with these leaders, whether it was in qatar or jerusalem, how did you deliver that message that convinced them that you mean business? >> well, bill, i said you've got to look at the tweet, look at the truth, look at what he said. the words speak for it cismd he expects a hostage release. remember, we were working -- we had nothing to do with the mathematics behind the prisone

reporter: you showed great confidence in steve witkoff. why did you say that you doubt the cease-fire in gaza will hold? pres. trump: i think he is great, but it is a very tricky place. we will see. if something does happen, they will not be happy. reporter: sarah, to follow up on that, in terms of steve witkoff, will you put him in charge of iran's strategy and talking directly with iranians? pres. trump: he is certainly somebody i would use. he has done a fantastic job, a great negotiator and popular person, gets along with people. i have great negotiators. they had no personality whatsoever. then i have some -- steve has a wonderful way about him, people like him and in this case, both sides like him that he is able to make a deal. at that deal would have never been made without steve, the former president biden people couldn't do it, they were working on it for a year and a half. they could make a deal. we did it prior to the inauguration. the deal should hold. if it doesn't hold, there will be a lot of problems. reporter: to your ai e

watch steve witkoff has been a terrific partner in this. >> and also president elect trump, in making clear that he wants to see this deal go forward and go forward before january 20th. and, of course, everyone wants to know. and it's very useful as well to have steve a part of this. they want to make sure that the deal that the president's put on the table and that we've negotiated, the trump administration will continue to back. >> it's kind of unusual or interesting, anyway, that this trump envoy, steve witkoff, has been a part of these conversations here at the very end. >> yeah, it really is unusual. you know, as discussed, it also, of course, is unique in this transition, but i think it's a positive sign because it means that there's going to be continuity, not just of the people, but also of the policy, and that the information is being shared directly in real time. transitions are very hard, and i've been through them. and what you want to make sure is that information continues from one team to another. it's not clear that's happening across the government, but in this case i

i've work with steve witkoff over the last week, a partnership i think historic to help get this one.trump's envoy. >> we are committed to getting edan out as early as possible. i spoke to his father just last night. >> prime minister netanyahu described this overnight as a temporary ceasefire and he says he has permission to begin fighting as needed. do you believe he sees this as just a strategic pause or that he actually wants to end this war? >> the way the deal is structured on day 16 the negotiations begin for phase two. phase two will begin a negotiation for the exchange of soldiers to palestinian prisoners, but also the conditions have to be set for phase two. we support the israelis in making sure those conditions are set so hamas can never come back to power in gaza, hamas can never again threat israel from gaza. those conditions have to be set. we in the biden administration have been very clear, we want to see this deal reach all three phases, every hostage come home. i think the trump administration very much shares that objective and the template, the roadmap, again, tha

his israeli sources say this deal never would have happened but for president-elect trump and steve witkoff who had gone to israel to try to negotiate. maybe this doesn't come up in the conversations with the people that you have there, but i'm curious, do they recognize that as well? >> reporter: absolutely. general keane is spot on. i have been talking with qatari sources, i've been talking with israeli sources, i have been talking with hamas sources throughout this entire process. the deal that was signed that allowed these women to get out of gaza would not be complete without president-elect trump and the incoming middle east envoy, steve witkoff. they were going back and forth since last may, and there was just no movement on the ground in doha. the teams were at the table, and they could not come to to a conclusion. the envoy went there, and they had the directive from the incoming administration, and it really allowed the ball to cross over the line and get this deal done. and so the people here you talk to, today say they don't care if it's president biden or president-elect trump,

so he can kind of say whatever he wants. >> ainsley: steve witkoff has been so instrumental. matt miller his quote he talked about when it comes to the involvement of president-elect's team it has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line. >> brian: thanks, peter. soap opera power going behind the scenes. kjp and admiral kirby seem to be sparring. she has a huge problem with him. obviously she is very insecure. any time the war happened ukraine got invaded you see things go crazy in the middle east you need somebody with international experience. that's why he was looked at as an asset. evidently he couldn't call on own reporters. she would always be there to introduce him. yesterday when this happens. kirby is there in person and she is not. but according to jacqui heinrich. kjp's decision to block kirby from the briefing waited virtual background to get news about the cease-fire did not go over well among the staff who described it as ending on a north coast ego. the administration source told fox it's one thing to block kirby from going to the briefing ro

steve witkoff the president trump special adviser to the middle east.them have been working in sync and spending a lot of time and doing what they can to put this in place the pressure the trump administration has been on significant. pretty clear it will happen. my concern is about the second phase, which is a bit unknown there are 42 days until we get to that second phase. there are 16 days before we even start negotiating about that second phase. and the only thing that is predictable enough about the middle east is that it's unpredictable. and that's why i would hope to believe my advocacy is for the party to do as much as possible disclose all components or most of the components possible to make sure that we get to the finish line. >> some were saying this must be because the deal is favorable to them. how do you view it. >> i think people have been on a lot of humanitarian -- humanitarian crisis they have been used as human shields by the savages. the terrorist organization that claims to be be on their side. but, when you look at what happened o

steve witkoff on this. you'll remember it was witkoff who you were seeing there on the right side of your screen who leaned on the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, during what was later described as a tense meeting in recent days. right now, the cease fire is expected to begin this sunday, providing a desperately needed reprieve to the palestinian civilians who have endured 15 months of war, and also for the hostages who have been held by hamas for 15 months now. my source tonight is beth sanner, the former deputy director of national intelligence, and beth, this deal as president biden was laying it out earlier, it's the release of 32 hostages over the next 42 days or so. there are several parts of this, but but essentially that would be in exchange for palestinian prisoners being held in israel and also the cessation of the actual fighting that's been happening. what stood out to you from from how this agreement finally came together, even though it's been talked about since last may. >> right.

donald trump's incoming special envoy for the middle east, steve witkoff. this gentleman participated in the final stages of the negotiations for the deal. following months of intense work by the biden administration. that work was led by brett mcgurk. joining me now is joanne freeman, professor of history and american studies at yale university. professor, good to see you again. thank you for being with us. there's just a lot. the point of i think that introduction is there's a lot going on in america. there's a lot going on in the world. these are tough times. so while the president runs on things that they're going to do, and donald trump wants to get started on implementing some of these things that he's got to do at noon on monday, he inherits a complicated america and a complicated world. >> he does. and it's a good moment to point to the fact that an inauguration serves a purpose. it has a meaning, and it relates precisely to the kind of thing that you just mentioned. you have the campaign. you have all the rancor and the contest and the running arou

where is steve witkoff? is he around here someplace? because he was so great. there he is. hello, steve. thank you. steve. thank you. steve. what a job. our incoming administration has achieved all of this in the middle east in less than three months, without being president, we've achieved more without being. president than they've achieved in four years with being president. but just imagine all of the good things that we will accomplish together. with four more years in the white house, and we're going to do a lot of things. you're going to see something tomorrow. you're going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy. lots of them, lots of them. we have to set our country on the proper course. by the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt. and all the illegal border trespassers. will, in some form or another, be on their way back home. think of it. we've allowed millions and millions of people into our country through open borders. no checks, no vetting, no anything. millions and millions of peopl

someone that needs all the credit is steve witkoff. forth from the middle east basically since the election on his own dime, refusing to take any money from the government, working out these hostage deals. it was interesting to me at one time when you saw the former secretary of state, blinken, who's a complete liar, trying to take credit for this. if it wasn't for the trump administration, these hostages would still be in the hands of hamas. so thank god we got a new sheriff in the white house. rachel: yeah, no question about it, steve witkoff needs, deserves a lot of credit. but it's not just that the democrats are trying to take credit for it, there has been a campaign even on the republican side among many of the neo-cons criticizing him for this deal. >> i don't understand how they can criticize someone that went there and and did exactly what the president of the united states wanted. he made it very clear, he says there will be hell to pay if these hostages are are noting with released by the time i get into office. steve went th

steve witkoff was in the middle east, and i think that was critical to getting this. and hopefully we'll work together to keep ukraine sovereign and not concede on that. you have. we'll see what that looks like. >> congressman mike lawler, thank you both for joining us tonight. up next we're going to go on the ground in california. a live update on the wildfires there. a new fire started today as officials are issuing new warnings about winds picking back up again. >> i wish my tv provider let me choose what i pay for. >> sling let you do that. hey, where are you going? >> i wish my tv provider let me choose what i pay for and let me pause my subscription when i want to do that to sling. i wish my tv provider let me choose what i pay for and let me pause my subscription when i want and have hundreds of free channels. >> let you do that too. mr. fish, choose and customize your channel lineup or watch for free. >> sling lets you do that. >> dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading without fingersticks. dexc

brian, i want to start with steve witkoff and what we heard, if that is true, your mind goes to do we have hostages released on inauguration day, and what would it be reminiscent of? january 20th, 1981, when reagan got the iranian hostages released. they are doing their job and at the same time, over the weekend, and i know it was reported by reuters and denied by the prime minister that hamas submitted 35 names they are looking to release in exchange for, we don't know, countless number of prisoners that israel is holding. what he was trying to stay and steve witkoff is saying, he is giving them leverage, and saying i am giving you a deadline, and inauguration you got to get it done. and it's none of this we'll see what happens, and see what the man -- go back and forth. no, there's a deadline now, and the clock has started and one of the things that netanyahu said is we're not leaving gaza. so stop asking us to. the last time we left gaza, you ended up killing over a thousand israelis on october 7th. so we're saying there's going to be a presence there, and that is off the table, an

i thought that it was great that steve witkoff, the incoming envoy, went. and the idea that i think it's unprecedented that a outgoing president inviting the incoming team to be briefed and to play a role and to support the effort. and i think there's an argument to be made that steve witkoff coming is what really helped do this. but this kind of a deal reaches its point of success when a lot of different factors are there. president biden put this deal together, presented it. it wasn't the right time in the summer for a variety of reasons. once we got to the fall. hamas was rejecting the deal. the deal in lebanon then came about, pressured hamas back to the table. i think it was important to have the incoming team with steve witkoff there, to be able to show everyone that it's team america. it's one team, and ultimately, the most important thing is that these hostages are going to come home on sunday or latest monday morning. >> well, we heard from a hostage family last night. the neutra's who, you know, and they were saying, you know, that was their call

where is steve witkoff? there he is. hello, steve. thank you, steve. thank you, steve. what a job.r incoming administration has achieved all of this in the middle east in less than three months without being president. we've achieved more without being president than they've achieved in four years with being president. [applause] but just imagine all of the good things that we will accomplish together with four more years in the white house and we're going to do a lot of things. you're going to see something tomorrow. you're going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy. lots of them. lots of them. we have to set our country on the proper course. by the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt and all the illegal boarder trespassers will in some form or another be on their way back home. think of it. we have allowed millions and millions of people into our country through open borders. no checks, no vetting, no anything. millions and millions of people. and lots of those people are murderers. 52% of them kil

. >> well donald trump syndrome strikes again steve witkoff his envoy that is gone to israel obviouslywe don't know who is head alive we hope all live, it is around 40 we are going to have to turn back 1,000 hamas fighters back to hamas, but anything we need to do to get them out over there away too long get them out take care of them i am a little concerned about opening up philadelphia corridor between skwlipt and gaza where replacements come in but cease-fire would be good get president trump in and let's go. maria: how many of these, 33 pages aren't there more than 930 hainlz do we know how many are still alive? >> we really don't, we've had hearings lasted hearings really don't know hopefully president trump steve witkoff know this working with that obviously, blink ken sullivan biden pretty much gone i hope they are all live as many as we can get out. of course to hear, the these actors bad actors like hamas, actually buckling because of president trump threats joe biden said he was working on hostage releases as well but i mean coincidental happening exactly in timing trump dema

trey: following those remarks we heard from president-elect trump who sent his middle east envoy steve witkoffi know that biden is saying that they made the deal. well, you know. [laughter] [boos] >> first of all, it would have never happened if were president never would have wanted ha. never even a thought of it. iran was broke. they had no money for hezbollah. they no money for hamas. they no money. they were broke. totally broke. and they would have never done anything. >> the bottom line is this deal would not have crossed finish line if it were not for president-elect trump and middle east envoy steve witkoff. as we look forward this will lead to a more permanent cease-fire between the two sides. brian? >> brian: we'll see how phase one moves forward and phase 2 is going to be really difficult and then they will start writing phase 3. trey, thanks so much. we appreciate it. check back in again. very fluid over there mean while the, this tiktok restores service to the u.s. users after president trump announced he will issue an executive order, giving the platform a 90-day exterms a rebrie

and then in the last couple of weeks, the addition of steve witkoff, the middle east envoy there for the incoming trump administration. you see that and you see the incoming commander in chief as well, at arlington, laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. big picture. what is going through your mind on this extraordinary day? >> i think that what we saw at arlington is in the best american tradition for these normalization of all of this, we should have everything should be normal. this is president is a temporary position. you are there as a custodian of the legacy of what it means to be an american. so, you know, donald trump has said horrible things about america's military. i think going back to when he said that john mccain was not a hero. so a moment like this, it doesn't undo that, but i think it's positive that he's doing it. and i can't help but think, looking at these hostages, the horror that they have been through, i have to think about how disgraceful it was, is that donald trump refers to the criminals who were arrested in january 6th as hostages. there is j

steve witkoff was in doha meeting with the negotiating teams. talked with number of sources close to these conversations, and they say the pressure got the ball across the line. and this is important here because as we look forward, this is a three-phase deal. and with president-elect trump taking office tomorrow, the entire region is going to be looking very closely at what the incoming foreign policy is going to be as it relates to israel and the middle east. and this deal will just start to be implemented. as we look forward, it's important to consider here these won't be the last conversations taking place in qatar. this is just the first phase of deal. and if it goes forward as planned, 33 hostages, some of them dead, some alive, will be released from gaza. but again, the bottom line here, this is a deal that is incredibly delicate. and if hen how see -- when you see those images inside gaza of fighters with weapons on the backs of wheat pickup trucks, it raises real questions about the past 15 months of war and what was accomplished from a

his name was steve witkoff, and he was present. so you had the trump administration engaged as well? and i think that was helpful because, you know, my sense initially was that netanyahu was not going to agree to any ceasefire until after trump got inaugurated. but having trump's person working in the negotiations, having trump be there, working on this, this ceasefire, i think that helped the ability to be able to put it will be in in effect on sunday.t the israeli cabinet still has to approve it, but i'm sure they will. i hope that we can find a path towards to a more peaceful solution in the middle east that will be permanent. your your perspective is fascinating. you are a democrat. you are an optimist. for the years we've known you, are you optimistic that under president trump he can make this things in this country better? well, you have to be you have to be, because frankly, the middle east is important to our national security. we can't walk away from that. it could very well be that trump, having worked on something calle

bill: have you met steve witkoff? >> uh-huh. bill: you have? >> yes.ns with steve. and he's on top of our case. dana: when will, when might you decide to go over the israel? >> so i'm flying back and fort, like, every three weeks i'm coming the israel to speak with the officials there, with everyone that, again, everyone needs to the see me. to see me. and i don't know, i didn't decide yet when it's time for -- bill: how's the rest of your family doing? >> it's the very difficult. it's tough. but you know what? it was the first time like i'm picking my son in middle school and telling him, listen, the deal is on. it's going to happen. this sunday you're going to to see hostages released, and he was is happy. of course afterwards he asked me, okay, when is edan coming back home, and i'm like, okay, we need the wait -- dana: how many other children to do you need? >> roy, 13 and mika, 18, she's in college now. it's difficult, but they are giving me the strength to continue and the fight. on behalf of our son, beautiful son edan. he needs to come back hom

mike waltz with jake sullivan, jake's incoming, the incoming national security advisor, and with steve witkoff, who is president-elect trump's incoming middle east envoy. shortly after the election, steve and i developed a very close partnership, even friendship. and at the time, to close the deal, i was very grateful that steve came out to doha in these last few days. speaking on behalf of president trump, i'm speaking on behalf of president biden to actually close this deal and get it done. this was a historic partnership. again, president biden set the tone in that meeting with president-elect trump. this is what we're going to do. and it worked. and we're focused on the results and seeing a ceasefire in the hostages returned to their families. and i think what steve and i were able to do in the last few days was a testament to that, that cooperation with steve witkoff was very, very impressive and very important in achieving this ceasefire hostage release deal. >> have you had any discussions, by the way, bret, with the incoming trump administration about potentially staying on the job or

team informed of this negotiation process and that is why the president elect�*s special adviser steve witkoffion needs to look like because it will pass on that team to do that. it will require commitment and effort, leadership on all sides here. certainly in the region to make sure that each phase can be achieved and that all of the commitments in each phase can be accomplished. when you mention keeping president—elect trump and his team involved here, have you received assurances from them that they will oversee the implementation such as it has been agreed so far? absolutely, 100%. the new envoy, mr witkoff has been in communication with our coordinator who has been doing the coordinating he is aware of every detail of the implementation and he and the incoming team arejust as dedicated to the success of this deal as we have been. as the president said today in his remarks we are confident that that leadership in that effort and energy will be applied by the incoming team to implement all of these details. was there an extra influence from president—elect donald trump in getting this deal

and steve witkoff is back from doha just from about three days ago. course, as we have watched these images unfold from the middle east, witkoff is going to be speaking here from the rally stage and part of the president elect's message that we undoubtedly are going to hear is that he ultimately gets results. and he said that there would be hell to pay if there was not a hostage release agreement, a cease fire deal. by the time he took office for his swearing in, and at least here at this hour in time, phase one of that agreement is holding firm. but we also expect tomorrow, as he told our colleague at meet the press moderator, kristen welker, just yesterday, that he will sign what he says is a record breaking number of documents on day one. this would be executive orders, executive actions. you're looking at a list of potentially a few of those. he has not provided specifics, but we expect him to go forward with multiple executive actions pertaining to mass deportation efforts. of course, there is the potential that ice could, as soon as on tuesday,

steve witkoff will be there. key question is, and i know ambassador ginsberg knows state better than i look, there are career people at the state department who matter, and it's crucial that they keep them in place. we're already hearing rumblings of senior executives being asked to depart their positions, those who oversee management of the state department. and that's very ominous. they need to keep the career people in place. they need to allow for the experts to be using their expertise to ensure that this negotiation continues and that it's followed through. if they don't do that, the whole thing will collapse. >> and i have to wonder, what is the state of play in the middle east right now? what does the future there in that region look like? secretary blinken said hamas has enough new recruits to replace everyone killed since this war began. ambassador, did israel achieve its goals in this war? and what kind of threat does hamas currently pose? >> i believe in the end, and i hate to say this, that this is b

in terms of steve witkoff, are you going to put him in charge of iran's strategy? >> and do you want him talking directly with. >> the iranians? >> no, but he's certainly somebody i would use. he's done a fantastic job. he's a great negotiator. he's a very good person, great. a very popular person gets along with people. i have great negotiators. they they have no personality whatsoever. and then i have some that do. steve has a wonderful way about him and people like him. and even in this case, both sides like him. and he was able to make a deal. that deal would have never been made without steve. the biden people couldn't make the deal. they were working on it for a year and a half. they couldn't make a deal, and we got it done. prior to the inauguration. we said it has to be before the inauguration. i mean, the deal should hold, but if it doesn't hold, there'll be a lot of. >> problems related to your i eo. just hours after you made that big stargate announcement, elon musk tweeted that they don't actually have the money. is that true? >> i don't know if they do

, these women would not be on their way home today because steve witkoff went to the middle east and he told the negotiating teams a deal must be done before inauguration day, before president trump takes office. and he got the deal done. and ultimately, we're starting to see these hostages reunited after these women crossed today, seven israeli hostages in total will have been reunited with their loved ones. but again, they will be exchanged for palestinian prisoners. now, last week, less violent palestinian prisoners were released. we are talking about some people that were held in israeli jails just for a matter of months. this week. the prisoners that are going to be released, according to reports, 120 of them are serving life sentences in israeli prisons and 70 of them, according to reports, will be deported as a result. now, there was some israeli media over the weekend reporting that a handful of these people, some of them convicted of murder, will be released back into israel because of their citizenship. and so, again, it just illustrates how difficult this situation is, bec

and thank you to steve witkoff. he's a great guy. he's a friend of mine. he's been a very successful man. he's a great negotiator. he's a wonderful guy. people love him and he's got a tremendous power of persuasion. and that's what we need. we don't need stiffs. we don't need stiff. we got a lot of stiffs you just had. you just had a whole load of them. and to the former hostages with us today. welcome and welcome home. some of the folks that are former hostages. not not a good situation. the three young ladies that came home yesterday, you saw that. and more coming home every day. now they're coming home. but they were hurt. they were hurt. they were hurt. one had her head blown off, fingers on her hand, and her hand indeed was blown off. she was trying to defend herself from a bullet being fired. you believe this? a bullet knocked off her hand. i don't know, you look at it. it's a disgrace. we never stopped praying for you. and we're so glad that you're reunited with your friends and families. and god bless you all. and some of them are just saying no. m

and president trump's middle east envoy steve witkoff is heading here to israel on wednesday. he also says he plans to head to gaza. lester? >> raf sanchez, thank you. >>> and in poland dozens of holocaust survivors returning to auschwitz 80 years after liberation, honoring the roughly 6 million jews and others murdered by the nazis and their collaborators. jessie kirsch is there. >> reporter: the world may never see another moment like this. eyewitnesses to genocide returning eight decades after they were liberated. eva umlauf was too young to remember. but nazi germany's unspeakable horrors are embedded in her skin. she was tattooed before her second birthday. >> you are just a number. but this number is not only on the skin. this is deep. >> reporter: auschwitz was hitler's largest extermination camp, a place where roughly 1.1 million were killed. for the rest their humanity was stripped away. often you could see two people sleeping in just one of these beds on these very basic bunks. you could see 700 to 1,000 people crammed into one building. >> reporter: almost all of th

we had the new middle east envoy, a man with a background in real estate, steve witkoff, really talkingwill be involving what he called courageous diplomacy towards the region, seeking prosperity, and saying they would seek to build on what is seen as the achievements of the trump administration in its first term, when they got these normalisation deals — peace deals between israel and new arab countries. there is this prospect dangling there that saudi arabia and israel could ultimately make peace and have normal relations. this would be a big change in the region. what has been happening in gaza going into the third day of ceasefire? what difference is the stopping of fighting making to life? we are hearing more and more about palestinians going back to neighbourhoods, even those worst hit by the war, such as in the north and rafah in the south. places that have been largely razed to the ground as they try to go back and find any of their loved ones, give them a decent burials. we heard people have found identified skeletons, even within the streets. people that were left, and as the

at the same time, the u.s., through the new special envoy for the middle east, steve witkoff, they are trying to project this image of concern, of commitment to the cease fire deal. wittkopf has said, in fact, that he will be traveling to the region, that he will be at some of those areas where palestinians are going back to their homes in gaza to make sure that the cease fire deal is being implemented. he has talked about how this ceasefire deal should be the beginning of a peace process that eventually spreads throughout the whole region. i mean, the words that we're hearing from the trump administration and from particularly steve witkoff are encouraging. but, you know, the parties are so entrenched, both hamas and prime minister netanyahu and the right wing in israel, they are so entrenched in their positions. as i said, each side is going to be trying to portray this as a victory for them and a loss for the other, which is going, as you said, to put pressure on each side to try to project strength through the next few weeks. and that's where, you know, that's where i worry that th

role in the advancement of the state of these talks is also donald trump's own middle east envoy, steve witkoff, who's been in the middle east over the weekend. now, as you mentioned, a senior israeli official also told nbc news they confirmed there are advanced stages of the talks, though he could not say whether it was a matter of hours or days. but he also provided an insight into the current proposal. now, under that proposal, hamas will release, initially, 33 hostages, which have been defined as humanitarian cases. israel at the same time will observe a 42-day cease-fire, even though it will not fully withdraw from gaza until all hostages are released. a buffer zone will be along the gaza strip. and israel says they will deport to a third country those palestinian prisoners who will be released as part of the deal they consider serious terrorists. frances? >> the world and especially the families of those hostages watching extremely closely. claudio, thank you. >>> the great lakes region bracing for another winter blast. angie lassman is back with those details. hi again, angie. >> in the

steve. >> witkoff why you said. >> that you doubt. >> that the ceasefire in gaza.since you. appraised his. >> well, no, i think he's great. >> but it's a very tricky place. it's very tricky. and we'll see. and if it if something does happen, they will not be happy, sir. >> follow up on. >> that one. >> in terms. >> of steve witkoff. >> are. you going to put him in charge of. >> iran strategy? >> and do you. >> want him talking. directly with the iranians? >> no. >> but he certainly is somebody i would use. he's done a fantastic job. he's a great negotiator. he's a very good person, great. a very popular person gets along with people. i have great negotiators. they they have no personality whatsoever. and then i have some that do. steve has a wonderful way about him and people like him. and even in this case, both sides like him. and he was able to make a deal. that deal would have never been made without steve. the biden people couldn't make the deal. they were working on it for a year and a half. they couldn't make a deal. we got it done prior to the inauguration.