special on fox nation right now, you can get it. also the book is now out, thankfully top ten in the country, i'm going to be in new jersey and doing these things on stage, fox nation specials in pittsburgh, as well as in michigan. check it out, get some tickets. i think we all need it. and these are two iconic americans who, a time at which america was dealing with racial strife pushed us together, and booker t. washington, he was born a slave, read when he was nine, ends up being a powerful educator and combined with teddy roosevelt, not supposed to live past childhood. >> they are going to be everywhere, everybody look, you are riding a scooter, apparently. >> city to city. perfect. >> brian kilmeade. >> i can't wait to read it, kilmeade, that schedule is amazing. thank you for watching us. here is "america reports".

>> i have to tell you that hug was precious moment for us. we are very, very lucky and grateful to have her back. >> the happiness and the joy that we all could breathe again and let our heart fill with optimism and happiness right after the holidays. >> john: hostages freed by hamas and loved ones are breathing sighs of relief. word two israeli russian nationals on their way to israeli territory. far too many remain in gaza, including the 8 to 9 americans still likely held by hamas and time is running out, with the extended truce set to expire hours from now. i'm john roberts in washington.

sandra, so begins a wednesday afternoon. >> good to be with you. sandra smith in new york. this is "america reports". right now we are waiting the release of another group of hostages but we have still no word on whether any americans are on this newest list. meanwhile, negotiators in qatar are scrambling to extend the truce with the help of cia director william burns. he is pushing for a massive hostage deal that would include the release of americans in a longer, multi-day pause. so, how likely is it that will happen? >> john: adam boehler helped negotiate the abraham accords and negotiated with the taliban. >> sandra: greg palkot, any word if the truce will be extended for a second time now? >> sandra, no hard word, but certainly a lot of talk. a lot of developments, a lot of

moving parts in this israeli war against hamas. let's start with the reports the latest transfer of hostages from the gaza strip. there are reports this could be underway. the former captives had been transported to israel crossing the southern part of gaza, women and children again, the red cross involved. israeli military talking about two so far but the number in the past few nights around 12, that proves to be true, when the total number of hostages freed to over 70. this as the fate of the youngest hostage, 10-month-old, and 4-year-old, and mother and father also a question. earlier this week, report hamas had transferred custody to another militant group. the family said they have been informed by the israeli military they would not be a part of the return tonight. there have been varying reports about their conditions, none of which we can confirm tonight. also up in the air, yes, the fate of this ceasefire. this is the sixth day of the halt in fighting between israel and hamas.

if nothing further is announced, clashes could resume as early as tomorrow morning. but both sides have indicated an interest in extending it. israel especially saying however it would not agree unless there was a clear commitment more hostages would be given up by the terrorists. what prime minister benjamin netanyahu had today earlier tonight. >> there is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end. this is my policy. the entire cabinet stands behind it. the entire government stands behind it. the soldiers stand behind it. the people stand behind it. this is exactly what we will do. >> exactly what we will do. this amid all the reports not just of happiness of families receiving their loved ones who have been held captive for weeks and weeks, but the conditions that they had to endure, little sleep, little slight, unsanitary conditions, beatings, even forced to watch torture videos, tough conditions all around,

with no clear end in sight. back to you guys. >> sandra: greg palkot live in tel aviv. john. >> john: adam boehler, helped negotiate the abraham accords and negotiate with the taliban on behalf of the trump administration, and adam, great to have you here. you are usually coming to us from nashville. welcome back to d.c. the big question here, how long is the truce, ceasefire, pause, whatever you call it going to last and how many hostages ultimately can be brought out. >> it's interesting. right now what's happening, william burns in qatar, he's negotiating with sheikh mohammed and a general from egypt. i have directly negotiated with them. they are both very serious people. william burns and mossad head there. it's the right cast of characters to do something.

i think it's likely you will see at least a day or two. has to be conditioned on hostages being released clearly and it sounds like the qataris are feeling good about some adult males being released. that's what i think you are going to get a day or two and then the question is what's going to happen after that. >> john: we saw, we had rachel goldberg on yesterday whose son herch had half his arm blown off. she has no idea of his status, though she saw a video of him, hopes he got the appropriate medical treatment for his grievous wounds but no idea whether he's alive or dead or where he might beor what condition he could be ina of an ceasefire, u.n. secretary general guterres wants this to be a prolonged ceasefire, pushing in that direction. pressure mounting every day on

israel to accept this idea of a lengthy ceasefire. netanyahu and others, gallant, keep saying no, no, no, we can't do that, we have to complete the job of decapitating hamas. hamas is playing this for everything it possibly can and using these hostages to as much advantage as it can. how do you think ultimately this is going to end up? >> this is the question. so, this was the risk in the first place of israel doing this, and hamas is a master at the p.r. of these things, and playing the victim. it's what they do, it's what they have done, and now we are hearing about releasing hostages for palestinian, those, the palestinians there are criminals, right. last i checked, they are convicted criminals. last i checked the hostages like the 11-month-old that they are saying is dead is not a convicted criminal. first, and one is, 1 to 3 on the release. so, here is the question. how can you eliminate hamas? i can only really see two great

paths. one is israel finishes the job. the only other alternative and i see the general for egypt, who is taking accountability. possibly egypt. obviously they border, there is some trust there, they have the military strength to do it, and to ensure that hamas is gone, if they are really gone, it's the only alternative i could see because otherwise who is policing gaza? >> john: so tell us about the sense in the region in regard to hamas. because most of the arab countries are standing up for the palestinians but quietly behind the scenes, saudi arabia, the uae, bahrainis, maybe even qatar, saying they don't like hamas, don't like iran messing around with the proxy groups and creating instability in the region, where do they stand on hamas. >> it's interesting. i had a meeting with some of the ambassadors of some of our moderate arab friends.

and this is what they said to me. they said what's interesting is there is more concern at american universities than there are in our countries because they have been through this. so they know, and one of the things, and this is why i'm sometimes cautiously optimistic meeting the long-term is hamas, i believe, hoped that everyone was going to rally here, and they have not. and that's because of the abraham accords, and the work that was done, and that shows something. we have more of an issue in the united states than their populations do. >> john: we should point out the pictures on the screen, these were taken a little while ago. these are of two dual citizen israeli russians that were released ahead of the ten israeli hostages expected to be released. hamas apparently released these two as a gesture to putin, trying to stay in his good graces. ultimately when this is over, hamas is trying desperately to survive and is going to use

these hostages for all it can. if hamas does survive, what does that portend for negotiations between israel and saudi arabia on extending the abraham accords? >> i think for one, if hamas survives, it's just in the short-term. israel has a very long memory, we know it from the munich olympics. >> john: got everybody except the mastermind, ultimately. >> hopefully this time they'll get everybody. medium to long-term will be solved if israel does its job. in the short-term, if they survive, they have to be out and have somebody else there. you saw saudi, it's not what saudi says, it's what saudi doesn't say. so look for what these arab countries are not saying. it shows they have moderated. the real battle here, why you see hamas cozying up to putin, iran, russia, some extent china, but a battle, and to be clear,

not only against israel but against the united states. so that's the real alignment and it is what those countries aren't saying, and i think that's really powerful. if we play our cards right, that's really powerful. >> john: an example, what aren't they saying? >> they are not inciting, not inciting their populations. they are saying they want ceasefire, concerned for palestinian citizens of course, but they are not aggressively pushing like they would years before. when you saw intifadas before, there was action and dollars flowing, not anymore. >> john: the language from this administration to israel, as israel contemplates the end of the ceasefire and what military operations will bring after that, they are talking about operations in khan younis in the south of gaza, it's widely believe the hamas leadership has fled the north and taken up residence in the south. sabrina singh, the deputy press

secretary at the pentagon said about that yesterday. >> any operations they do in the south might look a little different from how they were conducting them in the north but again, we are not telling them how to conduct their operations. this is an idf mission, they are in control how they conduct operations on the ground. >> john: like saudi arabia, a difference of what's said in public and what's not being said in public, what's being said quietly behind the scenes and biden is pushing netanyahu to moderate his kinetic operations to ensure palestinian civilians do not find themselves in harm's way and since those million palestinians have been pushed to the south, this administration believes they are in grave danger if israel expands its kinetic operations to the south. >> i saw on capitol hill that you have a number of democratic lawmakers that are saying we have to condition aid to israel based on how they operate. but it's an impossible

situation, it's a finger trip. get rid of hamas but do it in a place the size of manhattan and the boroughs where they are using civilians and hiding behind civilians and hospitals. how do you do that? it's an impossible situation. and so i think there's no question, if you don't have egypt step up to eliminate hamas or other arab countries and israel needs to finish the job which they would need to do, you are going to have a situation from a civilian perspective. it's impossible not to. >> john: we are getting new live pictures here and there again, the israeli ambulances as they prepare to receive a group of we believe ten hostages transferred at the rafah crossing at the egypt-gaza border. typically a bus will come in or some suvs from the international committee of the red cross. hostages off, a brief

preliminary medical check at this facility here, and be debriefed by israeli special forces and then loaded into the waiting ambulances, and taken back to israel. they'll be taken to the hospital, first of all, to make sure everything is ok and then reunited with their loved ones. in terms of the biden administration support for israel, there's a sense among some people that biden may be going wobbly a bit because he's losing so much support among arab americans politically. he does not want to lose the jewish support here in the united states, but also does not want to lose arab american support, that could cost him states like michigan, might cost him a state like georgia. listen to what john kirby said about the biden administration support for israel yesterday. >> we believe they have a right and responsibility to eliminate this terrorist threat and hamas showed its colors pretty well on october 7th, and it's still a

viable threat. >> john: he's still saying the right things in terms of support for israel as the israelis would like to hear. but where do you think the biden administration really stands, again this idea of what they are saying and what they are not saying when it comes to israel and the resumption of military operations? >> first i want to give john kirby credit, i really appreciate what he's saying and the national security council support, i think it's impressive, and i think that's a wonderful thing. we'll see whether biden follows through. >> john: as we watch this process unfold again, adam, let's bring in sandra, to the coverage as we are awaiting what is likely the transfer of another ten hostages of israeli citizenship. >> sandra: adam, almost identical to yesterday, this is another moment in the middle of

this war, defining moment, adam. if you could bring our viewers through where we are with this. what this indicates to you about the days and weeks to come, as this pause is looked to extend, what it means for israel, and its continued fight. >> i want everyone to understand it's a really difficult issue because in some ways look at this. look at how wonderful it is to see ten hostages that are going to be released that are going to be united with their families. there's no way that israelis, that americans, that everybody doesn't feel this and i hope americans are released, too, hamas has americans. at the same time every day that israel waits, they are losing strategic advantage, and that is the impossible situation they are facing right now, and that they are trying to balance. >> john: so we have about 80 hostages in total released, 60 some israelis, i think either 61 or maybe 62, which still leaves

an awful lot of hostages in hamas captivity. and they can drag this out. we were talking about a lieutenant colonel yesterday, hamas could drag this out for a long time. the deal with israel is there will be one day extension of the ceasefire for every ten hostages that are released. but if hamas decides dial it back to eight or maybe five, if they have 150, 160 hostages, drag it out for 2, 3 weeks, and what's israel going to say? we are still getting hostages out, just not the ten. i don't know that's a reason they could go back to kinetic military operations. how do you expect hamas to play this in the days ahead? >> hamas is going to continue to dribble it out. there's a reason why hamas still has americans. they are using that as leverage against the united states. if they released americans, they would think maybe the united states would have less interest and we wouldn't push for a ceasefire. so, hamas is very good at this so they are going to dribble it

out, see them hold americans to the very last moment. you are still seeing them hold kids. 11-month-old they say is dead, a 4-year-old, fine, let's see -- where are they? you said they were killed by an israeli airstrike. they were probably killed because they were taken hostage. they are not fulfilling their end of the bargain. i think hamas backs off the ten, israel should act. >> john: israel has not confirmed whether kafir was killed as one hamas feed on telegram suggests but they are checking it out. >> sandra: take the viewers through what is on the screen, the rafah border crossing, egypt-gaza border, similar to this time yesterday, you have a situation where hospital vehicles, red cross vehicles are lining up, the red cross vehicles as we toggle between these live shots are carrying released hostages as they arrive

there at the border crossing. media is gathered there. there is obviously medical professionals. we have already seen some of the hostages driven away and there are vehicles standing by there at the border crossing. adam, benjamin netanyahu underscored that israel will continue its campaign to eliminate hamas, very clear in his most recent words after this phase of returning abductees is exhausted, will israel return to fighting. my answer is unequivocal question. no way we are not going back to fighting until the end. but that timing and how this all plays out, when that plays out, that is going to be tricky. that is going to be a sensitive situation with the number of hostages that still remain. and that is what we have left to see, how that plays out over the coming days. >> i just want to comment the

reason we are in the situation where hostages are being released is because israel pressed hamas. if they hadn't entered the north and done what they had done, they wouldn't have hamas on the run. hamas tried to stop that from happening, they tried to negotiate before, it is -- the reason they are at the table in the first place is because israel pressed hard and so absent a solution where we see somebody like egypt take responsibility for the strip, israel has to go back in. it's not going to help to get the hostages out, if they relax, and so if we see the ten hostages, fine, that's the deal they made. the moment they reneg on the deal, the moment it changes. >> one quick question before we go back to greg palkot standing by in israel, when we take a look at the scene here, we've got a number of ambulances with personnel out front ready to receive the hostages. and then we have this court of other ambulances with their lights flashing. i mean, this is quite a dramatic

picture here of the hostage return. why is it -- i mean, for all intents and purposes, staged by israel this way. what's the reason for that? >> because for israel they have to show some up side. and so i know for them you've got a right line -- right wing in israel, a left wing in israel, and israel needs to show their people why they had so many -- 1200 people that were taken by hamas as hostages, or killed, and then you have 200 plus taken as hostages. why are they even speaking with hamas. and so for israel they need to show why they are doing that in the first place. this is why they are doing it, because they care about their people, and they want innocent people back but it's a hard decision and that's why israel is showing it's for their own people, too. >> john: adam, stand by with us, a lot more ahead. right now, greg palkot is in tel aviv with the latest on this. greg, what are they expecting from this hostage release?

>> john, sandra, as you've been noting and showing, it's an impressive picture. lines of red cross ambulances ready to accept hostages being transported through what they call the rafah crossing, between southern gaza strip into egypt and then into israel. so far officially the israeli military have said there have been two dual nationals, israeli russians have been transferred, a mother and daughter combination. we could be looking at something like 12 in total tonight. we don't have that confirmed. we can't say that publicly. what we have been looking at, too, is more women and children being transported from the grips of the hamas terror group back into the safety of israel. if that comes to be true, we could be looking at 72 freed in gaza over the past six days, a good number as other nationals, dual nationals and foreigners

that have been transported. this all part of a very, very careful negotiation that you have been talking about, i know, involving israel, the united states, third parties go betweens for the hamas militants, including that ceasefire, a halt in fighting between israel and hamas for the past six days, and that is the next question as we continue to watch these ambulances who will be -- which will be taking these individuals from this location to an air base nearby, and then up to hospitals in this area and other area, the question is whether there will be a continued cessation of fighting which will allow the exchange of hostages. both israel and hamas have agreed on one thing during this troubled time and that is that they would like to see an extension, but israel has been very clear, it wants to be sure that there will be more hostages given up before they decide to

continue this break in their very, very strong war against hamas in the gaza strip, guys. >> john: on that front, in terms of extending the ceasefire, we know that antony blinken, secretary of state, said he would go to israel in the days ahead and talk with israeli leaders about extending the pause further than we have seen it so far. six days now, that about to come to an end. but i think it's likely the pause will continue. greg palkot, thank you. sandra. >> sandra: thank you, john. we are waiting to hear if more hostages will be released on the last day that truce extension. among those holding out hope is abby, grieving the death of two relatives killed by hamas last month. two others were just released by hamas. meanwhile, one is still being held hostage today. abby joins us now. welcome to you, and we are so sorry for everything that you and your family have been going

through and are going through. can you first tell us, give us an update on the two family members that were held hostage that have now been released. how are they doing? >> i was with their mother and two older siblings for us has been what we have been fighting for. they came home very skinny, malnourished with dark circles under their eyes and they, you know, the first thing they got was medical attention, they need to make sure everything is okay, they were not wounded, but they weren't fed and so we need to make sure that first and foremost that they were seen medically, but their home and they're whole, physically, at least. >> sandra: we are so glad they are back with their family and their mother, just 16 and 12 years old. we cannot imagine, even imagine

what they have gone through and what this process is going to be like for them getting back to their lives. at that same time, abbey, we have heard of stories of horrific things happening to these hostages while in captivity. >> right. >> sandra: is this something that they are talking about and sharing yet? obviously we just hope first and foremost for their health because we just don't know of any of their conditions when they are released. >> right. so, the instructions that we have gotten have to not ask them any questions, not interrogate them and let them talk at their own will and so we are kinds of waiting for them to take the lead. we know that -- we are hearing the same stories and so we are scared. we know without detail that this was a horrific experience and just terrifying and so we are making sure that they have all the space and all the love that

they need but the other piece, and you mentioned this, is that their healing won't be complete until we bring their father home and until we bring every one of the hostages home, and for these two kids who have gone through an unbelievably horrific thing, they need their father home, we need to bring him back. >> sandra: you've already lost two family members, aged 80 and 13, you have been through so much and now as you mentioned, another family member, 50 years old, correct, the father, is still being held hostage. are you getting any information about his possible release? >> no. look, i think -- i listened to the news report before this and about the complexities. it is so complex and even in this situation we advocated for release of children and babies, everyone agrees they have no part in war, it's harder when we advocate for men when any one of

us would say they are all humans, they are innocent civilians and each one of them has an equal right to be returned home. but more than that, we saw also some of the people returned were just hours away from death, one of the elderly women did not get her medicine, came home with low blood pressure, all of it, and we know, for example, herch goldberg poland is there having his arm blown off. we know people are cancer patients, they need their medicines and medical attention and they are not getting it. one of the terms of the ceasefire was that the icrc would be able to get in and see them and we don't have a sign of life for offar and for so many other hostages. >> sandra: 50 years old, we are right now awaiting for the next round of hostages to be releasend and i know you are holding out every minute of hope he will be among them.

my colleague, john roberts, he's going to join in on the conversation as we are waiting for the next batch of hostages to be released. >> john: abbey, thank you, we know the hardship you are going through. you mentioned herch goldberg poland a second ago, yesterday we talked with his mother rachel and the way she has been coping with this is to try to bring as much attention to the plight of the hostages as possible. she met with isaac herzog, met with elon musk, she has been to the united nations, been other places as well. another family who was recently returned, the way he coped, after a week of not being able to sleep and feeling helpless, he went to the defense ministry and camped out outside and created this wall of the missing there and attracted all of these other families of the hostages and families of the missing to his cause to make sure that it stayed top of mind for the

israeli government. with that in minds, how are you and your other family members coping with this? >> so, i can tell you that one of the ways we cope is we are one large family. you mentioned rachel goldberg, she and i did not know each other before october 7th and now we are each other's family. we understand what the other is going through and we are here, you know, she was one of the first messages i got when the children were released and how thrilled she was the children were back with their mother. even though it was not her son, we all feel the pain and the joy for one another, and similarly, i had a meeting, carmelo was an american citizen, i have met with president biden and secretary of state and senators and doing as much media, created a campaign with the national council for jewish women for people to write to their elected officials and asked my cousin to put together a guard of mothers, like a small protest outside one

of the main government military being -- buildings in tel aviv to raise their voices for the return of the hostages so we keep it top of mind at all time. >> sandra: abbey, as we try to understand the condition the hostages in when they are turned over and obviously respecting your privacy and the kids and everything they are going through, the world does need to know what is happening and how they are being treated. it is being reported now that while many of the hostages appeared to be physically stable when they were turned over, it is estimated that most lost up to 15% of their body weight while in captivity. some were even showing signs that they were afraid to raise their voices after their stay with the terrorists. is there anything you want to tell us or share us about their time in captivity that you've learned so far?

>> so far we know physically they lost a lot of weight. so that aligns with what we are hearing and seeing with everyone else that's returning, that there wasn't enough food, that there wasn't anything nutritious, often was not enough water, and we do know from the other reports that this was not as some people have described it, which was a nice place to stay, this was terror. they couldn't raise their voices, they were often made to watch things that they should never see, should have never happened, that they were held at gunpoint, they didn't have a bed to sleep in. you don't know if they were warm when they needed to be or cold when they needed to be, if they were seeing sunlight. it is unimaginable and for the 52 days they were there, i tried to not let myself think about it and now that they are out and numbers coming out, you are beginning to hear how much worse it's getting, right. a question of don't we feel so

happy for the releases and we do feel joy for them, but we understand that the process of dealing with those horrors has to begin now, and it's not a simple joy. it's a complicated one. >> john: you mentioned a moment ago, abbey, that you were given instructions by the israeli government not to interrogate the children who were released, that in their own time they'll probably come forward and begin to talk about their experience. have they mentioned anything in that regard up until now? >> no, basically we are making sure that they are physically whole and they are still in the hospital, still being looked at, and when we look at them, we can see, you can see how skinny they are, we can see how pale they are, we can see the bags under their eyes. what we can't see is their trauma, and that's what's going to take time, but we know it's there, and we know that they will take the lead in talking

and sharing and that we just need to have the right support in place for them when that happens. >> sandra: abbey, is there a message you would like to get out to the world as you watch this war continue and obviously watch this hostage situation continue to play out before all of our eyes? >> i think we have seen in the last seven weeks so much complexity, we have seen people ripping down posters of babies and children and civilians but now we see them coming home. they are real and this is a human issue. this is not military or governmental, these were civilians stolen from their beds, and i just want everyone that sees this to continue to say their names and to fight for them and to raise their voice until every single one of them is home. there's no success for us as a people or as a world if people are being held hostage against their will. it's just -- it's impossible for this to continue. >> sandra: well, we know that

you are still waiting and hoping for one additional family member to be released. we are sorry for the two you have lost and thankful for the two that have been returned home, and we will pray for them. abbey, thank you very much. >> thank you, thank you. >> john: and this bus appears to be arriving, sandra, at the rafah crossing, just turned off its lights. we'll watch here, it's pulling up between the ambulances here, the ones that are there to transport the 12 hostages back to an air base and then flown most likely, i would think, to tel aviv for medical treatment and assessment. and then the other ambulances that are there, i guess, really is a show of israeli solidarity with the hostages. let's bring back in adam boehler, who helped negotiate the abraham accords, and also negotiated with the taliban on behalf of the trump administration. you see what these families are going through, adam, and the anxiety and the grief and the

uncertainty. and then you think wow, if it's that bad being a family member of somebody taken hostage, must be hellish for the people who are actually held hostage. >> yeah, i mean, think about this, and abbey did a great job to bring it home for americans watching now. you are there, you are in your home, masked gunmen take away your children and family members and you don't know what happens to them. she said 52 days, and so we need to look as these hostages are being released right now, israel is doing this, it's not a strategic advantage, we should be very careful asking israel not to go in to southern gaza. united states has a policy not to negotiate with terrorists. why do we hold israel to a different standard? >> sandra: adam, as we look at what is happening right now before our eyes and we take in the hours and the days, there

are so many looking out and wondering what this region -- what these people will be dealing with, what life will be like when we come out of this. >> i think hopefully it's a post hamas world. that's going to take a while. what i hope, this is what israel needs, they need someone to step up in the gaza strip. people are saying they think the idf wants to occupy the gaza strip. couldn't be further from the truth. nobody wants the problem and so it goes to somebody like hamas. and frankly, i don't think the palestinian authority has the ability to govern. they can't handle the west bank, let alone the gaza strip. if we don't have somebody step up or israel does not eliminate hamas completely, there isn't a future. >> john: no one in israel is clamoring for abbas to take

over, it has to be somebody else. and the u.s. policy with not negotiating with hostages, it is u.s. government policy to deny hostage takers the benefits of ransom, prisoner releases, policy changes, or other acts of concession. you could argue as to whether or not at least this administration has adhered to that policy when you look at the latest iranian hostage/prisoner swap, and $6 billion in funds that was freed up. but as you pointed out, the u.s. is saying we don't negotiate with terrorists for hostages. and why should israel be held to a different standard. they lost more than 1200 people on october 7th from a murderous terrorist organization that has vowed to go back and do it again. and if hamas is allowed to stay in power and maintain its

military strength in gaza, then israel is just setting itself up for this to happen again and again and again. >> some of the dialogue in the united states makes it sound like hamas is a legitimate government. you have a ceasefire with terrorists, we have a long-term peace agreement -- who is the counter party. hamas does not represent a country. they are a terrorist organization. so would you have a long-term truce with al-qaeda, etc.? no, you eliminate the threat. >> john: let me ask you this question. you negotiated with the taliban, right, and the taliban are universally seen as bad guys. >> yes. >> john: how does hamas compare to total -- to the taliban? >> there are some similarities, they take action but clear guidelines. there is one really important difference. taliban is focused on afghanistan. hamas is not just focused on israel. they are focused on united states, they are a terror organization that's broader than that. and so it makes it even worse.

but both are very effective and both need to be dealt with in very specific ways. but hamas has broader designs that extend way beyond israel to the united states also. >> john: hamas has also dedicated to the destruction of the jewish state of israel. taliban just wanted to take over. >> they just want to take over afghanistan. doesn't mean they are good people either, just to be clear, but there is a difference between hamas and the taliban. both clear terrorist organizations. >> sandra: adam, highlighting on the right side of the screen pro palestinian protests that we have seen emerging all over the country, quite frankly, many here in new york city. this is happening right now. we are also told there is a planned disruption at the lighting of the rockefeller christmas tree that is happening tonight. what are your thoughts as we continue to see these emerge? >> i don't think they are pro palestinian.

they are pro-hamas. and i think people don't -- we have a group of people here that don't recognize that they're not out there representing the palestinians. the reason the situation exists is not israel. the reason the situation exists is because mass gunmen came over the border, killed 1200 people and then took 240 some odd people hostage and are holding them underground in tunnels. that's not israel that decided to do it, it's hamas that decided to do it. so, why is there -- why are there there palestinian children, people dying because of the israeli response? that's a hamas triggered response. they have palestinian blood on their hands. and hamas does not care. they are not about palestinians, it's about destruction. >> john: an update as to the status of the hostages, apparently two of the released hostages, this would be the dual citizen israeli russians, are in the custody of special forces,

idf special forces inside israeli territory. so they are checked out medically, debriefed in a cursory fashion before joining the other hostages for the trip back inside to the northern part of israel. but i wanted to ask you this question, adam, because we see these visuals of the hostages arriving here in israeli arms and the ambulances arrayed there with the lights flashing, it's a big sort of welcome home type of visual. at the same time, when hamas turns these hostages over, you see hamas fighters in crisp new uniforms with head bands and ak-47, looking like the benevolent group that is releasing these hostages, you'll see the fighters put their hands on the shoulders of some of the israelis and i've seen some of

the hostages shake that off as if to say don't try to pretend that you are good people. hamas is playing this for all it possibly can, to say look at this wonderful thing we are doing releasing the hostage. what is it as we watch the protest in new york city, what is it the world needs to keep in mind hamas has done here. >> hamas has gone into territory and killed innocent children and babies. they have killed and burned people. and the one thing the media doesn't show, they are showing in the united states and hamas is very good at playing victimization, the victims here. but how about the palestinian prisoners that were in jails being released. because you have chants of hamas, hamas, and celebrations from that perspective. you had celebrations when israeli civilians were dead. last i checked, i didn't see any celebrations in israel over

palestinians dying. that's not how it works. so you have a situation where if israel lays down arms today, hamas annihilates israel. if hamas lays down arms today, a whole bunch of hostages are released, and there's peace. that's what the world needs to know. >> sandra: adam, what we do know, too, as we see the walkouts and protests, this one in new york city, that it has revealed a lot since the initial attack of october 7th. it's revealed a lot about what is happening here. it's revealed a lot about people all over the world. >> you know what i will tell you, i have to say, i think that i would rather antisemitism be on the surface than hidden. because a lot of times i think what are the conditions that led to the holocaust in pre-war germany and i think it was because it was hidden. bring it to the surface. i would rather see it because then it could -- we can deal with it so in some ways i don't

mind this. because it was always there. >> john: quite a speech that chuck schumer gave on the senate floor earlier today about all of this. >> yes. and you can see, that's a bipartisan effort. chuck knows the situation in new york, he sees what's happening right here, and so i think we need to be very clear about this. this is anti-terror, that's something that should be bipartisan, it's something that all -- we have lived it. we lived it on september 11th, we lived it, don't forget that. that's what israel is living right now, and so you don't have to be against palestinian people, you don't have to be happy when palestinian people die, you just have to recognize that this is driven by hamas, and we need to eliminate that situation or else it's never going to be good for the palestinians. >> sandra: all right, so we are going to watch these live pictures, this is new york city, screen right. screen right, the ofer prison west bank, as we await the

hostages and information about them. in the meantime, greg palkot is live in tel aviv for us with the latest from there. greg, what can you tell us? >> sandra, i think it's important you are showing these images to our viewers. it is a very carefully choreographed process here, something like 12 hostages are expected to be released by hamas across the border, it's the rafah crossing going to egypt and then brought by ambulance and other vehicles to an air base nearby, flown up here probably to many hospitals that have been treating the hostages already in tel aviv at the same time, for this 10 or 12 released from gaza, there are releases from the prison in the west bank containing palestinian prisoners, and the balance of that is something like 10 israelis for 30 palestinians and

in the same manner as we have been seeing to a huge extent women and children being released from gaza, that is the same thing that will be happening in the west bank with the palestinian prisoners. the israelis need to see, need to wait to see the hostage come across the border between -- from the gaza and they will start the process. and so you have been seeing, along with the protest image, you have been seeing ambulances waiting on both ends of this area, on both sides of this conflict. as we await one more thing, sandra, and that is the word on whether the ceasefire will continue. remember, it's been six days, six nights of releases and there is word both from israel and hamas that they are willing to extend it and there could be enough women and children hostages to extends it at least for 1, 2, maybe three days, and israel has been very defiant,

though, sandra, they need to see the names, the proof that there will be something coming from gaza for them to stop the war. i think -- i think the important thing we have been seeing again and hearing today as the hostages have come out, no one, of course, has been speaking openly with the public, hearing from the families of these hostages, what kinds of a horrible scene that they went through for weeks and weeks. very little food, very little sleep, being beaten at times, being forced to watch videos of the torture, it has been not -- it has been a horrible time for the hostages in the gaza strip and understanding the importance of getting them out of there. the doctors have said they are in generally good condition but especially with the elderly, the older hostages, some serious medical concerns and psychological harm to deal with

as well, sandra. >> sandra: on that note as the viewers can see the bottom of the screen, the idf has just confirmed two released hostages, they are now in israeli territory, they are with idf special forces inside israeli territory, we are now told. and the isa forces are currently with them. they have been -- the hostages have been released. they are undergoing an initial medical assessment right now. the idf soldiers are going to continue to accompany them, we are told, to hospitals where they will be reunited with their families. two hostages back in israeli territory. that just happening. john. >> john: let's bring in katie pavlich, editor of town hall.com, and fox news contributor. katie, as we watch all of this unfold here, right now the camera is on the ofer prison in the west bank, we expect another 30 convicted palestinians will

be released back into freedom in the west bank. we had the pictures coming to us from the rafah crossing as ten israeli hostages are expected to join the two that sandra was just talking about, and the pictures of new york city of the pro palestinian/anti-israel rally. what are your thoughts as we watch this all unfold? >> well, on the final day of the ceasefire, unless it's extended, of course, you are also seeing video out of the gaza strip of again every time the hostages have been transported by the red cross, crowds of palestinians living in gaza taunting them, yelling at them, yesterday there were reports that the egyptian military had to intervene to make sure the hostages were not harmed whether they were transferred. you have hamas trying to protect them from these mobs to hold up their end of the hostage deal. that is something also that is being put into place here when it comes to the psychological

warfare. the white house released a statement saying jake sullivan had a meeting with the head of the red cross, they talked about putting more aid into gaza, and expressed that they wanted to highlight the fact that hamas was still holding american hostages. as we have seen over the course of the past few days, one american has been released and hamas is holding at least two more. that is something that will be stressed when it comes to the ongoing negotiations whether israel will agree to additional days of a ceasefire in exchange for hostages. and john as you mentioned, looking at the prison in the west bank, these are not children taken from their homes, not women who had their children stolen from them or their husbands slaughtered in front of them when they were taking to the gaza strip, these are convicted or accused terrorists who, for example, tried to blow up a car bomb unsuccessfully, so-called children, teenagers who tried to kill jews in the west bank and in other places

throughout israel. so here we are with this contrast of the exchange of innocent people who were taken from their homes with terrorists because israel and the americans believe in preserving life rather than, you know, going forward and trying to do this without getting those people out. but we are on the last day here and negotiations are ongoing in qatar. a number of people went there to negotiate, and see what happens after the ceasefire is to expire over three hours israel time. >> sandra: katie, thank you for joining us, the two released hostages through the idf, we know they are israeli russians, irana tati, 73 years old, and her daughter, 50 years old, and pray for their condition as they are turned over for their

medical assessments and will head off to area hospitals where they will meet up with their families. as we learn more information about these hostages, katie, we were just on the live shots here in new york city where we continue to see these protests and disruptions and as i just noted earlier, one planned right down the street here in rock center tonight for the christmas tree lighting. just your thought on this moment, more hostages released, thank god, but these protests still popping up in places like new york city and all over the country. >> well, i think it's really important to remind everybody of what these so-called pro palestinian protestors are really protesting, advocating for. these protests broke out in the aftermath of the october 7th terrorist attack where again, innocent civilians were burned, maimed, babies shot in their cribs, etc., and this is something that they are now

going out and equating with the palestinian cause. and if you talk to palestinian peace activists, there are a few of, they say they do not represent what they are trying to achieve here and if you truly believe in freedom for palestinians, you have to rid them of the scourge of the terrorist organizations, hamas included, in addition to palestinian islamic jihad and others in the best bank and gaza strip to make that future a possibility. when it comes to the way they are disrupting, going after christmas three lightings, going to the funeral of the former first lady to disrupt there, disrupting when president biden is out in nantucket over thanksgiving, they are willing to go everywhere and anywhere to prove their support for what happened on october 7thp and again, equating these two things. they are not condemning what happened, we saw in oakland, california, yesterday, a number

of people show up at a city council meeting saying that all these atrocities didn't even happen despite all the evidence showing to the contrary. and so i think it's really important to highlight and be clear about what these people are asking for and what they are advocating for and that is that they don't believe israel has the right to exist. they are fine with what happened on october 7th and they see hamas not as a terrorist organization but as a political movement that they believe is justified for the sake of violent resistance. and so do with that what you will, but that is something that you are seeing in cities all across the country. >> sandra: katie, and just to confirm, 73, and 50 years old, mother and daughter, the protests on the right side of the screen, they continue at this hour and that is the ofer

prison left side. katie, thank you for joining us. >> john: thanks, katie, appreciate it. just ahead -- a quick break, but on the other side of that, lieutenant general keith kellogg will join us as well as arkansas senator tom cotton as we await the release of ten israelis held hostage some 53 days by hamas. stay with us. [city ambience sou] [car screech] [car door slam] [camera shutter sfx] introducing ned's plaque psoriasis. [camera shutter sfx] he thinks his flaky, red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. [ned?] it can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing it for nearly a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting.

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