1 00:00:02,366 --> 00:00:05,000 VIVIAN SALAMA: Despite his best efforts, President Trump did not win this year's Nobel Peace Prize, 2 00:00:07,100 --> 00:00:10,000 the award he has long coveted and lobbied for since his first term in the White House. If 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,633 there's a silver lining for the president, the award is typically given for achievements made 4 00:00:14,633 --> 00:00:19,633 the previous year. So, in 2026, Trump may be a stronger candidate because of what could be 5 00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:26,033 a historic deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas that ends the fighting in Gaza. 6 00:00:27,966 --> 00:00:31,933 The ceasefire is underway and the last of the Israelis still held hostage are 7 00:00:34,033 --> 00:00:37,133 set to be released as early as next week. But enormous challenges remain even as the 8 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,666 bombs fell silent. Gaza is largely demolished and trust on both sides is deeply fractured, 9 00:00:44,133 --> 00:00:47,466 making the road to lasting peace in the region fragile. 10 00:00:47,466 --> 00:00:52,433 Joining me tonight to discuss this and more, Nancy Cordes is chief White House correspondent for CBS, 11 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,500 David Ignatius, a foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post, Jonathan Karl is the chief 12 00:01:00,633 --> 00:01:04,666 Washington correspondent for ABC News and the author of the soon to be released book, 13 00:01:06,766 --> 00:01:09,700 Retribution, Donald Trump, and the Campaign That Changed America, and Mark Mazzetti is 14 00:01:11,833 --> 00:01:15,100 a Washington correspondent at The New York times. Thank you all so much for joining me. 15 00:01:15,100 --> 00:01:19,833 David, I want to start with you. You had a really gripping piece yesterday in The Washington Post 16 00:01:19,833 --> 00:01:24,833 where you started it off by saying, war's end is like waking up from a nightmare. It was so 17 00:01:26,866 --> 00:01:29,733 striking. Can you kind of take us behind the scenes into the contours of this plan, 18 00:01:29,733 --> 00:01:33,133 what we can expect to see in the coming weeks and months? 19 00:01:33,133 --> 00:01:36,933 DAVID IGNATIUS, Columnist, The Washington Post: So, as you said, the guns did fall silent today 20 00:01:36,933 --> 00:01:41,933 with the Israeli Knesset approving the deal. The ceasefire has begun. Israeli troops have 21 00:01:44,333 --> 00:01:48,200 begun a partial withdrawal. They'll still occupy about half of Gaza. And we've now begun a 72-hour 22 00:01:52,166 --> 00:01:57,133 process, a window in which the hostages are to be released, 20 living, the remains of 28 dead. And 23 00:02:02,466 --> 00:02:07,466 many Palestinian prisoners, probably well over a thousand, will be released. And aid will, in 24 00:02:11,433 --> 00:02:16,433 theory, surge back into Gaza ending the terrible suffering, we hope, of the Palestinian people. 25 00:02:21,266 --> 00:02:26,266 This is phase one of the deal. What's still left is everything else. And those 26 00:02:28,300 --> 00:02:31,700 are all the crucial things for the future stability of Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, 27 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,866 the transitional governance, in which technocrats will take over governance of the enclave, 28 00:02:41,833 --> 00:02:46,833 and a process that will hopefully provide security for the people of Gaza with international help. 29 00:02:49,033 --> 00:02:52,833 Just to say one personal thing, I felt today watching the scenes, I was in Gaza in November 30 00:02:56,333 --> 00:03:01,300 a month after the October 7th attack that began this terrible war. And I 31 00:03:03,066 --> 00:03:06,833 watched as the civilian population of Gaza City streamed out of Gaza City, 32 00:03:08,933 --> 00:03:12,500 moving south, moving, they hope, towards safety. It was just a scene of desperation. Today, 33 00:03:14,566 --> 00:03:18,666 I saw pictures of a line as long as that one I saw in November moving back from the 34 00:03:20,866 --> 00:03:25,633 south toward Gaza City, and I had a sense of, I hope, the beginning of an ending of this war. 35 00:03:27,733 --> 00:03:32,300 VIVIAN SALAMA: The beginning of an end, and certainly so many challenges ahead, but still 36 00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:37,266 the White House seems cautiously optimistic. Nancy, you were there this afternoon. Take 37 00:03:37,266 --> 00:03:41,266 us behind the scenes. How's the president feeling about all of this and as well as those around him? 38 00:03:41,266 --> 00:03:43,700 NANCY CORDES, Chief White House Correspondent, CBS News: Yes, I, the president is pumped. I was in 39 00:03:43,700 --> 00:03:48,200 the Oval Office with him a few hours ago. He likes to talk about the fact that people are dancing in 40 00:03:50,366 --> 00:03:53,400 the streets, not just in Israel and in Gaza, but around the Middle East. But behind the scenes, 41 00:03:55,500 --> 00:04:00,100 I would say that senior advisers are nervous because they will say openly that there are 42 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,600 still so many things that can go wrong. And so they are on high alert diplomatically to 43 00:04:08,266 --> 00:04:12,100 try to troubleshoot, you know, the details of this very fragile plan, 44 00:04:14,033 --> 00:04:16,866 especially in the early days where they know they've seen this movie before. Phase 45 00:04:16,866 --> 00:04:21,866 one started off well, the last time that they created a multi-stage plan, and then fell apart, 46 00:04:23,966 --> 00:04:27,600 and we saw seven months of some of the worst fighting of this entire war. And so the hope 47 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,600 is that if problems do pop up, they're better prepared this time to find ways to solve them. 48 00:04:34,666 --> 00:04:38,033 VIVIAN SALAMA: I mean, Jon, this is objectively a very momentous moment. Just to get a permanent 49 00:04:39,833 --> 00:04:44,400 ceasefire that both sides agree to is huge. President Biden had tried 50 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,400 for the year-and-a-half or so, more than that actually, that he was in office and fell short 51 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:56,033 on getting that ceasefire to hold, even temporary ceasefires. President Trump comes in. He says that 52 00:04:58,133 --> 00:05:02,633 the war would never have even started if he was president. Of course that is hard to qualify, 53 00:05:02,633 --> 00:05:06,800 but he got it done. He said he was going to get it done and he got it done. What do you 54 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,200 think changed? What's different between both presidents and just the time that's passed? 55 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,033 JONATHAN KARL, Chief Washington Correspondent, ABC News: Well, first, it is an incredible moment. I 56 00:05:15,033 --> 00:05:20,033 mean, just to see the -- as David mentioned, the lines going back into Northern Gaza, 57 00:05:22,866 --> 00:05:27,866 aid about to be resumed, you know, hopefully an end to the famine, an end to one of the 58 00:05:29,966 --> 00:05:34,500 worst humanitarian crises of our time, an end to the war. I mean, Bibi Netanyahu had announced, 59 00:05:37,833 --> 00:05:42,833 you know, an offensive, a major offensive into Gaza City, some of the worst fighting, 60 00:05:45,033 --> 00:05:48,900 worst Israeli attacks of the war. And now you have, as the agreement says, the war will end. 61 00:05:53,666 --> 00:05:58,666 It is -- you know, look, Trump is the person that made this come together. Trump is the one who, 62 00:06:02,700 --> 00:06:07,700 on one hand, gave the green light to the Israelis to do all they did. There was no talk of holding 63 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:14,033 back weapons, but also pressured the Israelis. I mean, this 20-point plan 64 00:06:16,033 --> 00:06:18,866 includes the statement and immediate end of the war at a time when Netanyahu was 65 00:06:18,866 --> 00:06:23,866 absolutely not wanting to end this war or wanting to continue this war, and it also says amnesty, 66 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,733 amnesty for members of Hamas who commit to peaceful coexistence, amnesty. So, 67 00:06:34,133 --> 00:06:39,133 that -- Bibi Netanyahu does not sign on to something like this without immense pressure, 68 00:06:40,966 --> 00:06:44,533 and Donald Trump can pressure Netanyahu in a way that Biden simply could not. 69 00:06:44,533 --> 00:06:46,700 VIVIAN SALAMA: Now, President Trump was asked today at the White House 70 00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:49,400 about the ceasefire. Here's what he said. 71 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,766 REPORTER: And how confident are you that the ceasefire will hold? 72 00:06:53,766 --> 00:06:54,633 DONALD TRUMP, U.S. President: I think it'll hold, yes. I think it'll hold. 73 00:06:56,233 --> 00:06:58,233 They're all tired of the fighting.