This is John Batchelor, conversation with colleague David Diyud of the Foundation for the Defense

of Democracies about the defeated Hamas and the hostages. The story is no longer above the fold

in the New York Times, but it is a concern. Approximately 100 hostages unaccounted for. Half are said to be

deceased. The families want their remains back.

The others are with us, but we do not know their condition. It cannot be positive.

Hamas is not negotiating in any fashion that is transparent or sensible. David comments at length

about this.

Hezbollah is defeated. The Houthis are rogue. Iran is quiet and backing up, backing on

its heels, and Syria's chaos, the hostages. Israel wants them back, the U.S. wants them back,

and President Trump, President-elect Trump has said they better be back by the 20th or.

Here's David D'Aud on what we know right now.

More of this tonight.

So, yeah, you're right.

They're certainly not in the position to negotiate.

They were both internally because they've taken a year- long plus drubbing at the hands of the Israelis,

but also because their allies are kind of dropping like flies right now.

So that leaves them in a more vulnerable position.

What I've seen basically is almost stop and go.

One day you hear there's progress and Hamas has been willing to even make concessions

on Israeli true presence, at least temporarily in Gaza, and then you hear kind of things swing

back. There's hostages names released and then there's, you know, the names of the hostages

that has Hamas intends to release are basically put forward.

...