Moment, jim jordan has indicated if he gets the votes to become nominated as speaker, he wants to ensure this wont go ballot after ballot after ballot that he can get 217 votes on the floor. Simply to get nominated by the conference, you need a majority of the 221 members. Jordan does not want to go to a situation like we saw with Speaker Mccarthy in january, 15 ballots, that messy process. Which why is theyre trying to sort this out Behind Closed Doors. The question is, can either jordan or scalise get there . The expectation is that they can. Well see if they ultimately can. Manu, thanks so much. Coverage continues with wolf blitzer and the situation. Happening now, Breaking News. Gaza under fire as israel unleashes new air strikes and says hamas Terror Attacks have killed at least 1,000 people in israel. The war taking a rising toll on both sides with at least 900 now reported dead in gaza. Hamas launching a new barrage of rockets toward israel as gruesome details emerge about the terror groups surprise attack. Israeli forces uncovering new evidence of women and children brutally massacred. Tonight, President Biden forcibly condemning the hamas attack, calling it pure, unadulterated evil. The white house confirming at least 14 americans are among the dead and 20 or more u. S. Citizens may be hostages of hamas right now in gaza. Four days after the initial assault by hamas, an untold number of people are missing, leaving families in anguish. Some are sharing heartbreaking stories with cnn this hour. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. This is cnn Breaking News. Theres more Breaking News unfolding this hour as hamas has been targeting an israeli coastal city near gaza. We have our Correspondent Standing by there and other key locations, including the white house, where President Biden just voiced support for israel in the strongest terms yet. Lets begin with cnns chief International Correspondent, clarissa ward, joining us from israel right now. Whats happening on the ground where you are tonight . Reporter a couple hours ago we heard a Hotel Announcement telling people to stay in their rooms, that there was a belief some militants may be around the area. We subsequently could hear an Apache Helicopter gunship overhead. We could hear some bursts of machine gunfire. The Israeli Defense forces had put out an alert saying that three militants were killed in some kind of a shootout backed by a drone, backed by that Apache Gunship in the askelon industrial center. This coming on the heels of a relentless afternoon of barrage after barrage after barrage of rockets. Hamas had issued a warning essentially saying that everybody should try to civilians should leave the city by 5 00 p. M. , that they were going to deliver retribution for the forced displacement of civilians in gaza. And at 5 partly cloudy on the dot as we saw for ourselves an onslaught of rockets began and basically continued on and off for many hours. The sirens on and off. The Iron Dome Doing A pretty formidable job of intercepting the vast majority of those rockets. So it has been a long night for the people of ashkelon. Its been quiet the last hour about the its not over yet. Good point, the iron dome is saving a lot of israeli lives right now. There is a clear sense of what israels next move will be . Reporter the obvious speculation right now is whether or not israel will go ahead with some kind of a Ground Offensive in gaza. That has been thn of many people, just based on the amount of weaponry and hardware and Military Personnel being deployed to that area along the border. Obviously, it is somewhat complicated by the fact that you have dozens and dozens of hostages being held in the gaza strip. What that would mean for their security remains a real question. And so its difficult, frankly, to know exactly what the next step is going to be. And i want to underscore something as well, wolf. Today we had heard originally from Israeli Forces earlier in the day that they believe all hamas militants who had successfully infiltrated that border had either been killed or captured or eliminated in some way. And yet throughout the day, we continue to see skirmishes along the border, the incident that i mentioned to you just a couple of hours ago here in ashkelon i think really kind of emphasizing just how much Israeli Forces have their hands full with a number of different threats, wolf. Clarisa, i want our viewers to listen to one israeli general describe the aftermath of the hamas attack on one israeli kibbutz. Hundreds of terrorists, full gear, with all the men and all the ability, make a massacre. Go from apartment to apartment, room to room, and kill babies, mothers in their bedrooms. I had in my childhood, the holocaust of course, all my family came from europe and their survival, et cetera, et cetera. I never thought i would see in my eyes pictures and things like this. Clarisa, is the full scope of the brutality of the hamas Terror Attack on israel still coming into focus right now . Reporter i think, honestly, its really just coming into focus. Its important to remember that for the last few days, it hasnt been possible to get near to many of these areas. Nic robertson was there today at the kibbutz that you just referenced. We visited the site of the supernova Music Festival a couple of days ago. But it was still incredibly dangerous, very tense situations. The Israeli Military wanted us to get out of there very quickly. As you know, when youre going through and trying to document what may a lot of time, a lot of effort. We are only just now starting to get the opportunity to really go in and try to put together a fuller picture based on eyewitness accounts, based on what we can see on the ground, based on some of these social media videos that need to be verified of exactly the horrors that transpired. Clarissa ward, stay safe there at ashkelon, thank you very much. Cnns International Correspondent ben wedeman in jerusalem, give us a sense of situation inside gaza tonight. Reporter what weve seen is continued israeli air strikes throughout the gaza strip. This is really just a continuation of what weve been seeing throughout the last few days. The israelis say that they have managed to kill a political leader of the hamas movement, but also being killed are many civilians. At this point, the death toll stands at at least 900 with about 4,500 wounded. The hospitals are overwhelmed at the moment. The u. N. The hosting as many as 175,000 people who have been displaced in gaza, taking shelter in u. N. Schools that have been turned into shelters, providing some food, some sense of relative safety for those people who are fleeing the fighting. In addition to that, the Palestinian Government in gaza is saying that at least 170 buildings have been totally destroyed, along with thousands of other residential units that have been seriously damaged. Now, what were seeing is that we heard earlier today the Israeli Military telling palestinians in gaza that they should leave the gaza strip. They had to somewhat step back on that statement because the egyptians clearly did not want a flood of palestinians entering that country. So most people have to stay put and hope that they can survive. Heres what one Palestinian Woman told cnn just a little while ago. Translator last evening was the most difficult evening we had. Us who live in the tower. They bombarded all the areas around us. The floor was shaking, everything. The windows, the glasses were shaking, the floor was shaking. Everything was shaking in the house. My children survived with a miracle by god. What is our fault . What did my children do . Theres no electricity, internet, food, or water. Why . Reporter many of these people like this woman really feel that theyre caught in the middle. Many in gaza do not support hamas. But they dont have any choice, they dont have the opportunity, the chance to leave, and therefore they just have to stick it out and hope they can survive. Ben wedeman, thank you very much. Here in washington, President Biden spoke by phone today with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. And then he spoke to the American People about the war against hamas. Our senior White House CorrespondentKayla Tausche is joining us right now from the white house. She has details. Kayla, what was the president s message today . Reporter wolf, it was a forceful rebuke of terrorism and antisemitism and a message that the u. S. Can and will do everything in its power to provide support to israel. In the near term, that is replenishing ammunition and interceptors and requesting more from congress when it returns. The u. S. Is also providing Hostage Recovery Expertise for the Hostage Situation that is happening on the ground. Though theres still an unconfirmed number of american hostages, the administration has said that there are 20 or more americans that are considered missing at this moment. In his remarks today, President Biden increased the death toll of americans to 14 among the thousands of civilians killed. President biden said they were not just killed, they were slaug slaughtered. The brutality of hamas, the Blood Firstiness brings to mind the worst, the worst rampages of isis. This is terrorism. But sadly, for the jewish people, its not new. This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and genocide. Israel has the right to respond, indeed has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks. Democracies like israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. Terrorists purposely target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war, the law of war. It matters. Theres a difference. Any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of the situation i have one word. Dont. Dont. Reporter the u. S. Is actively engaged in Contingency Planning to avoid in case the conflict escalates, but also engaging in deterrence to try and keep that from happening. Jake sullivan, the National Security adviser, today said the deployment of a Carrier Striker to the mediterranean was not in direct response to hamas, it was to send a message to the region not to widen the war. Officials say there could still be more assets that are deployed to the region for that very same purpose. Meanwhile, here at home there are worries about increasing domestic threats. Homeland security and fbi stepping up security around big cities and Jewish Centers of life. President biden noting that local state and federal Law Enforcement is on enhanced watch, essentially, for this. Biden saying theres no place for hate in america. Wolf . Second day in a row the president of the United States has been warning about an increase of potential antisemitic incidents at jewish synagogues, schools, other areas of high jewish concentration here in the United States. Well watch that part of the story as well. Kayla tausche, thank you very much. A United Nations envoy Estimates Hamas is holding as many as 150 hostages right now in gaza. Cnns Becky Anderson is in tel aviv with more on this part of the story. Youve been talking with relatives of some of those captured or killed by hamas. What are they telling you . Reporter we heard from the families of four americans today who are presumed hostages with hamas in gaza. One of those is sagi deckal shen, a 35yearold young man with two kids and a baby on the way. His wife is pregnant. They lived at the kibbutz which has been completely annihilated by the hamas mill tappeds who rampaged through that kib buttes on saturday morning. His father, jonathan, says his son hasnt been heard of since saturday morning. This is what he told me earlier. He is appearing alongside the other families that we met today for help from the u. S. Government. There are well over 130 hostages or, like my son, simply people that we have no information whatsoever about. And so it really would be a kind of partnership, but a partnership in a just cause. These are civilians. These are farmers, teach ers. Regular people like my son who had dreams, have dreams. And this is not this is not the future any of us want. Reporter the bottom line is that these families as i say, we heard from four families. Their stories echoed amongst so many people that we have spoken to. Theyve heard little to nothing from the Israeli Government and nothing from the u. S. Government. And they are appealing on behalf of the members of their families who are presumed taken hostage. We are talking here about a 23yearold whose parents we met today who had been at this party in the desert on saturday morning when he was taken by hamas gunmen. Zagi, a 35yearold, and we met a 66yearold lady whose son spoke today. The father of a 19yearold dual citizen, american israeli, captured as well. They want the u. S. Government to work with whoever it takes to help get these hostages released. We do know there is some talk behind the scenes that cqatar gt The Five Americans released the qataris were very much involved in that, it sounds like they may be behind the scenes working to try to mediate something at this point. The frustration was palpable today, wolf. Absolutely palpable. Theyve heard nothing, and they need support. That was their message. So heartbreaking, indeed. Becky anderson in tel aviv, thank you. Just ahead, how far will the United States go to support israel and its war against hamas . As americans are among those killed or captured in these Terror Attack the . Ill speak live with a key white house official, john kirby standing by live. Following Breaking News out of israel as hamas attacks ininflict more death and damage. Tonight, President Biden says the United States stands with the israelis against what he calls pure, unadulterated evil. Joining us now from the white house, National SecurityCouncil Coordinator for Strategic Communications john kirby. Thanks for joining us. Hamas could be holding 20, maybe more, american hostages right now in gaza. I understand the administration is in contact with the families, and the president said hes sending experts to assist in Hostage Recovery. Can you expand on what that actually means . How actively involved is the u. S. Right now in trying to bring these american citizens home . Its early days right now, and we dont have a lot of information about where they are, what condition theyre being held, if theyre being moved around. We have to remember, this is an active war zone, which makes any Hostage Recovery effort that much more difficult. Were obviously going to be sellinsell i developing options, looking at uponties how we can get them back with their families, communicating with the israelis. Theyre on the ground, theyre closer to it, they have contacts we could benefit from. Were having active conversations with the israelis about what theyre seeing. Second thing, weve offered to provide Hostage Recovery Expertise that we have here in the United States. I recognize the israelis are good at this too, but weve got terrific experts in the Law Enforcement community, Intelligence Community, the United States military. We have offered to the israelis advice, counsel, any of that expertise they might find useful. So were going to work at this very, very hard. You heard Jake Sullivan talk about this. Theres no greater priority to President Biden than the safety and security of americans overseas, and were going to keep at this work. They belong to be freed. We call on hamas to release them now. Short of that, well do everything we can to get them back with their families. Jake sullivan, the president s National Security adviser. As you know, President Biden today gave a very sharp warning to other governments and organizations in the middle east to not attempt to take any advantage of this Current Situation in israel. Is there any reason to think that is currently being attempted by various organizations and governments in the region . Well, weve certainly seen some worrisome activity by hezbollah, Rocket Attacks from lebanon into northern israel. Certainly been paying attention to their rhetoric. So were concerned that any other actor, be it a terrorist group, be it a nation state, might think this is a Good Opportunity to take advantage as israel fights against these Hamas Terrorists. And thats the message were sending. Dont do it. One of the big reasons why the president ordered the Carrier Strike group from the uss gerald r. Ford, into the Eastern Mediterranean was that message. Weve got National Security interests at play, and we mean to protect and defend them. I listened to the president s speech, very important speech at the white house. He did not ask israel to be restrained, at least not publicly, in its attacks against hamas. Is the white house concerned about the impact that the air strikes and the possible Ground Invasion of gaza will have on the civilian population in gaza . We dont want to see any more civilian lives taken, wolf, or any more civilian wounded or injured. Theres been enough, particularly with these more than 1,000 murders of Israeli Citizens in their own homes, in their own neighborhoods. We dont want to see any more innocent civilian lives lost. The focus right now, we believe, is solidly and should be solidly behind making sure that israel has the capabilities, tools, weapons it needs to defend itself, to defend itself citizens against hamas. The president also said today he will ask congress to provide aid for what he walled our critical partners. Does the white house want aid for israel and ukraine specifically to be tied together . Were working with congress to make sure that the needs of both countries, both key partners, are fulfilled. Ukraine aid, weve put a supplement on the hill, a request for 24 billion for aid to ukraine. We want to see that filled. Were talking to congress about that. Were talking to congress about the possibility we may need additional funding to support israel. Right now, we have authorities and appropriations in the near term to take care of the needs that israel is probably going to have in the next days, weeks. But we cant take that for granted, so were having conversations with congress. Whether theres going to be a tie, those are all part of the discussions wire having with members of congress. The important thing, wolf, is that both countries need our help. We are in a unique position and more than capable of helping them both. And were going to have to were going to want, need congressional support, bipartisan support for both efforts. John kirby at the white house, thank you very much for that update. Coming up, are, families are sharing harrowing stories of their loved ones who were killed or taken hostage by hamas. Youre going to hear from the relatives of a young man whos missing after the attack on a Music Festival in israel. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. Heres why you should switch from chrome to duckduckgo. Duckduckgo is a browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. Unlike chrome, the Duckduckgo Browser has privacy builtin. It comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesnâ– t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. And theres no catch. Its free. We make money from ads, but they dont follow you around. Join the millions of people taking back their privacy by Downloading Duckduckgo On Mobile and desktop today. Were back with more on the Breaking News were following. Israel striking back at hamas as the death toll from saturdays brutal attack hits more than 1,000 people in israel. Lets get a live report from Jeremy Diamond. Give us the latest, jeremy. Reporter today we set out to do a story of The Hundreds Of Thousands of military reservists and this massive Military Buildup that israel is preparing for. As we set out to do this story along the gaza border and israeli communities here, one thing became clear that this is a very volatile, very unstable situation even before the next phase of israels military campaign, whatever it may be, reveals itself. Whether it was rockets flying overhead as we were in the city of sderot, or a firefight we caught, this is a very unstable, uncertain situation. Three days after hundreds of hamas militants infiltrated israel, Israeli Forces are still fighting to eliminate the threat. We are outside the israeli town of mythalseem where we have been hearing repeated exchanges of gunfire the last ten minutes or so. We havent seen exactly who they are between, but we know Israeli Forces have been continuing to try and clear some of these israeli towns around the gaza strip from those hamas militants. The idf later confirming they killed two Hamas Terrorists in the battle. Minutes after it ended, Israeli Defense forces rushing a casualty into an ambulance. The south track to life in most israeli communities around the gaza strip today wasnt gunfire, but rockets. In sderot, the booms punctuate the stillness of the day. Just coming to a shelter here where we can take cover from iron dome interceptions. Theyre intercepting active rockets coming in from gaza. The booms are very loud, theyre directly overhead. 20 minutes later, another barrage of rockets headed for the city of ashkelon. Were in the city of sderot where we can see that barrage that hamas promised at 5 00 p. M. Appearing to head over in the direction of ashkelon. That is exactly where hamas officials said about an hour ago that they would fire rockets in that direction. But there is also another sound in towns like sderot. Israeli troops and reservists mobilizing to the gaza front. Part of a massive callup of more than 300,000 reserve tr troops, preparations for a potential Ground Invasion of gaza. For some, this moment feels different. Then we came in with a concept of full control. This one started with obviously more confusion and the Playing Field is different. But i think in the last two days, the momentum has shifted. Reporter an entire Country Springing into action with those out of uniform bringing food and supplies to troops. After days of tragedy, also a sense of resilience. Im not afraid at all, she said. When it will be my time, it will be my time. Wolf, late tuesday evening, the israel Defense Forces also now confirming that the first shipments of advanced u. S. Weaponry provided by the United States in the wake of hamas attack this past weekend has now arrived in israel. It arrived at the Nevatim Air Base in southern israel. The idf did not say what kind of weaponry was being provided, simply that it is, quote, designed to facilitate significant Military Operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios. Wolf . Jeremy, thank you for that report, Jeremy Diamond reporting. Families of People Killed or kidnapped by hamas are sharing very wrenching accounts of their final conversations with them. Were learning of their fate on social media. Brian todd is tracking this part of the story for us. How are they coping with these truly horrible developments right now in israel . Reporter some of them are barely coping, others are being very stoic. New and jarring accounts from relatives of the hostages. Viewers, some of you may find video in this story disturbing. This is 25yearold nara agamani screaming dont kill me as shes taken away on a motorcycle. Her father yakub reporter it was noa, frightened and threatened. You dont want to believe it, even though you can clearly city its your daughter. Reporter 12yearold ares calderon, shoved around and taken away by militants who attacked a kibbutz. Hes one of five members of gaia calderons family who are missing. I say to hamas, taking him, grab him it was so hard to watch it. I have to protect my brother and my life. It was so, so hart. Reporter ifat zeiler told cnn this is her cousin and cousins babies, 9 months old, 3 years old, being kidnapped. She broke down. I want my family back. Please, i want my family back. I try to be strong and stoic and speak clearly. But im devastated. Reporter the parents of 23yearold Hirsch Goldberg poland say witnesses told them their son is a hero, throwing grenades back out of a bomb shelter. Hirschs arm from the elbow down was severed, blown off. Reporter they say hirsch managed to walk out of the shelter but was then taken away. Yoni asher is looking for his wife and young daughters after seeing them in this video, a scarf placed on his wifes head as theyre taken away on a cart. He describes the last moment he spoke with his wife. She told me that the terrorists of hamas entered the house, and later on, the conversation was disconnected. Reporter ricardo luc found out her daughter had been abducted on social media. The video shows her daughter, shani, unconscious in the back of a Pickup Truck Being paraded around by armed militants. It looks very bad. But i still have hope. I hope that they dont take bodies for negotiations. I hope that shes still alive somewhere. Reporter hamas is now threatening to execute civilian hostages and broadcast those executions if israel targets people in gaza without warning. Israeli Rescue Operations could be dangerous. The hostagetakers could kill the hostage, there can be an accident in which the rescuers kill a hostage. So that typically, a very dangerous moment for a hostage is a rescue. Reporter the government of qatar has been in talks with hamas about the hostages, according to a senior u. S. Official and another person familiar with the discussions who spoke to cnn. They say the u. S. Has been coordinating with the qataris on this. Analyst peter bergen believes the qataris can be effective as a mediator, pointing out they played a key role in the release of several americans being held in iran. Heartbreaking stories, brian, thank you for that update. Brian todd reporting. Just ahead, ill speak with the family of a man who is now missing after hamas attacked the Music Festival he was working at. welcome to big tobaccos fantasyland. The industrys idea of a healthier tomorrow. Where vapes are deemed safer. Nevermind that theyll increase your risk of lung cancer. And theyre antiaging. Because youre more likely to die younger from a stroke. In big tobaccos fantasyland, the deadliest industry can rebrand itself as your friend. Right now out of israel in the middle east where an estimated 150 people are being held hostage by hamas in gaza. Im joined by two guests. Shai and neer arand. Their brother ori is now missing. To both of you, thanks for joining us. Shai, your brother is 22 years old, ori. Can you share with us what he went through . Yes, sure. First of all, thank you for allowing to share this story, our brother. He was working in the festival. He was very happy, very excited. He walk there with two good friends. Around 6 00 a. M. , he call to me father. There is a missile alarm. He and friends waited to hear the interception of the iron dome. A few moments after that, he and his friends ran to the cars and started driving home in two different vehicles because they came in separate cars. In the middle of the driving, he saw in the side of the road two girls. They were super afraid, super nervous. And my brother, he was like he had a very special tractor. He looked on them and said to them, nonchalant, jump in, girls, i will take you home, you can come with me. They started to ride. In a moment dozens of terrorists blocked the road from all the sides. And started to shoot everywhere. He called our father, told him hes surrounded by many terrorists that are shooting on them with machine guns, kalashnikov, hand grenades. He updated my father that he must take an action. He must confront them. Because he dont want to stay like a duck on the road. He dont want to leave the car and hide in the bushes. And it took a decision to speed and up try to avoid them. Since it was the only choice that would give him a chance to escape the massacre. Stood up against them, but they shoot the car. He lost control. The car flipped twice and he lost consciousness. The two girls in the car had minor injuries. After 20 minutes, he started to regain his conscious but the terrorists noted it. In an act of peer evil, i dont have any other word to describe it, they shoot him in again, in something taken from the holocaust period or Something Like that. Saturday noon, from 7 00 a. M. On saturday, we didnt hear nothing from our brother. We dont have any official information about ori. Is he alive, is he injured, is he hospital or still in the field . Maybe hes dead, maybe hes kidnapped. We dont know nothing. We are in complete darkness as of today. Its so gutwrenching to hear this. Let me get nira involved in this conversation as well. We are all hoping and praying that ori is found. What should everyone know about your brother . My brother was an exemplary young man, full of life. Acting, talent, alwayses surrounded by family and friends. Entire future was ahead of him. He just came back after a trip in asia with his friends. He was soon to start his degree in university. Only a few days from now. Its really so, so sad to hear this. Shi, when did you last speak with your brother, and how did that conversation go . My last conversation with him was on friday. But the last conversation that he had with our family is saturday, 7 00 a. M. That he talked to our father, listen, dad, i am asked to take an action, i cant stay here like a duck, i dont want to wait them to kill me, i need to do something to confront them. This is the situation. This is the juncture that he had. He was very special. The name ori in hebrew, my light. In every room that ori entered, he provide huge light. He was the most beautiful and the most charming young man. He was full of ideas, huge heart, always willing to assist and help. He loves the life and know how to live to the maximum. This is our brother. We are missing him a lot. We are full of pain and the most concerned situation that we dont know what is going on with him. I dont know if its gaza strip, i dont know if hes dead. Its a horror movie for us. Good luck. We are, of course, as i said, praying and hoping for the best. Shea and neer orat, thank you for joining us. Thank you, sir. We are praying for good news but expecting for the worst. Thank you very much for hosting us. Thank you very much. To our viewers, for more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts in israel and gaza, go to c cnn. Com impact or text relief to 707070 to donate. Coming ultimate, more Breaking News as President Biden pleads with congress to approve military aid for israel. House republicans are scrambling to select a speaker so the chamber can finally get back to work. Ill get reaction from a key democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, congresswoman an bail Spanabiga Spanberger Standing by live. Theres Breaking News were following. President biden is now asking congress to take urgent action, his words, to surge military aid to israel right away. But tonight the House Of Representatives remains paralyzed without a speaker. This hour, republicans are debating Behind Closed Doors as the party scrambles to try to unite around a new leader. Cnns manu raju is up on capitol hill for us. Manu, what do we know about this critical meeting thats ongoing right now against the backdrop of israels war with hamas . Reporter yeah, as President Biden calls on congress to act on new aid to ukraine as soon as next week, the house is completely paralyzed until they can elect a new speaker in the aftermath of the historic and unprecedented ouster of Kevin Mccarthy as speaker last night. Issues like aid to israel, issues like aid to ukraine, how to avoid a Government Shutdown by midnovember, all cannot be resolved until this major situation, this crisis within the gop is handled, and whether steve scalise, the House Majority leader or the House Judiciary Chairman jim jordan have the votes to get there remains the question at this very key moment. They are answering questions from their members right now on a whole host of issues. One of them that came up was aid to ukraine, that they indicated that there might have to be compromise on that issue with the United States senate. Now, a big question is how these speakers will deal with pressing issues like aid to ukraine. The white house and other democrats want to tie that to the israel aid package that is expected to come as soon as next week. I had a chance to ask jim jordan, the potential speaker of the house, whether or not he would move on aid to ukraine, and tie that to israel funding. And he indicated israel was his priority. Israel aid would be a big part of your speakership. We got to help israel. Nobody wants a shutdown. Reporter would you be able to guarantee that . I got a plan that ill outline for the conference. Reporter you dont get 217 votes, would you drop out . I think we got to get 217 votes to go to the floor. Reporter and that last point so key, wolf. Because in order to get nominated as speaker of the house under current rules, you need to have a majority of the 221 republicans. But jim jordan indicating there he wants to get 217 members, which will be the magic number on the house floor, trying to get some unity behind a single candidate and trying to hatch that out tomorrow or in the days ahead. So that is the urgent question for the gop, can they unite behind a candidate. Because at the moment they are divided uncertain about their future. And, of course, so many key issues that the next speaker will deal with. How that gets all resolved, uncertain at this key moment. So much at stake right now. Manu raju up on capitol hill. Lets stay up on capitol hill. I want to get some more now from a key democrat, a member of the House Intelligence Committee congresswoman abigail spanberger. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. I want to discuss whats going on in the house in just a moment. But, as you know, the idf is now saying theyre facing assault from three fronts, gaza, lebanon, and now syria. I know youve just been briefed as a member of the Intelligence Committee. What can you tell us . Well, certainly as a member of the House Intelligence Committee and as a former Intelligence Officer with the cia, i know that our Intelligence Community is working around the clock to collect all available information so that we can ensure that we are strong and important, vital partners to our israeli counterparts, particularly during this time of catastrophic need on the ground in israel. What we know is that there has been a horrific act of terrorism, violent, horrific crimes committed against families, against women, against children, against babies. And among the dead are americans and among the hostages are americans as well. So, we are working here on capitol hill certainly as a member of the Intelligence Committee to make sure that we are conducting the necessary oversight, but also keeping a close watch on what is happening on the ground in israel, especially as our close partner and ally continues to face attacks around the clock. I know youve echoed, like so many other of your republican and democratic colleagues, for that matter, President Bidens call to surge military aid to israel. But how damaging, congresswoman, is it for the House Of Representatives to be essentially powerless right now until it has a new speaker . Interim steps, President Biden took important steps forward saying we were going to push more munitions and additional supplies for the iron dome to israel. But the next step has to be congressional action. It has to be a vote on the house floor to provide Additional Support to our israeli partners and allies. And that has to happen very, very soon. And in order for that to be possible, our republican counterparts who are in the majority must elect a new speaker so that the House Of Representatives can do the business of the people both for our constituents at home and for our partners and allies abroad. President biden today did not call for any restraint from israel. Are you at all concerned that Palestinian Civilians in gaza will pay a heavy toll for whats going on right now . The reality is that Palestinian Civilians have been paying a heavy price under hamas. Hamas is a Terrorist Organization that has been wreaking havoc on the people of gaza, and has been now committing horrific and atrocious acts of violence in israel in villages and towns and communities, murdering people in their beds, attacking Large Community gatherings and a music concert. And, so, what israel needs to continue doing is to recognize the ongoing threat of this Terrorist Organization, certainly to the people in israel as they continue to inflict harm and to the hostages that hamas continues to hold and to the people on the ground in gaza. How worried are you about civilian casualties in gaza . I am deeply concerned about any time a civilian is killed, is put in the medicine ild of what is a horrific and violent act of engagement. In this case, i wont use combat because in fact hamas when they went into israel, they targeted civilians, they targeted families, they targeted kids and