Coverage. Im Boris Sanchez with Brianna KeilarIn Washington, alongside Anderson Cooper in tel aviv. Palestinian civilians desperately need humanitarian aid. Yesterday President Biden got assurances that food, water and medicine would be allowed through the rafa Border Crossing, though Delivery Trucks are waiting for the green light. A few hours before that happens tonight, President Biden will be addressing americans from the oval office. Anderson . Here in israel sorry. Lets go to nick roberts. Nick, whats going on . Reporter anderson, were seeing outgoing intercepts from the iron dome. Weve just taken shelter because we had the incoming siren of missiles incoming. Its a very short range to gaza from here. When the siren goes off, you have about six or seven seconds to take cover. I think there were two salvos of rockets. We saw intercepts that were heading to the north. Then the sirens went off where we were, which is why we took cover. We heard those rockets come over. Its been a bit like that this afternoon. Sorry, im a bit out of breath. We were just ducking for cover. We know the damage these rockets can do. One landed not far from here a couple days ago. It smashed through the house and wrecked the inside of a house. Obviously you take precautions and take cover. That seems to have passed. Yes, i think its over. Nick, let me ask you, you spoke to Government Ministers who gave you an outline as to what a post war gaza might look like. Its something u. S. Security officials have been raising questions about publicly. I spoke to david petraeus, former director of the cia. One of the things he was stressing was assuming israel is successful on the ground, what happens to gaza then. What have you heard from the officials you talked with . Reporter there were several things today from both these Government Ministers. One is they made it very clear that the decision to go to war has been made. We understand that. The green light for Military Incursion has been given to the military. Its up to the military when they chose to go in. Theres no more political steps required. On the questions of what does a post incursion gaza look like, i think its going to look radically different. That Border Fence Area that has an electronic border fence that has censors on it, cameras on it, the wall behind it to protect against tunnels and a Small Buffer Zone behind that, thats going to become much, much wider. A zone along the whole 67 kilometers of the border fence, a zone that no one will be allowed to go into. Essentially the Israeli Defense forces will have free fire in that zone. It creates a much bigger buffer and will prevent any physical incu incursion. Thats one way it seems that some of the mistakes that were made on saturday the 7th will be overcome. The other thing thats a very big takeaway is this, if you compare the gaza to the west bank today ill give you an example. The Israeli Defense force went in there and arrested more than 60 hamas operatives in the west bank. They were able to go in with a Military Force and do that. What the idf it appears is planning for gaza is a similar scenario where it is so completely disarmed, where a new authority will have to be built and created, i was told, that the Defense Forces would be ail to go in as they can in the west bank and make arrests. That would be a monumental shift from where we are today and would seem to indicate that a huge Ground Incursion or Military Force is going to be required to achieve that. We know that the government says hamas is going to be completely destroyed. What were hearing now are the steps that would follow from that which could only take place if hamas was completely gone from the scene. You could not have a situation as it is today where the idf could go in and arrest people if they wanted to. These are the first indications were getting. All right. Nick robertson, appreciate it. Joining me now is mark regav the Senior Adviser to benjamin netanyahu. I would like to talk about the Border Crossing in rafa. Egyptian officials said it will be open tomorrow. Do you have a sense how long the border will be open . Do you know where the supplies where the trucks will be offloading their supplies and what happens then . Its also my understanding that well have movement tomorrow. Its also my understanding that the supplies are supposed to be for the Refugee Population in the south, those people who have relocated from the north at our advice to escape what will be ultimately a combat zone. That is my understanding. Do you know how many people have heeded the advice or the purging of israeli authorities to move south . Do you know how many in gaza have moved south . Ive heard different numbers. We know its in the hundreds of thousands. All those people who have successfully moved are doing themselves a favor. No one should knowingly stay in a combat zone where theres danger theyll get caught in the crossfire. We dont want to see the Civilian Population experience mass casualties. Thats why we urged them to leave the north where we expect there will be intensive fighting. Rear admiral said today that the idf told the families of some 203 people that it believes their loved ones are being held hostage in gaza. Thats a bigger number than the 199 we had heard before. Is that can you talk about the difficulty of actually coming up with a number . From people i talked to its not just hamas or Islamic Jihad who may have kidnapped people. Its possibly families, mob gangs and the like, who initially may have taken people. Thats 100 correct. Its difficult for me to tell you thats the final number because of the situation. We know that people are missing. Weve also got between 200 and 300 bodies that are so badly burnt we cant identify them. Hamas was using weapons that, you know, burned bodies very quickly and very thoroughly. We havent identified all the casualties. To know exactly who is in gaza and who is not its a question mark. Im worried that number which grows from 199 could rise further. We have to wait and see. I know two more israelis who were missing have been declared dead today. I believe other members of their family, including a 12yearold boy, are still believed to be held captive. The 12yearold boy was seen in a video. Do you know anymore information about where they were found . I cannot. I apologize. We can talk about the principal and that is we have over 200 people being held hostage against all rules of International Behavior by hamas in gaza. As the expectation of the Ground Offensive becomes closer, i think this shows us the enemy were up against, a ruthless brutal enemy that has no qualms about butchering innocent civilians and the most atrocious and appalling violence. Those Israeli Soldiers going into combat will know who theyre facing and why theyre fighting. We expect unfortunately difficult fighting for our soldiers. We know that victory will not come without a price. I think this country is united in the knowledge that we have to defeat this enemy. Were not going back to the status quo. Were not going back to a situation where there was this Terrorist Enclave at our border. A Terrorist Group that threatens our people. Were not going back to that. The way not to go back to that is to destroy hamas in gaza and destroy its political structure. Hopefully that way well have a better way of living for the israelis living near the border and it also serves the people of gaza who have not done well over hamas rule in the last 16 years. As i mentioned to our nick robertson, i had been talking to david petraeus, former general, one of the question he raises is does israel have a plan for assuming you have success in gaza against hamas and Islamic Jihad, what then . What fills that vacuum like that u. S. Has found in iraq and elsewhere . Youre 100 correct. Those are questions we have to ask. Ive been in discussions where the after war scenario has been discussed. There are different contingencies. I apologize, but im not at liberty to discuss them. I assure you we are thinking and looking at those. This is not new. Weve always known there was a possibility of allout war with gaza. We knew that maybe we would have to interfere. We didnt want to do it. This war was forced upon us. Now those theoreticals now become more realistic. Were thinking about those scenarios. President biden said yesterday words of wisdom. He said you dont want rage to dictate your policy. We have the right to be angry. We have the right to have rage after what hamas did to our civilians, the way they were butchered. We have to be judicious and we will be judicious in how we use our force and what happens afterwards. Final question. Nick robertson earlier said he had talked to one official who said the decision now is in the hands of the idf as to when any operation begins. The Political Part of that is over. The decision is now with the idf. Is that correct . Im not going to confirm or deny anything to do with operations for obvious reasons. I know from our own intelligence that hamas has been surprised by the determination that israel has struck back. Hamas will continue to be surprised. They will regret the day, those who remain alive, that they butchered our people. We will destroy their Military Machine and anyone involved in the attack on our Civilian Population, the butchering of our people, will be found and they will pay a price. That includes hamas leaders inside the gaza strip and those outside the gaza strip. Mark regev, thank you for your time. Br breonna . Back here In Washington on capitol hill there is even more chaos over the Speaker Of The House race. Congressman jim jordan who has failed to win the speakership after two rounds of voting is putting a pause on a third vote. According to sources, may back expanding the powers of the speaker pro tem Patrick Mchenry as a temporary fix. Its a plan that seems to be dividing the gop conference just as much as jordans candidacy. Tensions are soaring in the gop in a meeting under way now. Theres been reports of swearing and shouting. Lets get more from manu raju. This meeting, manu, sounds like it got out of hand. Where are things standing . Reporter yes, its been going on for more than three hours. Its a back and forth. Tense words being exchanged. Swear words being exchanged. Including Kevin Mccarthy telling matt gaetz to sit down. Gaetz did and some other members cursed at him. One member went after him cussing at him several times. Also, a number of members calling on jim jordan the speaker nominee to drop out. Its something that jordan is refusing to do. Basically where this stands is that jordan has said he would support making Patrick Mchenry, giving him more legislative power, take up bills that have been paralyzed amid this fighting within the house, but he says he would not drop out of the race to be speaker. He said he would allow Patrick Mchenry to be interim speaker until january. Theres a problem. There has been furious opposition to this idea. One republican member after another has said that is dead. They will not support that. It will not pass the house. They need to abandon that plan altogether raising even more questions about how theyll proceed and whether jordan will drop out of the race, whether a new candidate will emerge and whether that candidate could get the 217 votes theyll need in this bitterly divided republican conference. In talking to members, its very clear the tension is very high and many members are very, very much on the opposite sides on how to proceed. Its absurd. Its the biggest fu to Republican Voters ive ever seen. Its a big mistake. Over half the republicans in that room are against it and will go to the floor and vote against it. Its going to take democrats to make it happen. Thats a historic betrayal to our Republican Voters. Whats the level of tension and frustration in the room right now . High. Ill just leave it at this. The eight who did this clearly did not have a plan. Where i come from as a veteran, if youre gonna blow a bridge, you better have another one to close. Those eight didnt have enough one. Im here with Carlos Gimenez the congressman from florida. You were in this room and jim jordan indicated hes not going to drop out of the race. Is that the right choice . No. I think hes going to reassess and call the folks that are voting against him, find out if theres any movement. Then he said hes going to reassess with his family and make a determination. He told you guys in the room hes going to consider whether to continue as a candidate here . I think, like i said, hell call the 20, 21, 22 and find out if theres any movement, is there a path to 217. Youre one of those 22. Are you changing your approach . No. Youll continue to oppose him . Yes. Will they move forward on empowering Patrick Mchenry . I would hope they would. Patrick has said hes not going to do it on his own. The Resolution Says he could continue if a resolution was passed. I think we need a resolution with a majority of republicans endorsing it. Can we get a majority of republicans endorsing it . It didnt sound like that. Its either our resolution or Something Else is going to come and maybe we get to that. Reporter a bit of news here. The congressman saying jim jordan is going to reassess his candidacy and will decide whether to stay as the speaker nominee and will talk to those 22 detractors and see if theres anyway to the speakership. Perhaps if there isnt, then hell possibly step aside. This house remains stuck in gridlock amid this republican infighting. Manu, if thats the case, where then is the next bridge . Reporter yeah, thats the question that was raised. How do you figure out what the next step is, especially if youre the one who pushed out the speaker . The problem with the hard liners is many of them supported jim jordan. They may have to accept a more moderate person for speaker, Patrick Mchenry being more moderate than jim jordan and more moderate than Kevin Mccarthy or at least in line with him in many ways. The question is what did they ultimately get out of this . Will mchenry be the interim speaker . Republicans are divided over that as well. No one has any clear sense on how to proceed all because republicans cant get on the same page among all the ill will. Its all devolved into this heated closeddoor conference thats been going on since the morning. Bre breonna . The republican devolution. Manu, thank you. President biden will address the nation to ask for more aid for israel and ukraine. Former trump Attorney Sidney Powell pleads guilty in georgia, forcing her to testify against trump in former trials should the prosecution want that. All the details next. Were back with a Major Development in the Georgia Election case. Sidney powell, former trump attorney, fiercely loyal to the president , especially after the 2020 election, spreading conspiracy theory, shes accepted a plea deal. Shes pleaded guilty to reduced charges. In exchange she might testify against the trump team. Kaitlan polance is covering all the developments. Reporter Sidney Powell becomes the second of 18 defendants to plead guilty out of georgia, a state case accusing donald trump and others of racketeering, conspiracy and other crimes. Sidney powell is extraordinarily notable here because shes a top lawyer around donald trump. She was in the Upper Echelon who was even in the white house talking to donald trump oneonone in some of the crucial days after the election as she and others were trying to sow misinformation. The Immediate Impact here of this guilty plea by Sidney Powell is that shes admitting she was guilty in doing some of the things she was accused of doing. The second Immediate Impact here is that shes not going to trial. She was supposed to go to trial friday. Now its just one other defendant in this massive case set to have Jury Selection begin friday. Then the big picture. She is agreeing to testify against others in this case at future trial or trials, that includes very likely donald trump in georgia where he is set to go to trial at a later date after this first round of trial was set to start. Then, also, shes a person that doesnt know about just georgia. Shes also privy to so much happening in the white house, including the December 18th Meeting where she and others were trying to convince donald trump to appoint her as a special vinvestigator to look into voter fraud that just didnt exist. The likelihood she could be asked to testify about those things is possible and also there may be expanded interest in to what she has to say by federal investigators. She has sit insights that could be crucial when it comes to a case against trump. In a few hours President Biden will deliver a prime time speech about the conflict between israel and hamas and russias war against ukraine. Hes expected to urge congress to approve 100 billion in Emergency Funding not only for israel and ukraine, but also taiwan and the u. S. Southern border. President biden is expected to talk more about the deal he made with the egyptian president to open the Rafa Crossing tomorrow so trucks with humanitarian aid can get into gaza. Joining us now is sedgwick layton. How significant could it be if the Rafa Crossing is able to open and have some humanitarian aid get into gaza and how well can they screen for munitions . Boris, thats going to be a huge differentiator if they cannot screen for weapons or other things that might come in. That could be a bit of a problem. The opening of the crossing would be a significant move here because it will be the first time in this conflict there would be some kind of a ceasefire or pause in fighting in the localized sense. There are risks involved in this. Part of President Bidens speech while in israel involved urging some restraint from israel. He was urging them not to repeat the u. S. Mistakes post 9 11. Biden compared hamas to i. S. I. S. If israels plan is to eradicate hamas, what steps does israel need to take to ensure a new terror group doesnt take over . Thats a difficult thing for israel. If they eliminate hamas, they can expect to see many other groups try to fill that void. The challenge is going to be one thats based on a lot of, not only force thats going to be used, but also a robust intelligence architecture that would be looking at whats going on in gaza from this day forward. That is the kind of thing that the israelis thought they had, but it turns out they didnt when it came to what happened on the 7th of october. In President Bidens speech hes expected to ask not only for israel, but as we noted significant aid for ukraine, 60 billion. Obviously there is some restraint or hesitation on a part of many lawmakers in congress to pair those two. Its needed aid. It certainly is. From the ukrainian standpoint its going to be critical. They cannot sustain the fight without it. What they have to what lawmakers have to think about is where theyre getting the biggest bang for their buck. When you compare whats going on in ukraine, the fact they have the tanks and theyve been effectively using them, theyve been able to take back some of the russian occupied territory. Theyve done a lot with the aid they received. When you compare that to afghanistan when it came to aid, its a very different thing. We put over a trillion dollars into afghanistan. Ukraine promises to be cheaper if we do it right and if we do it in a sustained fashion. Colonel, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate your insights. You bet. Well be right back. U. S. Officials say a Navy Destroyer near yemen intercepted multiple missiles. I want to go to orrin lieberman. Reporter a u. S. Navy destroyer operating in the middle east was off the coast of yemen when it intercepted several missiles. According to one of the two u. S. Officials we spoke with, it looks to be two or three missiles that were intercepted. Its unclear what they were targeting, whether it was aimed at the carrier or Something Else. The key question is who fired them . Its believed to be the Iranian Group in yemen. Its been something the u. S. Has been looking closely at whether other groups who see weakness in israel might try to participate in the con flight and get involved. Perhaps its an indication of that happening. It speaks to the broader tension throughout the region. In addition to this u. S. Navy destroyer intercepting these missiles, we have seen Drone Attacks on u. S. And Coalition Forces in iraq within the past 24 or 48 hours. We saw three drones targeting u. S. Forces there. This is what the administration and other countries were worried about, whether a conflict in gaza could spread beyond. Its the intense diplomatic effort by the u. S. To head that off. This is an indication that, first, of the volatility of the region and despite the administrations best efforts its heading in the direction or moving towards a regional conflict. Anderson, we expect a better and clearer picture of what those missiles were targeting. Keep in mind the other assets the u. S. Navy has in the region, two Aircraft Carriers and the marine unit in the red sea. Orin, thanks. I want to bring in colonel sedgwick layton. Whats your reaction to this . This could potentially be an escalation here. When you see the fact this happened off the coast of yemen, combine that with the Drone Attacks against the u. S. Installations in iraq, some other activities going on in the eastern med and where you are right now, it looks like theres the potential for their to be an escalating effort. That effort in terms of what the iranians might be doing here could very well be a dangerous escalation of things. Thats on one hand. On the other hand, if this is a an accidental firing or they were looking at another target, that becomes another matter. The intelligence aspect of this to find out exactly what happened is going to be critical to determine next steps by the u. S. And by other regional players right now. Colonel, thank you very much. Stay with cnn. Our coverage continues after this short break. On the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work. We decided that wasnt where we were going to go. Im still running for speaker. I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race. I want to talk with a few of my colleagues. I want to talk with the 20 individuals who voted against me so that we can move forward and begin to work for the american people. That was congressman jim jordan of ohio, the Speaker Designate in the house of h representatives. Lets review whats transpired. Republicans, matt gaetz specifically, files a motion to vacate Kevin Mccarthy as speaker. Eight republicans vote for it. All democrats vote for it. It succeeds. They go into conference and nominate jim jordan and Steve Scalise of louisiana. Scalise wins the nomination. But they dont respect the Majority Rule Vote as they normally do. He bows out. He bows out. Jim jordan wins the Nomination Process again when he puts himself up again. Goes to the floor twice. Fails twice. Fails more the second time. Fails more the second time around. Then he goes into conference and says he would support a motion to empower the temporary speaker Patrick Mchenry to have the power through at least january to pass laws. To get work done. To fund aid for israel, to fund aid for ukraine, et cetera. That gets rejected by his conference and now hes running for speaker again, potentially with a vote later today. Well see does he lose more support. He said hes trying to shore up his support. Where do things sit . Lets go to the man who i think knows. Manu raju, our chief Congressional Correspondent is there in the basement talking to everyone after this dramatic meeting. What a mess. What a ka kof any it sounds like this was. Where do things stand . Will he get more support, manu . Reporter theres no sign of that. I talked to several of those jordan opponents as they walked out of the room. Their votes havent changed. They plan to vote against him. Theres so much back and forth that you well laid out just today in the aftermath of this chaotic two weeks where nothing can get done in the United States house because of the oust e ouster of Kevin Mccarthy started by matt gaetz. Nothing has been done because republicans cant unite behind a candidate. Jim jordan is poised to lose 22 votes, maybe up to 30 votes on the house floor. Well see if anything changed behind closed doors. Its clear republicans may besetting aside passing a resolution to prop up the interim speaker Patrick Mchenry. There were a lot of votes behind that idea. It got pummelled behind closed doors. There was so much tension in the room and also towards Congressman Matt Gaetz himself. I caught up with congressman gaetz. I asked him whether he regrets leading the charge to push out Kevin Mccarthy given the fact that jim jordan doesnt have the votes. What did you get out of this . You may not get jim jordan as speaker. What did you get by this charge to oust Kevin Mccarthy . Were shaking up washington, d. C. Its messy. The only reason people think theres chaos is because the special interests arent in control. I think well have an upgrade at the position of Speaker Of The House. For me it wasnt about one person. It was getting an upgrade at the position. Kevin mccarthy failed us. He made multiple contradictory promises. Everyone is saying weve burned four legislative days. We spent seven legislative days on procedure. This is what its supposed to be. Its not clean and orderly. The lobbyists and special interests hate it. I dont mind too much. Reporter the question is what will happen next and whether or not they can find anybody who can be more conservative than Kevin Mccarthy, someone who matt gaetz may actually like. Theres no sign that that could happen. The only leading option at the moment is to figure out some way to give Patrick Mchenry more power to legislate. Mchenry is more moderate than matt gaetz and more moderate than jim jordan. What was accomplished by this chaotic episode . Its been heavily debated right now as republicans are trying to figure out a way to reopen the house. No plan, no consensus after more than two weeks of bitter infighting. According to gaetz, the fever is breaking. Manu raju, chief Congressional Correspondent, thanks for that report. Special coverage continues after a quick break. Israeli Defense Minister not far from the gaza strip toling them they will soon see the an drav from the inside. Joining is, lieutenant colonel, and colonel, should people interpret that in one way . Actually let me ask you, Nic Robertson earlier reported that he was told by an unnamed israeli official that the decision for moving forward now into gaza is now in the hands of the idf. Can you confirm that . I cannot at this stage. What i can say is that our troons are ready, equipped and prepared and theyre armed with both ammunition and a clear mission, and most importantly, the morale and spirit to execute that mission. There was a mission in the west bank, and there were reports that a number of hamas operatives were, i think, arrested. Im not sure of their status. Can you tell me what occurred . Yes. In parallel to the fact that were Fighting Hamas In The South and defending ourselves against hezbollah attacks in the north and keeping an eye on syria, we are also operating every day in sudan summaria attacking the infrastructure of hamas it trying to build and has built and arresting hamas terrorists, financiers, supporters and terrorist planners in various locations in gaza as a preemptive move in order to make sure they wont be able to conduct Terrorist Attacks against israelis. They are trying, and there are sincere efforts by hamas in gaza, lots of pressure from gaza, for the terrorists in Sudan Samaria to attack communities, attack the military and that is why were doing preemptive operations to round up hamas officials and supporters and activists. I was an area where they buried on the ground today a sickening scene and very somber day there. Obviously. When we left we learned that according to the Idf An Israeli American and her granddaughter, carmella dan and noya dan, kidnapped from hamas were found dead and her family, their family notified yesterday. Other members of their family are still missing, believed kidnapped. Can you say anything more about that . Where they were found . Obviously a lot of hostage families want any news. Do you know if they were kidnapped and in gaza and returned or do you know if they never made it that far . So there are still, theres more than 200 confirmed israelis that are in hamas hostage. Being held hostage by hamas. 203 the latest number put. Correct and between 100 and 200 israelis still unaccounted for. We do not know if they are dead and their body is somewhere in israel or in the gaza strip. Whether in the hands of hamas or other terrorist organizations, or not in the hands of anybody, or if they are held hostage. There are still many, many people unaccounted for, and tremendous efforts are being allocated in order to find out and establish and to understand where each and every israeli is, but it is something that is extremely difficult, because of the difficulty identifying remains and locating bodies. The idf has been doing operations, and Tactical Operations inside gaza strip in order to find remains and other pieces of information, and we have brought back bodies and they are being processed, which is a tremendous effort to understand remains and to try to match them with the identities of israelis that are missing. Lieutenant colonel, thank you. Appreciate it. Stay with cnn. Our coverage continues in a moment