Transcripts For FOXNEWSW The 20240703

Sustained, deep and dark role in providing all of this support and capabilities to hamas in terms of this particular gruesome attack on october 7, we dont currently have that information. Well continue to look for it. If we find it, well share it with you. Thank you, jake. Looking back at the last few days, how did israel miss this attack coming . Thats a question for you to ask the Israeli Government. Obviously the Israeli Government has placed a high premium on its Intelligence Capacity as it relates to hamas and the west bank and relates to hezbollah. Why it is they didnt have warning from this is not a question that i can answer. What about u. S. Intelligence . Anything that crosses your desk that suggests this was come something. We did not see anything that suggested an attack of this type was going to unfold any more than the israelis did. Your meeting in the Situation Room today, we saw images earlier. At some point the president has seen the images of the dead israelis. What has been his reaction when shown the images . Youve seen him now twice. Youve heard his voice. This has been a deeply emotional time for all of us. Im sure it is for many people in this room that know people or know people that know people who were killed or missing. All of us have developed Close Relationships with our israeli Counter Parts. President biden has a long relationship with president netanyahu. I hear the pain in his voice. Its not about policy or strategy. It personal for us and personal for the American People with their bonds with the israeli people. So President Biden has seen and felt the deep emotional resonance of this. Hes held a conviction that his job as president is to make sure that he has the clarity of mind and purpose to take the actions necessary so were standing with israel in its hour of need, so were working to deter a widening of this conflict. So were getting israel the tools that it requires to defend itself. Yeah. Thank you, jake. You laid out all of the ways that iran is complicit in this and facilitated it over years of support for hamas. Is that reason enough to refreeze the 6 billion that the u. S. Helped unlock for them to get in exchange for the prisoners . We have not yet had a dollar of that 6 billion spent and i will leave it at that. Will you refreeze it based on this activity that you just laid out, all of the ways theyre complicit in this . The administration said that if we see them going in the wrong direction, we would stop that down. I understand the position that you have, not a dollar of this has been spent. Will you prevent it from getting in their hands to allow them to do what they do that you just laid out. Let me reiterate what i said. Its unequivocal. Not a dollar of that money has been spent. I will leave it at that. Would you consider it . Yes. Jake, if i can ask you, will the u. S. Support israels military attacks in gaza for as long as it takes until the hostages are freed or until hamas is destroyed . I get in simple terms, how much retaliation in gaza is the u. S. Willing to accept . I dont think of this in terms of retaliation. This is about providing support to israel as it seeks to defend its territory and deal with an ongoing imminent threat from Hamas Terrorists that as i said before are acting a heck of a lot like isis terrorists in their cruelty. That requires going after Hamas Terrorists targets in gaza because even as we speak, even as i stand here, there could be rockets flying out of gaza. Going after the sites is not retaliation. Its israel stepping up to defend itself. Were going to support them for as long as they need to ensure that israel is safe and secure. I cant put a timetable on that. To be clear is the goal the destruction of hamas, the guaranteed hamas cannot launch attacks from there, the confirmation that all americans and israeli have been security safely from there. What is where do you draw the line . Is there a red line of what you need to accomplish . Im not standing up here to draw red lines. Im standing up here to say that in their hour of need, as israel embarks to try to protect its country and protect the Jewish State Of Israel and go after the threats it faces and also working closely with them hand and hand to try to security the release and recovery of american and other hostages, we will do all of that and im not here to draw red lines or issue warnings or give lectures to anybody. Im here to say that the president has given us a direction to take a series of actions. Were undertaking those actions and we will continue to do so in the weeks ahead. We heard from the families of americans that are unaccounted for right now. They speak publicly in israel. You said the president has not spoken with them directly. What is the president s message to the families that said its the responsibility of the president of the United States to make sure that their loved ones come home safely . The president said today that as president of the United States, he has no higher priority than the safety and wellbeing of americans held hostage overseas. Hes proven in country after country his wellingness to go further than any other president happens gone before and security the release. Hes going to do that as well. That is a high priority and a message that hes sending along with a deep sense of understanding of the grief and hurt and pain and anguish theyre feeling right now as they wait to hear news of their loved ones. The president in his remarks referred to seeking for assistance for partners. Does that suggest that youve decided strategically to ask congress for a package that includes ukraine aid as well as aid for israel . Chairman mccaul suggested including border and taiwan money in that. Im hoping you can give a State Of Play of how youre thinking about this in your interactions with the hill. Im not going to take the place of the omb director that will present the request that we send up. The president was very clear that we will be making a request to the congress. It will include a request for funding for support to israel. Hes also been equally clear that were going to renew our request to the congress for aid to ukraine. What exact form that all takes, that will be worked out and presented by others, not by me. The notion that were going to ask for israel aid and ukraine aid, thats unequivocal. Well do that. Beyond iron dome and other ammunition, there were any other requests . As i mentioned, netanyahu made specific requests with other capabilities. I wont get into the details of that from this podium. He and the president discussed that. I spoke with lloyd austin on his way to the nato defense ministerial about that request. Secretary austin is following up on that. As i said in my opening comments, you can expect to see american planes flying in to israel to deliver capabilities to support israel. Following up on iron dome. How effective has it been . And has israel asked for intercepters on an ongoing basis . You asked how effective it has been in deterring. I cant say its deterred, a huge number of rockets have fired. Its been effective as it typically is in taking a lot of those rockets out of the sky. Saving countless lives by doing so. Of course, some rockets have gotten through to tragic casts. Thats the pattern that weve seen in previous conflicts as well. Now, israel will have an ongoing need for intercepters. Because in air Defense System is only as good as your ability to continue to put intercepters in that can take out the rockets that are coming to kill civilians and rain down terror on cities. Were committed to make sure that we work with israel to produce and supply the requisite number of Iron Dome Intercepters is that they can keep the systems Going Forward. We cannot say how long this will be going on. Jake, what is your support in israel. How can you make sure that israel goes after hamas and its fracture gaza . Two million palestinians are trapped with no water, no electricity, no medical supply. The u. N. Schools are overflowing now. The number of dead is reaching 850 so far, including six members of the former ambassador to washington. How can you make sure this is not revenge but getting hamas that committed this horrible strike . The difference between the United States and israel, we do not deliberately target civilians. Were strongest when were committed to the rule of law and we work to make sure that all Military Operations are conducted consistent with the rule of law and the law of war. That is something that President Biden and netanyahu have discussed not just in this context but previous contexts as well. Thats something that the United States has always stood for and always will continue the stand for. Can you tell if the egyptians have given information about the attack . I cannot confirm that. Prime minuter netanyahu told residents of gaza to leave now because we are operate everywhere. Where is the idea that people in gaza will go . This is something also that we have been discussing with our Counter Parts in israel and with our counterparts in egypt. Without going into the specifics of safe passage for civilians and so forth, its something that the u. S. Government has seized with in supporting how we do that operationally. The details of that are something that are being discussed among the operational agencies. I didnt want to share much of that publicly at this time. Imminently or ill leave it at the fact that we are focused on this question and ill share more when i have an update for you. Following up about what the president said about talking to the israeli Prime Minister about democracies and the laws of war. Was that a warning to the Prime Minister and why did the president feel that was necessary to bring that up in the call today . It was not a warning. The call today was not President Biden warning Prime Minister netanyahu about anything. It was two leaders talking to one another. One who is leading a nation that has suffered an attack and another nation that is standing behind them four square in the defense of their country. The conversation carried on in those terms and the two leaders spoke in a collaborative fashion as they always do. So no, i cannot accept the characterization of your question. I have two questions. First, some reports are saying that the commander was in lebanon a few days ago and he left to syria. Also, you are saying that iran is an accomplice in this attack. Are you trying to down play the iranian role here . What are you waiting for to take an action . And my second question, what assessment do you have on where other malitias stand now, whether in iraq, also heard can you give us an update . Is there more on u. S. Troops in the region . On your first question, i laid out our view. The broad complicity based on the longstanding support that hamas is giving to iran. We dont have specific information that ties i ran to this attack. At this time we dont have this information. We may gain that in the hours and days ahead. We dont presently have it. Thats an answer to your first question. With respect to the question of the various malitia groups across the region. We do believe that they pose an urgent threat and that it is certainly distinctly possible that they choose to try to exploit or take advantage of this since. We have been sending clear warnings that doing so will resort will result in a Firm Response and consequences from the United States. That goes across the board. We have been clear also in sending a message of deterrence through the movement of the Carrier Strike group in to the Eastern Mediterranean as well as through the assurance we will sustain f35s, a10s in theater to be able to deal with any contingency that the United States might have to deal with in the days ahead. Thanks, jake. The European Union has said that they opposed a total siege of gaza. What is the u. S. Position on that . Ive seen those reports. But my understanding is that is not the concept of siege is not something that in fact will be perceived by the Israeli Government. Were consulting with the Israeli Government about their actions in this regard. Like i said before, to a previous question, President Biden and Prime Minister netanyahu that had the opportunity to talk through the difference of going full bore against Hamas Terrorists and how we distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians. Thanks, jake. Just so manying out to china. Is the u. S. Worried that this attention out of israel detract reinspectorses from the indopacific . Have you communicated with beijing . Going to senator schumers comments, he said he was disappointed be president xis soft response. Thats part of the discussions here. Were not entirely surprised by the prcs response based on their history of commentary by these kinds of issues. We believe that the United States is capable of supporting ukraine in europe, supporting our allies in the indopacific and supporting israel ins hour of need. We believe we have the resources, tools and capacities to effectively do that. Part of our job is to ensure that we are working across all of these theaters at once and thats what were doing each day. Yeah. Theres been some republican lawmakers have that have actioned the u. S. Cant support two wars. Can you talk about that and how youll make the request to congress and how the u. S. Need to invest with military and economic aid in israel and ukraine . Standing for ukraine so that russian aggression does not prevail in europe, the amount of resources that we need to put into that compared to the amount of resources we have to put in the russia were in fact to conquer ukraine and potentially have its aggression continue across europe, it is so much more costeffective to take the action now as opposed to pay the huge price later, a price that as it has in the past required the actual deployment of american troops to combat. So better to support the ukrainians as they stand firm against russian aggression and do so on a sustained basis. We have the Budget Wherewithal to do that and also the Budget Wherewithal to provide israel what they need. We reject the motion that the United States of america with not support ukraine and th state of israel. Is the Administration Working with israel and egypt in the crossing to try to ensure evacuations are possible . Also, i know you said in conversations with the israeli leaders, you dont think a complete siege is something that they may be attempting to do in gaza. Is there any counsel of restraint from the administration . On the first question in reference to a previous question, i spoke about our consultations with the israelis and the egyptians about how to deal with the challenge of civilians that want to leave gaza. I wont get into the details about that about a specific crossing or so forth only to say that is something that were focused on and working on and i want to leave those conversations for the moment. When we have more to offer, ill be sure to do so. Were having conversations with the israelis and i wont go into details in terms of what precise messages were passing. Its important that we talk to the israelis in the way that we always do as good friends, as honest friends and we will continue to do that. Yeah. Thanks, jake. So on the home front, over 150 people that were on the Terrorist Watch List have been seized along the southern border this fiscal year. Weve reported that been over 1. 5 million known gotaways since the Biden Administration took office. Is this something that the American People should be worried about right now . We continue to remain vigilant and Terrorist Threats to the homeland from anywhere. Its something that were working on, consulting with the congress on, seeking to secure the necessary resources to work through. Any time we see any threat stream involving a Terrorist Threat to the homeland, we mobilize every asset and resource and that includes information and analysis that we have shared with the congress about plots emanating from The Middle East, plots emanating from other places. Well continue to do that. We also will continue to take steps to pursue a humane orderly Border Policy and we will work with the congress in the weeks ahead to continue to get the resources that we need to do that. I would point out in the last supplemental we sought additional funding for the border, which was not forth coming in the ultimate package that went through. The Biden Administration has said to congress already, were looking for more resources to deal with the continuing challenges that we have at the border. Jake, the president doesnt have a confirmed ambassador to israel at this point. What are you doing to get jack lu confirmed given that he was nominated about a month ago, and the nomination was sent to the senate in late september. What is the plan to get him on the ground . The senate is coming back in to session next week. When they do, well work with democrats and republicans and the leaders on both sides and the chair and the rankings to make that happen as soon as humanly possible and get him out to the region immediately thereafter. Is that your top priority when Congress Returns apart from the aid request that youre talking about . Well, its hard to answer top priority in the sense that our top priority when Congress Comes back will be the full spectrum of needs that israel has. Some of that is related to the support that were seeking from congress and then of course having high level diplomatic representation is going to be critical as well. So we will move urgently on that the minute that they come back. Just one question. Can you just give us where things stand with the normalization . Is that on hold now . Is the there any problem . Do you see any progress with that . We are right now focused on dealing with the immediate challenge that were confronting and that israel is confronting. So im not going to give a characterization on the State Of Play of normalization. Its not on hold. The last four days, all of our attention with respect to our support for israel has been focused squarely on this conflict, on this heinous brutal attack and helping israel defend itself. Were going to continue to try to do that. Can you clarify your answer . You and the president compared hamas to isis. What does that say about the approach to hamas Going Forward . Well, we have labelled Hamas A Terrorist Group for years, if not decade. We have consistently supported israel and its efforts to fight back and undermine hamas. We will continue to do so. The immediate terms, it means working with israel to make sure that they can go after that hamas threat in gaza effectively, relentlessly and to the point that they feel their security and their deterrence has been fully restored. Yeah. Can i just ask real quick, mr. Sullivan, are you concerned at all that those that were here in the u. S. , terrorists, that are here in the u. S. , may be emboldened by what is happening now and just to piggyback on what was asked earlier because they do know that there are people lurking here. Is there a concern that there there may be a flairup . The president Put Out A Written Statement with multiple elements to it. One of those elements is about the focus that we have right now on protecting americans here at home against anyone who would seek to exploit or piggyback on what is unfolded, these gruesome events in israel. Part of that is about protecting places of worship, synagogues and ensuring we dont see a viral and form of antisemitism, sparked by what has just happened. Part of that is about ensuring that any Terrorist Threat here in the United States or to the United States or to americans anywhere in the world that we are at a heightened state of vigilance to deal with that. That is something that the president directed his team, something that he spoke to yesterday in that statement. Its something that he will be convening his National Security team on this week because it remains a high priority. Last question. Does the administration regret making the Prisoner Swap with iran in light of the effects . The United States does not regret bringing Home Americans that have been detained wrongly. The president has no higher priority than to get americans home. Right now we have american being held hostage by hamas in gaza. That is a high priority. Bringing them he from afghanistan, venezuela and other places and we stand by bringing those people home because thats the duty of the commanderinchief, to get innocent americans out of captivity in places that they are being unjustly detained. Thanks for your questions. Thanks, jake. Okay. I know the president will have an event shortly and the pool has to gather. Well take a few questions. On the Special Counsel interviews, did the president answer all of the questions that were asked during the interviews . Was the Executive Privilege invoked at any time . Theres limits on what you can say. In transparency would be helpful. My colleague at the White House Council put out a statement yesterday providing an update of where we are with this particular interview. Im not going to go beyond what my colleague has shared. If you have any further questions, i would refer you to the Department Of Justice or the white House Counsel to ask any detailed information. For the record though, we understand the president s interview with Special Counsel was scheduled long before the conflict began. Except were being told by people at the white house and elsewhere. If the president and his legal team were asked to be rescheduled given what transpired . Im not going to go beyond the statement from the white House Counsel. You all know and have seen for yourself the president spoke this is the second time hes spoken about israel in the last couple days. So we know how focused hes been on what has happened. Hes shown his leadership over the horrific events over the weekend in israel. Look, we disclosed an interview. We put that out in a statement from the white House Counsel from my colleague at the white House Counsel. The president obviously was intensely engaged. He spoke to many of our allies, whether the king of jordan, the leaders italy, france, germany and the u. K. He met with our National Security team over a dozen times and he spoke with b. B. Netanyahu to be more precise the third time today. So twice over the weekend. Hes been very much focused on the issues of the events that weve seen in israel. You know, the president is able to do multiple things at once. Right . As president , he has to do multiple things at once. Thats what you saw him do this weekend. The president s need to be interviewed by the Special Counsel yesterday impede or keep him from giving the remarks he gave today yesterday . You know the Press Officer knows there was a lot of inquiry and concern and criticism that perhaps hes not as publicly engaged yesterday as he could have been. There was a federal holiday. There was some respect or decision made to not hold Public Events on the federal holiday. Clearly he was doing a big thing by meeting with the Special Counsel. Any reason to believe that impeded his ability to respond publicly . As you just said, ed, president s have to do multiple things at once. He spoke saturday when we learned when all of you were reporting and it was incoming of what was happening in israel. He spoke today. Multiple statements from this president. I mentioned he met with his National Security team dozens of times. Multiple calls with heads of states to make sure that we got the support, continued that support, organized support of other allies and partners across the word. We put out a statement as well from those allies and partners. The president was very much engaged in showing his leadership and also how were continuing to support israel. Thats going to certainly thats how were going move forward. Again, the president has to handle many things at once. We saw him do that over the past couple days since certainly since saturday. The president said that he will urge congress to act quickly on israel aid. Obviously ukraine aid is still outstanding. Is there a preferred pathway forward from this white house on how both of those things can happen given the situation on capitol hill right now . Look, Jake Sullivan spoke to this a little bit about when he was asked about the aid. Look, he said this. He said it much better than im about to say, which is how important it is to support ukraine in their time of as theyre fighting for freedom, fighting the aggression from russia. Its important that we continue to do that. Because look, doing that now, the cost benefit of it now, is so important to do it now than to allow putin, a dictator like putin to continue beyond ukraine. Its important to focus on making sure that ukraine has everything that they need as they bravely fight for their freedom and their democracy. Were going to continue to move forward as you heard with the president to ask congress when they get back for additional assistance. Both of those things are incredibly important. Both of those things need to move forward. Both things as jake said, we are able and can do as the United States. Im not going to talk about our strategy. Were going to certainly as jake said, the omb director will lay that out and figure out the best path forward. I wont get into details on how that will look. Had white house officials have any conversations with bomb makers about speeding up the House Speakership Race . Im not going to get involved. As we have said many times, the house as you know is the the majority goes to the republicans. Its their path, their process to figure out who will be the speaker. Certainly we want that to get done so we can move forward with the business of the men people. I wont get into congressional process from here. Trying to see who has garrett. Theres been some clashes across the country in demonstrations and multiple protests in the aftermath amid whats happening in israel. How concerned is the clashes could turn violent and do you have a message for demonstrators . Jake spoke to our focus and the importance of making sure that the Jewish Community here is protected. Making sure there arent acts of violence. Well denounce any Act Of Violence against any community and well show support and be vigilant on that. We dont have anything else to go beyond that. Were certainly monitoring, keeping an eye on this. Were going to continue to support the community here. What is the president s message the pool should start leaving. Were going to take this last question. What is the president s message to members of congress who seem to be equating the hamas Terror Attack say that one more time. What is the president s message to members of congress who seem to be equating the hamas Terror Attack with actions that were previously taken by israel . Look, heres the thing. Which congressional members theres members of congress that have called for a cease fire and they have now gone as far as backing the administrations call for support for israel. Look, ive seen some of those statements this weekend. Were going to continue to be very clear. We believe theyre wrong. We believe they are repugnant and disgraceful. Our condemnation belongs with terrorists that have brutally murders, raped, kidnapped hundreds of israelis. There can be no equivocation about that. Theres not two sides here. Theres not two sides. President biden has been clear on where he has stood. You heard him directly today. You heard from him saturday on this. Theres been multiple statements from this president. Hes taking action to provide Additional Support to ensure that israel has what they need to defend themselves. Yesterday the president said he was putting Police Departments on high alert. Can you guarantee that members of the Muslim Diaspra can still exercise their criticism of israels behavior . Was that part of the conversation to ensure those communities i dont have any details of the conversation. Obviously the president will be were always going to denounce any form, any type of violence. Certainly to keep communities safe. Thats something that well be vigilant about. Thanks so much. See you tomorrow. Martha so that is it for the briefing at the white house as we watch plumes of smoke over gaza city as new air strikes coming from israel in to Gaza Continue to light up the sky. So its our understanding that there was a Fire Prevention Virtual Summit that caused the end of this briefing because the president will be doing a Virtual Summit on Fire Prevention. They wanted the pool to leave to get ready for that event. Meantime, the National Security adviser, Jake Sullivan has confirmed as the president did that theres a higher number of american dead than we previously knew. Now 14 americans have been killed in the brutal hamas attacks in israel. We also can confirm based on what we just heard from the white house that 20 or more americans are missing. They would not reveal whether or not they are being held hostage, only that they are unaccounted for at this point. Jakesullivan said the president spoke to the American People about 90 minutes behind schedule today. They were speaking with benjamin netanyahu, the Prime Minister of israel in the Situation Room when the president wrapped that up, they came out. Obviously this president has a very full plate. The u. S. Involvement now in israel and also in ukraine. So heres part of what the president had to say. The brutality of hamas, the Blood Thirstiness brings to mind the worst rampages of isis. This is terrorism. We must be crystal clear. We stand with israel. When Congress Returns, were asking them to take urgent action to fund the National Security requirements of our critical partners. Anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, i have one word. Dont. Martha okay. Dont, says the president. Lets bring in Marc Thiessen, fox news contributor. Howie kurtz, host of media buzz and kurt volker, former u. S. Ambassador to nato. Good to have you with us. We hear this from the president today as i said after two days of not hearing anything from President Biden. Also we continue to hear reports that hamas Will Begin Hostages and they may video some of those killings. Its an absolutely chilling environment for the families of these people that are missing. Marc, your take on how the president did and what he had to say. I cant believe we waited two days for that. He gave that entire statement and didnt mention iran once. Not once. Lets be clear. Hamas is a wholly owned subsidiary of iran. They fund them, train them. Could not carry out an attack like the arms training and support of the Iranian Regime putting aside any question of coordination of the specific attack, this is an iranian attack that has resulted in the death of 14 americans and 20 are missing. When donald trump was president , he druid a red line with iran. He said if you touch the hair of an American Citizen, we will respond militarily and we do not draw any distinction between you and your terrorist proxies. When iran crossed that red line, they killed an American Citizen and set fire to an embassy, he killed solemani. Joe biden cant even mention the perpetrator of the attack that killed 14 americans . That was over one dead american. 14 dead at the handsof the Iranian Regime. Iran needs to pay a price or theyll do more. He needs to put a cost on the Iranian Regime for what they did. Martha its interesting. Jake sullivan worked on the jcpoa. He has tried to make deals with i iran. That situation is not looking great at that point. Tell me your thoughts on what you heard and didnt hear here. It is amazing to not mention iran. I wonder how the mullahs feel as they watch this speech . They listen to every word. At the podium and the president made it clear, we cannot form a clear line between this action and iran. Well, i think the idea of the iranian leadership is to keep the u. S. Out of this as much as possible. Isolate israel as much as possible. So they use their proxy, hamas to attack israel. Israel will respond. They have to do this carefully because of the Hostage Situation as well. I think theyre probably very pleased to see the u. S. Is acting very cautiously. As mark said, we have to draw a red line about iranian responsibility to this. To be two days and still say we dont have any confirmation that iran was behind this, that is a willful misrepresentation. We know systemically that hamas exists because of iranian support. Martha why would they be so careful . Why are they being so careful not to say iran . What is their motivation at the white house . I think its because it draws an implication that the u. S. Has to take Direct Action as well. Theyre trying to avoid that. Martha well see wed all like to be a Fly On The Wall with benjamin netanyahu. Howie kurtz, you wrote a piece about this horrific attack on israelis. You said the president tends to fade to the background in these moments. How do you measure that with who you just heard from the president. I credit President Biden with a strong emotional empathetic denunciation of Blood Thirstiness and evil by hamas. Biden has taken the Worlds Largest Bully Pull Pet and shrunken it. He should be on tv every day talking about israel, should we go visit a synagogue . That reminds me of the five day stretch where he said nothing about the maui wild fires. People need to see their president leading. The New York Times and some left wingers at msnbc need to stop reforming to hamas militants, this is not militancy. This butchery. Martha they talked about the rafa gate to egypt. Whenever there were real questions about what the policy is going to be, thats the one chit that can be used from gaza for the two million plus people to get out of this palestinian area. Not all of these people are supporters of hamas. What do you think should be done about that part of this story . Well, first of all, the Israeli Government unlike hamas and unlike iran warns Palestinian Civilians when the attacks are coming and warns them to get out of the way. No government has done more to try to protect the innocent palestinians in this conflict, contrast that with hamas that beheaded babies. Beheaded babies. Attacked a Music Festival where there were 20yearolds dancing and having a celebration of peace. The other thing that is important to remember, martha, in that statement, theres now we know theres 20 americans missing. The president has acknowledged theres american hostages. Where was the statement saying that we hold iran responsible for the lives of those American Citizens if any american hostage is harmed, we will hold iran responsible and iran will pay the price for their deaths. Hamas is saying if iran bombs them, theyre going to started executing hostages . We should say the same thing to the iranians. You will pay a Military Price if a single hostage is harmed because you control hamas and youre responsible for their lives. Martha and i guarantee the families were waiting for that unequivocal statement. Ambassador volcker, a Quick Response as well. Thats right. We need to make the stakes clear and show that were actively engaging directly on behalf of American Citizens. Its helpful, its important that were sympathetic with israel. But we have a stake in this as well. Martha no moments attached to that specifically. You know thats what the families were waiting to hear that we will bring home every one of those hostages. We will bring home all of the dead as well. Jake sullivan touched on it in his comments. Thanks very much. Good to have all of you with us today. Thank you. Were going to our correspondent on the ground, trey yingst. He said imagine the worst things possible that can be done to humans. Humans did all of that and more to israeli civilians. Babies beheaded. People who were burned alive in their homes. Women raped and dragged through the streets. Dont look away. Trey is live on the ground in israel with the latest. Trey . Martha, good afternoon. Weve been trying to get a better sense all day about these atrocities and gather more information about the attack that took place on saturday morning. As were doing this reporting, hamas fighters are trying to get into Southern Israel. A few hundred feet from here, theres tanks stages, preparing to go in to the gaza strip. And further towards the sea, in this part of israel, right now to the gaza border, 3 hamas fighters cam in to Southern Israel and engaged the israelis in another firefight. Theyre trying to commit more attacks against the Israeli Soldiers and the israeli people that do remain in this area. The death toll has reached more than 1,000 people. Were also learning more about how many hamas militants took place in this attack saturday morn. We were driving further south to look at some of the towns and communities along the border. This area is deserted. Its been retaken by the israeli military. We can see the bodies of hamas fighters along the side of the road. Now according to the israeli military, more than 1,500 militants took part in this raid saturday morning. They went in to the homes of civilians and slaughtered them. Women and children. You read that tweet there. That is really part of why were here to make sure that people dont look away. Were learning more about those atrocities every day and learning mosh about how Tis Railly Military is preparing to respond. You can see the Images Inside Gaza right now. The israelis continue their air strikes using the fighter jets and air power that they have. Martha . Martha thanks, trey. We watch on the lefthand side of the screen. Its night time in gaza city. We have been watching the explosions. Those targeting being softened up before they head in. Is there any end case how close they are to the Ground Invasion . Martha, were about as close as you can get to the gaza strip right now. A few hundred feet away, theres a field of tanks. The tanks have their lights on. They are ready to go. They have their engines run. Theyre waiting for the order, this is a scene that looks similar along the gaza border. Troops are kited out, prepared. They have bags with them. We saw today they have food in their trucks. They are prepared for a long stay. Israeli media is reporting today, this operation in gaza when its announced, when the Prime Minister addresses the nation and the world, it could takes months, martha. Martha thanks, trey. Well see you later. Trey yingst reporting on the ground in israel. The hamas attacks include one site with the bodies of 40 babies according to the Israeli Soldiers that found them. That was in the area of kaffa aza near the gaza border. You can see a babys crib. You can see total destruction. Watch this report from israeli media. Im talking to some of the soldiers. They say what they witnessed as they have been walking through the different houses, the different communities. Babying, their heads cut off. Thats what they said. Gunned down. Families completely gunned down in their beds. You can see the soldiers right now comforting each other. Many of them reserves who jumped in to action leaving their own families behind as well. Not knowing the sheer horror that they were about to come to. These soldiers absorbing the horrors of war, walking into these situations never knowing what theyre going to see, what theyre going to witness. I want to bring in enes kantor freedom, a Human Rights Activist and former nba player. What are your thoughts as you witness these atrocities that have been brought upon the israeli people . Thank you for having me. I mean, as a muslim, i strongly condemn the attack against israel and innocent civilians on both sides. I express my full solidarity with the victims and families and loved ones. As a muslim, i can not celebrate deaths on any side, regardless of religion, color, ethnicity. The scenes is heart breaking. So may allah help the innocent people on both sides. You cannot justified the attack on civilians. Islam states that killing one life equals the kill of humanity. No arm of destruction has ever received any decades of conflict. So i condemn hamas for sure, but same time, you know, for israel, think cutting off water, Food Supplies and electricity for the have a civilian population cannot be tolerated. Taking down hospitals and buildings where innocent people live is unacceptable. Martha what about turkeys role . Erdogan has spoken out about getting involved as a negotiator. What do you say about that . 37 days ago, erdogan and hamas med in turkey. Hamas getting huge support from governments like turkey, governments like iran and especially for the two countries, hamas and other Terrorist Organization is like safe haven for those groups. You know, they raise huge amount of money and they get turkish passport and travel in and out of other countries. Also israeli customs, authorities, seize the raw material used for make rockets that originated in turkey. I just hope that the world can see what a dictator erdogan is doing not only to his own country but other countries around him. Martha before i let you go, just taking it back home here to the debate going on right now and the acceptance of understanding brutality when it is right in our faces in terms of this story. This is barry weiss speaking earlier. Lets play the longer the full version of what barry weiss of the free press had to say and the debates that go on here at home. Watch this. Just think about the number of ceos and University President s and celebrities that had immediate statements about the murder of george floyd, about black lives matter, about the war in ukraine. Where are they now . It really tells you a lot about people who claim to care about justice. About, you know, tell you that words can cause violence. Yet have nothing to say in the face of such utter blood shed. Martha what do you say to that, enes . Where is the Celebrity World . Where is the sports world . Where are the people that call themselves more than an athlete . Where are they . Theyre the first ones that goes out there and says enough is enough. But when it comes to anywhere else, theyre silent. Human is human. I dont understand why are they staying silent now. Im calling them out for hypocrisy. Today. Ks, enes, for being here of course. Thank you. Martha breaking moments ago, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about the intelligence directly linking iran to the brutal hamas attacks that took the lives we now know of 14 americans. Thats the latest count of those we have lost. Watch. As i stand here today, while iran plays this broad role sustained deep and dark role in providing all of this support and capabilities to hamas in terms of this particular grew some attack on october 7th, we dont currently have that information. Martha former director of National Intelligence, John Ratc Ratcliffe joins us now. What did you think of his statement . Its dishonest. The Intelligence Community has long known what you heard your guest Marc Thiessen say that hamas is a wholly owned subsidiary of iran. They fund it, direct it. Nothing is done without their permission. With regard to this operation, hamas publicly thanked iran for their participation in this operation. Thats the equivalent of a signed confession. That is direct intelligence. For Jake Sullivan to imply otherwise would to have you believe that hamas would have publicly implicated or framed its primary benefactor, to make that assertion is infuriating. And you questioned your guests, why are they tip toeing around iran . The answer is very clear. To admit irans involvement and as its exposed here is to look at the failure of their policy. Weve had so many conversations where we talked about the opposite of peace through strength ischaos through weakness. We would regret the Biden Administrations approach in appeasing iran and trusting iran and negotiating with iran. In this particular case, martha, so much is made about this 6 billion. Heres what is irrefutable. At the moment that the Biden Administration was negotiating to get american hostages back and to give 6 billion for that, iran was planning an operation to take more american hostages, more american lives. The Biden Administration got played. They got dooped. They dont want to admit it. Martha yeah. You know, when you take a step back from this, john, iran one of their main reasons for existence is to wipe israel off the map. So how to they do that . They support hamas in the south and hezbollah in the north. We know hezbollah is starting to do attacks in the northern part of israel and hamas is carrying out the attacks in all sites across the south. Saad the whole point and the iranian leadership spoke out about, this it isolates, squeezes israel effectively out of existence. It appears that the white house has allowed their feelings about b. B. Netanyahu, the Prime Minister to impede them from having an open dialogue with them and showing support for him that would be strengthening to the u. S. Israeli alliance. Hes not been invited to the white house, which is unprecedented, i think, in president ial u. S. History over the past decades at least. So you know, how much of that is the backdrop for the boldness that we see here, john . Its, its all of it. The president said today, we stand with israel. He said it unequivocally. Nobody believes it. The last two years he stood closer to iran than israel for all the reasons you outlined. The trust here, martha is that hamas is funded by iran and iran has been funded in part by the Biden Administration approach and enriching them by not enforcing the maximum pressure campaign, by lifting restrictions, by letting iranian oil be sold on the open market. All of that has played in to what is taking place here and hes allowed at the same time daylight between the United States and israel in The Middle East for everybody to see. Iran and hamas has taken advantage of that. Martha so much to talk about. I hope you come back. We want to talk about russia and chain and what happens with this saudi deal between israel and the saudis, all of which had promising benefits. Hope you come back, soon. Thanks very much, john ratcliffe, former director of National Intelligence for the z and the white house saying its in contact with the families of the missing americans in israel. Watch. Were in very regular contact with every family, someone that has someone missing or unaccounted for whatever reason. We will take care of that that will be our highest priority. Martha with that, we want to bring in ruby chen, her 19yearold son, itay is one of the missing. Mr. Chen, thanks very much for joining us. I cannot imagine this excruciating pain that youre going through, not knowing where your son is. I want to ask your what your response is to what you just hired from the president and from the National Security adviser. Im sure you were watching closely. Yes. All of us here were watching President Biden. I think all of us here felt that President Biden talked. We were fully applaud what he had to say and the support that he provided on that topic. All of us that have family, it is citizens that are missing, held in captainive, President Biden saying that is his highest priority of his administration is something that we were very glad to hear him say it in his own words. Now is the time to act. So indeed we have been in contact with the state department. And have been provided with some information where they acknowledge the fact that they are aware of the situation of our loved ones that are missing. But i think we families would like to see the u. S. Take a more active position regarding the negotiations that need to happen between hamas that are holding hostage, people against International Law and the people that are on the other side. The u. S. Should not take a back seat when it comes to this. As President Biden said, over 20 u. S. Citizens that are being held hostage. In these cases typically, the u. S. Would defer to the country that that attack happened. So yes, our Family Members are board israeli and u. S. Citizens. But i think in this specific case the u. S. , you know, should take priority because of the capabilities, influence and different players in the region as well as its power on the technical side and others to get to a negotiation that we would be able to be with our loved ones back again. Martha we all want that for you, ruby and for your family. I have about 30 seconds, sir, before were done here. Tell me quickly about your son. Hes an avid basketball player. We grew up in new york city. Hopefully having a new york dna, he will be able to tough it up and be able to survive whatever situation hes been confronted from. I want to thank you for the time of amplifying our voice and hopefully with are not just a headline. Please keep us in your mind, keep thinking of us. Everyone that is listening to us now has a family. The only thing we want to do is have our family back together, celebrating birthdays, other occasions with our home Family Members. Martha mr. Chen, thank you. Thats what we all want for you. Thank you for being here. Thats the story for today