Martha after the bloodiest attack in israels history, israel orders a complete siege of gaza. Its military says theyre ready for a ground war. So those who want to save their life, please go south. Martha with nowhere to flee, a humanitarian catastrophe unfolds. Its a massacre. Theyre wiping out entire neighborhoods. Martha the u. S. Pledges unwavering support for israel. We will always be there by your side. Martha and President Biden warns against a widening conflict. Anyone thinking of taking advantage of the situation, i have one word, dont. Martha this morning, our exclusive reporting at the wars front. The latest developments with White House National security adviser, jake sullivan, and Israeli Defense spokesman, peter lerner. Plus the communities destroyed by the violence. And well take you to the places where this all began and the horrific endings. And a look back at this intractable conflict ive covered for decades. They see us as some kind of european colonial power that showed up, plopped here. We hold stones. Throw stones. They hold guns and shoot us. Announcer from abc news, this is a special edition of this week. Reporting live from tel aviv, Martha Raddatz. Martha good morning, and welcome to this week. We join you this morning from israel where Israeli Forces are now surrounding gaza, poised for an allout assault from the air, the sea, and the ground. It has been just over a week since Hamas Terrorists brutally massacred some 1,300 israelis and took more than 150 hostages. It is a country still in mourning, still in shock. We visited one of the decimated communities yesterday on the gaza border, and we will bring you the harrowing stories of those atrocities in a moment, but the fullblown war between israel and hamas appears headed for a new, more dangerous phase likely to involve tens of thousands of soldiers engaged in a long and bloody urban fight in one of the most densely populated places on earth. Already about half of gazas 2 million residents have been displaced and more than 2,300 palestinians there have been killed under near constant israeli shelling, and there are now Major Concerns a prolonged campaign could spark a wider, regional conflict with iranianbacked hezbollah to israels north or with iran directly. Abcs chief Foreign Correspondent ian pannell who has reported here from the beginning is near gaza this morning where israels military could launch a Ground Invasion at any moment. Good morning, ian. Reporter yeah. Good morning, martha. The Israeli Palestinian conflict has been smoldering without burning for so long, and it all ended in a few horrific hours over a week ago in a bloodthirty rampage by hamas militants through this israel. Now the history long dormant repeating itself again. Overnight, israel confirming plans to attack gaza from the land, air and sea, although it hasnt said when. Gaza has already been under relentless bombardment for eight long days and nights. This morning, as many as 1 million palestinians are on the move told to move immediately and run for their lives. The message came from the sky. Israeli leaflets scattered, over a population under siege. Warning gazaens they have just hours to move away from the border. Just a few hours to pack an entire lifetime, and with all borders closed, the only place they can head is south. Gazans have been piling what they can into the back of trucks, strapping their belongings to their cars. Some families only able to go on foot. Parents clutching their childrens hands. And even while they did as they were told, israel continued to bomb. Israel retaliating for the hamas massacre of more than 1,300 people. More than 2,300 palestinians have died in just over a week in gaza according to the local health authorities. President biden standing squarely behind israel, but theres unease at the escalating humanitarian crisis in gaza. We cant lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of palestinians had nothing to do with hamas. Reporter the entire gaza strip, home to over 2 million palestinians is about the size of philadelphia. Its one of the most densely populated places on the planet. The last remaining Border Crossing into egypt is closed to palestinians after bombing by israel, although americans and other foreign nationals may be allowed out in the coming days. The u. N. Calling for the Evacuation Order to be stopped. We need immediate humanitarian access to gaza so we can get food and water to everyone in need. Even wars have rules. Reporter 21yearold College Student afaf najjat documenting her familys journey. Today morning we woke up to the news that we had to evacuate. Reporter she describes the drive south as horrifying, and even when she got to the end of her journey, it wasnt the sanctuary she was expecting. The moment we arrived yunis. We realized that air strikes were happening there as well. Very heavy ones. Reporter this is another student that followed orders to leave and faced bombing in the south. Were leaving our house right now, and we dont know where to go. Like many, shes afraid israel wants gazans to leave altogether and go live in egypt. Shes terrified about whats to come. With escalating fighting in the north on the border with lebanon and now clear threats from iran, there are growing fears that this conflict could spread if the iranianbacked militant Group Hezbollah commits its forces. Prime minister netanyahu promised to change the face of the middle east after the attack, but it may not be possible to control what it looks like when the guns fall silent again. Martha . Martha ian pannell, thank you. It has been a week since hamas terrorized israel. We visited one of the brutalized communities where about 100 people were killed last saturday morning. Others there were taken hostage. It is so hard to hear about, to watch on tv, and even harder to see up close, but israeli officials and people here say these crimes need to be shown, that the world needs to bear witness. They came to kill. Firing a barrage of rockets, raiding a music festival, and taking israelis hostage. An attack so horrific, so inhumane, it echoed the holocaust. The remnants of the terror still everywhere. This is where it all began. Heavily armed terrorists coming over from gaza. They now call this the road of death. The Israeli Defense forces showing us where the infiltration first began. Cars littered with bullet holes off the side of the road where hamas ambushed israelis in their cars and executed them. Heres the car, one of hundreds of cars, as is. The guys backpack is still sitting on the car. Hasnt hadnt i would not returned to him, but theres no return, he was slaughtered. Martha down the road, a quiet Farming Community of about 800 people right on the border with gaza. This is the kill zone. This is where the kill zone begins here, as you drive in. Martha hamas infiltrating this kibbutz, penetrating fences, swooping in on motorized paragliders. Were about a mile away from gaza right now. Its over there, and you can see those buildings and a little bit of smoke still coming up from there, and this is the gate where the Hamas Terrorists broke through, 1 of 30 locations where they gained access. This video from online showing hamas begin its relentless gunfire, unleashing its brutality on residents. Even taking captive the elderly like this grandmother from the community. Some homes lit on fire to ensure anyone who would survive hamas intrusion didnt. Hamas in control here for hours. Hamas after massacring and Holding Hostages were here for a number of hours until the end of the first day. We had special forces that came in in a series of waves. Eventually we neutralized a number of them. You have to understand there were hundreds all over climbing under windows, under bushes, flying in from the air. Martha the community now a ghost town. None of its residents can live there, but we ran into one young father whod come back just to get supplies. I started hearing gunshots. From assault rival over. I heard explosions. So it wasnt something normal, so i know something really bad and unusual is going on. So we went back inside. We locked all the doors, all the windows. We were besieged in our protected room for Something Like 20 hours. We sat in the dark. Martha mayor morovia is unsure if he and his wife and two kids will ever return. I can smell the death everywhere. This is where my kids played. This is where they grew up. They murdered entire families, our friends. They murdered children, the parents. What they did to the youth neighborhood, you know, im hearing all the stories, and martha its too much. Yes. Yes. Its brutal, you know. Martha an eighth of this community, some 100 people did not survive the attack. Lives taken even at their most vulnerable moments like the couple who lived in this house. They were killed in bed. The blood is on the wall. Martha thats the couple. Theres nothing to say. Just nothing to say. Israeli soldiers are now stationed along the fence here with the bodies of some of the Hamas Terrorists still littering the ground where they died. You could see hes wearing bullet proof vests. He came to kill. He put that bullet proof vest on, knives, axes, guns, knowing he was coming to perpetrate evil against women and children. That whole knock of a force which hes a part of they landed. Martha and he had probably been here for hours before you got to him. Yes, he was here for hours, you can see, he was near the window of this home. Killed right here. Special forces killed him right here under win dose. They were everywhere, sprayed out everywhere like a video game in the most grotesque way. Martha this community, this country forever changed. Its israel after gaza and israel before gaza, and this is it. Martha joining us now is the spokesperson for the Israeli Defense forces, Lieutenant Colonel peter lerner. Thanks for joining us this morning. The idf says the assault will be by land, by air, by sea. Is this imminent, and can you explain the objective . Good morning, martha. Yes, we are on day nine since the brutal massacre of families, men, women and children, in the south of israel by hamas, as an orchestrated strategic attack against the soft underbelly of our society. We currently striking hamas in its entirety from the leaders at the head. From the man who has a target on his back. The mastermind of the massacre, the Prime Minister of hamas, the person whos subordinated the entire institution of hamas to the terrorist actions of this terrorist organization, to all the way down to the person we killed last night in a strike who was one of the commander unit that was hamas commander unit that conducted an attack on the saturday of october 7th, and we will strike hamas from the top through its institutions all the way down to the individuals that conducted the butchering of our babies. We did not ask for this war, but we will win it. Martha meanwhile, you have 2,300 palestinians in gaza who have been killed. You have a million palestinians still looking for a way to get out of northern gaza and go south after you ordered an evacuation, but they have nowhere to go, and it is already a humanitarian disaster. So we have instructed People Living in the north of gaza to exit towards the south, to move down, and as were seeing the images of people actually adhering to our message, you know, this is just what a humanitarian means in order to keep people out of harms way so we can deal with hamas. You know, people are moving. People are listening. I dont know if you have seen, but hamas actually tried to obstruct their movement. They established checkpoints to prevent people, and administered messaging telling people to ignore that, and it just goes to show how hamas are actually trying to put the people of gaza at more risk. They have no regard for human life, israeli or palestinian. Martha but the United Nations called your order impossible, and weve seen people trying to get out who cant. They cant go through egypt. Doctors without borders says a its outrageous. Israel has said they will follow the rules of war, so why not allow everyone who needs to get out to get out before this assault begins . As i said, were directing people out of the north of gaza before we increase our strikes there against the hub and heart of hamas operations, and we are seeing that people are actually evacuating. Indeed we would like to see the humanitarian organizations assisting in the evacuation of people for the welfare of people and not side with hamas telling them not to evacuate. That is ridiculous. You know, weve seen hamas orchestrate over the last day, an attack on the people themselves in order to prevent them from evacuating. Yesterday throughout the day, there were many images broadcasted around the world of a supposed convoy that the idea attacked causing 70 deaths or so. This was a false move. It was one of hamas many manipulations and unfortunately, you know, we need to be very clear on what facts are actually happening. Before we report about these types of incidents on the ground, it needs to have the facts clear. We cant just deduce this was an israeli strike. Martha certainly people are trying to do this. All of this is complicated of course by the hostages. 150 hostages. What do you know about them . What can you tell us . So we are very concerned, martha, of their welfare. Indeed, it is hamas who has the responsibility to return them to israel immediately. I want to be very cautious in anything i say because i dont want to jeopardize any steps that could happen in order to bring to their release, hopefully, but it is a, you know, a component of our operational planning, and it does influence. So i think out of respect for them and hopefully for their welfare, i think we should leave it at that. Martha okay. We have seen increased fighting on israels northern border with lebanon and irans foreign minister met with the head of hezbollah and said the terror group is ready to respond to any move israel makes, and that the opening of other fronts is a real possibility. How are you preparing for that, and how likely is that . So we have recruited some 300,000 reservists in order to be prepared for any eventuality. Those reservists are both for the Southern Front with the border with gaza, so theyre in staging grounds preparing for a potential Ground Invasion if the government instructs us to do so, but also theyre disbursed throughout the communities and on the border and frontier lebanon in anticipation of potential uptick in violence with hezbollah. We have had several skirmishes along the border over the last few days and even today during the day we have had the day we have had anti tankguided missiles fired at forces and indeed causing some casualties. So we need to be prepared. I would highly recommend that hezbollah watch very closely what is happening to hamas and their organization in gaza as we speak. If they have they should be very cautious of crossing that threshold because we are determined to defend the state of israel. With regard to iranian involvement, of course, theyre involved. They have trained and funded and equipped the terrorist organizations on our doorstep. Theyre, you know, theyve used millions and millions and billions of dollars in order to do so. So of course, theyre involved, and we are watching that also very closely to see if that has any further influence on our fronts. Martha okay. Thanks very much for joining us this morning, Lieutenant Colonel. Coming up, well speak with President Bidens National Security adviser, jake sullivan, about the effort to free the american hostages held in gaza. Our special edition of this week continues in just a moment. Rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. But im protected with arexvy. Arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions. But im protected. Arexvy is proven to be over 82 effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94 effective in those with these health conditions. Arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. I chose arexvy. Rsv . Make it arexvy. all toooo youuuuu sean i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro jason sean do you mean this one the one with titanium . sean no way i can trade this busted up thing for one. jason maybe stealing wishes from the birthday boy is not your best plan switch to verizon and trade in any iphone and get the new iphone 15 pro on them. sean what . jason yup, and on an Amazing Network sean and i dont have to ruin anymore birthday parties jason yeah, that ship has sailed. Lets go get you the iphone. Here we go, come on hon. vo its your last chance to trade in any iphone for a new iphone 15 pro on us. Only on verizon. A week ago we saw hate manifest in another way, in the worst massacre of the jewish people since the holocaust. More than 1,300 innocent lives lost in israel including at least 27 americans. Children and grandparents alike kidnapped, held hostage by hamas. The humanitarian crisis in gaza, innocent palestinian families and the vast majority have nothing to do with hamas. [ applause ] theyre being used as human shields. Martha that was President Biden speaking at the Human Rights Campaign dinner last night. Were joined now by his National Security adviser jake sullivan. Good morning to you. The u. S. Is supporting israels military plans, but is urging israel to avoid civilian casualties, but as weve said, more than 2,300 palestinians have already been killed. Theyre running out of water. They are running out of food. Are you satisfied with the way israels carrying out this operation . Well, thanks for having me on, martha. As President Biden said, innocent palestinians who have nothing to do with hamas should be treated just like innocent civilians anywhere which means they should have access to food and water and medicine, and we have made that clear publicly and privately since the beginning of this operation in response to the absolutely heinous and savage terrorist attack that took place last saturday. We are in touch with our israeli counterparts. Were in touch with the United Nations to help secure the necessary supplies of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of gaza, those palestinians who have nothing to do with the barbaric terrorists who carried out this attack. Martha let me ask you again. Are you satisfied with the way that israel is carrying out this operation then . What im here to do, martha, is to explain what the United States position is, and our position as President Biden has stated it is straight forward. We believe in the protection of civilian life. We believe in the laws of war, and we believe in the full and necessary access to humanitarian supplies, and were going to keep working on that. Were going to work on it with the israelis. Were going to work on it with the egyptians and jordanians, were going to work on it with the United Nations. And were going to do that every day and im not going to react publicly to every report thats happening, but rather keep my head down, keep our heads down in we have been able to achieve what we believe is the necessary level of support to innocent people. Martha so how do the refugees get out at this point . How do the palestinians get out . How do americans get out . Well, first with respect to the american citizens in gaza, martha, we have been working around the clock. We have an entire dedicated team that is working on nothing but this, helping american citizens who are in gaza be able to get safe passage through the border cross into egypt. That has been difficult because of the Ongoing Operations and frankly because hamas has intervened in some cases to make it hard for palestinians, palestinian americans and others to be able to travel to the Border Crossing and get through. Were working that hard. Our goal is to ensure that every american who is in gaza has safe passage out and we will not rest until that happens, and then with respect to the palestinian population more generally, palestinian civilians, we are working, again as i said with the United Nations, with egypt, with jordan, and with israel to ensure there are safe places for them to be able to go where they will have access to food, water, medicine, shelter, and also where they will be safe from military operations. Martha and what is the latest on the american citizens who have been taken hostage . President biden told 60 minutes that the u. S. Is going to do everything in our power to get them home if we can find them. Do we not have any idea where they are in gaza at this point . Well, first, like Lieutenant Colonel lerner who was on your program im going to be very cautious about what i say publicly on this because i want to make sure we preserve our capacity to ultimately secure the recovery of the american hostages being held by hamas, but i will say this. It is a dynamic situation. We cannot say that we have a fixed location for every american or even that we know every american who is being held. We know there are 15 unaccounted for americans at this point. We dont know how many of those are being held as hostages and we dont know how many of those tragically are deceased and their bodies have not yet been identified. So, we are working having sent hostage experts to israel with our israeli counterparts on hostage recovery options, we are also working with third countries on every possible avenue to secure their release. I wont go further than that other than to say President Biden, he has no higher priority than to get those americans back. Martha i want to talk about the northern border. I talked about that with the Lieutenant Colonel as well, but as you know, the Iranian Foreign minister met with the leader of hezbollah and called on israel to stop the attacks in gaza. There was a report this morning that iran sent a message through the u. N. To israel through the u. N. That iran would have to intervene if the israeli operation into gaza continues. Is that accurate . I cannot confirm that report. Martha well, tell me what you are seeing on that border and how concerned you are about what is happening with hezbollah. We are concerned. We see a real risk of escalation on the northern border, and that is why President Biden has been so clear and forceful in saying that no state and no group should seek to exploit this situation to their advantage or should escalate the conflict, and, in fact, he has now sent the u. S. Has eisenhower from the United States towards the region to give additional capacity to respond to any contingency and also to send a clear message of deterrence that no one should get involved in this. No one should escalate this, and the United States is showing that as well as saying that, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely on that northern border. Martha you just said respond to any contingency. What are you talking about there . How could they get involved if this deterrence does not work . Well, im not going to speak to hypotheticals. What im going to say is that the United States will have in the region, a substantial amount of capacity, and that the United States is going to continue to message both publicly and privately, any potential actor not to get involved. As President Biden said quite simply and straight forwardly, dont, and that is the message the United States will continue to send. Martha thanks for being with us this morning. We appreciate it. Thank you. Martha so lets get more on the hostage situation now with abc Foreign CorrespondentJames Longman who has been here in israel all week, and james, so good to see you. I know you have had a really emotional week talking to survivors and families of hostages. Yeah, martha, you know, its been extraordinary actually. I think whats the most striking is the intimacy of the killing on saturday. Thats what really, i think, the survivors explained. The idea these men came into their homes and murdered their families in front of them. That will stay with me a long time. 16 years old, the last thing he heard his father say was, ive lost my arm, and his mother, her body landed on his and he had to hide under her body from Hamas Terrorists as they searched the building for more victims. Its just been terrible. Others have been waiting on news for loved ones and they havent been getting it. Martha they havent gotten any news. Theyre not keeping in touch with people . No. I mean all week this week, we had a horrible image i met a family. A 22yearold was at the festival in the desert. Her father was going hospital to hospital with her hair brush, with hair on it, with her dna, trying to find out if she died. At the end of the week, they finally got the answer they dreaded and they had her funeral. We reached out to a 19yearold idf soldier. She was taken. Her family had seen videos of her bloodied and bound taken into gaza. Her family reached out this morning. The idf have still not given them updates about what they believe to be the case with her daughter. Her mother is sitting on her sofa, her couch at home struck dumb with grief, and there are many others like that. Martha so much grief here, james. Its really overwhelming, but there is also anger. Absolutely. Martha i went to a candlelight vigil last night. There were a lot of very angry people at the Israeli Government. Yeah. Absolutely. There are families of hostages who say quite openly that they believe that Benjamin Netanyahu has blood on his hands. They want the government to respond. Of course, they do, but they want the focus to be on their families, the hostages, the loved ones who are in gaza, and i have to say the focus of that vigil has been outside the defense ministry. Also, the focus of protests all this year, ive been here back and forth to israel monitoring the situation of this government, who they feel has had too much of a focus on the west bank, on settler rights, and less of a focus of security on the south, and they feel like the government has abandoned their cause and theyre abandoning their families now inside gaza. Martha terrible stories, james. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. Just ahead, our brandnew poll with ipsos. With rare consensus on u. S. Involvement here, and findings the white house will want to take note of. Those new numbers next. This is american infrastructure. Megawatts of power, rails and open road, and essential services of every kind. All running on countless invisible networks, making it a prime target for cyberattacks. But the same aipowered security that protects all of google also defends the systems running americas infrastructure. For these services. For the 336 million of us living here. Oh. Stuffed up again . So congested you need sinex saline from vicks. Just sinex, breathe, ahhhh what is wow sinex. Breathe. Ahhhhhh serving in afghanistan, i was hit by sniper fire and i was given a 5 chance to live. Its a good thing math wasnt my best subject. Today, i visit classrooms and share my story. I tell kids that with a little help and a lot of work, you can overcome any challenge. [narrator] dav helps veterans like adam get the benefits theyve earned. They help more than a million veterans every year. My victory is being there for the next generation. [narrator] support more victories for veterans. Go to dav. Org. As this conflict between israel and hamas intensifies, in washington, the ongoing paralysis among House Republicans to elect a new speaker could impact usa to israel. For more on that, im going to hand it off to jon karl. Jon . Thank you, martha. Were getting word of some ominous comments from irans foreign minister about the war expanding and warning, quote, heavy losses will befall america as well. Those comments reported just minutes ago by al jazeera. Meanwhile there is broad support for israel among political leaders from both parties and according to our new poll this morning among voters as well, but with the chaos in the house in no agreement on the next speaker, theres not much congress can do. At least not now. Well be right back. Rebecca is there when you feel not so hot. This is larissa, whos feeling glown up. And this here is winnie, who zhuzhed up their cup. This is victoria, helping women stay healthy. These are your kids, snacking snacks made with veggies. And matty can help you find your new favorite color. And kyle helps find meds for under 10 dollars. Whoever you are, wherever, whenever, at cvs, healthier happens together. 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Since taking release, my sleep is way better. My inflammation has gone way down. Im nonstop now, i feel way better than i did before. I dont sit down in life anymore. These people have played their cards. They want to kill as many israelis as they can, and negotiating with killers is not an option for the elected government of israel, and so these people have played their cards. They want to kill as many israelis as they can, and negotiating with killers is not an option for the elected government of israel, and so were just going to have to remain steadfast, but its not going to take long. Its gone on too long. Surely theres a way to settle this, to negotiations. Both sides are guilty. My view is one side is guilty, and its not israel. Jonathan former president george w. Bush in his first Public Comments about the war between israel and hamas. Lets bring in our round table. Former dnc chair donna brazile. Manhattan Institute President and contributing writer, raihan salam. Julie pace, and asma khalid. Julie, i want to start with what we just heard which is according to al jazeera, very ominous comments from the iranian government. This is according to al jazeera. Iran cannot remain a spectator to the situation if the scope of the war expands, heavy losses will befall america as well. Again, quite ominous, but i want to you were just on the phone before stepping out here. You have ten of your people, your ap personnel reporters on the ground in gaza. How concerned are you about their wellbeing . Were incredibly concerned about their wellbeing. The humanitarian situation in gaza is quite desperate right now. The ability to get basic things like food, water, fuel, it is desperate. Its a desperate situation, and were worried about them, but quite proud of the work theyre doing along with our teams in israel, of course, who have been through quite a bit, but i would say, you know, that quote that you just raised there, this is the concern that you are starting to hear from u. S. Officials, from officials in the region that while were all waiting right now for what we expect to be quite an aggressive israeli kind of move into gaza, this could quickly spill into a much broader regional conflict. Thats the worry right now. Hezbollah coming in from lebanon, what will iran do, and what will the u. S. Have to do if they feel like they are getting pulled into this as well . I just want to underscore that the comments from the iranian government are an obscenity because the notion that iran has been a spectator in this crisis is an outrageous lie, because the iranian government has sponsored, has financed, we have considerable credible reporting to suggest that they played an operational role in planning this atrocity. So this is not just about hamas. What hamas did was egregious and is an outrage against any decent human being, but iran has been deeply involved not just with hamas, with hezbollah, with Palestinian Islamic jihad. They have been waging a war not just on israel, but on a number of other allies of the United States. They have demonstrated zero compunction about targeting the United States. And i believe that the Biden Administration needs to own up to some grave strategic and moral errors theyve made in trying to deescalate. Deescalate, quote, unquote, with the iranian government. Jonathan the deescalation seems to be in the past. I think to echo what julie was saying, you know, the Biden Administration was very clear that what happened last saturday in israel, that these are horrific attacks. Biden was very quick to condemn those attacks and received praise from conservative jewish corners. Where we are now, and what im hearing from Biden Administration officials is that they are very concerned about this becoming a wider conflict that engulfs the region, potentially bringing in lebanon, the west bank even and broader. They are also concerned also about the dire humanitarian consequences in the region. Youve heard that. You heard that from jake sullivan, and you heard that from President Biden also in the last 48 hours shift some of his rhetoric and acknowledge palestinians and innocent civilians in the gaza strip as well. I will say as this conflict potentially prolongs, there will be additional challenges. For how the Biden Administration responds, but those are the two immediate challenges im hearing from u. S. Officials. Responds, but those are the two immediate challenges im hearing from u. S. Officials. Theres the threat, obviously, of obviously being hit with acts of war, but concerned about starvation, and theyre pleading with the taos pressure, israel, egypt to allow the humanitarian supplies to get in. Theres no question. I just want to echo something you said. Look, iran has played a role in this region. They funded hamas and the terrorist activity that weve seen, and they must use their leverage to end the roadblocks so that innocent civilians who are fleeing gaza city can make their way down south to safety. These are urgent concerns, but we must not lose the moral clarity of what happened last week because it was a terrorist organization that attacked innocent civilians at a dance party in a kibbutz, a kibbutz i visited. Theyre now living in shelters, worried about their lives. And you have olympians who are also worried about their lives, trying to flee to safety. So yes, we need we need cogent, strong leadership, and i think were getting it from the Biden Administration. The fact that secretary blinken, secretary austin and many others are in the middle east talking with everyone, but at the end of the day, israel must decide how to strategically eliminate an enemy that is out to destroy them. That is something that will have to be decided soon. Jonathan an enemy that knows no bounds in terror. Absolutely. You have to look at what happened last week. That is what israel is dealing with right now, and then i think a lot of the discussions that israeli officials are having right now is there are going to be limits to how far they can go to protect civilians in gaza because of the way hamas operates. I mean, hamas does use the civilian population as a shield. Jonathan are you hearing that hamas is telling its people not to leave even as the israelis are warning they actually have. Weve seen this duel messaging which has been extremely confusing for people who are living under dire conditions right now. Theyre being told by the israelis to move to the south. On the other hand, hamas is telling them to stay. Theres a lot of misinformation, a lot of conflicting information. A lot of rumors swirling and imagine being in that situation and having to decide what to do there. Donna, its really important for understand the wider context. I want your viewers to understand that in january, 2021, iran was exporting 700 barrels of oil per day. Now that number is about three x that amount. That translates into tens of billions of dollars in incremental revenue, where iran was previously in a box under a campaign of maximum pressure. Now, iran has the resources not just to deal with domestic economic challenges, not just to rebuild its Nuclear Program which what it has done emphatically but also to finance its various proxies. Between hamas and hezbollah. That is over a billion dollars in resources that are transferred from iran to these entities right now, and the Israeli Government has good reason right now to be circumspect. They want to be lock step with the Biden Administration for understandable reasons. Jonathan right. But i think the viewing public needs to understand that iran is playing an absolutely essential role here. Jonathan supporting hamas, and hezbollah. And i sure hope the Biden Administration is nut just applying pressure to israel about the humanitarian crisis, but also to iran and these other actors. Jonathan i want to look at the domestic situation because weve seen broad bipartisan support in washington. And we heard from george w. Bush. Our poll looked at this just out this morning. U. S. Responsibility in the middle east found that 55 say the u. S. Has a responsibility the fight terrorism. 53 , responsibility to protect israeli citizens, but less than a majority to ensure peace. So theres not a lot of appetite among American Voters for broad u. S. Involvement, but there is support. Perhaps not as strong as i would have thought it would have been, but there is support for a strong u. S. Support for israel. Theres no question about it, and look. We just finished or got out. I dont know the right word, but, you know, we were in the middle fighting in iraq and afghanistan. So, im sure theres no appetite. And some of that is the hard partisanship we see. But more importantly, this is a moment where the American People must understand whats at stake to hostages, including americans. We have to understand that israel is our ally, and we have to use our military might and strength in that region. If i can jump in though, i havent seen a whole lot of polling. I will say also my colleagues at npr did do some polling this week and similarly did show a majority of americans are in agreement with support for israel. But when you drill down a little bit on the crosstabs, there are some striking differences. So a majority of those under the age of 45. Gen z and millennial voters were not as much there was not as much support amongst voters of color and i bring this up to say not to say they are not shocks and horrified, but i think there are reservations about sort of an indefinite amount of support and reservations potential about a prolonged conflict. Jonathan theres an isolationist move. We have a couple of minutes left, but i have to touch on the chaos in the house because the house actually cannot act right now. And there seems to be no consensus on who the speaker is going to be. Where do you think this is going . Great question. I dont think anyone can predict necessarily based on what weve seen. I think this is quickly moving from a spectacle for House Republicans into a real crisis in terms of the u. S. Governments ability to respond in the way that the world expects it to. You know, if the u. S. Cannot move aid for israel, aid for ukraine, keep its own government open because we have this speakers fight, you know what does that say about our reliant to israel as an ally and other countries. Jonathan and 55 republicans said they would not vote for jim jordan on the floor. Even after he won a majority not as big as the majority remember, he came in second to scalise who had to drop out. Honestly, i dont think the name matters. I dont think who the person is matters. I think what matters is whether that person will have the moral clarity to understand that the United States has entered a new and more dangerous phase, and that Foreign Policy is not some secondary administration. We have a job to protect ourselves and our allies and also we recognize that the Biden Administration needs to be held to account. That is in part, the job of congress. Not just republicans in congress, but also democrats in congress to ensure that theres some accountability. And right now it seems more likely theyll be fighting with each other than i mean, anyway. We are out of time. Weve got much more to discuss. Well have much more from Martha Raddatz live in tel aviv right after the break. Of doing things. Americas plastic makers are investing billions of dollars in new technologies and creating Plastic Products that are more recyclable. Durable. And dependable. Our goal is a cleaner, healthier planet for generations to come. For a better tomorrow, were focused on making plastics better today. This is american infrastructure, a prime target for cyberattacks. But the same aipowered security that protects all of google also defends these services eryo that pwho lives here. 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I have been here many times since, but on that first trip some 35 years ago, i met israelis and palestinians who had hope for the future here including some idealistic americans. In 1988, michael and Deborah Tobin who had upridded their young family in massachusetts to israel were in the place they thought they were meant to be. I would rather be in the middle of jewish history than on sidelines. Turning point for me was about ilitching myself being 90 years old and sitting in a rocking chair and not wanting to look back and have regrets. Reporter the tobins settled in a front in the west bank, an area controlled by jordan until 1967 where the overwhelming majority of the population, arab. I would like to feel that its very possible that we two peoples can learn to live peacefully in a country that we both love. Reporter but 1988 was a time of constant clashes. I watched palestinian villagers angered by the growing settlements, throwing stones, at Israeli Soldiers met with tear gas. Martha after a few hours, the military pulled out and village was reopened once again. The only signs that anything conflict had occurred here were stones on the side of the road. We happened on a wedding in the palestinian town. A moment of promise for then19yearold ronna itsak. People have to go marrying and bringing more children because this is the only way we arabs, palestinian wills stay in this country. So, shes getting married. She will bring another son and he will be an arab palestinian. So its our selfdefense here. Reporter there would be more protests, more violence, and horrific suicide bombings. So years later in 2014, i tracked down the tobin and ranaism ssad again. Now further apart than ever. Now when you look at the last 26 years, things better . Things worse . How would you assess it . Difficult questions, and in some ways, its better. In some ways its worse. Sadly we still live in one big prison. Martha so youre not the idealistic couple i met 26 years ago . That old exhippy, peace and love and lets just talk it out and be good friends with the arabs no, thats gone. The circumstances, unfortunately, have pushed each of us into our respective camps. It could change. Martha but what changed things forever, october 7th. We reached out to the tobins after the hamas attack, still living in israel, now with four children and 18 grandchildren. Their son aaron called up for service. For michael tobin, the massacre that left israelis slaughtered in their beds has ignited an anger that will never be diminished. The responsibility 100 lies in the hands of hamas. They attacked us and brutalized us. What did they think . We were going to come back and play some game, hopscotch with them . They put their people in harms way. Martha we contacted rana ishaq as well. She lives with her husband and two children in west bank behind a wall that will surely never come down now. She did not want to speak on camera again, but told us, we are heartbroken for our people in gaza. We are heartbroken how the world has turned a blind eye. I pray for a Better Future for my daughters. A tragic situation all around. Well be right back. Round. Well be right back. Today. Stay with abc news for all the developments here in israel streaming on abc newslive, online, at abcnews. Com and download the abc news app for breaking news updates. Well have a full wrapup this evening on world news tonight, tomorrow morning on gma as well. Im Martha Raddatz reporting from tel aviv. Have a good day. And what a foggy start here along the coast up in the north bay. Its getting better. In parts of the east bay are dense fog advisory for another hour in parts of the bay area. Ill tell you where what to expect for the second half of your weekend and talk about a very warm week ahead. 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