Live. As you look at gaza. The Death Toll Climbing to 70, with hundreds wounded according to israeli officials those the official numbers as of now. Hamas militants launched a surprise simultaneous rocket and Ground Attack at the break of dawn on saturday. Israeli Officials Say hamas fired about 2500 rocket into the. Infiltrated israels borders by land in sea but israel certainly heading back with retaliatory airstrikes in the gaza strip. Palestinian Health Officials at least 198 people have been killed. More than 1600 injured. Israels military said, the palestinian fighters penetrated at least three military installations. Those at the ahrens border crossing, the zakim base as well as the Gaza Division headquarters at rain. In front of hamas, has taken israel hostages. Israels Prime Minister says the President Biden as well as Secretary Of StateAntony Blinken says the u. S. Fully supports israels right to defend itself. So right now our reporters and analysts around the world are standing by on this very latest on all of this Breaking News. Were gonna go right to nbcs rob sanchez, hes in the city of that is in southern israel. Rough, welcome. The last time i saw, you there was active fighting going on, not far behind. You near helicopter. Theyre waiting to ferry people to hospitals as needed. Tell me whats going on right now . Well, alex, i dont know if you can hear it, west of where we are, we can hear the explosions as the Israeli Military strikes inside the gaza strip, the trees in between me and, cant see exactly. But we can presume that these are either israeli airstrikes, or Israeli Ground forces, carrying out these continuing wave of strikes inside gaza, in response to this Surprise Attack that has taken israel so badly. By the surprise catching them as we are just outside the fighting continues. Inside the city of surat. Israeli Ground Forces continuing to face off against palestinian gunmen there. Some of the images we have seen coming out of this city over the course of the 12 hours or so, this has been going on. They are like a nightmare for israelis, they cannot wake up from. We are seeing footage of squads, of heavily armed palestinian gunmen. On the streets, taking people hostage, marking marching them barefoot through their own neighborhoods, and then we are seeing some of those captives appearing inside of gaza, theres one particularly harrowing video of a woman inside of gaza, she is, if tied shes bloodied, she is terrified. Shes being forced into the back of a captured Israeli Military vehicle. The israeli army is confirming that there are both civilians and Military Personnel among those captives inside of gaza. Alex, it was that factor that is the key dynamic in terms of figuring out what comes next. Israel will go to almost any lengths to get its people back. We can imagine its wing very, very heavily on is really decisionmakers from when Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu on downwards. This is not only an attack that has seen on enormous loss of life, there are at least 70 israelis dead. We suspect the real number may be much higher. This is a hostage situation. There are hostages asians unfolding inside of israel, much, much bigger scale than israelis inside of gaza. And the Israeli Intelligence military and Security Apparatus will be figuring out right now what is the best way to get those people back. Alex, those strikes were hearing inside of gaza appear to be taking a devastating toll there. The Palestinian HealthMinistry Says at least 200 people have been killed in the last couple of hours by israeli strikes. As you know alex, there are 2 million civilians who live inside of gaza. They are sealed in by the Israeli Security border on two sides by the egyptian border, on the third side, in the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth side. There is nowhere to run. There is nowhere to hide. And if it is the case, that israel launches a full scale ground defensive into gaza, we can expect that as well already a truly devastating death toll is going to rise further. Alex . Rough, do you have any idea the witness intel on how these hostages are being taken across the border from israel into gaza . I will say that i read one account, i believe its attributed to the associated press, that they would be taken on motorcycles. And brought back that way. Does that make sense to you . Does that seem realistic . Have you seen that . We havent seen that with our own eyes, alex, but it makes sense. And i will tell you key thing to understand here is in the early hours of today, israel completely lost control over the border that separates israel from the gaza strip. It is normally one of the most secure tightest, one of the most militarized borders in the world. It is guarded by watchtowers, by a highly sophisticated border wall. And israel was caught completely bulldozers in some places alex as i said, earlier some of them literally flying over the wall with paragliders and hang gliders, and landing in the heart of israel. To carry out this attack. Alex . It is absolutely extraordinary, and you anticipated my question on, now we know that there were bulldozers used to help tear down that will. Tell me how fortified that wall is one would assume that there would be the ability for israel on its side of the border right there to keep that border properly fortified. Did something not be in place . Was something that placed . Did something that work . Its because its hard to understand how the strength of these are a as really minister was not able to fight back against this incursion. It is baffling, alex. Its almost impossible to understand. There has clearly been an intelligence failure on a major, major scale. That the israeli and Security Apparatus was not able to detect. The preparations for this large scale, Surprise Attack. Alex, honestly, having been here all day, with the rockets exploding overhead, the air strikes, the iron dome. There has clearly been fao your of imagination on behalf of Israeli Security officials. That it just seemed inconceivable that palestinian gunmen in such large numbers, in such a brazen way, could cross that border, and seize control of israeli towns and cities. The fact that you are talking 12 hours into this attack, and israel is still not in control of more than a dozen, it seems, communities across the gaza border, if you had told me this 24 hours ago, alex, i wouldve told you it was completely implausible. It is now the reality that people who are living through. Alex . Again, im trying to figure this out. Are we talking about single gunman, or groups of gunman, that are literally running across the border . What does this look like right now . So, early this morning, it was large swaths of gunman. Some of them, as you said, on the backs of motorcycles. Alex, one detail that just gives you a sense of how prepared they were, but also the scale of this. There were hamas affiliated palestinian journalists, who effectively, embedded with these militant squads. As they crossed over into israel. They were broadcasting live. Inside of Gaza On Social Media explaining that they were inside israeli kibbutz, inside of israeli towns. I spoke to Israeli Security official earlier. He said at, minimum, at minimum there must of been hundreds of gunman involved. Here theres no other way for palestinian fighters to be engaging Israeli Forces in so many places simultaneously. And i do think, its a case, that once this dam broke, it really broke. The Israeli Military lost control of the border. And well the first wave of militants who came through may have been the highly trained, most Elite Fighters from hamas and his law matured. It seems to become a freefall after the freefall after that. And potentially anyone with a weapon, anyone with a motorcycle, anyone, frankly, with the desire to see the other side of the fence, could search through. It is now israel using all of its air power, its ground power, its trying as a First Priority to regain control of these israeli towns and cities. As a second priority, alex, it is rescuing these hostages from inside of gaza, and then on a third priority, it is inflicting, in the words of Benjamin Netanyahu, the israeli Prime Minister, a massive, massive price on the militant groups who carried out this attack. Alex . It is extraordinary reporting from you, raf sanchez. Thank you so much. We appreciate you a lot. Joining me right now, illinois congressman raja kristin murthy, intel and congressman, welcome. Given your position on the intel committee, are you getting briefings via a classified or otherwise right now about the situation . Were getting some were not getting classified briefings until we return to washington early next week. And you can imagine there are a lot of questions that we have to ask of our own Intelligence Community about this. Those questions would be what . What is it, i guess, im gonna ask, this question. You heard Ralph Sanchez say, it was a lack of imagination on behalf of the Israeli Intelligence or Defense Forces to conceive of what has happened to them today. Somewhat rudimentary by association when you think about the military capabilities. Of israel. To what extent is the u. S. Also not at fault, but unaware of this . Is this something you would expect our intelligence to have known about . And if it didnt, what happened . I dont know, alex. Thats part of the set of questions that well have to ask. Well also want to know, you, know who was backing the hamas affiliates in this particular case. Did iran have anything to do with us . Is that something that you are hearing about . Iran . We have Julie Tsirkin on capitol Hill Reporter there is as one republican lawmaker who was saying, i believe, from the senate, who is saying that he believes iran was involved. Is there anything to indicate that is a fact . I am not aware of specific evidence there. Thats among the questions that well have to ask. Were also going to be asking, or ill be asking, whats going on with hezbollah . We would fear that hezbollah would take advantage of the situation in attack from lebanon as well. Of course, what are the real motives here too. And how do we get those hostages back from israel. Im sorry, from gaza strip. Dozens and dozens of civilians and soldiers have been taken. You know, some people say that what was really going on here was an effort to destroy any chance of peace. Because theres peace talks happening right now, or discussions between israel and United States, Saudi Arabian others, as well as palestinians with regard to future arrangements. Hamas and terrorists dont want anything like that to happen. So, thats part of the issue as well. What happens to those talks between israel and saudi arabia now . Is there a chance they could continue . Will they go on pause . Will they potentially completely fall apart . I hope the last thing you said doesnt happen. I think, right now, obviously, israel is going to be 100 percent focused on responding to what has occurred today. Of course, over the medium and long term, i hope that we can go back to this broader discussion, because, obviously, if that doesnt happen, i think the terrorists win and we cant let that happen. Even at the same time that we stand with israel, shoulder to shoulder, and its right to defend itself right now. Congressman, does the fact that the United States currently does not have a sitting ambassador to israel, does that cause concerns at all about how the u. S. Deals with this . It does. On the other hand, i think that theres going to be direct, high level talks. And im going dialogue between our intelligence committee, their counterparts in israel, and of course, between President Biden and the Prime Minister and his government. We need to have a presence there. We need to have an investor in israel. Were gonna have that person held up. Because as you can tell. That person is extremely important. In helping us with a various efforts in israel. And of course, dealing with terrorists in trying to engineer peace longterm. How do you, i will say at this very preliminary stage, sir, how do you envision the u. S. Role to play out right now . In the immediate term we will be providing intelligence. We will be gathering intelligence, collecting intelligence, trying to do everything we can to help the israelis do, at least, two things. One, recover those hostages. That is priority number one for the Israeli Government right now. And then to, helping to prevent any further attacks, helping to clear israel of the terrorists. That is probably uppermost in the minds of the Israeli Government. We would probably help them to whatever extent possible in those endeavors. One last question, what do expect the United States to be involved in any physical way with helping that recovery . Be providing support, militarily. Equipment, or even further . I do not think that we would actually have a direct role in the combat. And the israelis are extremely capable on their own. However. They may request to certain types of intelligence, certain types of equipment. I suspect that the Biden Administration will do everything in its power to provide whatever they need at this time. Illinois congressman roger christian, our friend. Thank you so much for joining us on this important tuesday. Coming up next, the timing on this attacked and why hamas may have acted now. New york times peter baker will be joining me when we are back in 60 seconds. In 60 seconds. And get rewarded. Get 50 off any footlong when you join Subway Mvp Rewards. So many all star options. Its just for subway mvps right . You catch on quick herbert. Join now and get 50 off any footlong. Are you tired of clean clothes that just dont smell clean . You cDowny Unstopablesbert. Inwash Scent Boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. If you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have Downy Unstopables inwash Scent Boosters. This is american infrastructure, a prime target for cyberattacks. But the same aipowered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. 17 past the hour. We are back to the Breaking News from The Middle East. Some dramatic scenes following the deadly hamas attack on israel, at dawn, today. We are bringing you video of a building coming down in gaza as these merely military is responding with pretty severe retaliatory strikes at this time. Lets bring in a man box convene, host of a man here. As well as New York Times correspondent and msnbc political correspondent. Good to see. Both ayman, help us understand who these hamas militants are. How can they be capable of coordinating such a sophisticated attack on israel . What support do they have from other states in the region, typically . That is a very good question. I think were gonna learn more about this specific operation in the days and weeks as it becomes more apparent, both to Israeli Intelligence and certainly to western intelligence, as well. Hamas, as you know, consists of two major wings. A political wing and a militant wing. Certainly the militant wing responds to the political wing. Their main backer, both in terms of Financial Capabilities and, perhaps, even technical know how has been, according to western and Israeli Intelligence, lee iranian government. Irans various Security Apparatuses. Whether it is iranian intelligence, security services, or the revolutionary guard. More importantly, over the, years hamas has tried to broaden its k technical capabilities. Weve been talking about some of the rockets that were fired. When they started flying those rockets in nearly 2000, they were mostly crude pipe bombs made at home. Over the years theyve been able to smuggle and more sophisticated missiles and rockets that are reaching deeper and further into israel. In terms of the coordination of the tack, i think that is what really has caught most people, certainly israelis, offguard. The ability to infiltrate israel across the border. That level of sophistication, weve never really seen that before from hamas. Weve seen the determination. They are certainly express the desire to do that. Over the years they have demonstrated more aerial capabilities, including drones. At one point even demonstrated that they had aquatic forces to be able to attack israel by sea. The ability to integrate all three of those, land, air, and see component and do it under the watchful eye of the israelis without being detected and then ultimately to carry out this attack is certainly unprecedented for hamas. It is unprecedented for israel. I think it will be a real gamechanger. The ability of israel to assess what hamas is capable of going forward. Can you give me a sense of the timing, ayman . Why now, why this attack now . Look, this morning a lot of people have been drawing comparisons to 1973. Yesterday, october 6th, when the 50 Year Anniversary of the 1973 war where egypt and syria launched an attack on israeli controlled territories. The Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights which were at the time occupied by the Israeli Military. Some people have drawn comparison to that. That unprecedented attack against israel, back then, is perhaps the reason they chose today to do it. Others has talked about the significance of the jewish holidays. This is a very important time of year on the jewish calendar. Yang kapoor, rosh hashanah, recently, as well. There are so many different reasons. Whether or not any of those were factors into hamass calculation, we simply just dont know at this point. What we will learn in the coming days, certainly, hamas has done this in the past. We can see that in the coming days, we can anticipate for them to make more public, if you will, the rationale and the explanation behind it. In the short term theyve been talking and putting out statements talk about what has been happening in east russell im. What has been happening in the occupied west bank as a motivating factor for the actual attack. That does not explain why, specifically today. There was not a specific moment that you can point to over the past couple of days. This warrants this magnitude of an attack. Again, this is such an unprecedented level of attack. It is not simply a barrage of rocket fires. This is a multipronged, well coordinated, attack. As you heard from of the, and others who have been speaking about it this morning, this is on the scale of 9 11. An attack of the magnitude of 9 11 for israel is not just simply a handful of rogue militants carrying out a cross border attack. This seems to have been something way more orchestrated, way more sophisticated, than we have ever seen before. Absolutely. Peter baker, we have heard the white house response today. The statement from the president , the sentiments pretty clearly echoed certainly by the leaders of the uk, france. Also, of germany. Given the close, close, relationship and continued support that the United States offers with israel, how much does this complicate anything in terms of planning from the Biden Administration . What kind of a response might the Biden Administration have to now figure out . This comes at a really interesting moment for the Biden Ministration when it comes to The Middle East. They were in the middle of really extraordinary ambitious diplomatic project. Trying to reorder The Middle East through a rapproachment, a diplomatic movement to saudi arabia and israel. It would change a lot of the assumptions and dynamics of The Middle East. This comes in the middle of that big project. Whether it is motivated by that, motivated by an attempt to try to disrupt that are not, we obviously dont know. It is not really clear what the particular plan at this moment might be but the impact on it something a lot of people are gonna be watching. Does this remind everyone that at a time when a lot of people will want to move The Middle East to a new era, a new stage, basically the israelis are, in fact, friendly with their arab neighbors. The old order, the old disputes, the old conflicts of not gone away. In fact, the conflict between the israelis and the palestinians has now reared its head again. Showing very violent and deadly fashion just how important it still remains as a Festering Wound in that region. Hey, peter, let me ask you what we are hearing some republican president ial candidates blaming the Biden Ministration policies for what is happening in israel right now. Several of them have insisted, saying it without any evidence at all, that the u. S. Funded these attacks by suggesting that Six Billion Dollars in oil revenue that the Biden Administration recently unfroze, as a result of a Prisoner Exchange with iran, historically has funded a mosque. That this was used to carry these operations out. How do you respond to the . Go ahead. It is an obvious political attack. There is no evidence, so far, or intelligence ive seen. People who have reported that ive seen that suggest that this was directly related to that in any way. Six billion dollars was not american money. It was iranian money. It was not even held in the United States. It was held in south korea. It was released under conditions to another fund, another bank, in The Middle East. Around can really tap that money for certain humanitarian purposes. Okay, you dont have to spend money already have on those purposes than you can use it for Terrorist Attacks on others. We dont know, of course, is that what has happened here. It is a stretch to say it has without more. But you can understand why that is an issue and a concern that people are raising. There was a lot of criticism of the steel. One of the Biden Administration made by were helping to facilitate the access to this iranian oil money. I think we were operating without a lot of information at this point. It doesnt stop politicians from going ahead and drawing conclusions. There would be a lot of questions to ask in the days to come. One under percent, i agree with. That ayman, we are providing our viewers with a live look. Im sure you are able to see, it as well. We see the streaks into the sky. Can you tell me what is going on and what the likely focus is of what is happening. One of the streets representing . What are they trying to do . There are two sets of operations, if you will, taking place right now. Those that are taking place inside of israel proper, as we heard from a reporter, Ralph Sanchez, they appear to be israeli flyers. They tend to be dropped in areas where israel is operating or about two sometimes they get visibility over certain parents, they need to be able to see what has happened. They certainly have night vision capabilities. Sometimes the flares illuminate the area and give them more visibility into specific areas on the ground. Usually some of the streets weve seen on the screen suggests that there has been an exchange of rocket fire. We know that thousands of rockets have already been fired and israel. It is very possible that hamas is carrying out those Rocket Attacks. Now, maybe, ten hours since the beginning of this operation. As we have seen in previous conflicts, when there are a barrage of rockets, the tend to be the iron dome batteries launched, or activated, to intercept those incoming rockets. As you can imagine right now it is a very dramatic theater. It is very much an active theater military operations. The military air force has been carrying out strikes. Hamas, as they said, have been carrying out Rocket Attacks. For most of us who have seen this conflict play out, certainly these rounds of violence, this is still in the very early stages of it. Anyone who thinks that, in the night, its gonna slow down and change i think would be fooling themselves. And raf had been reporting on the ground, the israelis are still assessing whats taking place inside of israel. For them there are two immediate concerns. Make sure that the border with israels refortified, reinforce, know people are coming into israeli towns, villages, all across centers on across the gaza border. Number two, any who are already inside those towns that may still be posing a threat, who may still be carrying out further threats against israelis are ultimately stopped wherever they are. There are multiple operations, if you will, that israel is engaging in right now. One more question for each of you. First to you, amen. With regard to the kinds of military, kinds of rockets being used, we would expect to see a barrage coming from hamas going into israel. The extent to which the iron dome will be able to prevent them from landing remains to be seen. In the reverse, given the fact that you have hostages that have been scored away in places that are unknown to utterly facials, do you expect to see a drop back on that kind of assault to mass territory . Because they dont want to take out hostages, potentially. There is no doubt, right now, that is intelligence, the Israeli Military, all other israeli Security Apparatuses are trying to assess the amount of captives who have been taken inside gaza. More specifically, where they may have been taken. What we have seen in the past with the way hamas has carried out attacks and captured israelis. Perhaps the one that most years recognize, the israeli soldier who was taken in a Cross Border Raid and brought into gaza, they kept him in a location that very few hummus people knew about. In fact, that is what complicated the negotiations. The cell that was responsible for taking him, kept him on the move constantly. No group of people at any given time were able to find out his exact locations to prevent the israelis from carrying out a Special Operations Raid to secure his release. Take that now, multiply by the number of israeli captive that have been taken into gaza. And we have been hearing from avi, and others, we know that that number is more than one. We dont even know, specifically, how many soldiers, families, women and children. We have seen the videos taken by social media users to suggest it is definitely several. But we cant even quantify yet. That is why this assessment is taking place. Because it is taking place, it will certainly change the calculus of how israel operates in the first couple of hours in this operation. As we mentioned, there are airstrikes taking place. There are operations taking place. We know from the Palestinian Ministry of health that the death toll there continues to climb among the palestinians. There is no doubt that israel is not going to launch a full scale invasion until they have a better assessment of where are these captives . Where might they be . Are the militants who took them trying to put them in secure locations, move them around, and put them in different parts of gaza that can be, as others have suggested, to the detriment of israel from carrying out these types of operations to secure their release. I think it is going to be very tricky, very dangerous over the next several days as we try to understand the situation. Also, we will hear, potentially, from hamas about what they have intended to do following this operation. Both israeli civilians and Israeli Service members being dragged back into the gaza strip. That will ultimately be something that the egyptian intelligence, usually the intermediary between hamas and israel, its going to be preoccupied with. There is no doubt that Interruption Intelligence right now is trying to carry out back channel negotiations. Not necessarily for the release but to assess what has happened instead of the gaza strip with these militants, with these captives who have now been held by hamas militants. Peter, to you, very quickly, everything right now is between israel and hamas, slash, the gaza strip. Is there a risk that this conflict could extend throughout the region . What parties could step in. Ayman just mentioned israel trying to get back channel intelligence passed along. What parties could step in to help deescalate the situation . How much might the role in doing that . Traditionally in conflicts between israel and hamas and Gaza Ecv Gypsy and play an Important Role on the hamas side, right . The americans usually talking with the israelis. They are talking with the israelis to try to talk to hamas to tight or in some sort of a ceasefire. Some sort of a deal to halt the violence. Given the extensive nature of this particular incursion, this operation, into israel this does not feel like its something thats gonna happen anytime soon. This is not just a reaction to a particular event that is meant to be a statement of purpose. This is, obviously, a well thought through operation. They have plans that go beyond where we are right now. It does not seem to me that you are likely to have a diplomatic step back anytime soon. That may take some time before that stage of this conflict arrives. At least if you judge by history. Okay. Ayman mohyeldin, peter baker, thank you so much for your insights, gentlemen. I appreciate you both. Were key Warning Signs missed . A latest on the emerging into questions after the cia director canceled his appearance at an event today. Youre probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. 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Breaking news, at a live picture there to the left or your screen, from the gaza strip. Officials in washington are certainly watching the situation very closely. In fact, the cia director canceling in appearance and speech that was planned for today. Lets bring in Nbc National Security and Global Affairs reporter, dan de luz. Dan, i understand you were there, were supposed to be at that speech that was going to be attended and spoken by the cia director. What happened there . Thats right. Director William Burns was supposed to give a speech later today out in georgia here. The Keynote Address at a National Security conference attended by a lot of current and former National Security and intelligence officials. That speech was canceled. He will be staying in Washington Helping The President and the administration grapple with this crisis unfolding in israel. Im curious, or any foreign journalists, officials, dignitaries expected to be that speech, as well . Clearly, this is something that the world has its eyes focused on right there in The Middle East. That is right. There is a whole gamut of vips here. Also, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the u. S. Is due to be here tonight. I think, really, this whole crisis now raises very serious questions about intelligence. Especially for israel. Israel is supposed to have this vaunted intelligence operatic. Theyve been known to penetrate hamas and their adversaries with human sources, human informants. They have an elaborate array of eavesdropping and other means to track and monitor their adversaries. How is it possible they were caught so unaware with this attack . It raises questions about u. S. Intelligence. The u. S. , apparently, was not aware either that they were caught flatfooted. That really is a curious and kind of an extraordinary situation. It does echo the Yom Kippur War way back in 1973 where israel was completely caught by surprise by its arab neighbors. I think there will be a lot of questions on how this came to pass, how this happened. I can imagine. Certainly, if the u. S. Had gathered actionable intelligence they wouldve passed that on given the close relationship to israel. Im curious if you know the difference between Israeli Intelligence operations access, apparatus, and that of the United States in that region . Are they parallel . Are they the same kind of thing . Does one have an advantage over another . Do you have any idea about that . I think anyone who has worked in that area would say that israel is the dominant, primary, intelligence operator there. They would have what more intimate, granular, haulage of what is happening on the southern border, in gaza, in the west bank, in lebanon. In fact many times the u. S. Turns to israel to help them gather intelligence in The Middle East, in that part of the world. Israel is always seen as they worldclass intelligence operation. That is why this is so shocking. Yes, the u. S. Have tremendous means, technical means, hes dropping in satellites. Obviously in the cyber realm. There is a tremendous amount of collaboration and cooperation. Definitely, when it comes to this part of the world, israel will be seen to be the primary, dominant, intelligence service. The u. S. Would have a secondary role. Dan, very quickly, before i let you go i think the word shocked has been used by all manner of guests here on the broadcast today. As was reported on the show, you had palestinian journalists embedded in this incursion. They were broadcasting live from inside of israel, back to those who are monitoring this, inside of the hamas held region there. That is stunning. The information of what was about to happen to not get disseminated through, in some way, to the israelis. Our u. S. That everyone else seems to be by this . Absolutely. Yes, so many former intelligence Officials Say they are stunned, theyre shocked, theyre speechless. That example that you just cited is really, truly, extraordinary. You have to wonder why that wasnt caught somehow. It must suggest that hamas must have conducted purges, as they do periodically, and people who they believe were informing on them, or who cant be trusted. Perhaps there is a tremendous amount, a discipline going on on the hamas side. They must have had some pretty Strong Security operations, loads of conduct where they avoided spilling out the information. Yes, this is an intelligence failure. I think it is pretty hard to come to any other conclusion. Of course, right now they are dealing with the immediate emergency. The full story we will hear for a while. Understandably so. Its gonna be a heck of a story to tell. Dan, thank you so much for that. What we are hearing from leaders around the world about the attack on israel. A former cia officer joins me to analyze the timing of all of this. 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We have heard widespread condemnation throughout the world, particularly from Western Countries the European Union the United States france of course in germany. What is most curious is what we are hearing from The Middle East. Qatar says that israel was responsible for all of this violence. We are hearing from other states, like saudi arabia, who is in the middle of negotiation who would essentially see said arabia, potentially, c and recognize it relative magically. This is a curious moment for the region and for hamas to choose this moment. Really, theyre more isolated than ever. That is what we are seeing now from the west bank, as well. We heard from mustafa scrutiny, the head of the Palestinian National an issue. He said this about todays attacks. Everyone is saying israel has the right to defend itself. Well, fine, what about the right of palestinians to defend themselves . We are the ones who are under occupation. We are the ones who are under siege. We are the ones who are displaced. So, this is a man who was participating in the thought to let government in the west bank. It just goes to show how divided the palestinians had ban. Now it looks like theyre united in their efforts to try to resist israel and unite behind hamas. It is a very extraordinary moment seeing a lot of division along notsodivisional lines around the entire region alex . You said it was very isolated in the region. And then there are those who were suggesting that qatar could be responsible for this. In what way to that seem like a Natural Alliance for between isolated hamas in qatar . That is a very good question. The fact is that the rest of the region is seeing movement. They are seeing in antagonism from iran. They are fearing iran more than israel. That is really different than what we had been describing all morning the young cop for war 50 years ago when israel was really attacked and humiliated in front of the entire world. Nation states united against israel now united against israel or in negotiations right now to try to recognize israel diplomatically. Matt bradley, thank you for that. Join me right now we have mark polymeropoulos, National Security and intelligence analysts. Also, former cia intelligence officer. Marketing, and ask you to give me your best guess. How on the world of this happened with virtually no warning . How do you assess the scope of this intelligence failure . This is a colossal intelligence failure. You look back at history, there will be a lot of people who say this is israels 9 11 or their pearl harbor. I think that they are right. Israel maintains a tremendous signals intelligence, human intelligence, technical blanket, really, over gaza in the west bank. The gaza strip is only 25 miles long. The notion that hamas was able to conduct complex multi domain attack from the sea, air, inland, is almost unfathomable. A lot of people in my world, the National Security and intelligence world, were stunned today. Its is nothing short of one of the true Intelligence Failures of the modern era. There will be a lot of answers from the Security Establishment once this gets settled. This was something i never wouldve imagined to see occur. At this point we have Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu saying theyre three steps ahead to be taken. First of all, secure the land inside of israel. We understood, about an hour ago, that there were at least 21 skirmishes underway. They are trying to clear israel of any militants who have gotten in. Secondly, they have to look and get intelligence on the hostages that have been taken. We do not know the numbers. By description we are hearing grandparents, children, military officers, soldiers, and the like. Any number. Again, we do not have a full comprehension of the numbers. Then you go about trying to retaliate. We will see what happens at that point. How difficult will it be for Israeli Intelligence to focus on point number two . Find where these hostages are. How, or what, would they negotiate with to get the release . Or, potentially, raid hamas positions to try to free the hostages . That is a great question. Of course, there has been a long history of israeli hostages who have been taken. And its causing credible consternation within the state of israel. Hamas is going to use their Information Operation domain to play on the hearts and minds of israelis. This is going to be something that could be drawn out for some time. One of the things thats interesting is when we think about the israeli Defense Forces conducting a Ground Incursion into gaza, we have to consider the safety of these hostages. There has been statements made the hostages are being held in secure locations. But, the question is, will this have any effect on what is expected to be a massive, massive, is retaliation . Again, in the past we have talked about one or two Israeli Defense force members being taken hostage. Not the numbers were talking about here, that is gonna pose a big problem for the Israeli Government. One thing to note on this, as we are talking about Intelligence Failures, i think bill burrs, as i noted, in the last segment, he was called back, call back to washington. All ultimately what was the u. S. Intelligence community posture on this . What about the arab states who are friends with israel now . What about the egyptians, the jordanians . The qataris in the saudis . In some ways this is an intelligence failure on multiple level. I think there will be a lot of questions asked. Let me ask you one more question really quickly. We talk about these hostages being insecurely kay shuns. Youre not talking about concrete bunkers, . Right here talking about secure location meaning haphazard helped to make them secure. They might be in the basement of a home or in some tunnel that has been dug. Is that what youre talking about as being a secure location . Combination of all of those. In fact, what if they are being held, as you noted, in areas of course, its the gaza strip. A heavy civilian presence. Part of the reason, the israeli Defense Forces going in and sending in their special Operations Forces looking for them. This is gonna be a hard challenge. It does pose some difficulties. That massive bombardment that we are expecting. Marc polymeropoulos. I will see you are in a car. Safe travels. Thank you very much, my friend. Lets go now to axios political reporter, barack revealed, who covers foreign policy. Thank you for joining us. Youve been reporting on this very closely. Tell us exactly what is happening on the ground in israel that we are not seeing. We have these birdseye views. But we are not seeing, on the ground, what is happening. What do you know . First, and update just came out a few minutes ago. According to israeli officials, 200 israelis, most of them civilians, were killed in the invasion. This is a monstrous number when you look at previous rounds of violence in gaza. Again, when it comes to the israeli sign, and i think it shows you how this i think it shows israel 9 11 pretty clearly. The death toll is expected to rise. I would suspect, at least, double of that number. I think this is shocking to many israelis. They didnt see this coming. Not israeli society, not Israeli Military. Not leadership. Everyone was caught by surprise. Do you have a sense of how tragically these 200 civilians inside of israel were killed . Was it by Rocket Attacks of which 2500 were launched earlier today into israel . Was it by, as we have heard, militants going in on scooters or on foot and just opening up fire on israeli civilians . Do we have any idea . I watched the videos. There are several videos that you can watch and see exactly what happened. They are very, very, difficult videos to watch. This was a massacre. Some of the videos and the pictures that i saw room minded me of the massacre in bucha by Russian Forces in ukraine. Dozens and dozens of bodies of civilians and their blood, on the floor. Dozens of israeli civilians kidnapped by hamas back into gaza. Being videoed while being kidnapped to gaza. Horrific radios, i have got to tell you. I have been covering this region for 20 years. Numerous wars. I have not seen those kinds of scenes. I am so sorry that you have to look at video like that and talk about it. Im sure that is the kind of thing that will stay with you, unfortunately, for quite some time. I do appreciate you talking with us. Thank, you best of luck through all of this. What could be major Ripple Effects of what we are seeing and what history tells us. Also, we are waiting for President Biden to make a statement from the white house. We are expecting that about 35 minutes from now at 2 30 pm eastern time. We will be right back. That can deliver clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. Serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. Liver problems may occur in crohns disease. Control of crohns means everything to me. Ask your gastroenterologist about skyrizi. Control is everything to me learn how abbvie could help you save. The new Subway Mvp Rewards earns you points when you order. Superbowl mvps really do get all the perks . Im talking about subway mvp. Its a way bigger deal. Do you get a trophy for that . I wish. Get rewarded like an mvp. Join now and get 50 any footlong. The power goes out and we still have wifi get rewarded like an mvp. To do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. We are back with our continuing home of the xfinity 10g network. Coverage of the devastating attack on israel this morning. Im joined now by martin flesher, former Tel Aviv Bureau chief for nbc news and a very good friend to us. Martin i know that you spent more than two decades reporting from israel. You know this region as well as anyone. It piles had its share of conflict, certainly. Into this moment seemed different to you . Im curious your initial reaction to what we are seeing tonight. I cannot emphasize enough, alex, how different it is. There have been so many rounds of fighting between is israel and hamas over the last, say, 20 years. This is the dimension that nobody couldve imagined. Israel was taking completely by surprise. When israel was attacked in 1973 in the Yom Kippur War by egypt and syria, i was there on that day, they had information. They just didnt act upon that information. This attack seems to have come from absolutely nowhere as far as his real concern. The idea of taking so many hostages, israeli citizens, soldiers, men and women. Apparently officers, into gaza. Again, its a whole new way of doing things. This is a situation that israel, i believe, has never faced before. Now we are gonna have to see how they react. If its simply more bombing from the air. Martin, do you think that israel has to redefine the definition of a sophisticated attack . Look at how successful this one has been. As i understand, from our reporting, raf sanchez there along the border, bulldozers went through. Huge amounts of militants on Motor Scooters going through. Hang gliders going outside of the Detection Capability of the iron dome. Typically, would be able to ward off any kind of an attack from some sort of a Rocket Launch in that sort of thing. It is absolutely extraordinary. The word sophistication needs to be reexamined. Absolutely. Israel underestimated hamas, that is for sure. You may remember, there were issues the last two years about hamas building tunnels, coming into israel under the ground. Israel was able to, in a very sophisticated way, find the tunnels and stop hamas from building more tunnels. What do they do . They come from above the ground. As you say, by land, by sea, by air. A very sophisticated, coordinated, attack. Beginning with the launching of about 2 to 9000 rockets at israel to distract israel from the main force, on the ground, in these israeli communities. The idea that hamas could infiltrate about 20 communities inside of israel and attack without simultaneously without any response remains real is extraordinary. It is absolutely extraordinary. As are you, martin fletcher, for your insights. Thank you so much, my friend. Thank you to all of you for watching alex reports. We will see back here at five pm eastern. President biden will address the crisis in the next hour. My friend, lindsey, rajah continues our coverage right now. Ja continues our coverage right now. Good afternoon. I am lindy reiser in for yasmin vossoughian. Breaking news just in the nbc with President Biden set to