Edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. Katy tur is up with more special coverage. Good to be with you. Israel says that it has regained control of towns attacked by hamas militants and spokesman for the idf says there are no more Hamas Terrorists on the ground in israel but they are still attempting to get through the border. In the past few hours weve seen nearly nonstop rocket fire from both sides. Hamas warning residents it would strike ashkelon at 5 00 p. M. Local time and then doing so. Night has now fallen over the region leaving the skies above h iron dome intercepts. At the border itself, israeli troops are massing getting ready for a potential Ground Incursion of their own into gaza. Benjamin netanyahu vowing to root out hamas, but within the country, there is growing criticism of netanyahu. Allegations that he position helped prop up hamas in an effort to weaken the Palestinian Authority. From analysis in the times of israel, the idea was to prevent president abbas or anyone else in the Palestinian Authoritys west Bank Government from toward establishment of a state. So upgraded to an direct negotiations via egypt and one that was allowed to receive infusions of cash from be broad. And well ask that of a former israeli Prime Minister during our next two hours of coverage because there have been consequences for the decisions both historic and modern. And what happens next will no doubt fundamentally change the way israel operates. Perhaps even the entire region. But first, let us get to what is happening right now on the ground. Joining me now from ashkelon is raf sanchez. So every time ive looked up today, youve been in and out of a bomb shelter. As we said, these bombs, the strikes have been going back and forth all day. Tell me what you are seeing right now. Reporter we were literally in the bomb shelter about two minutes ago. If you keep an eye over my left shoulder, it is very possible that you will see the Bright Lights of iron dome missile intercepters. Hamas tried something new today. Earlier this afternoon, they said that at 5 00 p. M. Local time they were going to start bombarding ashkelon. No one was really sure whether that was rhetoric or they meant it for rule. At the stroke of 5 00 p. M. , there has been a relentless barrage on the city of ashkelon where we are now. A number of rockets have got through. A hotel was hit earlier. They said at 9 00, it is now 9 02, that they would start firing toward tel aviv. And we assume that what weve been seeing in the last couple of minutes is rockets going further up the coast towards the city of tel aviv from gaza. A couple developments on the ground today, israel has said that it has secured control of the gaza border. So yesterday they said that they had taken back all of the israeli towns and cities. Now they say that they are sealed the fence, that they have stopped hamas ability to send more gunmen through the fence. That may be the case, but Israeli Military also says just in the last hour or so, there was another gunbattle near and Israeli Community between Israeli Forces and hamas fighters. So one of two things must be true. Either there are still Hamas Terrorists coming through the fence or four days into this assault they are still hiding in places in southern israel. Either of those is a very, very worrying situation for israel. People here are waiting for President Biden to speak, waiting to see what the United States will say in support of israel. I actually just got off of a zoom conversation with a young mother in gaza city who says that she has been forced to evacuate from her home twice because of israeli bombing. We have these Bomb Shelters to run to. The 2 million palestinians in gaza have nowhere to go. I saw the idf say that they were confident there were no more terrorists within the country. I questioned that when i saw it. Sounds like you are questioning it as well. Yeah, the statement has evolved over time. They initially said they are in control of all the Israeli Border communities. Seems to be the case. Over the weekend hamas was in charge of buildings, streets, sometimes whole neighborhoods in these israeli towns. That is no longer going on. But it does seem like in are still at least some gunmen on the loose in the south of israel will that Israeli Military took us to a kibbutz earlier on today, it is about half a mile from the gaza border, and it was one of the scenes where Hamas Terrorists first entered israel and it was absolute carnage. We were walking there house to bulletriddled house. Seemed like every couple minutes Israeli Forces were finding new bodies in the wreckage. The smell of death was yoifr overwhelming. And this place on a good day can feel like paradise. It is very green, pleasant, a nice play to live a lot of the time. But there were literally the bodies of hamas Gunmen Rotting in the hot Afternoon Sun as we were walking around. It was unlike anything ive ever seen before and it gives you some sense of just the absolute terror that the residents of communities like that must have gone through when those gunmen burst in early saturday morning. Horrifying. Raf sanchez, thank you very much. Joining us now is ali velshi. What raf was talking about is just completely awful. The israeli army is preparing a count iter offensive, were seeing the strikes but also the mass on the border. Do we have any indication of when and whether that held make their own incursion into gaza . Reporter yeah, so there is a ill tell you what is happen. You were hearing about the incoming rocket fire that they are taking. Weve been watching those interceptions. Raf is basically that way. What we are also hearing is a number of thuds, youll probably hear them while im talking to you, that is incoming fire probably Something Like a Cruise Missile going into gaza. They are shifting out every few hours. Those are probably coming from the navy which are off into the mediterranean. What weve heard from the idf, the navy is doing it for about four hours and then the air force starts doing it and you will hear the jets start coming in when they switch over to the air force. So they are continuing to bombard gaza. And there are a lot of people saying why dont those have been warned to leave go to egypt. A lot of gazans have amassed. And there are still rockets at that part of the country. So there is no where to go at the moment. The issue is the hostages. They seem to have identified about 100. The idf is notifying families. They dont know for sure exactly who everybody is. And the question is can you do a Ground Offensive into gaza without accounting for all the hostages and figuring out how they come out first. And that becomes a strategic versus a tactical question. Tactics is israel good bomb israel. And there are thousands of airstrikes conducted by isz really. The question is on the ground. Israel cannot probably start this out without going in, Benjamin Netanyahu said there will be a Ground Offensive, he suggested that what they will do in gaza he said will echo through the generations. But it is not clear how they handle that situation without dealing with the hostages. And weve been talking to people who have said that is the thing they want the Israeli Government to is sort out first. Decapitating hamas is a separate goal for a lot of israelis. A woman spoke today about her son, a hostage. I think that we probably have that tape that we can play right now. The optimistic scenario here is that shes held hostage in gaza and not dead on the street of the kibbutz where we grew up. Reporter sorry, that is the son of a woman talking about his mother. Weve been talking to so many people who have relatives who are hostages. In fact i spoke to a woman, raf was talking about a particular kibbutz near by that they got access to. And i spoke to a woman from that kibbutz this morning because she believed her husband was a hostage. As we pulled up to interview her, she was hold on a second. So you probably cant see it, but there was an interception, designed interception that just came up above us. It is now filtered out. You may hear a sound in a moment. That woman as we approached to interview her, she was on the phone yelling why are you telling me this on the phone. It was the army calling her to say that they had found the body of her husband who had been shot in the head. And she was not her point was why didnt you come and tell me. I dont know that she was mad at the army. They probably didnt know where she was. Her husband had said ran and she ran and got to a shelter. And then she went to stay with her mother. And as we approached, we learned that her husband had died. I think i say this after every report. It is awful. Everything that were hearing. Each moment that passes we hear more horrible stories. Thank you stretch and joining us now from Southern Lebanon is matt bradley. Matt, what is the latest on hezbollah to the north . Reporter what were hearing now, and actually what were seeing now, weve had front row seats for most of the evening to some fight that was just off my left shoulder. It was way in the distance but we saw it ourselves, outgoing rocket fire from hezbollah or what we presume was hezbollah over the border into Northern Israel. And what we understand from hezbollah from the israelis is that there were several rockets that were fired. Israels Missile Intercepts intercepted some of them, some of them landed in open fields. Now, this has been going on for several days and actually there have been six People Killed right along the border, three of them were hezbollah fighters. We attended the funeral for two of them just today. One of them was an israeli senior commander. And two others were Palestinian Islamic jihad fighters. And they are based in the gaza trip. Those two men infiltrated israel, went across the border and were shot dead by israeli troops. So six People Killed. That is not nearly as fearsome as the fighting where my brave colleague raf sanchez is, but in many ways the fear here is just as much or even greater. Because if hezbollah decides to enter into this fight, which it very well could do, it will bring to bear much more strong weapons, much greater training and much more international support, much more connections to the wider world than hamas has enjoyed for quite a long time. That is why there is so much anxiety about whether or not hezbollah will enter the war. Like hamas, hezbollah is backed by iran, it could be, we dont know for sure, there has been a lot of talk about this, it could be taking directions from iran in the same way that hamas is thought to have been taking directions from iran. So there is a lot of anxiety around whether or not hezbollah will enter the fight. Now, if it does, that could enter into a regionwide war, it can split the Israeli Military and it could be awful news for the people here in lebanon who are still suffering from the 2006 war when more than 1,000 people here were killed, most of them civilians and more than 100 Israeli Soldiers were killed. Now, if that happens and i think everybody here is hoping that it wont, then you will see a much worse situation than what were already seeing in gaza and israel. Everybody holding their breath hoping that that does not happen. Matt bradley, thank you very much. Were still awaiting President Biden who is supposed to address the nation. Remember at least Nine Americans have died. We expect him very soon. Dont go anywhere. Our special coverage continues in 60 seconds. This is Spring Semester at fairfieldsuisun unified. They switched to google tools for education because theres never been a reported Ransomware Attack on a chromebook. Now theyre focused on learning knowing that their data is secure. limu emu doug [bell ringing] and doug says, you can customize and save hundreds happen. In 60 seconds. With l happen in 60 seconds. He hits his mark center stage and is crushed by a baby grand piano. Are you replacing me . With this guy . Customize and save with liberty bibberty. He doesnt even have a mustache oh, look a bibu. [limu emu squawks. ] only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a unity government, but what exactly does he mean and how will that affect the decisions that israel makes in these most heated moments . Joining us now is an independent journalist who has covered the conflict for two decades. Yesterday we were speaking about Benjamin Netanyahu and his speech to the nation talking about a unity government and you mentioned that it didnt really sound like he was actually forming a unity government. Have you gotten anymore claire it i today . We have more data today. I dont know about clarity. In about 15 minutes he will be meeting with one of the Opposition Leaders who is a former Chief Of Staff of the israeli army, an opponent of netanyahu. And he once fell into a netanyahu trap. In 2020, he joined a Netanyahu Government under an agreement that he would be an alternate Prime Minister, that he would follow netanyahu after one year. Netanyahu broke the deal, and israel went back to elections. And so it is a question about what he will agree to. Netanyahu seems to be offering the opposition the following deal. Join me and ill give you nothing. And the question is will they join because this calamity in israel is so big. Names keep rising of those dead. And there is also news that some of the hostages, some of the baby hostages, have been beheaded. It is already a very heated time in that country. This is no doubt going to raise the temperature even further. Have you gotten word on the response . From the Israeli Government . Yes. Well, im amazed to tell you that we now have confirmation that newborns and babies under the age of two were beheaded at least in one site. But im understanding that it happened in more than one place. Israeli government have so far not said anything. And there is basically no one speaking to the israeli people on behalf of the government. So one of the first inklings i got that this rumor was probably true is this afternoon when the Defense Minister was speaking to soldiers on the southern border near where raf is and end to them anyone who comes here to decapitate, well wipe them out. But no one has said a word. And an idf spokesperson for now has said they cant confirm the reports of the decapitated babies. We certainly hope it is not true. But youve been reporting things that the government has confirmed much later. In terms of the government itself and their ability to respond to this, there was already so much division. Netanyahu was already so much of a Lightning Rod before any of this. There were allegations that his attention was focused elsewhere, that he propped up hamas thinking that they could live side by side and he could control it while weakens abbas and the idea of the Palestinian State going forward. With all of that disarray in the government, what does that mean for the response in general, does it mean that it will get more heated, will it mean that it wont be able to function, what is your understanding or your expectation of how things will unfold . Were really in unprecedented territory right now. So it is hard for me to answer you. Though i have the same questions as you do. Ill give an example. Israeli government has no one announcing the tally of dead citizens, vanished citizens, hostages, nothing. So people are guessing. The number being used right now is 1,000, but informally we all know it is much hire. What that is causing a feeling of vacuum. And netanyahu is almost not present on the scene. So i think were starting as of today where there were three Press Conferences by heartbroken Family Members begging to be told something, and i think that were starting to hear the first little tiny bit of anger. But the truth is israel is still in shock and israel hasnt yet begun to really count its dead. It is a loss of almost impossible to conceive. And because no one on the part of the government is, you know, making these declarations in a normal organized and kind of authoritative manner, people have in a chaos. I still believe that this is going to boomerang very badly on netanyahu and the agony weve heard from some people today indicates that. But for now sorry, now the country is just floating along i would say. I was speaking to a mother yesterday who said that she cannot find her son, he was at that Desert Concert and she has not heard from the government. With the hardliners that netanyahu has aligned himself, i wonder if there is a red line for them for what they are willing do in gaza. Because it doesnt sound like there is. And when weve been asking even foreign officials if there is a red line for support of israel he retaliation, i havent gotten word on that either. And it is being compared to 9 11 here in the United States. But many, many times over. And in the aftermath of 9 11, we made huge mistakes in this country, mistakes that are still reverberating around the middle east. Is there concern that in the heat of this moment, that potentially red lines might get crossed . Of course. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it is important to state that the Israeli Government has yet to announce any strategy, any policy. Netanyahu spoke about like flattening gaza, but he even is not saying we have no idea. There are rumors here all the time. People are expecting a Ground Incursion. Every evening i hear someone saying now i know it is happening. We have no idea. And we both know, you and i, that if israel bombs gaza to smithereens and god forbid, but 30,000 people die, that wont help secure israel. And so we havent heard any serious person on behalf of the israeli State Address yet what israel may really be trying to do. And what a solution may bring. There are today three top hamas officials were targeted and killed and they are talking the idf spokesman said that they have a new policy now of targeting the heads of hamas, but their real heads are sitting on fat couches in qatar. Let me ask you about the rest of the country. I know you are in jerusalem. I have family in tel aviv. Does the rest of the country, places not bordering gaza, feel safe right now, relatively safe . What is the emotion . It is terrible, katy. Ive lived here my adult life and i never felt the kind of fear im feeling now. In tel aviv today, there was a barrage that lasted hours. My friends in tel aviv spent hours in shelter, some with babies. It is terrifying. Hamas is also putting out a lot of disinformation that is even more scary. They announced that they bombed the airport which of course they didnt. And we havent mentioned the north of the country. Today mortars were Northern Israel was shelled with mortar fire from hezbollah, positions in lebanon. And so at the same time Israeli Force was bombing gaza, it was also bombing Southern Lebanon. And basically that exposes the entire country to this feeling of not being defended. And we just had matt bradley on from the border of lebanon reporting on that for us. And were watching the podium, the president supposed to speak on israel and the war in just a moment now. Nine americans dead. We dont have any confirmation on how many or whether americans are among the hostages. Will israelis want to hear from the american president . One thing i can tell you, i know of at least two americans who are considered hostages, their parents consider them hostages. I think that we have to wait for the president now. President biden speaking. Let us listen. There are moments in this life, and i mean this literally, when the Pure Unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. People of israel lived through one such moment this weekend. The bloody hands of the terrorist organization hamas, a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill jews. An act of shear evil. More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered. Not just killed, slaughtered, in israel. Among them at least 14 american citizens killed. Parents butchered using their bodies to try to protect their children. Stomach churning reports of babies being killed. Entire families slain. Young people mass kurd while attending a musical festival to celebrate peace, to celebrate peace. Women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies. Families hid their fear for hours and hours guess prattly trying to keep their children quiet to avoid drawing attention. And thousands of wounded alive but carrying with them the bullet holes and Shrapnel Holes and memory of what they endured. You all know these traumas never go away. There are still so many families desperately waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones. Not knowing if they are alive or dead or hostages. Infants in their mothers arms, grandparents in wheelchairs, Holocaust Survivors abducted and held hostage. Hostages who has hamas has now threatened to execute in violation of every code of Human Morality morality. As abhorrent. The brutality of hamas, its blood thirstiness, brings to mind the worst rampages of isis. This is terrorists. But sadly for the jewish people it is not new. This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by antisemitism and genocide of the jewish people. So in this moment, we must be crystal clear. We stand with israel. We stand with israel. And we will make sure they have what they need to take care of it citizens, defend itself and response to this attack. There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse. Hamas does not stand for the palestinian peoples right to dignity and selfdetermination. Its stated purpose is annihilation and murder of you sish people. They use palestinian citizens as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and blood shed with no regard to who pays the price. The loss of innocent life is heartbreaking. Like every nation in the world, israel has the right to respond, indeed has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks. I just got off the phone with a third call with Prime Minister netanyahu. I told him our response would be swift, decisive and overwhelming. And we also discussed how democracies like israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. Terrorists purposely target civilians. Kill them. We uphold the laws of war, the law of war. It matters. There is a difference. Today americans across the country are praying for all those families that have been ripped apart. A lot of us know how it feels. It leave as black hole in your chest when you lose family. Feeling like you are being sucked in. The anger, the pain. The sense of hopelessness. This is what they mean by human tragedy. An atrocity. And well continue to stand united supporting the people of israel who are suffering unspeakable losses and opposing the hatred and the violence of terrorism. My team has been in theyre constant communication with our israeli partners and partners all across the region and the world from the moment this crisis began. Were sending Military Assistance including ammunition and interceptors to replenish the iron dome. Well make sure it sdwn run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and citizens. My administration has consulted closely with congress throughout this crisis. And when congress returns, well ask them to it a urgent action to fund the National Security requirements of our critical partners. This is not about party or politics. This is about the security of our world, security of the United States of america. We now know that american citizens are among those being held by hamas. Im directing my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts. Because as president , i have no higher priority than the safety of americans being held hostage around the world. The United States has also enhanced our Military Force Posture in the region to strengthen our deterrence. The Department Of Defense has moved the uss gerald r. Ford and bolstered our presence. And we stand ready to move in additional assets as needed. Let me say again to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, i have one word. Dont. Dont. Our hearts may be broken, but our resolve is clear. Yesterday i also spoke with the leaders of france, germany, italy, uk to discuss the latest developments with our european allies and coordinate our united response. This comes on top of days of steady engagement with partners across the region. Were also taking steps at home and cities across the United States of america, Police Departments have stepped up, security around centers of jewish life. The department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau Of Investigation are working closely with state and local Law Enforcement to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks. This is a moment for the United States to come together, to grieve with those who are mourning. Lets be real clear. There is no place for hate in america. Not against jews, not against muslims, not against anybody. We reject what we reject is terrorism. We condemn the indiscriminate evil just as we always have done. That is what america stands for. You know, just over 50 years ago, i was thinking about it morning talking to the secretary of state, Vice President in my office. Over 50 years ago as a young senator, i visited israel for the first time as a newly elected senator. And i had a long, long trip meeting goldamire in her office. And i guess she could see the consternation in my face and she described what they were facing. We walked outside in that sort of hallway outside her office. To have some she all of a sudden said would you like to have a photograph. So i got up and followed her out. We were standing there silent looking at the press. And she could tell i guess i was concerned. She leaned over and whispered, she said dont worry, senator biden, we have a secret weapon here in israel. My word is what she said. We have no place else to go. We have no place else to go. For 75 years, only guarantor of security of jewish people so atrociies of the past could never happen again. Let there be no doubt the United States has israels back. Well make sure the jewish and Democratic State of israel can defend itself today, tomorrow, as we always have. It is as simple as that. These atrocities are sickening. Were with israel, lets make no mistake. Thank you. [ reporters calling out questions ] he didnt take any questions. But the number of americans dead is now at 14. He described what has been happening there as disgusting. He is talking about Holocaust Survivors abducted. He says hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed, that they use palestinians as human shields. That the United States will stand by israel and that israel has a right to defend itself. Also saying that the u. S. Will be helping on trying to get back the hostages if the u. S. Can. Joining me now, aaron david miller. He served at the State Department from 1978 to 2003. Most recently as Senior Adviser for arab israeli negotiations. Also back with us is ali velshi. The u. S. Negotiating, helping to negotiate, to coordinate efforts to get back the hostages, any sense of what that might look like . Reporter yeah, and im glad youve got aaron here because this is one of the people who knows more about that than anything in the world. And the feeling on the ground here because of the Hostage Situation is that there are a lot of israelis who as frustrated and fearful as they are, they want the Hostage Release made a priority. There are two ways to get the hostages released. One is through negotiations either where hamas or via qatar or whoever else has a relationship with hamas, or it will be tactical. And that is very fraught. Going into gaza with ground troops, a place where israel has full visibility from the top of what gaza looks like, it has drones above gaza, it does not have visibility into the buildings and basements and shops. They dont know where the hostages are. That will be street urban warfare. It is a crazy densely packed is it i with often narrow streets. So while that is a consideration and there is a conversation about a ground invasion, the people weve been talking to, the families of hostages say prioritize the release of our hostages. That is number one. Number two, you and i were talking, we were Hearing Thuds behind us, 17 miles that way. And were now hearing that there has been a shift. Those were most likely naval Cruise Missiles going in. Weve now while the president was speaking jets started flying toward gaza. So now jets are flying above us south in those bombing runs. So this is the problem. They are taking out hamas tactical ability there, but the Hostage Situation, america and israel are going to have to have a conversation about is this going to be a negotiation or a rescue mission. And they are both very difficult and may have bad outcomes. Aaron, what is your sense of what might unfold . How do they do it . You want my reaction to the president s speech . Yeah. Listening to joe biden, this is one of the most deeply personal and emotional speeches i think hes given and i think at the end he started to tear up. What struck me was his comment about swift decisive and overwhelming in relation to American Military action but specifically designed i think to give the israelis the time and space they need to do what it is that they are going to do in gaza. He had an elliptical reference to the rule of law and to uphold the laws of war. Which i think is implicit cautionary note to avoid civilian casualties. And portion ality. Whether israelis can respect those two things i dont know given their anger and objectives in gaza. Relatives on the ground i thank him for his comment. I hope he stays safe. What i worry about is that weve reached an inflection point. The brutality of hamas actions the last three days and stories yet to be told, the president laid out in terms using butchered and massacre and rape and assault of women, blood thirsty, compared hamas to isis, and that is what he is doing 6,000 miles away from the center. You can imagine the mood in israel. I suspect for now, you ask me what to expect, i think the israelis will continue with the two things that they will be doing, the blockade and punishing airstrikes. And they will look for opportunities to see whether or not, ali referred to it, there is a tactical option with respect to a military rescue. Very difficult, densely populated, hostages spread out. And at some point they will have to make a decision to launch and mount a ground campaign. And that is i think what we are probably going to see. And you talk about inflection point. It certainly does feel that way. I wonder if you can elaborate on that. I was talking to a journalist who lives and works out of jerusalem about what happens next. And not just the immediate what happens next, but what happens next in the near and far term future. And so much of the discourse has been likening what has been happening in israel, what happened on saturday especially, as israels 9 11, but many times over. After 9 11 here in the states, we made some huge mistakes as i know you are well aware of and youve certainly been involved in trying to straighten out over the years. What is the concern about israel potentially taking this too far . You mentioned President Biden nodding toward international law. But should there be concern that in the heat of this moment, they might go too far . Their aspiration israelis want to avoid, and i dont want to trivialize it, but is the wash and rinse repeat cycle that has occurred the last 20 years. They pursued containment, they looked at carrots and sticks, they have weathered any number of crises in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2021. When i say inflection point, i mean that i dont think that the Israelis Aspirationally want to return to status quo. They dont simply want to retire hamas military capabilities, destroy its infrastructure. I really believe, again aspirationally, whether they make the decision to try to do this is another matter, but i think they want to literally destroy hamas capacity to govern. Hamas is not a Membership Organization with a bunch of guys carrying cards. It is a social movement which over the last 14 years since it seized power in gaza has become part and parcel of social economic and obviously political life in gaza. And i think the israelis would like to change that reality. And i could paint a scenario for you, right now it is a galaxy far, far away, of an Israeli Military operation that does in fact defeat hamas. The israelis stay for a period of time. The u. N. Engineers a transitional arrangement. There are elections held in gaza for palestinian leadership. Palestinian authority as weak as it is, resumes control. The saudis contribute billions of dollars for the reconstruction of gaza. The eu and International Community will stand up to once and for all try to give gaza, which is now an open air prison, a better future. People have written about this, serious people have actually talked about it. But it is it requires a degree of complexity with the sun, moon and stars all aligning in the correct way. And frankly, katy, last comment, i think the situation is going to get worse before it gets a lot worse. And you have to get the buyin though from arab states surrounding israel. And that is a big buyin that we havent seen saudi arabia or anyone else be willing to make. And i wonder if they will get to that point. It is early day, but the discussion is worthy of having because it cant continue on like this. It doesnt work. If it is going to be a two state solution, how do you get there. And i think that is what you are saying. How do you get there with the israeli settlements in the west bank and with the current makeup of the Israeli Government . Right. Well, the current makeup of the Israeli Government, you cannot get there. This is the most extreme fundamentalist right wing supremacist government in the history of the state of israel. But im persuaded in the wake of unsuccessful wars, failures of intelligence, 73 is a perfect example, a National Commission was set up. They held the security intelligence, military professionals responsible for the intelligence failure. 2600 israelis were killed. And as a consequence, removed from power because of public pressure. Average governance is 1. 8 years. This government will be in power for one year in december. I dont like making predictions, but if im coming back on your show a year from now, i dont think that this government will continue to exist. And the best news, if there is any good news in this Horrible Savage brutal situation, is that the judicial overhaul, the effort on the part of this government to rearrange the political furniture in israel and to emasculate and eviscerate an independent judiciary, that is dead. Because this Prime Minister has presided over the worst Terrorist Attack in the history of the state of israel. More jews were killed in the last three days, a single three day period, than in any day since the end of the nazi holocaust. So there will be a political price to pay. It is not a Conversation Worth having now. You may end up with a National Government in israel before the israelis decide to mount a ground campaign. That would be smart politics. I wonder if it will be a different style of National Unity government than weve seen in the past few decades, one that is more open to creating a stronger Palestinian Authority and letting they will back into gaza. Why havent the unity governments in the recent past allowed that to happen . Because as you know, they encompass the left, right and center. The last unity government, the lapid government, two fine gentlemen i think who trended toward moderation, basically had one organizing principle, which was to prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from regaining power. And that is not a good rx, a good prescription, for governments. So they couldnt hang together. But there were unity governments. One between 1998 and 82 92 that lasted and did constructive things. But you need two parties, not seven, in order to create the sort of cohesion. I think a political change is coming, but that is were a ways off. Right now i think that we need to really focus on how israel reconciles their commitment to the dead, to seek retribution in a positive way, to change the reality in gaza, to the 900 who have been killed and the thousands who whose injuries are life shattering, how to balance that out with their commitment to the living. 150 hostages, 100 plus held by hamas and perhaps 30 according to some reports held by a smaller Palestinian Group that is linked to iran. How do they reconcile avenging the dead and redeeming the living, the hostages . I cant get my mind around that and i have a feeling part of the reason the israelis havent acted yet is because of they are looking for some way to reconcile. They may not find it. There are currently 5,000, 4500 or so, palestinian what israeli Call Security prisoners in israel potentially there for a trade. Not sure if that will get there. Aaron david miller, thank you very much for all of that. You are truly incredible. Ali velshi, thank you as well. New Drone Footage Show what is was left after hamas militants slaughtered hundreds at a dance festival. Lines of abandoned cars, some charred through, others crashed into each other as people tried to fl. More than 3,000 were there and israeli Officials Say at least 260 of them were killed. Many at close range. Joining us now is Process Gastor who was at that festival when hamas attacked. Thank you. I mean, just looking at the images and the videos of the people running and fleeing and everything that weve seen, it sends chills up my spine. Tell me what it is like to be there and how you got out. It was a nightmare for all of us. Once it started, once the bombardment started, after five minutes i managed to find a driver and we got the car and drove out as fast as possible. So opposed to Everyone Else that went right when they venue, i drove the other way and for this i say i was saved because this way was steer clear. I drove as fast as i can until i got to my other artists and from that moment we started workinging a fast as we can. And in looking at the aftermath, a lot of these cars are burned through. Can you tell us what you know the militants were using when they stormed the festival . The festival . As i mentioned before, i wasnt there. At the beginning was the bombardment. After five, i wasnt there. I havent seen the terrorists or maybe they came two, three, four minutes later. I dont know. But only when i got to the house, then i started getting all the messages and all the infos and the calls that were starting to come in. As i went out, we managed to go out very clear. We drove as fast as we can. Rockets falling, mortars falling. But the road was clear. What about those you were there with . Were they able to make it out . We stayed with the partygoers being slaughtered, as you mentioned before. 260 have already been identified. This is an unprecedented number. I still dont know how to find the powers to go to so many funerals. Each day coming more and more names of the people that we know. The people that we worked with. Our community. Our family. Our closest friends. And name after name after name, the people that are the most close that we work with every day. Parties with them every weekend. They are part of our community. We know them, each and every one of them. This is something that at least for me, we did it for all of us. I dont know if i can get the powers every day to go to so many funerals and see so many dead friends. Of course not. Its just horrifying to even consider. Thank you for joining us. Im sorry to cut you short but we have to get to the white house where there is currently a Press Briefing and National Security adviser Jake Sullivan has joined us. We do want to hear what he has to say. This is not some distant tragedy. The bonds between israel and america run long and deep and we stand with israel. Not just in these dark days but at all times. The president has been deeply engaged in giving direction to his National Security team to take action to support israel in its hour of need. At his direction, the United States has served interceptors for iron dome. The president spoke with president Benjamin Netanyahu a little while ago to talk about additional capability thats israel will need and he pledge that had american planes will be landing in israel with those capabilities in the days ahead. And now at the direction of the president , we arake sure that Israel Maintai supply of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens, as well as theany u. S citizens who live, work and travel in israel. Also at p military has enhanced its force posture in the region to strengthen our deterrence, including the movement of a Carrier Strike group into the eastern mediterranean. We are prepared to move additional assets as necessary. Let me be clear. We did not move the carrier for hamas. We moved the carrier to send a clear message of deterrence to other states or nonstate actors that might seek to widen this war. The president has also tasked us with engaging in Contingency Planning for any and all scenarios and we are now deeply engaged in that planning and we are consulting with allies and partners as well about all the scenario thats may unfold. Let me tell you what the president said a short time ago so everyone including enemies thinking of exploiting the situation hear it loud and clear. The United States has always and will always have israels back. To those families undergoing the unfathomable pain of having loved ones missing, our hearts go out to you. We cannot imagine the anguish you must be feeling right now. We know that u. S. Citizens are among the missing and we know that u. S. Citizens as the president just said are among the hostages. We are working with the Israeli Government and with our regional partners on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the u. S. Government to advise the Israeli Government and coordinate with them on the recovery efforts. As the president said, there is no higher priority than the safety and wellbeing of american citizens being held hostage overseas. Over the coming days, well continue to stand strongly with israel to ensure it is able to defend itself. And my team and i are working with our colleagues across the u. S. Government every hour to keep the president updated on the latest developments to take his direction and put it into action and continue following his direction to provide israel and the people of israel all the support required at this time of need. Well that ill be happy to take your questions. You go first. Thank you. We do not know about their condition and we cannot confirm the precise number of american citizens. We believe there are 20 or more americans who at this point are missing, but i want to underscore and stress that does not mean necessarily that there are 20 or more american hostages. Just that is the number who are currently unaccounted for. We will work hour by hour, both to determine whether we can account for any of those americans, or to confirm exactly what the number of americans are being held hostage, and we will come back to you with that information as soon as we have it. As you know, very sadly and tragically, the number of dead has risen with each passing hour. And thats true of the total number and also true of americans which has gone up just today from an earlier report this morning of 12, then 13, now 14. So i cannot give you a precise number. I can tell you that number of unaccounted for at this time. That number could change, too. But i want to underscore that is not a statement from me that we have that many hostages. We do not know the number of hostages at this time. Did the president discuss with the Prime Minister the possibility of the Ground Incursion into gaza and also, how that might affect american hostages that are in gaza that are now confirmed . I am not going to get into the operational discussions that the president and the Prime Minister had. That is important for them to be able to keep in a discreet channel between them. What i will tell you is that the president and Prime Minister did discuss how the United States can deploy expertise to help work on the hostage recovery efforts. Thats what the United States is in the process of doing right now. Under what circumstances would you put American Forces on the ground . At this point, that is not something under planning. What we are focused on when we talk about sending experts, it is people who can work on intelligence, who can work on overall planning, who can work on coordination with the Israeli Government. We are not currently sending forces to israel and ill leave it at that for now. Has the president spoken to any of the families of the 14 american citizens who were killed . He has not yet spoken with the families. But the State Department has been in contact with those families. And the president has been making this his highest priority as he receives briefings each day about what we are doing to try to determine both what is happening with the missing and also, to ensure that we can secure the bodies of those who have perished and ensure they get returned to their loved ones. Are you reaching out to those whose loved ones may be unaccounted for . One Family Member said there has been no formal attempt by the u. S. Government to update the families. We have in fact updated the families of the unaccounted for americans that we know of. If there are americans for some reason who have not yet been reached out to, that will be remedied immediately. Secretary blinken, President Biden, everybody in the u. S. Government is making this the highest priority. So we are in very regular contact with every family who has someone either missing or unaccounted for. Anyone who is not currently on that list for whatever reason, we will take care of that. That will be our highest priority. Thanks. Two quick questions. One for clarity. The iron dome of punishment. Has it already arrived or is it on its way . Some of the interceptors have come out of stocks that the u. S. Had in country. So those have gone over to the israelis in short order. Then we will be flowing in additional Iron Dome Interceptors so they have the capabilities they need to sustain their iron dome defense systems. Were also looking at other ways we can help augment their air defense capabilities as well as we look ahead. Not just to what is happening now but to potential contingency thats could unfold. What can you say about the wall in the attack . Is that one of the actors youre worried about widening the war . Weve said since the beginning that iran is complicit in a broad sense because they have provided the lions share of the funding for the military wing of hamas. Theyve provided training. They have provided capabilities. They have provided support and theyve had engagement and contact with hamas over years and years. And all of that that has played a role in contributing to what we have seen. Now, as to the question of whether iran knew about this attack in advance or helped plan or direct this attack, we do not, as of the moment im standing here at the podium, have confirmation of that. We are talking to our israeli counterparts on a daily basis about this question. Were looking back through our intelligence holdings. Were looking to acquire further intelligence. If theres an update to that, ill tell you. While iran plays this broad role, this sustained, deep, and dark role in providing all this support and capabilities to