Katy tur, the idf announced its stepping up Ground Operations, along with increased bombings in gaza, which is what we have been seeing over the past two hours, repeated explosions over the border from israel. This is a live shot right now of that area. The palestinian red crescent, an Aid Organization tells nbc news it has completely lost contact with its Operation Room in gaza. No Phone Service, land line or cell, no internet connection, also something nbc news has experienced in trying to get in touch with our own teams and contacted in gaza. So what could be coming next. Joining us now from ashdot, is nbc news Foreign Correspondent raf sanchez, along with Noga Tarnopolsky who spent over two decades covering the conflict, raf, lets talk about what we were experiencing tonight, the idf had a News Conference a little bit earlier addressing the public. They didnt announce a Ground Incursion specifically, but they did say Ground Operations are increasing. What does that mean . Over the last couple of days, we have seen Israeli Forces making incursions into gaza, both by land, two nights ago, but also by sea last night. In each of those cases, Israeli Forces entered, they say that they engaged hamas fighters. They say in some cases they destroyed terrorist infrastructure, but they left gaza again. Tonight, the Israeli Military is saying they are expanding Ground Operations. Now, we dont know exactly what they mean, but one possibility, katy, is this is israeli troops entering gaza and planning to stay establishing some kind of bridge heads ahead of what might be a much larger Ground Invasion, potential the days, the weeks ahead. I want you to take a listen to a little bit of what the Israeli Military spokesperson said in his Press Conference earlier tonight. Our Ground Forces are expanding the Ground Operations. Idf is operating at all dimensions in order to achieve the goals of the war. Earlier, we have exposed to the world the chief hospital, weve exposed the underground sphere, and how this hospital was converted into using terrorist activities. Pinnacle usage of the hamas, we have exposed this to the world, and we will continue to attack in gaza and its surroundings and we keep calling upon the People Living in gaza that south from there, they have better conditions. So. Reporter so katy, we dont know if this is the Ground Invasion. They appear to be operating inside of gaza with larger numbers than before. There is no official announcement from the Israeli Government. We have heard nothing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ultimately the decision to go into gaza will be a political one for israels democratically elected leaders, not for the military. It will be profound implications for Palestinian Civilians inside of gaza, and for those 200 or so israeli hostages, around 7,000 people have been killed inside gaza over the last three weeks. Thats according to the hamas run health ministry. The fear is that those numbers could get much, much worse when Israeli Forces go in on the ground. We believe they will initially focus on the north of the gaza strip, and they have been telling Palestinian Civilians to get out, to get south over the last three weeks, we should say. Despite those warnings, israel has been striking in the south, and civilians have been killed there. Of course, katy, the real fear among the israeli families of hostages that we have been speaking to, people have been protesting daily outside the Defense Ministry is that an Israeli Ground invasion will sever all hopes of a negotiated deal to release these hostages. Four hostages have been released over the last week, all of them women. Its just a trickle compared to the 200 or so who are being held by hamas and other terrorist groups inside gaza. Its been enough to give these families hope that negotiations might lead to something and the fear is that a Ground Invasion will spell the end of those negotiations. Lets talk about that. There has been some reporting in the New York Times that there was dissent among the Senior Leaders about what to do next, that Benjamin Netanyahu was hesitating because it wasnt a unanimous decision to go into gaza. What are you hearing there in jerusalem . Well, yeah, i mean, we havent heard any clear message from the Israeli Government in terms of what its plans are. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said the military aim is to crush, to destroy hamas. At some point in the last three weeks, he added that it is another aim of this war to bring the hostages back alive. But there is, as raf was just saying, tremendous, tremendous fear in israel that those two things may not be congruent. And i saw earlier this evening, a really shattering interview with a woman called hadas calderon, whos children are hostages, whose mother was killed who said we have been forsaken by the government. We have been abandoned on october 7th and theyre abandoning us now. They dont have the right to sacrifice our children, and this is going to be a louder and louder voice heard in israel. We just saw explosion, another one just there on the lefthand side of your screen. Those are live images into gaza right now. In terms of hostages, we have been hearing a lot of that same sentiment from families saying we should be the first priority, absolutely the only priority in the immediate term. Raf sanchez, if youre still with us, i hope you are, i want to ask you about alshifa hospital, earlier the idf was saying that hamas was headquartered, part of it was headquartered underneath alshifa hospital, and they were warning that everybody there, patients, doctors, families seeking shelters were in danger. Does that indicate that theyre planning on striking alshifa hospital . Its a possibility, katy. The Israeli Military earlier saying that they have located a network of tunnels in a Command Center underneath the hospital. This is gaza oost gazas larges facility. Nbc news is not able to verify those claims by the Israeli Military. We cant physically get into gaza ourselves. We have a team on the ground, but as you mentioned, weve lost contact with them, now that the internet is down. Would it be a surprise if hamas had tunnels underneath alshifa hospital . Not necessarily. The network of tunnels is massive. Its extensive. One of the hostages who was released, yochevid described it the reality is even if they wanted to evacuate alshifa hospital, there are people hooked up to ventilators, there are babies in incubators, there are people who are so severely wounded that they cannot leave. So the Israeli Military has not explicitly said it plans to bomb the hospital complex, but medics inside of gaza say there is just no way to evacuate that facility completely. And that without it, you have lost one of the few standing places where gazans can get health care amid this very very intense Israeli Campaign of air strikes. Richard engel is also with us. Where are you exactly, and what can you tell us about what youre experiencing there . And were seeing more explosions to the left of your screen in gaza. Reporter so we are in southern israel, right along the border with gaza, and if you look over there in the area that is black, that is the gaza strip, about an hour ago, for two hours, we saw some of the most intense bombardments of certainly the beginning of this war, but maybe of the most intense bombardments i have seen of wars in the middle east. This was for about two hours a sustained campaign of tank fire, artillery fire, air strikes, planes streaming overhead, streaking overhead, dropping bombs, and now the gaza strip is cut off from the world. It was cut off before, and now it is cut off from communications. It was one of the last things that the people inside gaza had. Now they cant call ambulances, they cant communicate among themselves, and they cant communicate with the world. Hamas just issued a statement, clearly anticipating that this was potentially the start of something major, the start of a major ground offensive, and hamass statement anticipating that this could have been the start, and this came from the political wing, which is based outside of the gaza strip, saying if netanyahu decides to enter gaza by land tonight, the resistance is ready and the remains of soldiers will be swallowed up. Clearly hamas sensed what has happened over the last several hours was different, but now we dont know what is happening inside because it is dark, it is cut off, and the people who are already under attack are in a much more difficult situation. We were not able to reach our teams and that has been one of the most important sources of information for us and for the world, frankly because when hamas issues statements and when hamas releases video, it is not of any credibility at all. But when our own teams are able to document what is happening there, the world is able to understand the truth of whats happening in gaza. Now, we are denied that, and the people inside gaza are still under attack as you can see and unable to communicate with the world. The reason israel says that it did intensify this strike is its going after tunnel networks. A statement from the israeli, the idf, the Israeli Military said that it was intensifying by air. It was intensifying by ground. And that it was going after the network of tunnels after, as you were just discussing, it laid out its case that there were tunnels all throughout gaza, including under major hospitals. You talk about hamass credibility here, and journalists, we try to confirm the credibility of everybody that we get information from hamas, israel, any official statement we try to confirm it. Can we talk about, richard, and can you tell us what you have been able to report up until now about the specifics of hamass credibility. We keep hearing from the u. S. Administration and from the israelis that hamas is blocking people from going south. They are keeping people in the north where israel is doing the bombing. Theyre blocking people from crossing the rafah border. They have fuel tanks that they could deliver to hospitals. They have tons of fuel that they could deliver to hospitals. But they are not doing so. This is what the idf says, its what The Americans say, the president of the United States, question the credibility of the Death Toll Numbers coming out of hamas and the Palestinian Health ministry. How do we sort out real from or fact from fiction here or exaggeration from reality . I think its simple, hamas has no credibility. You take nothing that they say at face value, a group that murders people, and takes hundreds of hostages, including children, should not be taken at face value, should not accept what they say but thats why it is so important that we are able to get information out of gaza independently, something that we are not able to do right now because the internet has been cut, phone lines have been cut, but we have been able, you ran through about 15 different questions there. We have been able to identify several of them and verify several of them. First of all, you mentioned this constant point about is the north of gaza safe, and is hamas keeping people in the north blocking them in the north so they cant go south . We have we still have people inside gaza who tell us that nowhere is safe inside gaza because there have been air strikes in the north, in the south, in central gaza. We have been putting out those pictures every day. The u. N. Has said there is no safe place in gaza. We havent seen evidence that hamas is blocking the roads. It may have happened, it may be happening, but there is still no safe place in gaza. That is just one of the things that we can verify because we were able to communicate with our people inside, which is now for the moment, impossible. Richard engel, thank you very much. Appreciate it. And we hope to get in touch with our teams down in gaza for more information. We also hope that theyre safe. Richard raf, noga, thank you for starting us off. Joining us now is former adviser to Prime Ministers barak and shimon peres, ambassador pinkas, thank you for being with us. Can you give us any insight into whats going on right now . Hi, katy, good to be with you. The question right now is the magnitude and the scale and the longevity of such a ground operation. I mean, is it what is called in the American Military jargon, s and d, a search and destroy, meaning short lived excursion, incursion, sorry, into gaza, and then excursions immediately thereafter out of gaza. Or is this a more sustained effort that would entail almost inevitably, not just escalation, but also a prolonged military presence, at least in the northern part of gaza. That i think will dictate what happens in the next few days both politically, both militarily, and both in terms of the fate of the 220 hostages. We keep hearing explosions, loud bangs from our live shots, our two cameras that are trained on gaza right now. Can we talk a little bit more about those hostages . Is israel giving up on them . No, i dont think so. Are they the number two priority or in your opinion one number one priority . Number two or three priority, and thats an excruciating tradeoff a country has to make. Im not saying im for or against it. Im trying to say it the way it is. Heres the thing, theres been a linkage made between Israeli Ground operation and the well being and fate of the hostages. Thats not necessarily the case. Because they constitute the only assets hamas now has. So the idea that an Israeli Ground operation is going to almost inevitably seal their fate negatively, meaning getting them executed is not necessarily true. On the other hand, obviously, the moment you start with a ground operation, most negotiations, most contacts, most Mediation Efforts are almost by definition severed. And so the number one priority now is searching and destroying hamas. What this operation lacks is a clear political objective. Any Military Operation needs to be aligned with or derived from a clear political objective, and i dont see one right now. If indeed it is to eradicate, annihilate, eliminate, to use the word hamas, that means reopening the gaza strip. Thats not something israel wants, and so without a clear political and attainable goal, this can go on for weeks, and so i wish i could tell you anything, something positive about the hostages. I cannot. I want to show video from the idf, images from the idf about what they claim is happening at alshifa hospital in gaza. This is the biggest hospital. Its still functioning, although barely, the hospital says they have a number of patients, people on ventilators, babies in incubators, the idf says hamas is operating underneath the hospital in tunnels. Does the idf have the stomach, should the idf, should israel strike that hospital even if there are hamas tunnels, hamas operations underneath it . No, they should not. If it was up to me, they should not. We all know what hamas is. Its a combination of isis, and with Nazi Techniques and messianic ideology, we know how they take advantage of hospitals and schools. We know how they shield behind children. We know who and what they are. That being establish, even though we know for a fact that they have a tunnel system, that your correspondent accurately described, i would still not bomb the hospital. From any Cost Effective calculation, even if you look at it rationally, coolly, and without, you know, dispassionately, it would be the wrong move. On a moral basis, its obviously the wrong move. There are enough hamas personnel that can be found and shot and killed and destroyed without bombing the hospital, i hope im right that, you know, that the bulk of hamass depot, and personnel are not under that hospital. But if they are, then i may be proven wrong. Ambassador, thank you very much, and just to be clear, these are claims from the idf. Nbc news cannot independently verify them because our reporters are not in gaza. We have teams in gaza, but we currently cannot get in touch with them. And raf sanchez said it wouldnt be Out Of The Question that hamas would have tunnels there but we cant verify it at nbc news. Ambassador, thank you very much. I do appreciate your expertise and your thoughts on this. Thank you very much, katy. And dont go anywhere. In 60 seconds were going to be joined by a Senior Adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ambassador mark regev, were going to be asking him a host of questions about whats happening now. Joining us next. Now. Joining us next. Im getting vaccinated with prevnar 20®. So am i. Because im at risk for Pneumococcal Pneumonia. Im asking about prevnar 20® because theres a chance Pneumococcal Pneumonia could put me in the hospital. If youre 19 or older, with certain chronic conditions like copd, asthma, diabetes, or Heart Disease or are 65 or older, you may be at increased risk for Pneumococcal Pneumonia. Prevnar 20® is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause Pneumococcal Pneumonia. In just one dose. Dont get prevnar 20® if youve had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. Adults with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. The most common side effects were pain and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. I want to be able to keep my plans. Thats why i chose to get vaccinated with prevnar 20®. Because just one dose can help protect me from Pneumococcal Pneumonia. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated with prevnar 20® today. Power e trades awardwinning trading app makes trading easier. With its customizable options chain, easytouse tools and Paper Trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. E trade from morgan stanley. Power e trades easytouse tools make complex trading less complicated. Custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an Earnings Tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. E trade from morgan stanley. Weve got questions and stay on top about medicare plans. Well, weve got a lot of answers how can i help . Well for starters, do you have a medicare plan i can actually afford . How about a plan with a 0 monthly premium well thats a great start. What other benefits can we get . Things like dental, vision and hearing. But, let me help you pick the plan thats right for you. Dont wait call 188865aetna to get answers to your questions and pick a plan thats right for you and lets make healthier happen, together. sean i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro jason sean do you mean this one the one with titanium . Switch to verizon, and get iphone 15 pro on them. sean wow vo get iphone15 pro, apple tv 4k and 6 months of apple one. All three on us. Only on verizon. Are you guys watching . This is my favorite part. Youre watching. Okay, time to get your own bed, hank. Chewy has great prices. Hope you like plaid. I do. Who wants popcorn . Shop and get a 30 egift card through november 5th. At chewy. Here in the bay, our cars takes and all of our stuff where we want to go. But, our cars cant take us e with unpaid tolls. Vehicles with overdue, unpaid tolls may not be able to renew their registration until outstanding balances are paid. Payment assistance is available. Visit bayareafastrak. Org ase so go pay your unpaid tolls y and keep your wheels on the the power goes out and we still have wifi 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. Home of the xfinity 10g network. We are watching increased activity from israel into gaza with explosions there. The times of israel is reporting that palestinians say there is gunfire being exchanged between idf tanks and troops in gaza. This is according to the times of israel. Joining us is marc regev, can you tell us about the report that theres gunfire being exchanged between idf tanks and hamas . As you can understand, i wont go into operations that are currently ongoing. But i can say the following. We are beefing up the pressure on hamas. Were hitting them hard. Well be hitting them harder, and the goal as i said to you in a previous broadcast is to destroy the Hamas Military Machine and to dismantle its control over gaza. Were beefing up the pressure, and theyll be feeling it more and more. Is this the Ground Incursion . Is it happening right now . Is beefing up just another way to describe it . I cant go into the current operation. That would be unprofessional from my point of view. I can say this, that everyone was saying israel wasnt going to do it, israel is waiting. Well, we waited. We prepared, we planned, and were hitting them where it hurts them. Lets talk about internet and Phone Service being down in gaza. Folks within gaza are calling that inhumane. Its a blackout now, and they cant reach anybody. Is that intentional . First of all, once again, im not going to go into operational details. I think when other countries have been involved in Military Operations in the past, the idea of Blocking Communications of the other side is standard operational procedure. I dont think it should be seen as something unusual. If were going to hit targets if gaza, well see the command and control is disrupted. I think thats good military logic. The alshifa hospital Images Released by the idf saying there are hamas tunnels underneath the hospital there, what was the intention . I think we wanted to show the world what were up against because people, including President Biden has talked about hamas using the civilian population of gaza as human shields, and that can be very abstract. By showing the specific information we have, and its true, theres no question about the information we have. Its true. Its rock solid. That they put their command and control under a hospital. I mean, thats using everyone in that hospital, doctors, nurses, and patients as a human shield for their war machine. And we added more, just after the massacre of october 7th when they were slaughtering our people in gaza, in israel, sorry, and they were running to hide, literally scores of Hamas Terrorists went to that underground bunker under the hospital to seek safety. Thats against all the rules of warfare, to turn a hospital into a military zone, a military command post, that is unacceptable and i think this is just another sign of the brutality that hamas is capable of. The sheer disregard for normal human behavior, the sheer disregard for what we would see as elementary rules of justice, to use a hospital as a command and control post, to put in danger every single patient, doctor and nurse in the hospital, isnt that just disgusting . Does that mean that israel, when you say put in danger, does that mean israel might strike that hospital . We havent said so. And we might or we might not. But i can say this, the rules of International Law are clear, if theres a bridge, you cant target the bridge. The minute the other size uses tanks to cross the bridge, then the bridge is a legitimate target. Hamas has turned a hospital into a legitimate target. Hamas has committed a war crime, and it must be understood by the community. Turning a hospital into command and control, and they deserve to be condemned from walltocall for that sort of behavior. Israel has asked palestinians to move from the north to the south, they say move to the south for your safety, but again, still strikes happening in the south of gaza. Why . There are hamas positions particularly in the area of the city there in south, there are underground tunnel structures. One of the released hostages, an 85yearold woman described as a spider web of underground subterranean tunnels used by hamas. Were asking people not to go to hamunis, were talking about a zone to the west, closer to the coast where there isnt a developed infrastructure, close to where the aid is coming in on the rafah crossing. The idea is that would be a safer area. Gaza is going to be difficult. Theres going to be heavy fighting ahead of us. If Ground Forces are going into battle. Well be hitting the terrorists hard. We dont want to see civilians get caught in the cross fire. And the safer zone on the western side of the gaza strip there in the southern part, that is the safest place to be. How will they know that if they dont have access to the internet or Phone Service. We have been saying this for days, everyone knows it, literally hundreds of those of people have moved to the south, they know this, and once again, to disrupt the communications of the enemy is common sense in Military Operations. If Everybody Knows where they can find safety, why are we still seeing civilians die. We dont know the number of civilians who are dying. Obviously some are. Were seeing some images, so we can verify some of those things. I agree. Thats true. But the numbers coming out of gaza. We have to be very careful with. Ill remind you one example, remember the incident of the hospital, which in the end of course it wasnt us but at the time they said it was. Its been proven of course conclusively that it wasnt us. At the time the hamas controlled Ministry Of Health said 500 casualties, 800 casualties. Afp released a report based on a european intelligence sources that said maybe up to 50 people were killed in the attack. Thats less than 10 of the number that hamas said originally were killed. All i say is to all the journalists, please, everything coming out of hamas has to be treated with a grain of salt, including the casualty figures. Now, i dont deny there have been some casualties, but i also have no doubt that hamas is deliberately exaggerating the numbers. Israel has been showing video of the attack on october 7th from the body cams from hamas militants to select people including journalists and weve had some of them described on our air, things i wont be able to unhear, that will haunt you at night. Horrible stuff. I know some of those images have been shown at the u. N. Why do you think the International Community seems to still be not all, but some are loudly saying that israel is in the wrong here and that israel should hold back and stop striking gaza . Well, for some people, thats reflex action. Thats easy to always blame israel. Lets talk about what you just said, because i think its very interesting. We have had toaltarian, authoritarian regimes in the past, that have done terrible things, committed mass atrocities, but usually they tried to hide it. The nazis destroyed their Extermination Factories before the allies arrived, at least they tried to because they wanted to hide their crimes against humanity. The soviets under stalin also tried to hide their crimes against humanity. Here is hamas filming the atrocities theyre committing. Here is hamas not just filming but putting it all on social media, taking pride, advertising their crimes against humanity. What does that say about hamas, what does that say about the enemy were fighting . What does it say about their depravity, about their brutality . What does it say about who they are . I firmly believe, katy, when we defeat hamas, and we surely will, were not only making our country safer and people more secure, were doing a favor for the people of gaza who deserve more than living under this dictatorship. While youre speaking, were hearing loud bangs, explosions in this live feed of gaza right now, multiple large explosions. Can you tell us what youre targeting right now, whats happening tonight, why its getting more intense tonight . You can be sure if youre in a hamas bunker somewhere, if youre in a hamas tunnel, if youre in a hamas stronghold that were going to come and find you and eliminate that target. Hamas will pay for its crimes against humanity. Hamas will pay for slaughtering our people. We are starting pay back. This group, the german chancellor, he said they acted like nazis. We are bringing justice to this terrible, despicable, dgusting terrorist group, and they will pay for their crimes, and once again, not just israel will be better off afterwards, but the people of gaza will be better off without them as well. Civilians who are in gaza, it did they get a heads up on what was going to be happening tonight. Are you confident that civilians are not being killed right now with these explosions . So as you know, for days now, we have been asking people to move to the south, and they have done so in the hundreds of thousands, and theyre safer in the south than they are in the combat zone, but even tonight as we move in to target hamas more aggressively, we make a clear distinction between hamas targets and the civilian population, and we are still making a maximum effort in a difficult Combat Situation to be as surgical as is humanly possible. We want to destroy hamas, we dont target the civilian population of the gaza strip. Ambassador, this is the most we have seen certainly in this hour, as we have watched the fight against hamas, the war. These explosions are happening every couple of minutes. Many of them in a row. Is this just happening for the next few hours . It feels like we are starting a different phase. You are starting a different phase of this war as were watching, again, multiple large scale explosions in gaza right now. We are beefing up the pressure. Im not going to comment on ongoing operation, how long it will last for, when it will finish. That would be irresponsible from my point of view. But hamas will feel our wrath tonight, and i think all the International Community who saw the crimes, the atrocities that hamas is responsible for should be supporting israel. We are going to destroy hamas, and in doing so, i think were eradicating a despicable enemy of all humanity. Has the Prime Minister or Defense Minister or anybody spoken to their u. S. Counter parts about what was planned for tonight, and what is happening right now . I can tell you that there is the closest cooperation that we have ever had between the United States and israel. And we are communicating not just daily, were communicating hourly. Maybe even more. And israel is responsible for whats going on tonight. We are attacking. Its not an american attack. There are not american boots on the ground. But we have been talking to The Americans. They know our thinking, and they know what were doing and why were doing it. Communicating daily, perhaps hourly, as you said. The Washington Post is reporting that five u. S. Officials familiar say that the Biden Administration is urging israel, urging you guys to rethink your plans and opt for a more surgical operation using aircraft and special forces, targeting high value hamas targets because of the potential repercussions increasing doubt it would achieve israels goal of eliminating hamas. Im sorry, so let me ask you this, is that true, are you were you urged to be more surgical, and is that whats happening right now . I said at the beginning of our conversation that we will be as surgical as is humanly possible in a very difficult Combat Situation. But at the same time, we are determined, and we ruthlessly pursue hamas until we have destroyed that organization. Ambassador, what about hostages . Fair enough. The Hostage Issue is very troubling. Theyre holding 229. We worry about them. And we believe firmly that by beefing up the pressure on hamas, thats the best way to get the hostages out. If we keep hamas and hitting hamas hard, i think thats the best way to get movement on the release of hostages. What about the families who say that this should stop and all of the efforts should be on getting the hostages out right now. That should be the number one priority. Of course we understand them, and we have empathy for them, and our hearts go out to all the families of hostages, and our hearts go out to the mothers and fathers of the soldiers of the idf who are going into harms way tonight in this operation thats ongoing. There are many factors here, what about gazas innocent civilians, we dont want to see harm come to them either. We know foreign initials living in gaza, hamas has refused to allow them to leave. Of course we have all of that on our shoulders. Especially the hostages, you say. Hamas cannot have immunity. If hamas is destroyed, we will destroy hamas. That will end the cycle of violence, the cycle of death that weve seen come out of the gaza strip over the last 16 years since hamas took control, and hopefully when this is over, well have a period of greater stability, a period of greater security, a period where people on both sides of the frontier can live their lives safer. Do you have confidence in the qataris that are they are operating and negotiating in good faith to get the hostages out . Well, the proof in the pudding. Youre saying no . Im saying the proof of the pudding. At the moment of 229, we got four out. Thats hardly an impressive figure. Ambassador mark regev, thank you very much for coming on today and staying with us so long. We appreciate it. We really do. Its getting intense over there. My pleasure, thanks for having me. And back with us, is independent journal itself, Noga Tarnopolsky. We are seeing an increased stepped up bombing as the ambassador said, tonight we are starting payback. Thats what the israelis are doing. What are you hearing in jerusalem . Im hearing a lot of bafflement in jerusalem, and i think its important to say having heard the two ambassadors, who you just interviewed, ambassador said something very interesting. A linkage has been made between an israeli strikes and an israeli major operation in gaza and the fate of the hostages, but that hes not sure that linkage exists because the hostages are important assets for hamas, and we have heard ambassador regev make the case for the Israeli Government. What i think is really important, no one is makes this case for israelis. Israelis are not as terrified adds gazans are tonight. Israelis are terrified because no one on behalf of the government has told them or suggested to them that there may not be a linkage between the fate of the hostages and this kind of escalation. And no one, in fact, has told them what israels goals are beyond destroying hamas, which has never been defined, so what you have is an israeli population sitting in its own version of dark. An information blackout is kind of what youre describing . I am. Whats this going to do for the trust between israeli civilians and the government because, again, in the past, up until now, the agreement was that israel would do anything to get people back, even if they were just bodies, they would do anything, and from the conversations weve had, from the actions that were watching, doesnt seem that thats the case any longer. Youre right, katy, and even from the words we just heard on your program from ambassador mark regev, i think those words, if israelis could hear them in their own language would put a chill down their spine. Again, the government is not speaking to the civilian population here, but i want to say that that israeli stance has been somewhat weakened in the last nine, ten years of Netanyahu Governments. In other words, netanyahu made this deal of exchanging a soldier who was taken hostage by hamas for more than a thousand prisoners including some who are involved now in this terror tack on october 7th, but there have been the bodies of two Israeli Soldiers and two live israeli hostages, civilians held by hamas for nine years, and as the ambassador said, the proof is in the pudding, the success of the Netanyahu Governments have not done what was necessary to get them back, and their families are reminding israelis of this day by day, saying, you see, we told you. If we dont get our kids back, everyone is going to suffer, and that is what israelis, i think, fear theyre seeing right now. There was a report on channel 12 in israel that the Israeli Government citing sources, their sources had lost confidence in the qataris, which is why i asked the ambassador about that, ambassador mark regev, and he didnt entirely confirm it, but he kind of nodded toward it, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and saying that only four have been released when more than it 220 were taken. I dont know. The last we heard from the Israeli Government about this was the National Security adviser who posted a tweet thanks the qataris for their action. He got enormous blow back from the former Prime Minister, neftoli bennett, a government thats confused about that will not bring victory. So all i can tell you is the last we have heard is the Israeli Government was banking the qataris, and beyond that, i dont know. Noga tarnopolsky, thank you very much for sticking around for us. We appreciate it. Again, we have been watching a stepped up Bombing Campaign in gaza. A number of very large explosions, very loud bangs just in the last 45 minutes as we have been on air. The idf has said that Ground Forces are expanding their operations in gaza. There have been reports in israeli media that that is including Gunfire Exchanges on the ground in gaza between israeli tanks and palestinians. We can tell you from our own eyes it is certainly including increased air strikes in gaza. Coming up, the u. S. Hit iranlinked targets in syria, retaliating for Drone Attacks on u. S. Military bases in the region. How is iran responding . N respong remember the things you loved. Before asthma got in the way . Fasenra is an addon treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. Its designed to target and remove them and helps prevent asthma attacks. Fasenra is not for sudden Breathing Problems or other eosinophilic conditions. Allergic reactions may occur. Dont stop your Asthma Treatments without talking with your doctor. Tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. Headache and sore throat may occur. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Get back to better breathing. Ask your doctor about fasenra. I could use a little help. Yeah, theres a lot of risk out there. Huh hey, is this thing hard to learn . Nah, its easy. Huh. You know, i think im going to ride it home. Good thing you chose u. S. Bank to manage and grow your money. With our 24 7 support at least youre not taking chances with your finances. Yeah, i think im gonna need a chair. Oh, ohhhh. A u. S. Navy ship intercepting missiles from yemen. Drones and rockets shot at u. S. Soldiers in iraq. And now two retaliatory u. S. Air strikes on iranlinked targets overnight in syria. Are these the precursors to a larger regional conflict, one that draws the United States in even further. Defense secretary lloyd austin says last nights strikes on two Iran Affiliated Facilities in syria were separate and distinct to the israel and hamas war, and they dont signal a shift in americas approach to the conflict. You are not looking at syria right now, you are looking at gaza. Joining us is nbc News Pentagon correspondent courtney kube, and ali arouzi joins us by phone. Were looking at gaza because things are kicking off in gaza. Were talking about whats happening in the region surrounding israel and whats happening to american forces. What is the pentagon telling you . Yeah, so there have been a number of attacks against Housing Personnel in syria. Were up to 20 in the last ten days. Why thats significant is because there really hasnt been this sort of activity over the last several months. Really since march when the u. S. Took strikes similar to what we saw last night. The goal with these air strikes, katy, is to try to stop attacks against u. S. Bases like we have been seeing. Drones, mortars, indirect fire. Now, fortunately, the majority of them have been unsuccessful, these attacks. There have, however, been upwards of two dozen individuals injured, minor injuries, and that includes 19 u. S. Personnel who now have some sort of diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. There was an American Contract who during one of the shelter many place events had a cardiac event and died. It has not been without cost, but the u. S. Concern here is if these sorts of attacks continue, one of them could be more effective and that would really escalate the situation in the region, so the u. S. Took these air strikes, two of them in Northeastern Syria last night, they struck an ammunitions facility, a weapons facility, and the goal here, again, is to stop these attacks from continuing, and hopefully deter them from Going Forward in the near future, future, katie. What we saw a moment ago on the righthand side of your screen, that Black And White footage, youll see it again, this is the u. S. Strikes in syria, and the video that we have of it. Again, on the lefthand side of the screen is whats happening right now in gaza. Weve seen an increased Bombing Campaign there tonight. On that subject, iran has been pretty loud about what would happen if Israelis Ramp up their efforts, what happens if the israelis launch a Ground Incursion into gaza. You have reported to us that a lot of that is very loud bark, maybe not so hard of a bite. Is that still the case . Yes, i think thats still the case. Look, i mean they keep warning about trar proxies in the region. What weve seen happen has been fairly low level stuff, whats going on with hezbollah on the north of israel have only been skirmishes, so iran has still i think held back its proxies. But it still hasnt got to that stage that theyve been warning about, you know, an allout incursion into gaza. They said not only the israelis would pay a very high price, but the u. S. Would also pay a very high price if israel goes into gaza. That hasnt happened yet. I mean the pretty loud noises going onthrop tonight just could be the beginning of something big. If it is, we may see a reaction from iran. And thats what theyre warning has been time and time again. And, katie, this is why iran has builtup over the decades, a number of these allied forces in this region that have grown to become this extensive, wellarmed, well proxy militia exactly for these kind of scenarios to be a thorn in the side of the u. S. To pose a threat to israel. Whether theyre really willing to launch something fullscale remain tuesday be seen. I know iran is worried that if they get into a fight with the u. S. Theyre going to take a really, really heavy toll so there are proxies like hezbollah, and i think thats why theyve been reluctant. How concerned is the u. S. , and i ask that specifically because Jake Sullivan wrote in a publication a couple weeks ago that things were calmer in the middle east and things seemed to be under control. And a cupm days later october 7th happened. Does the u. S. Have a handle of whats happening in the region . And are they concerned their assessments maybe arent so accurate . They are very concerned about this uptick in activity, and they also look, the reality is theyve been concerned about the region, this escalating into a larger conflict in the region since the terrible Terrorist Attack on october 7th occurred. And if you want any proof of that, just look at the announcements theyve been making about literally thousands of personnel and equipment, two Carrier Strike groups, advanced air defense systems, fighter attack aircraft, Surveillance Aircraft all moving into the region. This has all happened in less than three weeks, katie. We found out just yesterday about 900 u. S. Troops put on prepare to deploy order or parts of u. S. Defense systems are already deploying into the region. The u. S. Is taking this seriously. The real concern is one of these attacks against one of these bases, one of those land attack Cruise Missiles that was fired from yemen, that flew over the carny, if it had actually struck that warship, we would have a different situation out there. Really worried about this escalating if one of these attacks is successful. Drawing the u. S. Into this. Thank you for the reporting. Lets go back to nbc news chief correspondent Richard Engel who joins us from the gaza border. As we were watching the increased Bombing Campaign explosions happening as we were speaking, and he wouldnt get into the specifics. He said it wouldnt be proper of him, but he did say pay back starts tonight. Reporter well, if that is how theyre describing it, that is certainly how it looks here. This looks like an intensified campaign that has been sustained. It began with an intense air assault several hours ago, sustained for about two hours. Then there was a brief pause, and now we are seeing a consistent level of of attacks going into the gaza strip. We are looking behind me at the northern part of the gaza strip, areas that are just north of gaza city, very densely populated areas. Thats where most of the fire has been concentrated from our Vantage Point. Whether this is pay back, whether this is something else, we know that the Israeli Military just before this began said that a more intensified phase of this operation had begun and that it would it would expand from the air and from the ground. So i would say the biggest the biggest challenge and the biggest development, however, in addition to all of these military strikes, you can see some actually thats tracer fire from a heavy machine gun. Sounds like a vehicle mount pd machine gun, the kind you find on a tank or armored personnel carrier. Weve been reaching earlier, richard ive been reading that the palestinians were saying there was an exchange of gunfire between idf tanks and gunmen in gaza. So it does appear, you tell me, i think thats what were looking at. Reporter no idea if this is an exchange of gunfire. What happened earlier in the day is that there were these at least two incursions when israeli troops crossed over into gaza, and according to hamas there was resistance. They did fight back. The israelis in their statements said there were no casualties in those incidents. Dont know if this is a gunfight right now or this is just more Suppressive Fire as israel keeps up as you said what it has called its pay back campaign against hamas in the gaza strip. One of the major developments, however, is that the comms have been cut. Weve been talking about that. It is profoundly important for the people of gaza, profoundly important for the people of the world. We have this Vantage Point but its difficult to confirm what is happening on the streets and appears to be a deliberate campaign to knock out the comms, because its not just in one area. According to the pal stnin red crescent theyve lost contact with their team and the Palestinian Authority says it is no longer functioning. Richard, thank you very much. We also want to give you a quick update on the other top story were following today. The manhunt for the lewiston, maine gunman. Joining us now is tom winter and retired fbi agent. A 5 00 p. M. Press conference being called. All 18 of the victims have been now positively identified. Right now theres no indication that the search for the suspect in this, he has been found. Authorities continue to search in an area near the river where his car was found. And that effort is very much under way as youre looking at here onscreen, members of Law Enforcement are going through on atvs on foot, going through these heavily wooded areas, a lot of vegetation. You can see even though its late october, post of the leaves arent down. So they need to go on the ground person to person to locate this individual. There have been no additional sightings and well have to wait and see where this goes this afternoon. Rob dmico, how hard is this . Its day three. The last time we had an escaped prisoner and they had an idea where the guy was. Is it harder than isnt. I think where they look his vehicle, do they think he got another vehicle because that expands the area tremendously. He could be so far away. Did he have a boat waiting for him . Or did he go on foot Into The Woods . Which is still going to be really hard because theres so many places up there which you can see theyre patrolling on the road. If he doesnt want to be found, he knows those areas and hes not going to be found. It is tremendously difficult. And i think the other point is if they in fact found a suicide letter, what is in that letter to see where he went to. Theres no indication weve been led to believe at this point authorities would describe it specifically as that type of letter. Trying to get some additional detail on it, but i would not necessarily describe it that way. We see divers in the river looking for something. We will watch this story as well including whats going on in israel right now with this increased Bombing Campaign. Two major stories. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Appreciate it. And thats going to do it for me today. Dont go anywhere. Again, lot of news happening right now. Deadline white house starts right now. Hi there, everyone. Its 4 00 in new york, 11 00 p. M. In israel and gaza where were seeing potential signs of