here are the top stories we re covering this hour. israel says its war effort to eliminate hamas is entering a new phase with the new year. but is it going to reduce civilian casualties as the question has been questioning. this as prime minister netanyahu suffers a major political setback from his country s supreme court. i ll teak to ambassador mark regev and the democratic senator. and in tokyo, a five-man crew of air national guard claimed dead but all 400 on board a wide-body passenger plane escaping safely in just minutes after their plane exploded on the runway. and we ll look at the surge of respiratory illnesses over the holiday season. as flu, covid and rsv give families a rough start to 2024. and good day, everyone. i m andrea mitchell in washington. israel is starting the new year by launching intense attacks against central and southern gaza, even as the idf begins the process, it says, of bringing the first several thousand of its troops home. that includ
and we m have to move to a more instant strike method, within side yemen. if we continue to get the attacks on u.s. forces. and if our commercial shipping lanes continue to be threatened. and i know the pentagon and others are looking at this. right now, we ll remain in the stance that we re in. but as this ratchets up, i think we ll see a more proactive role by u.s. forces and our coalition that is now in the mediterranean and the red sea that are protecting those shipping lanes. and, michael crowley, your yesterday, there have been other reports as well. we have done some reporting on this about the growing tensions, clearly apparent with what general austin had to say at the reagan library, with what the president had to say at a