morning. morning joe starts right now. it s the top of the hour. welcome to morning joe. it is tuesday, january 2nd. happy new year, everybody. israel s ground offensive in gaza is entering a new phase. the israeli military has plans to pull back some troops and shift to more localized operations. we re going to go through that development and the escalating tensions in the red sea. plus, a damning, new report on the intelligence failures by the israeli military. new york times investigation found there was no battle plan for a massive hamas invasion that they were warned about. also ahead, a look at the long to-do list for congress in 2024 with several crucial items that were simply not addressed late last year. plus, the supreme court has a tight timeline to rule on what would be one of the most consequential cases involving the presidency. we ll get expert, legal analysis on the issue of removing donald trump from the ballot in two states. are there going
the idf says the fighting in gaza will continue throughout the coming months, but the u.s. officials say this withdrawal signals israel may be shifting to a more low-intensity operation, which is something the biden administration has been pushing for. you wonder if they re also responding to pressure from their number one ally, the united states of america, where there are, willie, a lot of questions about that s a great not only their strategy but how this all went down. exactly. it is a great point. we re learning now the relationship between israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and president biden is reportedly becoming more strained, according to several sources speaking to the new york times. and more frustrated in recent weeks by netaahs refusal to change tactics in gaza despite the insistence of the united states. in early december, biden pleased some within the white house by going off script to say israel sk losing international