happening right now, the secretary of state, tony blinken, is on a mission, back in israel for the third time since the october 7th hamas terror attack. we're going to be hearing from tony blinken, we believe n a short time. tony blinken also spoke just a short time ago. listen to this. >> we stand strong for the proposition that israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself and to do everything possible to make sure that this october 7th can never happen again. how israel does this matters and it is very important that when it comes to the protection of civilians who are caught in the crossfire of hamas's making that everything be done to protect them and to bring assistance to those who so desperately need it. >> blinken saying standing next to the president of israel that how israel does this matters. that's part of the discussion today. this moment appears a critical one in the israel-hamas war. idf forces now say they have gaza city completely surrounded, encircled is how they said it this morning. the idf says 28 days in now there are still 241 hostages being held by hamas, and despite the big development of the rafah crossing opening up once again, the humanitarian crisis in gaza continues. 79 americans have now been able to finally leave through the rafah crossing, that's the latest number, but there are still hundreds of americans remaining inside gaza and so many more still suffering and stuck. >> as you mentioned, we are waiting to hear from the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken. another speech that might have bigger implications coming from hassan nasrallah, the leader of hezbollah which operates inside lebanon. nasrallah has been quiet since the hamas terror attack on israel on october 7th. this will be his first major speech to the world since then. hezbollah, the militia group that the united states considers a terror organization, has estimates of somewhere around 150,000 rockets inside lebanon, high-technology, very accurate, that they could shoot into israel at any moment if nasrallah decides he wants to escalate this conflict. the israel defense forces say they are on, very, very high alert this morning listening to this speech of nasrallah. we will bring you details as soon as we get them. we have our teams everywhere around the world standing by. inside lebanon, in tel aviv, in northern israel, at the pentagon. let's go first to tel aviv, cnn's ed lavandera is there. ed? >> reporter: john, we are waiting to hear from secretary of state antony blinken who has wrapped up several hours of meetings with israeli officials, including prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the israeli war cabinet as well as the israeli president, but this all unfolding as you mentioned, we are waiting to hear what the leader of hezbollah has to say. this comes just the night -- the morning after here in tel aviv where we saw one of the most significant fire fights and attacks there inside of gaza by israeli forces. several hours of intense air strikes and ground operations. israeli military officials say they have completely surrounded gaza city. they say they are focused on dismantling the hamas military operation, which operates largely in the sophisticated tunnel system that stretches for dozens and dozens of miles underneath gaza and it is from there that israeli officials say that hamas has been able to launch the attacks on israel since october 7th. so they say they are focused on all of that and as their ground operation and their attacks on the civilian -- that have hurt the civilian population in gaza has come under intense criticism from people around the world, israeli officials here on the ground at least so far and it will be interesting to see if this changes here after the secretary of state's visit, have been pretty much straightforward as to netanyahu said yesterday that nothing will stop them. other military officials say that they are focused right now on dismantling hamas and putting maximum pressure on that. it will be interesting to see if after the secretary of state's visit if the operation on the ground here or in the air strike capabilities changes in any way, but right now israeli officials have been saying quite clearly that it doesn't appear that they will change. that they are focused on putting maximum pressure on hamas military fighters on the ground inside of gaza. john? >> ed lavandera in tel aviv. just to keep track of the events unfolding right now, we just got word that hassan nasrallah the leader of hezbollah has done speaking. we will bring you details as soon as they come in. meanwhile, ed was talking about the mission, the diplomatic mission from ab, the u.s. secretary of state, he is in tel aviv. let's get more of a sense of what he is trying to get out of the conversations. natasha bertrand with more on that. what is the secretary trying to accomplish this morning? >> reporter: he is reflecting in his conversations with the israelis a growing belief within the biden administration that the current pace and nature of israel's operation in gaza is becoming increasingly untenable when it comes to the civilian casualties that have been emerging from the rubble of these israeli air strikes. so his conversations there are going to be focusing on he says discussing with the israelis concrete steps that they can take to minimize civilian deaths and injuries. it is also going to focus on getting aid into gaza, getting additional fuel, supplies, medical equipment to the palestinians, obviously at a moment when they really, really need it. so the biden administration behind the scenes in conversations with their israeli counterparts over the last few weeks, they have told them that their military objectives in gaza are going to become increasingly difficult to achieve as the world watches the kind of destruction that is being wrought on everyday civilians who are in the gaza strip. some presidential advisers close to biden believe that it is only a matter of weeks and not months until it becomes increasingly untenable for the administration to rebuff calls for a broader ceasefire. now, it remains unclear at this point just what israel is willing to agree to when it comes to some kind of humanitarian pause, because they have said that a ceasefire is off the table at the moment, but will they agree to some kind of a pause in hostilities for a few hours, a few days to get the hostages out and to allow civilians to leave gaza? that remains to be seen, but it is certainly something that blinken is going to be pushing with his israeli counterparts according to sources familiar with what he's planning. >> natasha bertrand in washington, you're looking at live pictures of a lectern right there, we are expecting to hear from secretary of state antony blinken any minute now. kate? keeping an eye on that and as john just said, we do know that hassan nasrallah, the leader of hezbollah, has begun to speak. his message to his followers, to his supporters, to israel and to the world could be key in the next direction of this war with hamas for sure. cnn's jim sciutto is in northern israel near the border with lebanon. jim, you've been there. talk to me about the significance of nasrallah's necessary analogy today and also what you have already been seeing in the north with these skirmishes, this deadly fire picking up. >> reporter: no question. we're in northern israel right now and we are on a high point here overlooking a town and the ridge line on the other side of it is lebanon and that's the direction that hezbollah fire and fire from other militant groups in southern lebanon has been coming into northern israel over the last several days. in the last 24 hours we have seen an uptick in rocket fire coming in, in fact, one of them struck right on a main street here just yesterday evening. as i've been standing here, kate, a number of israeli army soldiers have come up to this high point as well and we are told that they are spotters in effect, they are going to -- if a rocket were to come in and strike its target, their job is to figure out where in town it is and direct the emergency response. that gives you a sense of this very high level of alertness that idf officials say israel is under right now for an expansion of hezbollah attacks on northern israel. it's already been happening over the last several days. we've been reporting on that repeatedly, artillery and rocket strikes, et cetera, their concern is that nasrallah today will amp it up. in this speech that is under way he will signal a greater hezbollah involvement in this war. we don't know. there are reasons why hezbollah might want to get in, they like to see themselves, he likes to see themselves as the leader of resistance to israel in this part of the world, in lebanon, but also he's conscious of what the costs of what such a conflict would be. in the 2006 israel-lebanon war southern lebanon was devastated by israeli air strikes and ground incursions. do his own people want greater involvement and the potential cost that was involvement? we don't know. we will be watching those words very closely as we know israeli officials are and as we know the soldiers here are. will his words be connected to any increased military action in northern israel? a great deal of anticipation and one reason why the world is watching the leader of hezbollah as he makes this speech today. >> absolutely. and it's important to have you there. the way i've seen it described in one regard is that the escalation that we're already seeing at the israel-lebanon border is the deadliest escalation in this frontier since the 2006 war. so it's already bad, but how close are they for it to becoming so much worse, that's what everyone is wondering today, john. >> as we wait to hear some of the details from nasrallah's speech, let's focus on what's happening inside gaza. with me is cnn military analyst and former nato supreme allied commander general wesley clark. israeli troops say they have now moved in from three directions and have largely encircled gaza city here. what will they be doing? what does this encirclement allow the israeli troops to now do? >> well, this is a pretty logical move, actually, john. they're going to -- if they encircle it they cut off the retreat of hamas, provided they can get into the tunnels, they also can hold the hostages, if there are haostages there and keep them from being shipped out. it's a logical thing to do. surround it, clear it on the inside, it's the right military strategy. you don't try to eat the elephant in one bite, but it also has a potential political-diplomatic dimension because if they focus on the center of resistance in gaza, maybe that opens the opportunity to give a pause in the operations in southern gaza. maybe it's a pause that's not a real pause, they still reserve the right to defend themselves, to attack high-valued targets, but it might be spun diplomatically in a way that takes some of the pressure off the united states and israel for the welfare of the palestinian population there. so it's a logical military move with diplomatic consequences or opportunities, let's say. >> the suggestion you're making is if you have gaza city surrounded, you have the ability to say, okay, we're pausing right now because we have this contained, you know, the pause could be hours, it could be days, but they have the ability to wait a little bit? >> well, you wouldn't pause in gaza city probably. you can't. your troops are there, they're in contact, they're vulnerable to ambush, to strikes, to sniping. so you keep the fight up in gaza city and go after the -- what many believe is the real center of hamas there, but in the south you could slack off, you could say it's a pause. you would still use your air power or maybe even a ground raid to go after a high-valued target there, but you would get some diplomatic benefit out of this. it's a logical move at this point. >> let me ask you about the south, in conjunction with another report we just got this morning, if we can push into this map, i think this requires a close-up, "the new york times" reported this morning that u.s. drones have been flying missions over israel. surveillance drones. and the times reported that the drones are trying to guess information about possible hostages. the "times" put up a map of the path that these u.s. drones have taken. i don't know if you can see this, general clark, but i will just describe it to you. that almost all of the drone activity published in the times today, the u.s. joint activity is over southern gaza, over the southern part of the gaza strip not where israel is conduct the majority of their operations right now. i wonder if you can talk about that u.s. involvement, why it would be focused on the south. >> well, there's two possible reasons, one is because we think that's where the bulk of the hostages where, and second is perhaps because the israelis either don't have the assets to focus on all of gaza and so we've divided the task, we will take the south, looking for hostages, they will put their intensive intelligence collection in the north, looking for hostages and targets, or perhaps there's some other reason for it technically, but it's probably a division of effort. remember, we do have our special forces teams there, we have hostage rescue capability and we probably are sharing intelligence with the israelis. so this is probably a logical way to deconflict intelligence collection efforts. >> all right. general wesley clark, always great to have you on. thank you so much. kate? coming up for us, the latest read on the u.s. economy and the jobs report and the jobs market, that latest read is just in. we have that for you in the context around what it means. plus, eric trump back on the stand. he is soon going to be prapg up his testimony in the fraud trial against his family. next up after that, donald trump himself, what's that going to mean? we will be back. so are is the u.s. jobs market cooling off in a real way? that's a question today. the latest jobs report just released showing 150,000 jobs were added in october, that is lower than september's stronger than expected total, and slightly lower than what economists were actually anticipating for this time around. the unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9%. let's try to make sense of it all. cnn's rahel solomon has much more and is here with us. take us inside the report. what are you watching? >> i feel the pressure now, kate. >> all on you. >> how many times have you and i talked about in the last year and a half or so that jobs growth actually came in stronger -- >> exactly. that's what we hear a lot. >> but this is actually the opposite where job growth came in cooler than what we are expecting. so the expectation was closer to 180,000 so 150,000 jobs being added, still strong, but cooler, and as you said the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%. to put this in perspective we've been in this range about 4, below 4 for the last two years so pretty much a continuation. when you look at sort of a job growth by month you actually saw that the prior two months were revised lower to the tune of about 101,000 jobs, fewer than what we had previously expected. one thing that has been happening in the labor market that we've talked a lot about is the strike, the uaw strike. >> when is that going to show in the numbers? >> it showed up in the numbers. that's a great point. that is actually one of the first things you see listed in the report, that manufacturing, auto workers, those job gains fell by about 35,000. on the flip side we saw job gains. continuation in industries like health care, they added 58,000 jobs, government added 51,000 jobs. what might be happening in government is we might be seeing teachers returning to work, returning for the school year. we might be seeing that. in terms of what this means broadly speaking a few ways we can think about it. what it means for the average american worker it's a sign that the labor market is cooling but still strong. in terms of the fed there are a few things here that i think the fed will welcome. one, the cooler job growth just to sort of create a bit more balance in the labor force in terms of the supply of workers and the supply of jobs and so creating a bit more balance there, but also wages. wages moderate and that's something we've been watching very closely because of its potential impact on ininflation. both on a monthly and annual basis we saw wages cool. on an annual basis we saw actual cooling of annual wage growth up 4.1%, that's a slowest annual growth we have seen in two years. so there is something here for i think a lot of people. it's part of the reason why you saw markets spike after this crossed. >> still -- >> how did i do? >> i'm saying -- obviously, yes, you're always a win. i'm thinking still it's not yet time to remove your seat belt and move about the cabin. that's what i'm thinking. >> absolutely fair. >> i feel like everyone is still buckled up. >> we are still on this roller coaster. >> john? >> all right. i'm looking at you, i don't know. very -- >> when we stun him to silence i call that a good thing. >> it's a win. eric trump will be on the witness stand very shortly, testifying in a civil fraud trial, it's already found his father liable to fraud. eric trump we just saw him walking into the courthouse. both eric and his brother don jr. in their testimony have tried to shift the blame to accountants. donald trump the father testifies as soon as monday. cnn's kara scannell is outside the courthouse in new york. what are we going to hear from eric today, kara? >> reporter: well, john, as you said, eric trump will begin testifying just around 10:00 a.m. when the trial resumes. he had a bit of a rocky day on the stand yesterday when both he and his brother, donald trump jr. were testifying. they both were shifting the blame, distancing themselves from the financial statements that are at the heart of this lawsuit. donald jr. saying he relied on the accountants. eric trump saying he didn't even know that these financial statements existed until the new york attorney general launched its investigation. well, that prompted one of the lawyers for the ag's office to then question him and confront him with emails for about an hour and 15 minutes showing him that some emails that went back as far as 2010, others indicated that he was providing values for golf courses to one of the internal accountants. he kept confronting him one after another over this period of time, asking him if he really didn't know and if he wanted to change his testimony. eric trump just dug in, he became frustrated, he raised his voice and he said he knew that the company this financial statements he said he just had no involvement with his father's personal financial statements and said it never registered to him when he provided a value to one of the accountants that it would have been used in those financial statements. it was a bit of a testy exchange that carried on for a long time today. we do expect him to be on the stand for maybe about an hour today and then that should wrap up this week leading up, as you said, into donald trump's testimony which is now set for monday. john? >> and what can we expect there, kara? >> reporter: so donald trump is expected to be on the stand, expected to be a lengthy direct examination. he has as he has been saying all throughout this trial saying that, you know, yesterday he said his sons were being pers persecuted, he been attacking attorney general's office. there's going to be much more tension in the room when pressed on his involvement in the financial statements. stark contrast, his sons inside the courtroom have had friendly exchanges with the judges. there was a break yesterday and donald trump jr. was getting off the stand just as the judge was getting off the bench, he paused, put his arm on the judge's shoulder they exchanged a smile and some words. it has been a pleasant exchange versus trump's vitriol toward the judge, toward the trial and all trials he's facing. expect a lot more tension on monday which always happens when trump is here but he's no stranger to this courtroom, he's been here seven times already. >> this time it's different, though, for sure. >> this one matters. >> they all matter. this one he is on the stand for a day potentially. kara scannell, thank you so much. >> cnn's senior legal analyst and former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york elie honig is here. let's first talk about eric trump heading back on the stand. kind of all this week we have been pontificating and asking the question of what can the state use -- how can they use them, the brothers. >> right. >> the sons. you think that yesterday it was proven with eric this is -- this is how they can use them. >> yesterday went really foorl for eric trump. we stood at this table 24 hours ago and you asked me what do you do as a lawyer with a witness who just flatly denies everything? what i said yesterday before eric trump took the stand is ideally you would have some sort of evidence, documents, that disprove it and you confront that person with it. that's exactly what happened with eric trump. he got on the stand and he said i knew nothing about the preparation of these financial statements. i had nothing to do with it, and then the attorney general, assistant attorney general, took out documents, emails from 2013, showing that he did have some involvement, not major involvement, but some involvement in preparation of financial statements. eric trump was cornered, he was left with no choice but to say, okay, i guess i did have that level of involvement which does two things, one, it establishes that he did have some involvement, but, two, more importantly it really damages his credibility. the judge can look at that and say, okay, i don't believe other aspects of your testimony as well. >> he's not forthright on this one, what about the others. >> exactly. >> so donald trump the father, the presidential candidate, the former president of the united states he will be on the stand on monday. he was deposed in this case already and took the fifth. many, many, many, many times. >> yeah. >> he has the right to do that on monday of course in a civil trial there can be a negative inference from that, the judge can say you're not testifying, that means you might be hiding something, i can assume the worst here. >> yes. >> what's the calculation for donald trump in this case between taking the fifth and not. why might he change and talk this time, why might he not? >> it's such an interesting and really difficult strategic decision donald trump and his lawyers will have. when he was supposed over a year ago he took the fifth, he wouldn't answer anything other than his name. he took the fifth as he is entitled to do. but the world has changed for donald trump. back then there were all these swirling criminal investigations none of the four indictments we have now had landed. the world was a bit more uncertain for him. a year and change later he's been indicted on four things, none relating to this particular fraud. if he takes the fifth he protects himself against any of those cases roaring back to life. it's possible he takes the stand and says something that piques prosecutors' interest, they think maybe we should open a criminal case on him for fraud. the risk of taking the fifth is that the judge in this case, this civil case, can say i'm using that against you. >> i've been thinking about this. if the judge has already determined that he is guilty of liable, of fraud, why not take the fifth? like why even come close to exposing yourself to anything else? >> so you're channeling my brain, kate. >> that's a scary thing. >> maybe that's not good for you. if i'm donald trump's lawyer and all you can do as a lawyer is advise, you can't force, i would say you are taking the fifth because you've -- let's going to israel right now, secretary of state antony blinken speaking there. >> days after hamas's attack on october 7th i came to israel, followed soon thereafter by president biden. to make clear that as long as the united states stands, israel will never stand-alone. today in my fourth visit to israel since october 7th i reiterate that in all my discussions with prime minister netanyahu, president herzog, the security cabinet. i reiterated and made clear our support for israel's right to defend itself, indeed its obligation to defend itself. that includes through the additional assistance that we've worked with congress and we are working with congress now to provide for israel's defense, as well as for urgent humanitarian needs in gaza. this right to self-defense, indeed, this obligation to self-defense, belongvery nation. no country could or should tolerate the slaughter of innocents. you've heard me speak to some of the stories that israelis have experienced on october 7th. today we saw additional images, additional footage collected by the israeli government from video cameras, some the terr terrorists, others in communities that were attacked. it remains almost beyond the human capacity to process, to digest. i saw, for example, a family on a kibbutz, a father, two young boys, maybe 10, 11 years old, grabbing them, pulling them out of their living room, going through their very small backyard and into a shelter, followed seconds later by a terrorist who throws a grenade into that small shelter and then as the father comes staggering out, shoots him down. and then the boys come out and they run into -- into their house and the camera in the house is filming everything and they're crying, where is daddy, one says. the other says, they killed daddy. where is my mommy? and then the terrorist comes in and casually opens the refrigerator and starts to eat from it. that's what we're dealing with. and it is striking and in some ways shocking that the brutality of the slaughter has receded so quickly in the memories of so many, but not in israel and not in america. 35 americans were murdered that day as well and more than 200 foreign nationals from 35 countries. i've returned to the region to engage in intense diplomacy with our partners, to try to help ensure that an attack like october 7th never happens again. and in doing so, that we forge a different future, a very different future, for israelis and palestinians alike. that out of this tragedy emerges a better tomorrow for both people's and for the region. there are a number of important steps that we can, indeed we must take now, to help make that possible. first, we need to continue to prevent escalation of this conflict. it has spread to other areas and other theaters. the united states has and we will continue to respond to attacks by iran's proxies to defend our personnel in the region, personnel who are here in iraq and in syria to help prevent the resurgence of isis. we will do what is necessary to deter and, as i said, respond to any attacks. partners throughout the middle east and beyond have a critical role to play in averting escalation and that will be a major focus of my conversations throughout this trip. second, we need to do more to protect palestinian civilians. we've been clear that as israel conducts this campaign to defeat hamas, how it does so matters. it matters because it's the right and lawful thing to do. it matters because failure to do so plays into the hands of hamas and other terror groups. there will be no partners for peace if they are consumed by humanitarian catastrophe and alienated by any perceived indifference to their plight. this is what binds us as human beings. i've seen images, too, of palestinian children, young boys and girls, pulled from the wreckage of buildings. when i see that, when i look into their eyes through the tv screen, i see my own children. how can we not? hamas doesn't care one second or one iota for the welfare, for the well-being of the palestinian people. it cynically and monstrously uses them as human shields, putting its commanders in command posts, its weapons and ammunition within or beneath residential buildings, schools, mosques, hospitals, but civilians should not suffer the consequences for its inhumanity and brutal. we provided israel on advice on how to minimize civilian deaths by still achieving their objectives to finding and destroying hamas terrorists. today i spoke with prime minister netanyahu and other senior officials about concrete steps to do that. president biden has consistently stressed the need for israel to operate according to international humanitarian law. i also emphasized that the that the protection of civilians must take place not just in gaza but on the west bank where violence against palestinians must be stopped and perpetrators held accountable. third, we need to substantially and immediately increase the sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into gaza and getting american citizens and other foreign nationals out of gaza. since we reached agreement with israel, egypt and the united nations two weeks ago on mechanisms to enable humanitarian aid to begin reaching civilians in need, we have scaled up deliveries. we've gone from zero to now over 100 trucks going into gaza from the rafah crossing every day, but this is still not enough. i spoke to israeli leaders about tangible steps that can be taken to increase the sustained delivery of food, water, medicine, fuel and other essential needs while putting in place measures to prevent diversion by hamas and other terrorist groups. we've identified mechanisms to enable fuel to reach hospitals and other needs in the south. israel has raised appropriate concerns, concerns that we share, about hamas's hoarding and syphoning of fuel in northern gaza. again, its cynicism knows no bounds, denying fuel itself that it has to hospitals and other places that desperately need it. in meetings with regional partners i will continue conversations about getting assistance to flow, including with help from the united nations. over the last several days u.s. citizens, foreign nationals and critically wounded palestinian civilians have begun to transit out of gaza. we expect more to leave over the coming days. even as these people are able to exit gaza we remain relentlessly focused on securing the release of hostages, including american citizens. we discussed these ongoing efforts today. our deputy special representative for hostage affairs steve gillen who came with me on my first visit has remained on the ground to help bring our people home and also to work with their families. we believe that each of these efforts would be facilitated by humanitarian pauses, by arrangements on the ground that increase security for civilians and permit the more effective and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance. that was an important area of discussion today with israeli leaders, how, when and where these can be implemented, what work needs to happen and what understandings must be reached. we recognize this would take time to prepare and coordinate as well within our national partners. a number of legitimate questions were raised in our discussions today, including how to use any period of pause to maximize the flow of humanitarian assistance. how to connect a pause to the release of hostages. how to ensure that hamas doesn't use these pauses or arrangements to its own advantage. these are issues that we need to tackle urgently and we believe they can be solved. we've agreed to have our teams continue to discuss practical solutions. i have instructed our special envoy for middle east humanitarian issues david satterfield who has been doing remarkable work to continue these discussions. ultimately we believe this can be a critical mechanism for protecting civilians, while enabling israel to achieve its objectives of defeating hamas. finally, and importantly, even as we work toward progress on each of these urgent needs, we're focused on setting the conditions for a durable and sustainable peace and security. the united states continues to believe that the best viable path, indeed the only path, is through a two-state solution. that's the only guarantor of a secure jewish and democratic israel. the only guarantor of palestinians realizing their legitimate right to live in a state of their own, enjoying equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity. the only way to end a cycle of violence once and for all. and it's precisely now in the darkest moments that we have to fight hardest to preserve a path of stability, of security, of opportunity, of integration, of prosperity and of peace. not tomorrow, not after the war, but today. thank you. >> first question goes to leon with np. >> reporter: hi. thank you for joining us, mr. secretary. you mentioned it in your opening speech, of course, and yesterday also, you've said that urgent or concrete measures needed to be taken to ease the fate of palestinians, civilians. what assurances did the prime minister benjamin netanyahu give you this morning in your talks? and also on the issue of humanitarian pauses that you say you have discussed, and i understand that you said you don't know where, how or when, but could you give us a little bit more details on what you mean by that exactly? i mean, is it stop bombings or what have you? could you give us some details on that? and then last question, very quickly, there was a strike yesterday on afp's office in gaza where we have a continued live feed for -- since the beginning of the conflict. apparently a missile strike, there's serious damage to our office there. i'd like your thoughts on that, please. >> leon, thank you very much. a few things in response. first, when it comes overall to humanitarian assistance, the israeli government is committed to providing that assistance or enabling that assistance, more accurately, to get to people in gaza. as i said, just over the last weeks we've gone from nothing getting in through the rafah gate to now i think just today well over 100 trucks. as i said, that's significant progress in the space of a couple of weeks, but it's also insufficient. there's a recognition not only by us of that fact, but also by the israeli government as well as our egyptian partners, as well as the united nations. so we are looking at very concrete practical ways to widen the aperture to significantly increase the assistance that's getting in. the food, the medicine, the water, fuel, other critical needs for people who through no fault of their own are in desperate, desperate need. and we had a good conversation about that today. again, ambassador satterfield who is here is working on this every single day, but i'm confident based on the conversations we had that you will see a further increase in the assistance that's getting in to people who need it. with regard to humanitarian pauses, again, we see this as a way of further facilitating the ability to get assistance in, to make sure that the resources are in place as well to absorb the assistance coming in, to make sure that it gets to the people who need it. we see it as a way also and very importantly of creating a better environment in which hostages can be released. and this is a very important piece. so as i mentioned already, and i won't -- i won't repeat it, there are a number of very important practical questions that go along with this that we've agreed to discuss and work on. we've agreed that our teams will continue to talk about this in the days ahead and from our perspective this can be a critical way to advance many of the interests that i discussed earlier. i haven't seen the details about the strike that you alluded to that hit the afp office in gaza and let me just say and say again, that as we stand strongly for israel's right and obligation to defend itself, we also believe that it's vitally important how israel does this, including with the highest regard for the protection of civilians and that of course includes journalists. journalists who are doing extraordinary work under the most dangerous conditions, to tell the story to the world. something that we deeply admire, deeply respect and we want to make sure that they are protected. >> the next question goes to corrine. >> reporter: thank you. thank you, secretary blinken, for being here. two issues, hassan nasrallah the secretary general of hezbollah is talking right now. if following his speech or his remark another front will open in the north, will the u.s. actually use its firepower in the region, not only to deter, but also to destroy targets in lebanon or, if needed, in iran? and on the hostages, the biden administration is asking israel for a temporary pause and we understand it is not a ceasefire, but do you have any guarantees, any assurances that this temporary pause will lead to hostage release? and i know you heard the family of the hostages today and can you assure us that the united states will not hold israel back before the main objective of this war is fulfilled, which is eliminating hamas? >> thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> let me take the second question first. there are no guarantees about anything. as a general proposition and maybe even more specifically in the context of the fight against hamas, but we are absolutely focused on getting hostages back and getting them back to their families in safety and we believe that, among other things, a humanitarian pause to help that severity, could facilitate t it's one of the reasons why we're focused on it, but regardless, our determination to get -- get people back is manifested every single day in our efforts to do -- to do just that. and as i've said, and said repeatedly president biden has said, we stand strongly and behind israel in its right and obligation to defend itself, defend its people and take the steps necessary to try to ensure that this never happens again. nothing has changed and that won't change. with regard to lebanon, with regard to hedzbollah, with regad to iran, we have been very clear from the outset that we are determined that there not be a second or third front opened in this conflict. president biden said on day one to anyone thinking of opening a second front, taking advantage of the situation, don't. and we backed up those words not only with work that we've done with many partners in the region to reinforce that message, but with practical deeds including the deployment of two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region, including with action that we've taken, for example, against missiles coming from yemen in the direction of israel, shooting them down, including as well with strikes that we took in response to multiple attacks on our personnel in iraq and syria who are there, as i said earlier, to try to prevent the resurgence in the region of isil, of daesh. we remain absolutely determined in that effort and i'm not going to get into hypothetical situations, but all i can say is we're committed to deterring aggression from any part and will take steps necessary to deal with it. >> for the next question, vivian salama with the "wall street journal." >> reporter: mr. secretary, thank you, as always, for bringing us along with you in your travels. before we left d.c. you stressed that the u.s. was discussing with israel the current conflict and you added, we will also be focusing on the day after. can you talk a little bit about what that looks like, in particular, what is being done to ensure that whatever does come after doesn't spin into potentially short or long-term occupation? and also are there discussions at all to create a multilateral force for gaza, and if so, would the u.s. be willing to take part in something like that? >> thanks, vivian. here is what we know and i think is agreed among everyone, there cannot and must not be a return to the pre october 7th status quo. that's unacceptable, it's not tolerable for israel, it shouldn't be acceptable or tolerable by anyone else, and that means that the idea of hamas remaining responsible for governance, such as it was, and security >> thank you, vivian. what is agreed upon with everyone, there is not and cannot be a return to the october 7th status quo. it is not acceptable or tolerable by israel and cannot and should not be tolerable by anyone else. that is the idea that hamas being responsible for governance such as it was, and security and posing an ongoing and enduring threat to israel and the citizens is unacceptable, and that is one thing that we know. we also know that israel cannot reassume control and responsibility for gaza. and it is important to note that israel has made clear it has no intention or desire to do that. so within those parameters, we are, and we'll continue to have discussions with partners throughout the region and well beyond about what should follow once hamas is defeated. there are a number of possibilities, permutation, but it is premature to get into any detail about that. as important is putting this into a bigger picture, a bigger vision of how we achieve enduring and lasting peace and security in the region. as i said earlier, the united states is convinced, and we have been for some time, and only reinforced in that conviction since october 7th that the best path may be the only path as i said is for two states for two peoples, and again, that is the only way to ensure lasting security for a jewish and democratic israel, and the only way to ensure that the palestinians achieve their legitimate aspirations for a state of their own. so it is important as we are talking about all of this with every partner in the region, israel, our arab partners and many others as well as the broader international community that we have that big frame in mind and whatever we do, whatever is done, also helps to advance that. and this is how we are looking at it right now. >> and can i press you, mr. secretary, because you talk about the defeat of hamas, and aim wondering for the hamas is not a bunch of individuals, but the ideology as well, and especially with the intensity of the bombardment in gaza, the potential for extremism is high, and so when you say defeat hamas, putting in those extremes, what are you doing to address that as well? >> vivian, you are right. this is about defining this with open ears and it is imperative in our judgment that hamas is dealt with in a way that october 7th can never be repeated but we lay out a clear vision and path to achieve that vision, that gives people something to hope for, to buy into, to grab on to. and i believe that there is a broad and strong coalition throughout the region that wants to do exactly that. all of these countries are on one side of the equation, and who is on the other side of the equation -- hamas, hezbollah and iran. so it is incumbent upon us, i think, to not only lay out that vision, but to be clear about the ways we propose to achieve it. it is not flipping a light switch needless to say given how deep rooted and enduring these problems are. but, we have to. we have to address this, and we have to address it in concrete ways and with determination. because, again, it is coming back to exactly what you said, we have to demonstrate that we have a better idea and a way to achieve it. >> for the final question, mahahad. >> thank you. first of all, the world is looking to end this war. when will you ask israel to stop it, and the next is the settler violence of the palestinians is being killed daily, and what are you going to do to stop the killing of the palestinians in the west bank. thank you. >> thank you with regard to the first part of the question. again, i'll repeat what i have said. we stand behind israel's right, and indeed obligation to defend itself and to do everything it can to make sure that october 7th never happens again, and we will continue to stand with israel, to achieve that. as i have also said repeatedly the way that israel does so matters, and we have discussed today as well as in many preceding days the imperative of doing everything possible to protect civilian, and the imperative to get assistance to those who need it with regard to the extremist violence that we are seeing in the west bank, this is something that before october 7th was a real concern for the united states and one that we have repeatedly raised in our engagements with the israeli government, and it is an acute concern right now. look, i don't want to speak for the israeli government and it is not appropriate, but i think that it is fair to say that what i heard today is a clear commitment from the government to deal with extremist violence in the west bank to commute it to take action against those who commit it. so this is important. we will be looking closely to ensure that our friends make good on the commitment. >> thank you. thank you very much, everyone. all right. we have been listening to the secretary of state antony blinken on the urgent issue in israel to make important statements from his post as the secretary of state and also offering some important caveats about where things stand and what needs to be done, and what they know are the complications amidst the war right now. over straight to jim sciutto who is standing by for us in northern israel. from your perch right there which is one of the fronts that secretary blinken was warning against seeing having opened up, jim, what stood out to you from the secretary of state? >> i think it is exactly blinken's word that a second and third front not be opened up. and he repeated president biden's words, warning, if you are thinking of getting involved, don't, paraphrasing biden's words then. and noting the carriers are in the region and a u.s. destroyer shot down missiles that aimed at israel backed by the houthi rebels coming off of yemen. so you the secretary of the state coming to the region in effect repeating it, and mentioning the presence of the u.s. forces here backing up the warning with that presence, and not saying explicitly, but saying, or signaling that those forces are at hand if a second or third front is opened up in the war. it is interesting that i will say to you, kate, i was listening at the same time of secretary blinken's speech, and nasr nasrallah's speech, and that i am here on this hill that it has been the attack spot of rockets from lebanon and one striking city, and you can't see them, but just to note, around me are israeli soldiers positioned on this hilltop to look out for the possibility of another strike coming in. it gives you the sense as you are hearing the words of the secretary of state warning against another front opening up, that folks here in the region are looking for exactly that. >> we go to ed lavandera in tel aviv, and it is striking to hear the secretary of state describe seeing yet more videos of israelis being killed in the terror attack, and visibly moved secretary of state, and then he added that the brutality of the attacks has receded for so many around the world, and not for those in israel and not for those in the united states, and this is a way to continue to support of israel, and then he went on to say, that the way israel conducts this war is important because of the results, and if they conduct it a certain way, they won't have any partners for a peaceful solution going forward. what did you hear there? >> well, i was struck as well by the very graphic description of the videos that he was clearly shown in his visit here or that he has seen in some point and the line of how quickly a nearly month after that he believed that it was has kind of receded from the memory of people, and this is clearly because the last several weeks have been filled with dramatic, and painful

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