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>> i'm glad your name is three letters. >> "state of the union" is next. have a great day, everyone. >> push for peace. the u.s. tries to contain the israel/hamas war. >> we need to do more to protect palestinian civilians. >> as israel continues to retaliate against hamas for its terror attack, is the u.s. making headway privately? senators lindsey graham and richard blumenthal join me in an exclusive bipartisan interview. then, israel's ambassador to the united nations, gilad erdan here. and worries about casualties in gaza exposes a political rift. where does a key progressive stand. vermont senator bernie sanders is here, exclusively next. plus, on the ballot, in florida, donald trump's critics face fierce backlash, as a new poll shows trump leading president biden in key swing states. how worried should the white house be? my panel is coming up. hello. i'm dana bash in washington, where the state of our union is reeling from a month of war and global fury. this morning, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is trying to thread the needle with close u.s. ally israel, as outrage grows worldwide over civilian casualties in gaza. secretary blinken just met with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in the west bank, and earlier, in tense meetings with arab leaders, who want a cease-fire, he defend israel's right to retaliate against hamas for murdering almost 1,400 civilians last month. but blinken has also urged israeli leaders to take a humanitarian pause, to let critical aid into gaza and to press for the release of israeli hostages there. cnn's jeremy diamond is live in israel, where you just heard sirens, jeremy. what's going on at this moment? >> yeah, that's right, dana. we just got sirens here at our location, and as you can see, our cameraman is showing down here some smoke. and that appears to be impact from some rockets here. this is the second time in just a couple of days that those rockets have made it through the iron dome system here. again, the system does take out the majority of rockets, but you and i, dana, were talking on friday when we were at another location and a rocket made impact about a hundred meters away from our position and where several other journalists were based. this is still very much an active and very dynamic situation. we are still seeing these rockets starting to come in. but i also want to talk about the secretary of state, who has been visiting here. he just had a meeting today with the president of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, in ramallah. this is his first visit -- the secretary of state's first visit to the west bank since this war began. and a what we have watched as the secretary of state has been in telesleeve, in ayman, jordan, as well, as well as in ramallah, is him playing a very fine balancing act between him reiterating, reaffirming u.s. support for israel and its right to defend itself and go after hamas. but also trying to urge the humanitarian side of things. urging israel to minimize civilian casualties and working to try to get more humanitarian relief into gaza. that was also part of what i saw on the ground yesterday, dana, when i was in gaza, with israeli forces, as part of the first group of foreign journalists allowed into gaza with israeli forces. and the point that they were trying to emphasize was their efforts to try to establish a humanitarian corridor for palestinian civilians to flee from the north and to go to the south. obviously, we know that in recent days, israel has come under heavy, heavy criticism and scrutiny from international law experts for its strike on very densely populated neighborhoods, residential areas where israel says hamas is maintaining tunnels underground, and also some strikes on very near to hospitals and on ambulances. so a very dynamic situation still, dana. israel coming under heavy scrutiny and the u.s. trying to play a fine balancing act between its support for israel and its concern about civilian lives in gaza. >> jeremy, thank you so much for your excellent reporting, as always. and across the u.s., this weekend, large crowds of pro-palestinian protesters took to city streets to call for a cease-fire. and on capitol hill friday, dozens of activists were arrested after entering the offices of several senators. one of those senators is here with me now. independent bernie sanders of vermont. senator, thank you so much for joining me this morning. four weeks ago, more than 1,400 israelis, mostly civilians, were slaugt slaughtered in their homes and at a festival. you've been critical of israel's response recently. how do you think israel should be responding? >> well, this is what you've got. and i think it's clear to most people, what hamas did, and hamas is an awful terrorist torsion, is they slaughtered 1,400 people in cold blood. israel has a right to defend itself. but what israel does not, in my view, have a right to do, is to kill thousands and thousands of innocent men, women, and children who had nothing to do with that attack. so the immediate concern, dana, to my mind is we have got to stop the bombing now! you had over 600,000 people pushed out of their homes. where are they going? they're staying in united nations facilities. overcrowded. there's not enough water, there's not enough food, there's not enough medicine, there's not enough fuel. you have a humanitarian disaster. it has to be dealt with right now. >> so, senator -- go ahead. >> i'm sorry, go ahead. >> no, please. >> what you're saying about -- what you're saying about the lack of food and water and so fo forth, that most people believe that that is because hamas is hoarding it, and the other question is -- >> it's not just -- dana, it's not just that hamas is hoarding it. it's more than that. that's what israeli policy has been. >> okay. >> so it's a combination of -- >> let's get to the other point that you made, which is really is key one, which is, innocent civilians dying. and they are. how should israel destroy hamas, post-attack on these innocent civilians in israel, without hurting, killing innocent men, women, and children when hamas is hiding behind them and putting them in danger? how does that work? >> that is, that is exactly the right question to ask the military experts, which i am not one. but clearly, israel has a right to defend itself. hamas's goal is to destroy israel. but there's got to be a better way than killing men, women, and children. the immediate concern is, you have to have a pause in the bombing, take care of the immediate disaster. the united states of america provides $3.8 billion every year to israel. we have a right, israel can do what they want, they're an independent country. but we have a right to say, sorry, you need a new military strategy. go after hamas, but that means -- but do not kill innocent men, women, and children. >> you mentioned money. there is going to be a measure before you relatively soon for the house-passed more than $14 billion. and there is going to be at least some version of that in the senate. will you support that? will you put conditions on that? >> we'll see what the bill looks like. but it's terribly important that as we debate the state of israel, if you want this money, you want to change your military strategy. the other point is, we have to give hope to the palestinian people. they are living -- they were living before october 7th in a disastrous situation in gaza, 75% youth employment. and right now in israel, you're having the netanyahu government, an extreme right-wing government with racists aboard trying to make it impossible for a two-state solution in the west bank. they're killing settlers there. so what we need is the world to come together to give hope to the palestinian people, with a two-state solution, and have many of the very wealthy countries in the region, the united arab public, saudi arabia, qatar, they are extraordinarily wealthy, work with the united states, work with the community in order to provide some hope and decency and freedom to the palestinian people, which hamas will never do. >> i just -- you're right about that. they have a lot of money and they to this point not have been really willing to use that money in that region to help their fellow arabs. i want to just clarify one thing, senator, if i might. you support a humanitarian pause in gaza. some of your fellow progressives say that there should be a full-on cease-fire, which would require an agreement on both sides to halt the fighting. do you support a cease-fire? and if not, why not? >> well i don't know how you can have a permanent cease fire with an organization like hamas, which is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the state of israel. and i think what the arab countries in the region understand that hamas has got to go. so what we need right now, the immediate task right now is to end the bombing, to end the horrific humanitarian disaster, to build, go forward with the entire world for a two-tier, two-state solution to the crisis, to give the palestinian people hope. >> senator, democratic congresswoman rashida tlaib released a video on friday. i want you to watch part of it. >> mr. president, the american people are not with you on this o one. we will remember in 2024. >> that last screen said joed jod s joe biden supported the genocide of the palestinian people. you know the definition of genocide. it's described as a crime committed with intent to destroy a religious or ethnic group. is that what israel is doing? >> what's going on right now, thousands of men, women, and children are being killed. it's got to end right now. and one of the things that concerns me, dana, there has not been enough talk about what right-wing republicans are doing -- they don't want any aid to go to the palestinians. somebody should be talking about that. somebody should be talking about how trump wants to expel palestinians from this country. so it's, you know, you can disagree with joe biden, but on his worst day, he'll be 100 times better than trump and the right-wing republicans -- >> so you think rashida tlaib should save her ire for trump and the right wing and not a fellow democrat. >> rashida is a friend of mine, her family comes from palestine, i think she has been shaken as all of us are about what's going on right there, right now. we have to address the humanitarian crisis. but if anyone thinks that trump is going to be better than biden on this issue or any other issue, for that matter, i think they are sorely mistaken. >> and i understand that. i also understand and i know you know that words matter. and i want to ask about what she said -- >> look, words matter, but what matters more, dana is you have a horrible humanitarian disaster that has to be dealt with right now. you call it whatever you want to call it. it has to be dealt with. women and children cannot be bombed with 2,000-pound bombs. >> so when she says, from the river to the sea, from the river to the sea, which the adl says is anti-semitic, she says, it's aspirational, but the adl says it is anti-semitic, do you want her to stop using terms like that? and others? >> dana, you know, it's not what i want or anything else. this is what you've got. president obama just said the other day, i think quite correctly, and we've all got to deal with it. this is an enormously complex issue, and slogans like the river to the sea, if that means the destruction of israel, that's not going to work. people who are saying, israel, right or wrong, we are for you all the way, that's not going to work. this is a horrendous ly ly complex -- you have a right-wing government in israel which is racist and only 18% of the people of israel want netanyahu to stay in office. i hope they get rid of him and hope in a government which understands the severity of the crisis and can help us move towards a two-tier state. on the other hand, in terms of hamas, off terrorist organization that cannot be trust. this is, as president obama said, a very complex issue. >> senator, real quick, and you're really alluding to this in your answers and our discussion here, you are in a unique position, even a difficult up with, because you're a leading progressive voice in american politics, and you're also jewish. and you have family who died in the holocaust. how difficult is this for you? >> this has nothing to do with me, dana. what this is is, as a nation, we are living now in my view through a more difficult moment than we have lived in my lifetime. you know, people are worried about, we had the pandemic, worried about climate change, worried about the attacks on democracy, our health care system is collapsing. we have artificial information which is going to make radical changes to the economy, crime all over this country. people are worried and concerned. all that i am begging people is to understand slogans are not going to do it. social media is not going to do it. we need a serious discussion on how the hell we get out of this difficult situation, maintain democracy, bring peace to the world. and it ain't easy. but slogans are not going to do it on any side. >> senator, thank you so much for your time this morning. i really appreciate it. >> thank you, dana. >> one republican says there should be no limit to what israel can do to hamas. a bipartisan interview with senators lindsey graham and richard blumenthal is next. plus, a new poll this morning as a major warning sign for president biden's re-election. that's c coming up.. welcome back to "state of the union." a dispute between the house and senate could delay badly-needed usa to both israel and ukraine, after house republicans passed a bill this week that is a non-starter in the u.s. senate. here with me now to talk about the latest in israel is republican senator lindsey graham and democratic senator richard blumenthal. they have traveled extensively internationally together, including to israel after the october 7th attacks. thank you both for being here. senator graham, the biden administration is warning israel nailing to limit civilian casualties and address the humanitarian crisis in gaza risks eroding global support, including in the u.s. you've said there should be no limit to what israel can do to take out hamas, but is the administration right that israel needs to do more to protect civilians in gaza? >> well, i think israel is committed to following the law of armed conflict. one thing i want to say for sure is israel is not engaged in genocide, and another thing we need to deal with is the whitewashing of the status of people in gaza. i'm sure there are plenty of people that would love to be free from hamas. but the most radicalized people in the planet live on the gaza strip. they've been taught since birth to kill and hate the jews. how you teach math in gaza, if you have ten jews and kill six, how many would be left? that's in their school system. i'm all for providing humanitarian aid in a fashion that doesn't help hamas. i'm all for israel having the time and space to destroy hamas. i'm all for a new governing regime for the palestinian people when this is over. and i'm all for israel and saudi arabia reconciling. that's where i'm at. >> but no pause? no humanitarian pause? >> i don't want to take the pressure off hamas militarily, but if israel can find a way to help the humanitarian situation, yes, i would like to do it. but after world war ii, did anybody ask us these questions? you've got to realize the united states dropped two atomic bombs in cities in japan to end the war. i think this is total war between israel and hamas. i want to protect innocent people as much as possible, but i want the world to realize that the radicalized population in gaza has been going on for over a decade. this will not be easy. when you've been taught from birth to hate the jews and kill them all and drive them into the sea, here's what i think. 80% of people in gaza support the idea of the river to the sea. that has to change. >> senator blumenthal, 14 of your democratic colleagues think there should be a pause. what do you think? >> i think there should be a pause to enable more humanitarian relief, food, fuel, water to reach the palestinians, but also to enable release of the hostages. i'm met almost every day by phone or in person and we saw them when we were in israel with the families of the hostages. these situations are really heartbreaking. and i think that we should do a humanitarian pause to enable release of the hostages. also, movement of civilians from the north part of gaza, which is really the combat zone, to the southern part through a humanitarian corridor. there are measures through a humanitarian pause that can be taken to reduce civilian casualty. but let's keep in mind, israel's right to defend itself. we went on this trip, a bipartisan group, ten of us, to express solidarity with israel. and what we heard and saw was harrowing in the videos that were shown to us and what a minister of the war cabinet said, you know, these people tried to run and hide, for our whole history, we've tried to run and hide. israel was supposed to be a safe place, where we didn't need to run and hide anymore. so, for israel, this is a fight, a war about its very existence against a terrorist organization that has a single goal, destroy israel, annihilate the jewish people, and you know, is continuing to advocate. just the other day, a senior hamas official said that israel can expect a second strike, a third strike, a fourth strike, just like october 7th, until it is annihilated. so israel, i think, should do a humanitarian pause, but the ultimate goal has to be kept in mind. >> and you're talking about hamas. i know you're both very concerned, as are others, about it expanding beyond the gaza border and expanding more regionally. you both are introducing a bipartisan sense of the senate resolution tomorrow about iran. senator graham, what will it say? >> well, it basically says, if the war expands, if hezbollah opens up a second front in the north against israel in a substantial way, to overwhelm the iron dome, then we should hit in islamic republic of iran. there is no hamas without the ayatollah's support. there's no hezbollah without the ayatollah's support. the great satan in the region are not israel or the united states, it's iran. so senator blumenthal and i just got back. the israel is begging us to deter iran. they don't want the war to widen. if any of our troops are killed in syria and iraq by iranian-backed militias, i think that's an expansion of the war. the resolution puts iran on notice that all of this military force in the region will be coming after you if you expand this war by activating hezbollah or killing an american through your proxies in skprooe iraq. they need to hear that and believe that. >> senator blumenthal, i know it's just a sense of the senate, which means it's not binding, but to have this voice from the u.s. senate, that warns iran that the u.s. could militarily strike iran, if they expand this war, that's pretty aggressive. >> it's aggressive, but it's absolutely necessary. and it's not only in israel's explicit interests, they will support this deterrence and the key word here is deterrence. the purpose of the resolution is to deter iran by showing, we're going to be behind the president, as he seeks to stop the war from widening or escalating. and here's the other point, dana, which i think is really critical. we visited saudi arabia and egypt. and believe me, they loathe and fear iran and hezbollah and hamas and the other proxies as much as israel. so they are in favor of deterring a wider war. i think there is bipartisan common ground here, and there's consensus in the region that deterrence is critical, because iran here is the toxic, maligned influence. it is financially fueling, equipping, supplying