Kevin corke in washington. The Israeli Military not letting down, striking more than 200 Terrorist Infrastructures across gaza over the past 24 hours. One of those killed was a senior hamas leader. The Israeli Military releasing a video overnight showing them thwarting terrorists, trying to enter the country from lebanon. The idf says the four militants were trying to plant a bomb and they were all killed. And as Israel Battles both the border with gaza and lebanon, President Biden will visit the country on wednesday, looking to send a strong message that the us stands with its top ally in the region. His scheduled visit comes amid fears the israeli and hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. But President Biden will underscore our Crystal Clear message to any actor, to state or nonstate trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack israel. Dont point to that end. Hes deployed two Aircraft Carrier groups and other military assets to the region. Meantime in an attempt to further deescalate the situation, the president will also meet with the leaders of jordan, egypt and the palestinian authority. And the pentagon is issuing 2000 us troop ready to deploy orders. Theyll be in Support Roles if needed and not enter combat according to the pentagon. Meantime hamas is raising the number of hostages it claims to have. That number now up to nearly 200, a dozen of whom are believed to be americans. A hamas spokesman is saying tonight that theyll release nonisraeli prisoners when conditions permit. Thats it for now. Im kevin corke in washington. Now back to ourt f corke, in washington. S part of e force that already includes the uss gerald ford and Uss Eisenhower which is also moving into the region. We will have to wait and see exactly where they go. But they are a special operations capable combat ready group. So it could be that if needed, the u. S. Would be able to put boots on the ground very quickly. Not to say though that will be the case. The big question here in israel, laura is when will this Ground Operation begin . We thought it was going to happen on friday. Then, over the weekend, it was announced it was postponed because of weather. And then when it eventually does get underway, which may be later this week. What happens in the north . Does hezbollah continue to haciousz the Israeli Defense forces or does it go all in . If it goes all in, you can bet tel aviv would probably be a maybe point of engagement for hezbollah rockets, which again, is why the u. S. Is putting all these forces in the region to try to send a message to hezbollah to keep out. Another thing that israelis are talking about in just the last few hours is where exactly does Joe Biden Stand On Israel and the right of selfdefense . Last week joe biden said that the u. S. Stands four square behind israel. Yesterday on 60 minutes he said, well, it wouldnt be a good idea for gaza to be reoccupied by israeli forces, which raises the question though if you crush hamas, what happens after that . Because if there is a power vacuum, laura, as we have learned from history, its always filled by another strong man to israel may have some tough choices to make if it does crush hamas as to what comes next, laura . Laura john, we are just hearing that the idf has launched counter strikes into lebanon. Thats just breaking at this hour. We will see where that all goes. This is on a knife edge clearly in israel. John, stay safe there. Thank you so much for joining us. All right, the planned Ground Invasion as john just mentioned of gaza has been delayed since friday but why . The Jerusalem Post says its because of the idf hasnt done anything like this in decades and rushing in unprepared could be a very big mistake. So, what intel could they be seeing that is giving them pause . Here now to discuss the possibility john ratcliffe, former director of National Intel under President Trump. John, i know we dont know for sure. What do you suspect is going on here . I suspect that the israelis are balancing, you know, responding quickly versus responding smartly. Laura, everyone knows that there is going to be a Ground Incursion by the israelis into gaza. And its sort of like if you are Playing Chess and you are telling everyone ahead of time where your rook is going on the chess board your adversaries know and will make plans accordingly. In this case what israel has to deal with is they have multiple adversaries that are now planning. In the case of hamas the challenges are you have, you know, a group that has already been willing to disregard, you know, International Warfare principle of Distinction Meaning that they are willing to treat civilians and combatants the same and hide among them and use hostages now up to possibly 250 as Human Shields and they understand that as the number of civilians grow, israel knows that the support that they have in the International Community and even within the u. S. Will fade. So they need to plan for that. And as john roberts just talked about, the challenge is that they have an even more will lethal opponent to the north in hezbollah. Unlike hamas, hezbollah has a so he if i tsophisticated fighting. 100,000 precision guided rockets and drones that have the capability of overwhelming irans i mean israels primary defense system, the iron dome. And so, you know, i think that the israelis are balancing these many challenges and making sure that when they move that they move in the most strategically smart way possible. Laura its pretty hard though, isnt it . There are two competing factors here. The element of surprise is lost. I mean, you cant have an element of surprise when you are obviously concerned about civilian losses, unlike hamas, which Indesvictim Matily kills women and children. Hamsz knows you are coming. Meanwhile hezbollah to the north and lord knows what else is going to come into play. Israel is willing to do what we would do which is try to fight within the the norms of International Warfare and your adversaries are willing to disregard those and it puts you at that disadvantage and they know that you are coming. So, you know, it is a tremendous will that. I think thats what the delay is attributable to. Laura john, i want to get into the value of our intel going to israel at this point. Because there have been some questions about whether information that we had about a potential attack ever made its way to israel. Whether we had sufficient intel on this. So there is some new reporting tonight that is claiming that the cia intel on this hamas attack never reached biden saying that they were dismissed as routine. And u. S. Intel agencies were focused on other international threats, primarily china, russia, iran, and that this strategic shift in priorities may have contributed to a lack of attention given to the intelligence on hamas. So, the cia might be trying to cover it you know what, john, they are saying we said we saw this was going to come, and they were distracted with other priorities. It reminds me of what happened before 9 11. I mean, its similar concerns. Well, you know, i have talked with folks within the Intel Community presently that have indicated that unfortunately the Biden Administration may have redirected or retasked some intelligence assets away from the middle east to ukraine. And i dont know whether that is the case. But, i do know this you know, laura, we both want the United States to be the ally that israel needs right now. But, what is inescapable is the fact that National Security adviser Jake Sullivan was on national tv doing a not so humble brag two weeks ago saying that the middle east has never been quieter and he spent less time on those issues than any of his predecessors in the last 20 years and that is a whiff of Epic Proportions because, obviously, just two weeks later the israeli people have suffered the worst atrocity since the holocaust. And so, you know, the role that the u. S. Should be playing, laura, is that our best intelligence enterprise, our human intelligence, our signals intelligence, our geo Spatial Intelligence should be working hand in glove with the israelis to support them in what they need but i think there are real questions about our own intelligence and assets and capabilities as directed by this administration. Laura im going to get into that in the angle the competence of the United States to even be involved here at some level. John, invaluable insight. Thank you. Iran is warning that preemptive action could be taken in the next few hours by the socalled leaders of their resistance and that there will be consequences for anything israel does in gaza. As we just mentioned, the idf announced that they launched attacks in lebanon tonight. Joining me now is former u. S. Navy seal who has trained idf Special Forces and also running for congress in virginia. Cammeron, what could this response look like given what you are seeing now with u. S. Closer to deployment even in an advisory capacity . Yeah, good evening, laura, thank you for having me again. So, what were seeing right now is the United States prepare some of its assets to be able to put resources on the ground to aid our israeli brother in arms. Israel has a very calculated and measured response that they have to initiate here. With gaza, its such a highly and densely compacted area that combat warfare in a close combat urban setting is a very difficult endeavor to undertake. So what i have heard is all the information on the ground is that they are doing everything they can with their Intelligence Services and with all their other technological advantages to minimize the catastrophic loss of life. What we have also seen in the north is israel trying to act as a strong deterrent against any further aggression by other nations or partners that would seek to infiltrate themselves into the conflict and or provide aid and stretch israels resources thin. So its kind of a worstcase scenario where israel is trying to push off the possibility of a two front warfare while still addressing the concerns found in gaza. Laura cammeron, i dont want to steal my own thunder on this, but, given what happened with the afghan withdrawal, and the lack of basic competence on the part of our military leadership, not our men and women from uniform but the people leading them. Ohio cold front are you way we provide support is going to be effective thats my concern right now given the people that are in charge cant get much right. Well, the one thing i will say to counteract that point, laura is we do have a significant degree of cooperation between the United States and the Israeli Military. There are Battle Drills there are Strategic Missions and Training Scenarios that we have conducted full Mission Profiles that really integrate our forces with theirs and really beautiful fashion. That was one of the unique things that we noticed from going over to israel and training with the idf that Engagement Liaison Work really just paid multitude. I will say our troops are ready, we do have the best Military Fighting Force in the world. I think as a supporting mechanism to what they are doing we can provide resources such as covering fire, artillery, aviation and maritime support. Really the biggest role that the u. S. Military will play in the region is to deter large scale other state actors from entering this conflict. Laura well, well see. Cammeron, great to see you, thanks so much. Now, wha what the Biden Administration is about to get us into, we touched on this with cammeron. We have a lot more this she■s a hero moment. Even today, only a quarter of Stem Graduates are women. Theyd go, oh, you dont look like an engineer. There is this preconception. Some things are for boys. But diversity drives innovation. My goal is to really flip the script. Pick something that you love and go for it. How do we live in space . How do we live on the moon . I want to help figure that out. You can create the blueprint. If you can see her, you can be her. 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. Laura two wars, maybe three, thats the focus of tonights angle. All right, the guy who cant handle a few short stairs insists that the u. S. Can handle multiple wars. Are the wars in israel and ukraine more than the United States can take on at the same time. No. Were the United States of america, for gods sake. The most powerful nation in the history not in the in the history of the world. The history of the world. We can take care of both of these and still maintain our Overall International defense. Laura the momentum is deepening Military Involvement in the United States and a war against hamas. Expressed a need for ammunitions, precision guided weapons and were going to continue to do everything we can to provide them the support that they need. Region and battle Group Provides us with a number of options. Laura thats just the beginning. As i mentioned earlier defense secretary lloyd austin is readying 2,000 american troops to deploy there in nearly 2,000 more are heading to the area. Now, that would represent a major escalation of the u. S. role which means it is probably a good time for us to stop and think how is this going to effect our National Security interest in the United States . But, thinking ahead isnt something that people like Lindsey Graham ever do much of. When there is a chance to throw gasoline on a fire, he has the can and he has the match. Iran, if you escalate this war, were coming for you. Are you effectively poised to declare war on iran . That is very strong language. Im source of funding for hamas and hezbollah. Laura did he say he is poised to use Military Force . Someone should tell lloyd austin he is out of a job. Of course, it goes without saying that Hamas Terrorists should be destroyed and we support israel 100 percent. But lets also face facts. If history is any guide our weak and woke pentagon leadership could actually make matters worse. A disturbing report in todays Wall Street Journal contends that our most powerful global adversaries and enemies are already gaining power and advantage because of this situation. Hamasisrael conflict is prove ago boon for main geopolitical rivals china, russia and iran have long sought to undermine the u. S. Backed International System and are now taking advantage of americas distraction. Then these eerie words from the former finish Prime MinisterAlexander Stub who speaks of a shifting and moving world order. When the u. S. Leaves power vacuums someone is going to fill those vacuums. Now, last week i pressed the Foreign Policy adviser to netanyahu about whether china had stepped in to offer any support for them. Have you heard any support or received any support from president xi of china . We have received support from many, many leaders in the free world. There is a long list of friends, allies of israel who have supported us. Laura thats a diplomatic answer about china. They are not offering any support. Thats not surprising to me the a all. He avoided answering directly but of course we knew the answer. Just as it had done with ukraine, china will try to triangulate this chaos. More from the journal. China has embraced the palestinian cause in a way it hadnt done in decades. It pointedly refrained from using the word terrorism as it described the hamas attack much to israels dismay even though there were four chinese citizens killed by hamas and three more taken hostage. Thats according to israeli authorities. The crux of the matter is that justice has not been done to the palestinian people. China calls on all parties to exercise restraint deescalate regional tensions as soon as possible and prevent further expansion of the conflict. Laura wow. As for russian the littian rainy foreign minister says russia h