>> martha: thanks very much. good afternoon. i'm martha maccallum live in washington today for our special coverage tonight of president biden's oval office address on america's role in two wars. now in israel and also in ukraine. we're going live to the pentagon. a very important briefing about to get underway. we'll take you there live as soon as that gets started. in israel, john roberts stays with us this hour in jerusalem. mike tobin in southern israel and israeli prime minister netanyahu's spokesman joins us live. first, the pentagon about to update on the situation as americans have four warships now in the region. our u.s. forces are in the region as well or headed to the region. a huge u.s. commitment is underway and we expect that we're going hear more about that from the pentagon in just moments. a u.s. cargo plane delivered armored vehicles. here's video of that as they rolled off of this c-17 in israel. the israeli defense minister gives his troops the green light for entering gaza. still waiting on the exact timing of that. we're now more than 12 days in to this response to the ha hamasheinous attack on southern israel. mike tobin reporting live. hi, mike. >> we're about midway the gaza strip. if you lack over my shoulder, you can see lights flickering. that's the power that remains in the gaza strip. after sun down, we saw the rocket fire pick up with about five barrages. one a long-range barrage that set off the alarms in a subject -- suburb of tel aviv. no word if any of the rockets got through or resulted in any injury. prime minister benjamin netanyahu came down here to the edges of the gaza strip to meet with add brigade. he said they have fought like lions in the past and that i will fight like lions. >> we're going to win and we're going to give the blow to our enemies to get to victory, victory. >> air strikes in the gaza strips have been unrelenting. israel says they have another high value target, the head of the national security apparatus for hamas in the gaza strip. the families of the hostages are trying to maintain a public profile and as much pressure as they can to bring the hostages home. one of the ways they're doing that is sharing their stories of desperation. >> terrified. terrified. i can hear every night, my son, screaming to me, mom, take me hom home. bring me home, mom. save me. i'm asking you, save our child. >> the soldiers stopped to get something to eat and drink. they said they've got their training and want to get the job done and get back home. martha? >> martha: thanks, mike. reporting from southern israel where we're seeing the troops massing and ready to enter gaza city. they're waiting for the go-ahead from their leadership in tel aviv and jerusalem. mike, thank you very much. so let's go to tel aviv where the spokesperson for benjamin netanyahu joins us. we're hearing the reports that the leadership, the defense minister says he wants everyone at the ready. but it feels like there have been delays, some of which appear to be tied to the aid that is moving in from egypt and aid going to gaza. what can you tell us? >> so first the idf is ready. we're talking action and we're ready to take further action. we will do whatever it takes to make sure that buy the end of this operation in gaza we will dismantle hamas' military capabilities. as for your question about humanitarian aids, when president biden was here, we had certain agreements with our american counter parts. we said we would not allow in any humanitarian add aid to enter from israel. you heard this mother who spoke, who cried in the sound bite that you played before. i don't think it makes any sense and correct me if i'm wrong, for people who have their loved ones abducted in gaza, people that survived to pay for fuels that will enter gaza through israeli territory and be repurposed to serve hamas' war machine. we have agreed with our american counter parts that we will not prevent the enter of humanitarian aid from egypt and in to gaza. so this humanitarian aid includes essential supplies like food, water and medical supplies. there's one condition. that this aid will not fall in the hands of hamas. we're not the only ones saying it. president biden said the same. >> martha: we've seen it happen before. funding was supposed to go to humanitarian purposes in gaza city end up on the battlefield and in hamas' hands. they do not take care of the people there with these funds that have flowed from u.s. taxpayers, from israeli taxpayers. there's a lot of evidence from that over the years. do you feel that the united states has held it's real back in terms of the timing of this offensive? >> israel is not restrained. we will act and we will do what has to be done because our nation is very united behind the military. we know what has to be done and when it has to be done. i'm not going to divulge any military strategy moving ahead. we will dismantle hamas. that's what we're going to do, martha. nobody is holding us back. anyone that is calling for a cease fire and i'm hearing the voices coming from the u.s. and seeing the protests and in certain parts of the world, these are riots. anyone that is calling for a cease fire right now or restraint on behalf of israel is serving the pro hamas position. these barbarians should not get away with what the they did. so we can send out this message of okay, impunity for 1,400 israelis. for the beheading, for the raping, for the torturing with every day that passes by, we're discovering more and more atrocities that they committed. we're seeing the international community also with a lot of support coming from the united states and the american people and president biden is coming together and establishing this international coalition to confront hamas as was the case about isis. that's what we're hoping to see, this is what we're witnessing. >> martha: i think you'll hear a lot of that from the president tonight about the important partnerships in place. when you talk about torture, i hear from that mother's voice. she's being tortured every day. the hostages are being held. it's an incruisating -- excruciating position for these mothers to be in. thanks, tal. >> martha: thank you. we have a new warning for every person traveling anywhere outside of the united states. our fox team coverage from the middle east continues and more on that warning straight ahead. veteran homeowners. are you applying for a car loan? the monthly payments can be expensive. with an affordable home loan from newday, you can pay cash and own the car or truck of your dreams. this is a special alert. israel is under attack and israel's enemies seek our destruction. the people of israel need immediate help. rockets have us squarely in the crosshairs. our people are targets in their own homes. many have lost everything and fear for their lives. the international fellowship of christians and jews has launched an urgent response to rescue those affected by this violent attack. our teams are on the ground across israel delivering lifesaving aid. your urgently needed gift of only $45 will help rush food, water, medicine and emergency supplies for jewish families that have nowhere to turn. time is literally running out. what we need you to do is to act now. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. 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projectiles. we're also learning that more drones and rockets have been fired towards iraq's al-assad air base. we're going to wait for that briefing. we'll take you there live when that gets underway to get a sense of what kind of threat some of our assets may be under at this point in various parts of the region. we have many bases, dozens of bases spread across the middle east, which obviously are very important in this fight and also very important in terms of the threats that they might face. the state department earlier today issued a worldwide caution to americans traveling overseas. warning of the potential for terrorist attacks and violent actions that could come against americans as the israel war triggers global unrest. steve harrigan is on the ground in lebanon where they have seen a lot of unrest outside the embassy. greg palkot is live in another hotspot, which is the israel lebanon border. tensions continuing to smoke in that region. a potential northern front in this war by the israeli-funded hezbollah, which is an even bigger military force than hamas, really, in terms of numbers. we begin with chief international correspondent steve harrigan on the left side of the screen. he joins us from beirut. good evening, steve. >> good evening, martha. the embassy here in beirut has taken that warning even a step further. saying american citizens here in lebanon should make a plan now to leave the country. while they still can. while they can get get on planes. other nations including saudi arabia going further. saying our citizens should get out now, this happens because the past 12 days, the fighting between israel on one side over the northern border and hezbollah deemed a terrorist group by the u.s. financialed supported, trained by iran, that fighting has ticked up over the past 12 days. an exchange of rocket fire, tank fire an anti tank missiles. eight hezbollah fighters killed since tuesday. five israelis killed, three soldiers. it comes as you can see preparations for a important northern front continue. israel has evacuated 28 communities along the border. they pulled back a mile long buffer zone and moving tanks up there to prevent another cross-border deadly attack like they saw 12 days ago. back to you. >> martha: thanks, steve. reporting live from beirut. we welcome nathan sales, former acting undersecretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights at the state department and marc thiessen, fox news contributor. gentlemen, great to have you both with us. thanks for being here today. nathan, looking at comments by the president of iran who says america is an accomplice in what is happening in israel and every drop of a palestinian brings a zionist nation closer to its fall. a dire warning for americans abroad. >> i'd take it as a compliment for the united states to be an accomplice of israel. let's be clear, iran's fingerprints are all over the attacks that we're seeing the last couple days. you've had multiple rockets and drones launched at american soldiers in syria, iraq. and now today at our warships near yemen. these are not just isolated incidents. these are all part of iran's network of proxies. i ran doesn't want to risk an open confrontation with the united states. they will get smoked. so they hide behind the shield of these malitia groups. make no mistake, they're responsible. they're not deterred. whatever the message the white house is sending is not being received. we need to demonstrate to iran that they will face fire and fury to quote a former president if they turn up the temperature here. >> martha: that brings us to tonight and what we can expect the president to say. he's been reluctant to even speak the name "iran." we will hear him of refreezing the money, implementing the sanctions once again where oil is concerned? all of these things that have put money in their coffers to allow attacks? he says don't. they already did. they killed 29 americans through a proxy. they have taken dozens of americans hostages. they're firing on the u.s. bases through the proxies, hezbollah. they're firing through the houthis to our ships. he needs to do what president trump did. reiterate the fact that there's a red line that if you or -- president trump drew a red line that says any attack that killed an american will result in military action and we will not draw a distinction between iran and their proxies. when they crossed the red line, trump killed soleimani. after he killed soleimani, he put out a tweet and said i picked out 53 sites in honor of of the 52 u.s. hostages and i'm going to strike iran and hard and fast if you do it again. iran blacked down. bullies only respond to force. if one of those hostages is hurt, iran will pay the price. it's not hamas. it's going to be the regime in iran. >> martha: he's been reluctant to say that. we have the latest numbers, 32 americans have been killed. so there's american blood involved in these losses. there's 13 missing. we're still waiting for definition on whether or not they're held, 11 missing, whether or not they're being held by hamas. we don't hear much about that from the president yesterday. >> we should. the u.s. government has no greater responsibility than protecting the lives of innocent americans. as you say, martha, 32 american killed in this attack. it wasn't just an attack on israel. it's an attack on american. the deadliest attack on american by a foreign terrorist organization since 9-11. what is the administration going to do to re-establish deterrence? iran has been funding these groups, hundreds of millions a year. in the north, hezbollah, 700 million a year. hamas, just this year reportedly got $350 million. they're using every one of those dollars to kill israelis and kill americans. where is it coming from? oil. we heard a lot about the $6 billion hostage payment that was authorized last summer. that is the tip of the iceberg. since president biden took office, this administration has looked the other way on sanctions. as a result, iran has sold $80 billion of oil. buy as lot of bombs. >> martha: they have pulled us back in to the middle east despite the biden administration's efforts to keep them at bay, give them a little here a little there. maybe they will be nicefer they have a few of these concessions that have come. do you think that the president has a change of view of this now? does he see iran and russia and china aligned and the united states and our allies clearly on another side? do you expect to hear a change of our policy tonight? >> i can't tell you what he will say. it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see and ear as to here what is happening. russia starts a war in europe. china is threatening to start a war in taiwan. we could be on the verge of world war iii. this is serious stuff. the president of the united states needs to restore deterrence. by stopping it, making it clear we failed on deterrence in europe, failed in the middle east. can we afford to fail in the pacific? the reason you do that, help ukraine and help israel defend themselves and make their enemies pay a price for attacking them and make it clear to china, if you attack, we'll defend taiwan and give them capabilities. that's why congress has to act and help all three countries. >> martha: i have to go. nathan, real quick. do you expect a change in tone? you think the president has had a wake-up call? >> the alarm is ringing loud. if this incident is not enough to get the administration to reconsider its policy of appeasement and accommodation towards iran, i don't know what will. from day one, they have had a fixation on reentering the iran nuclear deal. as a result, iran is now stronger in every measure than they were on january 19th, 2021. >> martha: they've made more money off of oil soils and emboldened them. thanks, gentlemen, very much. good to have you. marc thiessen and nathan sales. let's go live to the israel lebanon border where greg palkot is. everyone is watching this area to see if there's another front that opens in the war. what can you tell us? >> absolutely, martha. we are here at the israeli lebanon border. for the past couple days, we've been watching israel and the iranian-backed hezbollah militants duking it out literally as the region roils in turmoil. there were clashes in consulates throughout the mideast. the arab street dismisses the israeli evidence that they did not hit the hospital. upset about the soaring death toll in gaza as israel pounds hamas for its hostage taking. here at the border, we have witnessed as late as a couple hours ago a steady stream of strikes and skirmishes involving hezbollah and it's real. there was a fresh hit today aiming for the army but falling short, landing in a civilian area. there were three injuries. militants using rockets, anti-tank, mortars. whatever they can get their hands hahn. for israel, we can tell you they have built up a major presence here. we're within an israeli artillery united that arrived a day after the strike down south. we call them skirmishes, martha but near deadly. there's been five israelis kill here in the last week. 18 hezbollah and other militants killed as well. we've said it before and say it again, lebanon's powerful hezbollah caming 100,000 fighters, 150,000 rockets. day by day, they and their ben factor iran have made it clear if israel pushes further against hamas down south, they will push harder here. right now i liken it to two globalprizefighters working the ring trying to draw blood here, there. still not a few fight. back to you. >> martha: no doubt. greg, thank you very much. so it's fascinating to point out and i want to mention to folks at home that so now you have iranian proxies, the houthis fearing in the red saw at the u.s.s. carney. so you have the houthis firing back at a u.s. warship in the red sea. and then the pressures from hezbollah in the north. then we also have two days now of fire that is being aimed at the al-assad air base in iraq. so you see the arm, the long arm of iran being used to perhaps frighten or rattle some of these u.s. forces that are in the area right now as israel prepares to move in. so you have a real battle that is going on right now between these sides as israel says that they're preparing to go in on the ground in gaza. so there's a lot to cover for you this afternoon. i am sure that at the pentagon they are kind of processing and downloading what they can about this houthi attempted attack on some of our assets in the red sea. also the incoming that they're seeing in iraq. they're going to brief us moments away. it's been delayed because of this information, we assume that is happening now. we'll take you there as soon as that gets underway. we're going back to john roberts who has had extraordinary reporting for us from jerusalem and has been talking to people at the hospital there about the volunteer efforts that are going on. we're also very honored to be joined by the israeli ambassador to the u.n. who will join us in moments as well. ♪ hit it ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ ♪ one, two, get loose now ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a... ♪ stay two nights and get 5k bonus points. book direct at bestwestern.com. salonpas, makers of powerful pain relief patches for 89 years... believes in continuous improvement... like rounded corners that resist peeling, with an array of active ingredients... and sizes to relieve your pain. salonpas. it's good medicine. he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i was tired of throwing money down the rent drain, so to speak. after watching the admiral that just made up my mind, i said, i'm calling newday usa tomorrow. 70 more dollars over my rent. i'm actually owning my own home because newday usa focuses on the va homeloan benefit. that's their expertise. i felt like i would definitely get a better shake. the admiral said that my service is, you know, my down payment. for us that was important not to be able to have to put anything down. i was aviation in the marine corps, 30 some million dollar aircraft. if the country, american people can put that kind of trust and confidence, the equipment that we fix, literally $200,000 home. can you help me? can somebody put a little bit of belief in me? and i felt like i felt newday did do that. if you can afford rent, you can afford to own. to maximize that va loan benefit and not pay anything out of my pocket was tremendous. i had my doubts, but i don't anymore. >> martha: we're waiting for the pentagon briefing. it's an important one. we'll take you there live. very difficult times around the world right now. we're learning this hour that a u.s. navy warship traveling near yemen has intercepted multiple projectiles. we're also learning and we believe they came from the houthis backed by iran and been in a battle against saudi arabia over the course of the last few years, that situation has been improving of late. but seems to be heating up in the red sea this afternoon. so we'll keep you posted on that. we expect an update in moments. we expect them to fill us in on this other breaking story just moments ago. once again, we see drones and rockets targeting iraq's al-assad air base where we have about 2,500 u.s. troops that occupy that base. that's of concern. we hope to get an update on that moments away. first we bring in john roberts who has been reporting all week live from jerusalem. john, you have had fascinating interviews today with a hospital that is treating patients in jerusalem. also speaking to a man who was so courageous who is working to bring volunteer efforts and supplies to people that need them. because of your experience covering this story, i want your thoughts on what we're seeing popping in these different places militarily. all iran connected as we wait for the president's speech tonight and wait for israel to move in on the ground in gaza, john. >> really does suggest, martha, that iran's proxies are moving to up the ante here, this idea that the entire region is becoming a tinder box plays in iran's favor. arab nations that even if they have relations with israel or they have been benign about it now have to think about taking sides. that completely plays in to iran's favor. looking at what is going on in the northern border here, i talked to a general that was a chief of the national security council. he said he doesn't believe that hezbollah will go all in here. they're going to continue to skirmish as greg palkot with the idea to shohei, we're here, we're backing our brothers in gaza from hamas. he doesn't think they'll make a move to all-out war. that may or may not be the case. if it does break into all-out war that will be -- >> martha: thanks, john. let's go now to the pentagon and the briefing underway. let's listen. >> we will deploy the u.s.s. ford along with the u.s.s. eisenhower in route. we are enhancing our fighter aircraft presence in the central command region to provide additional capabilities. by posturing these naval assets and fighter aircraft, we aim to send a message to deter a wider conflict. to bolster regional stability and protect and defend our national security interests to that end, the crew of the u.s.s. carney, operating in the northern red sea shot down three cruise missiles and several drones. this was a demonstration of the integrated air an mess sill defense architecture that we've built in the middle east and prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region. there were no casualties to u.s. forces and none that we know of to any civilians on the ground. information about these engagements is still being processed and we cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting but they were launched from yemen heading north along the red sea to targets in israel. our defensive response is one that we would have taken for any similar threat where we were able to do so against our interest personnel and our partners. this attack may be ongoing. if we have more to share, we will. we have the capability to defend our broader interests and deter reg regional escalation. the crew of the carney did just that. while i'm on the topic of threats, let's provide an update on several drone attacks in iraq and syria. yesterday morning, there were two drones in syria. one drone was destroyed and the other impacted the base resulting in minor injuries to coalition forces. in iraq, al-assad air base was attacked. sadly a u.s. civilian contractor suffered a cardiac episode and passed away shortly after. our condolences are with the bunned ones of the individual who passed away. as you know the day before october 17, all is military forces defended against three drones in iraq. in western iraq, u.s. air forces engaged two drones and destroyed one and damaging the second resulting in minor injuries. in northern iraq, u.s. forces destroyed a drone resulting in no injuries or damage. while i'm not going to forecast any potential response to these attacks,ly say that we will take all necessary actions to defend u.s. and coalition forces against any threat. any response should one occur will come at a time and manner of our choosing. secretary austin continues to actively engage with his counter parts and leaders in the middle east. today he conducted a series of calls, which included discussions with president sheik mohammed of the united arab emirates and the leader of saudi arabia. he reiterated u.s. support for israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks. he emphasized again that any country or any group thinking about trying to take advantage of the situation in israel to try to widen the conflict should think twice and not doubt the resolve of the united states. it is our aim to avoid any regional expansion of a conflict with hamas and we stand prepared to protect our partners and interests and will act to do so. read-outs of these calls will be posted to the dod website later today. with respect to u.s. support to israel, the first shipments of aid be again arriving in israel last week and continue to arrive on a near daily basis. this assistance is comprised of capabilities requested by israel to include precision guided munitions, small diameter bombs, 155 millimeter munitions and other categories of critical equipment. iron dome intercepters from stocks that the united states has in country have been quickly provided to israel. in the days ahead, we'll be flying iron dome intercepters so israel has the capabilities to sustained the iron dome systems and protect citizens and cities from rocket attacks. we will leverage several avenues available to us to include our stocks and industry channels that reinforce the united states unwaivering support for the israeli people. as always, the department of defense will continue to support, plan and undertake these critical missions professionally and with the inherent right to protect our force. with that, i'll be happy to take your questions. start with ap. >> thanks, general ryder. can you talk about apparently a new round of attacks at al-assaded that is occurring now or has happened today? do you have any information on that? >> thanks. i have seen some reporting on that. i don't have any details right now. certainly as more information comes available, we'll pass that along. >> more generally, as this violence has upticked since the hospital bombing, what protection and measures are you taking for the forces for where there's been so much activity over the years as fighters have tried move weapons and people towards hezbollah. >> we take force protection seriously and will continue to do so. i'm not going to get into other measure. when we have forces in harm's way, we'll lack at all efforts to make sure that they're safe and stay focused on their mission. this is something that we'll continue to monitor. again, we'll take force protection seriously. >> have you strengthened or taken additional protection measures around are you seeing more drone activity in the last couple days than you have for the last few months? >> we are certainly taking appropriate force protection measures to ensure the safety of our troops. i won't get into specifics. clearly this is an uptick in terms of the types of drone activity that we've seen in iraq and syria. again, yeah. i'll leave it at that. thank you. >> hi. sir, this is a sensitive question. there's a lot of talk among special operations veterans that when president biden went to israel, he had a picture taken with some service members that look like special operators. can the defense department confirm the white house took this picture down, that these were special operators and if so, are they -- is there a policy against having special operators having their picture taken? >> i'd have to refer you to the white house. i don't have information to provide. dan? >> thank you. these attacks in syria and iraq, the pentagon commonly or often ascribes the blame on those to iranian backed malitias or some similar description. do you have a sense that's the case here? >> we're continuing to assess the nature of these attacks. that's something that we'll continue to look very closely at as you mentioned. in the past we have seen iranian backed malitia conduct these types of things. right now i don't have any specifics to provide. >> more broadly related on iran, do you have any update on whether iran is tied to the hamas october 7th attacks? >> no. at this point, again, the information that we have does not show a direct connection to the hamas attacks on october 7. as it relates to iran. that's something that we'll continue to look closely at. all that to say, we do know that iran has a significant relationship with hamas in terms of funding, training and support. so again, in that regard they certainly bear some responsibility. no direct linkage to these attacks and we'll continue to keep an eye on that. >> just a clarification. the u.s.s. carney. you said what they're targeting. can you say you believe they were targeting the carney or not targeting the carney? >> what i provided at the top right now is what we know. again, we'll continue to assess this. >> can you talk about what naval assets you have in total in the eastern med and the red sea? there's the u.s.s. whitney. how many ship do you have in total in the region? >> innot going to provide a lay-down of all of our forces in the region other than to say as you know that the u.s.s. gerald ford crew is underway. the u.s.s. mesa verde is in the mediterranean as well. we have as i mentioned, the eisenhower transiting the atlantic in route. the carter haul and the baton remain underway in the gulf of aden. there's been some questions about that i'll leave it at that for right now. >> earlier today, the state department issued a worldwide caution alert for americans abroad. given what we're talking about the drone attacks and attacks on other u.s. facilities, is there some sort of blanket warning for u.s. service members and their families or any fears that these attacks will be more geared to u.s. service members even if not in the middle east but more broadly? >> i'm not tracking any specific threats in that regard. we take force protection seriously no matter where. >> no general warning? two separate things. ability to warn u.s. citizens. the u.s. military by wherever we're serving, we'll take force protections. there's no specific threats about u.s. service members and their families, which is what you're asking. let's go to the phone. let's go to the "wall street journal." gordon? >> hi, pat. just two questions. one is on attribution, is there any reason to think that the perpetrators behind these attacks are not what they have been in the past? i know you're still investigating is. there any reason to think there's anything different? two, just to clarify, was there any american aircraft or other property damaged in any of these attacks? i can't remember if you said specifically or not. >> thanks, gordon. so in terms of the attribution for these attacks, again, that is something that we're continuing to look at. i'm not going to have any information to provide right now in terms of the impacts of those attacks i don't know what i provided. let's go to rebecca from bbc. >> hi. thanks for taking the question. can you confirm or have any comments on these reports that the idf has the green light to enter gaza? >> so i've seen the press reports on that. i'm not sure what that means as it relates to idf operations. i'd refer you to them to talk about their operations. thank you. courtney? >> the american -- the contractor that died of the cardian event, was he or she an american citizen? >> i will get back to you on that. >> can you say how many drones were shot down? what did the carney use to shoot down the cruise missiles and the drones? >> i don't have any information on the specifics in terms of what system the carney used to take down. so if we're able to make that information available, we will. in terms of the number of drones, i laid that out. that's about as specific as i can get. >> you said that you don't see any direct connection to the uptick in the recent attacks to october 7th. i wonder if you see any connection to this uptick. it really -- this is a departure from where it's been the past several months. if you see any connection to what has happened after october 7th. so to the fact that the israelis are talking about a massive ground invasion, they're already doing the air strikes. is it tied to that? >> yeah, the reality is, courtney, i don't want to allow my imagination to fill in the gaps. clearly there's tensions in the region, which is why you see us working hard to making sure we're keeping lines of communication open with regional leaders, to make sure that we're sharing information and for actors in the region to understand our message loud and clear about deterrence to prevent potential miscalculation. again, as we continue to look at this and analyze the nature of these attacks and attribute these attacks, we'll certainly know more. that's where we're at right now. meantime, again, our focus is going to be continuing to ensure that we are deterring a potential broader regional conflict and also continuing to work closely with israel to ensure that they have what they need to defend themselves against future attacks. >> when you talked about the interception, you said this is a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense. would other nations or areas in the region, did they contribute one way or the other for the interception whether through information, radar? >> yeah, as you know, we obviously -- the united states works with a lot of partners in the region and broadly speak having integrated air defense capabilities. so in this particular case, the u.s.s. carney is highlighted determining this threat, was able to take that threat out. >> this was in partnership with other -- >> i don't have any other information. >> on the hospital, the president, as you know, mentioned the data from the dod to say israel was not responsible. the idf used the al-jazeera broadcast to say that it was islamic jihad with a very detailed investigation. the missile that they claim, it was a jihad missile was intercepted seven minutes before the hospital was targeted. channel 4, u.k., they're saying even though there's not a great -- >> i'm sorry. if you don't mind, get to the question. >> there's lots of questioning about what the president claimed and what the israelis are saying noting that many hospitals have been targeted and u.n. facilities by israel. are you willing to share the data that the president used? >> yeah, let's -- a couple things here. first of all, don't conflate other reporting and media reporting with where we're getting our information from. we certainly have our own capabilities. some of which does include open source information. we have other capabilities. as you know, the white house put out a statement on this topic. when it comes to informing our senior leaders, we're using our own information to make those assessments. as you heard us say based on the information that we have, it is our assessment that israel was not responsible for that explosion. we're continuing to assess that. initial indications are that this was from an errant rocket that was launched by the palestinian islamic jihad. again, we're gooing to continue to assess this. that's where we're at on this particular topic right now. to re-assure you, we're not relying on reports -- >> that wasn't my question. my question is the department because -- under international law, this is a war crime regardless of who launched it. so is the department willing to share the data -- >> right now i'm sharing with you what we have. that's where we're at. if we have more to provide, we will. yes? >> just some clarifications . >> martha: okay. a bit of an update there from pat ryder. not a lot of new information coming out. he talked about what has happened in the incoming and the al-assad air base and the incident with the u.s.s. carney in the red sea, which was a successful u.s. shooting down of three of those cruise missiles that they believe were coming in yemen. he didn't get specific about who was firing those cruise missiles. there's other reporting that said it came from yemen and the houthis in yemen. he said one contractor had died of a heart attack in the iraq incident. then he went on to reiterate that this october 7th hamas attack on southern israel, they still do not see any direct link to iran in terms of the direct planning of that attack. so now we look forward to president biden's address tonight. we're now hours away from a moment that could be one of the most important oval addresses of his presidency. 32 americans have been killed by hamas. 11 americans are still missing or potentially being held by these terrorists. so a very pressing moment for the american president as he talks about that and also america's role in two very large war efforts in the middle east now and in europe as well. he will be making his argument for the billions that are spent in american tax dallas for these two fights tonight as congress is battling over future funding as they try to sort out their own leadership issues and try to resolve the budget towards the end of the year. so this is obviously a very big moment for president biden as he looks at this. we're going to talk to kellyanne conway and francis townsend, who have both advised presidents about security and communications. they will join us in just a moment with what they expect tonight. first we the check in with peter doocy. peter? >> a lot of traffic in and out of the west wing. we're told the speech being edited right now for president biden will try to make the wars in israel and ukraine matter to people that doesn't think it matters much here in the u.s. >> that will be a message to the american people, how those conflicts connect to our lives back here, how support from the american people and the congress, frankly, is essential to maintaining this national leadership that the united states is showing to steer these conflict in the best possible direction. >> we don't think this address will be super political. the funding will go nowhere if there's no house speaker. we got this memo from the white house. house republicans are falling over one another to find out who can be the more out of step with the priorities of working families. they need to get their act together and join the president at the adult's table. many republicans are totally good with the israel part of the president's expected request. >> well, i think every one is on board with whatever israel needs. i'm interested to see what the $10 billion is about. the good news, there's a lot of aid to israel that is codified. we didn't have to go through in congress in an emergency. what israel will need assistance with is resupply as this conflict emerges and what they'll need and how much will depend on what kind of conflict we're talking about. if it's just a gaza event, it's one thing. if it's broader, god forbid, it's different. >> white house officials are telling us little about what the president will say tonight. president biden did apparently just give some sort of an idea tovolodymyr zelensky by phone. martha? >> martha: thanks, peter. look forward to tonight. peter doocy at the white house. let's bring there kellyanne conway, president of k.a. consulting and a fox news contributor and francis townsend, homeland security adviser to president george w. bush. francis and kellyanne, wonderful that you're with us today. this is a big moment for president biden. fran, let's begin with you, if i may. many have said that he has not ar articulated the u.s. commitment in ukraine clearly enough to have americans understand what is at stake, why they need to stay committed to it. so we're going to expect that. that was supposed to be the thrust of this speech before this happened october 7. what do you think the president has to achieve tonight, fran? >> i think the president has to explain why these conflicts overseas are important here at home. post 9-11, we wanted to fight these fights overseas so we didn't have to worry about the threats coming here at home that is directly related to the fight going on in israel. we want israel to be successful in eradicating hamas there. we don't want to see those threats here. the president will use the opportunity then to try to attach this to what is going on in ukraine and explain it there. i think he also ought to think about border security monies in order to keep bad people out from crossing our certain border. >> martha: we just heard from brigadier general pat ryder. the pentagon doesn't make a connection between i ran and what happened. some people may have been thinking that president biden might lay out this iran connection to all of this more clearly tonight, kellyanne. i'm not sure we will get that. >> martha: he should. i'm so glad that fran mentioned the border. i think so many americans are listening for our american president to talk about crises and chaos at home as well as what is happening in ukraine and now of course israel. i'm very glad that the general mentioned innocent civilians, palestinians, israelis. as goes iran, let's lay out facts very quickly, number 1, iran was desperate too make teals and depleted when donald trump left office. he told people like china, if you want to do business with the united states, you can't do business with iran. you have a choice. that's your choice. of course, we didn't do business with iran. we restricted iran. contained them. now they produce 3 million barrels of oil a day and stock biled $80 bill that helps then tofund hamas and hezbollah. i'm not sure that we need the paint by numbers here to know whose side and sympathies that they have. if the president is just asking congress tonight for money, he missing an opportunity to communicate to the public why this is about freedom and why it's important. i think this president because they have been so absent on the border crisis here at home, alejandro mayorkas won't even call it a crisis. i think he's missing that ago a third leg of the stool. fran and i helped prepare presidents for that. i've been around when addresses were being delivered live to the country. it's so important that biden himself feels this, owns this. i can't believe the white house put out a petty and political memo. why this megamaga insult? serious issues, serious times. >> martha: thank you both so much. hope you join us again. before you go, another big twist in the race for house speaker. after two failed votes, jim jordan says that he will attempt a third run now tonight. fox caught up with him moments ago. >> that's the plan. >> who you going to talk to right now? >> some of my colleagues. >> what is the plan in the middle before the vote? >> talk to our colleagues. >> how are you going to flip those votes? >> talk about what's good for the country. it's just that concern. >> do you know what time a vote will take? >> i don't. >> you plan on sticking this out? >> oh, yeah. >> oh, yeah, says jim jordan. a lot of back and forth today. earlier we were told there wouldn't be a vote today. now we're told there is. we look forward to joining you tonight. bret baier and i will have the special coverage of the president's oval office address. >> sandra: we'll be watching