fox on top of israel. you heard about the flares being seen over gaza. this as the house is set to vote on a package to help israel. we have nancy mace here, adam smith on where this aid package stands as we speak. also here, the republican governors of texas and oklahoma, greg abbott and kevin stitt, they're both in israel and they're going to tell you why and what they're worried about. we're closely watching the flares over gaza. i'm neil cavuto. this idea of a ground invasion or something akin to it that might be happening soon, anyone's guest. mike tobin in southern israel with the latest. hi, mike. >> neil, right over my shoulder, you can see the flares that are up, this is the northeast section of the gaza strip. it's been about the last 20 minutes that they've been putting the flares in to the sky. usually when they do that, that means there's something they're looking for on the ground. they want to see it. what you try to do with the flares is blind the enemy and give you a good look at what is there on the ground. looks like something is in the sky. i just saw something come rather rapidly out of the sky, that would indicate some kind of aircraft is up there firing at whatever that target is on the ground. that is not the area of gaza city where the idf now says they have the center of the city encircled. this is near the fence at the border with gaza. as we talked about that, let's talk about the southern end of the gaza strip. the raffah crossing where hundreds of foreign passport holders crowded today with the hope that they would get out. the state department won't give a hard fast figure. i know a number of families did get out. one of the families we've been tracking, emily roushenberger and her family all got out. >> as soon as she got out, she called her best friend from high school that lives in saudi arabia. they talk on whatsapp. they said call and tell my dad we're out, we're healthy, we're fine. we're on a bus to cairo and i'll call him in the morning. >> the aid trucks did come in. as they came in palestinians continue to fire rockets unrelenting. thus far israel has allowed food, water and medicine to come in. the palestinians remain defiant. another scene of destruction with this giant crater. this is a refugee camp. this as the israeli defense force says gaza city itself is encircled. the israeli defense forces made easy work of hamas defenses to the northern end of the gas strip. they pushed them off to the south of gas city and say the encirclement of thesy is complete but came with a price. 18 israeli soldiers were killed, more than 300 have been killed since october 7. according to the palestinian health ministry, run by hamas, more than 9,000 palestinians have been killed. whatever is going on here in the northern end of the gaza strip, they're putting up a lot of flares and hearing pops coming from that area. something that they're looking for in ground. i can hear a helicopter overhead. try to get you more information on that as it's available. neil? >> neil: mike, the president is urging for a pause so americans and others can get out of gaza. have you heard any official israeli reaction to that? >> what you hear and went up toe the prime minister, they're not interested in a cease fire. israel is having success on the ground. they have control of this situation on the ground. it wouldn't serve their interest to pause at this point. certainly when you talk about the words cease fire, that's not in israel's interest right now. they're going to keep the pressure on hamas and try to get results that way. >> neil: thanks. be safe. mike tobin. he will have more developments as they warrant. right now, nancy mace joins us, the republican congress woman from south carolina. waiting to see what happens with that measure. congress woman, good to have you. are you for this legislation? this measure is meant to help only israel. the cbo has said it's going to add to the deficit. does that put you in a box? >> well, according to the cbo, their math is fuzzy. it is paid for this year. so i don't necessarily agree with the cbo math on how it's scored. i support israel. i want to see them win decisively and quickly against hamas. it's a measure that we have to take. we have to figure out how to do that. i'm encouraged by trying to find buckets of money to pay for the aid. >> neil: we're told a lot of it will come from cutting irs funding. chuck schumer has said this is not going anywhere even if it passes the house. how do you feel about that? >> well, we desperately need chuck schumer to play ball with the house. he's refused to all year. that shows you where his priorities are. the spending, it started in the house and then they go to the senate. we ought to be working together. if he doesn't like it, find middle ground on how we move forward. i agree that aid to israel has to be stand alone and i believe it will get overwhelming support. >> neil: might get overwhelming support. back to this issue if it adds to the deficit. that is coming from the cbo. we don't know how they factor that in -- >> they don't show their math. >> neil: that say it has to do with getting rid of the irs founding. if it's a measure deemed to add to the deficit, would you be a no vote on it? >> it's the cbo score is fuzzy math. they will not show how they do their math, how they get to that figure. they're not real numbers. i'm going to support aid to israel. it's $14 billion. i hope that they can win this against hamas swiftly and decisively. >> neil: so when it comes to not including ukraine funding for the time being, as the president wants to do, as the ever so narrowly democratic controlled senate wants to do what do you say to that? >> i would like these measures separate. these are different wars. they have different needs. we should not be combining them together. that's what congress always does. i believe the majority of the united states would rather see us up and down separate votes on separate supplemental aid, separate spending bills. it's better for the american people and more transparent and the way we should operate as a congress. >> neil: i don't know how late it will go. if a measure doesn't get passed, are you worried that it sends a message to israel that the house and senate doesn't have its activist together, that ready aid doesn't look that ready and this with a backdrop of israel being told by the president, pause right now in this campaign of yours to make sure folks get out. are they getting mixed signals from the united states? >> i'd say the fiscal year for the government started on october 1. israel gets $3.8 billion every single fiscal year. that just reset. they can get all of those resources immediately right now if they haven't gotten them already. if it fails, we'll go back to the drawing board and mike johnson will be swift and fast in the way he's working us up here on the hill. i have no doubt that he will figure it out. >> neil: this has come up. i know you've addressed this a couple times. this idea that you could be or would be open to being donald trump's vice president as the polls stand now and if he were to be the nominee of your party. that's his call as you have also said. you have also criticized him in the past. how will that jive? >> i call it like i see it. when i agree with republicans, i support them. when i disagree, as you know,ly call them out. my focus today as it always has been is on south carolina and serving the low country no matter what. >> neil: in south carolina, the polls show nikki haley emerging as sort of like a default number 2 tied with ron desantis. she's doing the same in some other states. where are you with her and standing by her? >> well, i love nikki haley. i was on your show the day of the first republican debate where i stated that she should not be underestimated when it comes to running for. and to the debates. she's outshined every single person on that stage and she will continue to do so. right now donald trump is leading in every poll. he has 53% of support in south carolina and higher in other states. it's up to the voters to decide who their nominee will be. >> neil: because donald trump is not a fan of hers. he's criticized her fairly often. how would you reckoncile that? >> if we want to win in 2024, we have to unite no matter who the nominee is. we have to come together as a party. it's not just republicans that we have to win over. we have to win over independents and centrists all over the country. we have to win over suburban moms. i know this because of the district i represent. we have 40% of our voters are independent voters. they don't lean republican or democrat. they're in the middle. those are the folks that will be the majority makers, they're the ones that decide who the president is. so i want to make sure that we expand our party and welcome home any of those independents and centrists that are not a fan of joe biden anymore or don't want to vote for a democratic nominee. i want to give them a reason to vote for our party and our nominee next year. >> neil: tim scott is not doing well. there's a push right now maybe because of what former vice president mike pence did, for those that are not polling well to get out now. do you support that? >> it's up to the candidates to decide what they want to do. i argue a very crowded field makes it much more difficult to have a primary that is worth while. we'll see if they drop out. i see tom scott every sunday at church. he's a good man and run hard so far. as you mentioned, the numbers are not there. >> neil: is that way to say consider dropping out? >> i'll probably see him sunday. we're friends. like i'm friends with nicky. i love them both. >> neil: a nice way of answering that. very good seeing you. >> always, neil. >> neil: thanks very much for that. meantime, you probably are wondering what the governors of texas and oklahoma are doing in israel right now. we thought we'd ask them. they're coming up. i hope you all like potatoes... these are fresh from my garden. what? is your... garden in idaho? no, it's in my backyard. ahhhh! always look for the grown in idaho seal. ah mornings! cough? congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. lowe's knows black friday savings should be more than just one day. that's why we're giving you black friday deals every day. where you can find the best value all november long. shop now and save big, in-store or online. >> neil: breaking now, explosions over gaza. this of course comes with a backdrop with secretary blinken on way to israel right now. he's looking for a pause so americans and other nationals that want out can get out. alex hogan is in israel, southern israel with more. alex? >> hi, neil. we've seen this ramped up activity in the last 30 minutes. you can see the flares that the israeli forces are senting on the sky line behind me. about eight miles from where i'm standing. this is as far as we can go before this area is blocked off. we're seeing these target flares are being dropped. when they almost reach the ground, we're seeing these waves of artillery strike. we've seen americans there on the ground in gaza. the white house says as many as 74 americans have been able to get out just in the last day or so. there's still as many as 400 americans that could be there. the white house says that the qatari government has helped facilitate some of these americans to leave and that morn should be able to get out in the coming days. >> we expect that to continue the next coming days. this has been a very deliberate effort on our part. we're working with other countries to make sure that we can get passage out for our citizens. >> the pressure is on with conditions worsening there on the ground. according to the u.n., 1.4 million people in gaza are displaced and 700,000 are staying in shelters run by the u.n. those shelters are at four times the typical capacity. we also are learning about the hospitals in gaza, the world health organization says a third of the hospitals there is not functioning at this point. those that are functioning are running out of fuel. now back here in israel, there's major protests in tel aviv. these are protests for the families of the 240 hostages that were taken. many families demanding more account ability, trying to put more pressure on the government saying there's not enough being done. many of the people that were in those protests were residents from the far-kibbutz, which is a kibbutz that have about five miles behind me. this is all cleared for people to be safe. i've talked with one man that lived in that kibbutz. he stayed in his shelter for 22 hours with his wife and his little daughter. it was her second birthday. when he came out to see what was left of his little town, his best friends, one of the security guards there, had been killed. his little brother, taken hostage. he's one of those families demanding accountability. we're continuing to see the flares. this comes after quite the big statement from the idf saying there's no chance of a cease fire. that they have gaza completely surrounded. neil? >> neil: be safe in the middle of that, alex. alex hogan. david freedman, the former u.s. ambassador do israel. we don't know what to make of the flares and explosions, ambassador. they come at a time when in many the world and no less the president of the united states haas urged a pause in this type of activity namely to get foreign nationals, others out of gaza. what do you make of this? >> look, you know, i think so many folks know the difference between a pause and a cease fire. it's semantics. means the same thing. the united states is against a cease fire but in favor of a pause. the bottom line is for the first time, i think, in 15 years, israel finally has hamas contained. they have them where they want them. they're beginning to surround them. they're in a position to eradicate these terrorists that i think we've all heard on the news over the last few days, they don't want to stop. they will never give up until they destroy israel and killerry you in israel. so i think there are ways to get people out of harm's way without in any way impairing israel's ability to 0rate. i hope that's the way we proceed. >> neil: are you frustrated to that extent, ambassador, when people do lecture you on what you should or shouldn't do and that you're between a rock and a hard place deciding it's very important that we not ease it on hamas. you're right. it's more than just semantics between a pause and a cease fire. activity ceases for a little bit at least.how do you handle that? >> i think you have to recognize what the objectives are, who the enemy is and what they will do to take advantage. there won't be new humanitarian relief. what will happen is, hamas will re-consolidate, they'll rearm, they'll steal all the fuel that they can steal that is let in to the strip, which i hope we're not letting any fuel in to the gaza strip. i know there's been a lot of pressure from america to do that. look, you know, when this started, this was a war. everybody recognized it was a war. everybody told israel to win the war. it's in the american interest, it's in the interest of all of israel's neighbors, it's in the interest of the gulf countries. they're all adverse to hamas. just let israel win the war. >> neil: apparently they're not all adverse to hamas. not that this is important to you for should it be, that you could be losing the p.r. war to hamas on this. when they garner the international sympathy and not israel for what you went through about a month ago. >> israel loses the p.r. war every time. it's unwinnable. you know, there's only 15 million jews in the world,ive million jews in israel a billion muslims and a half a billion people that just don't like jews. so you can shout from the rooftops what's going on. we're going to lose the p.r. war because there a lot of anti-semitism in the world. we can't let that influence israel's prosecution of this war. if hamas is not obliterated, the next day people can't sleep knowing there won't be an attack on their communities, their doors won't be pushed down, their families won't be -- you can't live like that. >> neil: final point. the royal of qatar to get americans out of gaza. they played an interesting sort of negotiating role here. seemed like an odd country. i'm curious what you make of that right now. this was brought up by peter doocy at the white house, the odd overtures to qatar. this is from earlier today. >> president biden said i want to thank our partners in the region and particularly qatar. the leader of hamas lives in qatar. so why is president biden thanking them for anything? >> oh, jeez, peter. take a step back and look at this. >> but their a terrorist group that kill americans and kidnapped americans within the last month. >> peter, qatar has been helpful in getting those americans out. i'm sure you'd agree with me and everybody here in your network would agree that getting american hostages out is a good thing. qatar was a key player in that regard. >> neil: real quickly, ambassador, should we be grateful to qatar? >> grateful is the wrong word. i understand. there's few countries that have relationships with hamas. we have 242 hostages living under the most vile of circumstances. we have to knock on every door. if they can help, take their help and let's be grateful. we need their help. nobody else can talk to hamas. long-term, why are they doing this? that's for another day. let's try to save the hostages right now. >> neil: all right. thank you very much, ambassador. we'll see where this goes. david freedman. some of the stuff on the left-hand side of your screen, the flares and explosions being seen now over gaza. let's go to the governors of texas is and oklahoma that are in tel aviv right now, greg abbott and governor stitt respectively. governors, why are you there? to you first, governor abbott. >> we're here to send a message. that is that the state of texas and oklahoma and the united states of america, we stand with israel. we're very concerned about misinformation across the globe, about what is happening on the ground here. listen, we just talked to victims in a hospital here in tel aviv that looked in the eye quite literally of evil, of their attackers trying to eliminate them because they're jewish. attackers that are so bad that they threw hand grenades in to medical tents. hand grenades in to ambulances. they care about one thing these terrorists do. they care about killing jewish people. that must end in the united states. we need a biden administration that will step up and provide the robust support that is needed to wipe hamas off the face of the map. >> neil: governor, this occurs with the backdrop where getting aid to israel might be stymied in the house. they have the israel first package that they want to make sure is paid for before they get it out there. how do you feel about that? >> i don't know -- we talked about spending $900 billion in our defense budget and a portion going to fight this pure evil, it's going to come to europe next, it's going to come to the u.s. i want oklahomans and texans and americans to understand basically there's 3,000 very organized terrorist military groups that entered in to their country and mowed women and children down. we just heard the stories. governor abbott and i are in the hospital right now with 23-year-old girls inside a bomb shelter as grenades were launched in on them. if that happened on u.s. soil, we would be fired up and we would absolutely go after these terrorist groups. so this is nonsense. this is pure evil. we need to fight this war. we need to ma