opinion? >> we continue to believe people who have left the area have a right to come home if they wish to do so, a right that should be upheld. >> i asked the other day when you are in asia, and then asked the european desk, and ask you, too. do you consider the occupation -- your allies, turks, occupation or something else. they said to me we believe -- all countries should be respented and protected but they don't say if there is -- if the occupation of cyprus is an occupation. >> we believe -- we support a u.n. facilitated effort to unify. >> occupation, you know that. >> we think it needs to be resolved through u.n. facilitated efforts to reunify the island. >> thank you. i have two questions. two plus two ministerial meeting in india, after that indian foreign ministry stated of bangladesh for the indian, and raised concern over rising extremism with third country intervention. what will be for india as well as for usa. >> i don't have any comment. >> the second one, while u.s. and calling for dialogue for parties ignoring street violence between a blockade, can the u.s. guarantee the end of such violence, same group in bangladesh? >> consistently said we believe elections in bangladesh should be free, fair and open and free of violence. >> the biden administration has been very clear about the china strategy and stabilize communication. can you speak about the u.s. china relationship in the longer term? >> short-term project, which we started in june, really, when secretary blinken traveled to beijing, was to reestablish the ability to have conversations. but that was not a goal in itself. it was a goal so we could, number one, manage big geo strategic issues and make sure when conflicts do arise we can talk to each other and make sure that we are both avoid miscalculation, but also progress on bilateral issues. you saw the secretary and meetings here in jakarta, and press on several tangible issues, making progress on fentanyl is one, stop the precan your tore chemicals that have killed millions and millions in america, reestablishing military to military ties, and that exact type of bilateral issue that we are looking to make progress on, as well as an ability to work together to reduce tensions on larger strategic global issues. >> i have a question on russia, two questions. first, if there are any contacts between the u.s. delegation to apec and the russian delegation, and another question, when the recent interview by russian deputy foreign ministry who said while russia doesn't intend to push relations between washington and moscow into a peace, it does not rule out that washington can either lower diplomatic level or break the relations. >> i don't understand, what do you mean lower the -- what do you mean lower the diplomatic level. >> maybe pull out ambassador or -- >> i don't want to speak to that. >> sandra: so the briefing will continue there at the state department with matt miller. as we continue to update on the ground operations, obviously the hostage situation that is playing out, and this briefing is happening while we are keeping an eye on the live event in washington, the crowd seems to get bigger and bigger by the minute as there are speakers stepping up to address this massive crowd as we speak. >> john: i would love to see a higher angle shot to know how far back that goes. back to 7th street or beyond that, that's the national gallery there on the right-hand side of your screen. this looks like a fairly wide angle lens, which sometimes can give you a skewed perspective on how many people are there. love to see something higher. we'll get an estimation from the park police of how many people were there later on. the rally continues. it's loud, raucous, it's dynamic. we'll keep an eye on all the news across the street from where we are. >> sandra: we will indeed. a live look at the national mall in washington where a sea of people have been gathering to show solidarity of israel. tens of thousands, waving israel's flag, demanding release of 240 hostages still held captive by hamas. >> john: plus awaiting an update from the pentagon how the u.s. is fending off iranian proxies, we learn of a new attempted attack. >> sandra: just steps away from the march in washington, powerful testimony on capitol hill. jewish leaders, advocates and students painting a grim picture how college campuses have emerged as hot beds of hate. >> academia has turned its back on us. >> students are being assaulted, threatened. we live with it. we know it, and we didn't think it was going to happen here. >> john: all right, with all of that going on, on capitol hill, let's go back to the national mall where our griff jenkins is. griff, it looks like a massive turnout. i was saying a moment ago, we don't really have any kind of aerial perspective on how far back the crowd goes. how big would you say it is? >> john, it would for sure be in the tens of thousands, if not upwards of 100,000, and you know, i'm standing literally in front of the smithsonian, that's 11th or 12th street and packed all the way through to the 3rd street stage where mark meredith and the speakers have been. you mentioned the students, i've asked students here, i saw a group of a dozen or so from virginia tech, said hey, any of guys experience antisemitism, and vivian said i did, i had a jewish star on my computer and another student a few weeks ago shortly after the attack happened came up to me, leaned over and said free palestinian, shame on you. she never knew her, she didn't know her name, they never interated, just students at the same university and part of the stories we are hearing here. i need to be able to tell my children i did not stay silent, what's your name? >> shawnee. >> i see your sign. what is it like being here today and what do you want the world to know? >> we are standing with them in israel, we are here for you, stay strong, bring the hostages home, please, bring them back home. >> what is the reaction to the amount of antisemitism particularly on college campuses. i've talked to students that have stories that are unthinkable. >> it's heartbreaking to see what's going on throughout the united states. i fear for my nieces and nephews in college and the antisemitism that is going. all we want is peace. that's all we are looking for. bring the hostages home. >> so john, you get a feel what it's like out here, and i can give you one last look, that's the monument in the disance and still thousands continue to come down here to the mall to be a part of something they know is historic. john, back to you. >> john: that is an enormous crowd, no question about that. thank you. >> sandra: a lot of enthusiasm there, back in a moment. but first, stop in at the pentagon, the briefing is underway now, sabrina has just started taking questions. we'll listen for a bit. >> what has the secretary communicated as far as what would be basically a good deliverable to help restart this relationship? >> as you mentioned, the president is leading the summit, which is starting tomorrow, and so i don't want to get ahead of anything that the president might announce or any outcomes from that summit. we have stressed from the very beginning that we believe mill to mill cooperation, coordination, communication is important. right now the prc does not have a national defense, or minister of defense and so at the 8:00 a.m. plus the secretary is at and starting tomorrow, we don't have any indication that there will be a meeting happening between the secretary and his nondesignated prc counterpart yet. so there are no plans for the sent to sit down with anyone at this point. but again, i would let the president's meeting that's happening tomorrow, i don't want to get ahead of that. >> one last. >> sandra: we are going to continue listening to the pentagon and the briefing happening there, we'll get back to it. first, head back to washington at the rally, chuck schumer is now speaking, talking about meeting with the families of hostages. listen here. >> senators wept and cried for a whole hour. the sadness was so great, the evil so horrible. we will continue fighting for the release of all hostages 'til they return to safety. [cheering] let them go, let them go, let them go, bring them home, bring them home, bring them home. like so many jewish people, the horrors of october 7th reminded me of what happened to my ancestors in western ukraine when the nazis invaded. so the minute i heard of what happened in january 7th, i knew i had to go to israel. as the first ranking jewish senate majority leader, in fact, the highest ranking jewish elected official in american history [cheering] i not only had a desire to go to israel, i felt a special obligation to go. when i got off the plane, israel was still shaken from what happened. i said to the israeli people, israel, we in america have your back. [cheering] america feels your pain. we ache with you. we stand with you. and we will not rest until you get all the assistance you need. we will not rest until you get the assistance you need. my friends, in conclusion, hamas's goal was to scare us. those perpetrating the poison of antisemitism and bigotry around the world are trying to scare us. but we will not allow history to slide back to the days of the holocaust when jews were targeted and murdered and butchered. instead, the jewish people will be resilient and today all of you here showing we will not hide in the face of adversity in america and in israel. [cheering] the people israel here in america and in israel, the jewish people will live forever. [cheering] >> it is so good to be with you all, what an extraordinary crowd, and it was organized in just a few days, it's amazing, amazing. there are few issues in washington that could so easily bring together leaders of both parties and both chambers, but the survival of the state of israel and her people unites us together and unites all americans, all americans. let me be very clear. the united states stands unequivocally with our neighbor, friend, ally israel. they are neighbors in a global sense, that's right. last week a bipartisan group of members stood in solidarity on the steps of the house to mourn the loss of lives in the october 7th attack and agree with the families of israeli hostages that are still being held in gaza. we heard heartbreaking and tragic accounts of their kidnappings and of course as you know, many of those families have not received an update on their well-being since that day. as a parent myself, i can begin to comprehend their despair, all of us feel that way. this morning we watched the horrific film that was produced by hamas from their own cameras as they committed the assault. it's unspeakable. the auditorium was full of republicans and democrats in the house and they wept as we watched the film together. most could not sit through it. israeli hostages were kidnapped from their homes by terrorists for being jewish and living in israel. as prime minister benjamin netanyahu says so well, this is a fight between good and evil, between light and darkness, between civilization and barbarism. the calls for a ceasefire are outrageous. [cheering] [crowd chanting no ceasefire] >> we stand with you in that. hamas terrorists waged the bloodiest assault on jewish lives since the holocaust. and hundreds of hostages, many americans, still stuck inside gaza. israel will cease their counteroffensive when hamas is not against the jewish state. but the rhetoric is not just confined to gaza as you know. war in israel has awakened antisemitism towards jewish people here in the united states and the globe. halls of congress to college campuses, the rise of antisemitism must be stopped. we've heard many echo of from the river to the sea and i'm convinced a lot of the college students engaging in the protests do not understand it's a call for the extermination of israel. it is happening daily in the country and unacceptable for jewish americans to feel unsafe at home. unacceptable to face violence, vandalism and threats. unacceptable for universities to allow hamas apolo gy to harass jewish students on campus. it's unacceptable for credence for the jewish rhetoric. we can and must do more to stand with our great ally and friend, and hope the you state stands proudly with israel and the jewish people forever, forever. [cheering] thank you for allowing us to be a part of this. god bless you. >> leader schumer, speaker johnson, senator ernst, all those assembled, shalom. what an honor and a blessing to stand with you in solidarity during this very difficult moment for the jewish people, and for israel. hamas brutally attacked israel on october 7th because hamas wants to wipe israel off the face of the earth. so, let me be clear. we will never let that happen. [cheering] congress will continue to support in a bipartisan way the state of israel and israel's unequivocal right to exist as a jewish and democratic state, always and forever. always and forever. always and forever. from the very beginning of this conflict, president joe biden has strongly supported the state of israel. and i strongly support president biden's supplemental funding request for israel, for ukraine, and for humanitarian assistance. we must also decisively address the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now. an attack on any of us is an attack on all of us. and we are going to do everything possible to stop the antisemitic attacks against our jewish brothers and sisters. the united states and israel have a special relationship. our commitment to israel's security is iron clad. and let me be clear. israel has an absolute right to defend itself against hamas terror. l there's a question on the minds of many of us. where do we go from here. we must stand with israel in its effort to defeat hamas and make sure this brutal terrorist regime can never rise again. [cheering] we must make sure that every single hostage is returned home safely. and then we must stand together to secure a just and lasting peace between israel and the palestinian people. the special relationship between the united states and israel is yes, rooted in our shared values and our shared strategic interests. but the moral case for israel is anchored in the painful history of the jewish people. for centuries jews have been persecuted, brutalized by antisemitism and violently thrown out of country after country. the jewish people were violently expelled from jerusalem by the roman empire. the jewish people were violently expelled from alexandria. the people were violently expelled from france. jewish people were violently expelled from england. violently expelled from spain. jewish people were violently expelled from switzerland. jewish people were violently expelled from portugal. the jewish people were violently expelled from countries all throughout europe. the jewish people were violently expelled from the middle east. the jewish people were systematically murdered by the nazi regime. the jewish people were violently attacked by hamas on october 7th resulting in the largest loss of jewish life in a single day since the holocaust, so we are here, more than 100,000 people strong, to unequivocally declare never again. never again. never again. the state of israel must always exist as a safe haven for the jewish people. and so we stand together with the jewish community in israel, we stand together with the jewish community in america. we stand together with the jewish community all throughout the world. we stand together in the effort to crush antisemitism. we stand together in the effort to crush anti-jewish hate. we stand together in the effort to bring home the hostages. we stand together in the effort to make sure that america will always be a safe space for the jewish community in every single zip code. god bless the hostages, god bless israel, god bless the united states of america. >> united states of america, do you stand with israel? [cheering] folks, i am here today as a long time friend and staunch supporter of our greatest partner in the middle east, israel. in december 2014, before i was even sworn in to the united states senate, i visited kibbutz naroz in southern israel by the gaza border. one of the kibbutz that was hit the hardest by hamas on october 7th. israel and her people hold a very special place in my heart. i want to thank each and every one of you for being here to show your unwavering support for our jewish brothers and sisters. what iran-backed hamas perpetrated on october 7th was pure evil and those monsters deserve nothing short of complete and total destruction. [cheering] three days after the heinous terror attacks i was on the ground in israel meeting with american and israeli families and sitting across the table from prime minister benjamin netanyahu as well as opposition leader. we heard, we heard from a father who rushed over from the funeral of his son's 18-year-old best friend who had been just brutally murdered at the hands of hamas. we spoke with the family of an 80-year-old father of five, a peace activist, who drove palestinian children to doctor's appointments, who was kidnapped from his home during the invasion. with tears in their eyes his family recounted the inhumanity of the attack, the destruction of their home, and ultimately the death of their brother while he was valiantly defending their home and family. in every meeting the message was abundantly clear. do not let the united states cower when the world starts to. stand steadfastly in your solidarity. [cheering] so we are here today as republicans and as democrats to assure you we will not shrink back and shudder in fear as we will not shudder in fear as too many around the world already have. we will not sit quiet. [cheering] as antisemitism is being promulgated in classrooms and campuses around the country. the brutal reality of hamas cannot be diminished. they murder babies, they rape women, they abuse the elderly, they killed 30 of our fellow americans, hundreds of our israeli friends, and are currently right now holding 200 innocent men, women, and children hostage. how any one in america could sympathize with these terrorists is truly unfathomable. [cheering] friends, there should not be a shred of antisemitism in our country. not now, not ever. not only today, but in the coming weeks and months as israel fights to secure their most basic human right, the right to life, the united states must remain resolute. in the senate we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with all of you. our jewish friends in israel, the united states, and around the world. may god be with those who have lost a loved one, those who are waiting on the phone for an update about a son or daughter, those who are facing unprecedented harassment and hostility, and those whose family members bravely serving in the middle east. and may god bless israel. god bless israel. as she rightly defends herself against hamas's brutal attacks, israel, the united states will always have your back. [cheering] >> we stand -- >> sandra: quite an assembly of speakers there, new speaker of the house, chuck schumer there, joni ernst, a remarkable show of support to a massive and growing crowd in washington, john. >> john: it's a scene you don't see very often in today's washington, four lawmakers from different parties, both sides of the aisle, holding hands in solidarity for israel there. we'll continue to watch this march on israel, this huge crowd that has gathered on the mall. there are more activities to take place in the coming moments and if more news is made, we will bring it to you immediately. speaking of news, let's good over to the pentagon, sabrina has been briefing, a short time ago she announced that an independent intelligence assessment conducted by the united states has found that hamas is indeed using hospitals for military purposes. she was asked how the u.s. knows, she would not go into the details, only to say independent u.s. assessment has confirmed what israel was saying. and asked a moment ago about iranian proxy groups. listen to where this is going now. >> as a whole, made a decision that any airstrikes or other form of retaliation against attacks on u.s. forces will be in syria instead of iraq and i also just wanted to follow up on my colleague's question, what is the end game here? there's a cycle of attack and then reprisal and more attacks. how does this end? >> thanks, jeff. in terms of why -- i think your question is sort of what karla had asked earlier why we are selecting targets in syria. look, we feel confident about the targets we select, the ability to degrade further capabilities of these irgc-backed groups. i'm not going to get into, you know, why we pick certain places over another. the attacks right now on our forces are basically split pretty evenly between iraq and syria, and so we feel confident in our targeting of the places we were able to hit within eastern syria. and on your, how does this end, i mean -- again, we want to see these attacks stop. how these end is really up to how the irgc affiliated backed groups choose to conduct themselves. again, we want to see these attacks stop on our forces in iraq and syria. so, we will always, and continue to protect our troops in the region. we will make the decision to decide when we choose to respond, but how this ends is when these attacks stop. and last question on the phones, and then back in the room. heather, usni. >> thank you so much. not to sound flippant but you say the war has not expanded past israel and hamas but i wonder what the dod definition of expansion is, seeing the attacks in syria and iraq against u.s. troops that only started after the hamas attack in israel. >> yeah, thanks, heather. so, again, the attack, the brutal terrorist attack that happened in israel was on october 7th. these attacks started happening on october 17th. again, we have not seen the conflict that is happening within israel, within gaza, expand out to the region. and you are seeing, or that's why we have said and continue to emphasize from this podium here that we have surged assets to the region. when we announced we announced we have put f-16s into the region, also ford carrier strike group, and the ike, that is to send a clear message of deterrence to any actor, state or nonstate actor to, if they seek to take advantage of the conflict, to really think about that again. and i'll emphasize. we are seeing the conflict contained to gaza, and so that is what we want to see, and we don't want to see this expand beyond that. back in the room. yes, in the back. >> thank you for taking my question. have you seen any indication of progress by iran in enriching uranium? >> i don't have any updates on that specifically. did i see anyone else -- ok, thanks, everyone. have a good afternoon. >> john: deputy press secretary at the pentagon, and the big news, sandra, and this was echoed by john kirby aboard air force one as they are winging their way to san francisco, an independent u.s. intelligence assessment has confirmed that hamas is indeed using hospitals to store weapons and is using patients there as shields. so that's brand-new. sabrina singh was questioned as to how the u.s. knows that, she would not say, only to say we don't have any boots on the ground in gaza. so, that will remain an open question. >> sandra: and by the way, the banner on the bottom of the screen is the update and breaking news that fox news can now confirm via the pentagon that the number is 55, 55 attacks now on u.s. troops in the middle east since october 17th, which continues to build the pressure on this administration for their -- for the response, and will there be further and greater response as that number grows, john. >> john: a lot of developments to talk about. let's bring in florida congressman michael waltz, a member of the house armed services foreign affairs and intel communities. thank you for hanging with us through the briefing. we appreciate it. i wanted to ask you about this letter that was sent to president biden by some 400 political appointees and government staffers across 40 government agencies. it was viewed by the "new york times," it's highly critical of president biden's israel policy, it says in part, we call on president biden to urgently demand a ceasefire and to call for deescalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the israeli hostages and arbitrarilily detakened palestinians. restoration of water, fuel, and obviously basic services and humanitarian aid to the gaza strip. pressure in the administration is building on this president. do you expect that he will remain resilient in the face of it or cave? >> well, first, john, i want to give credit where credit's due and to see the bipartisan republican and democrat support for israel at the israel rally out in washington, d.c., was reassuring but yeah, this letter, 400 of biden's political appointees calling for a ceasefire and criticizing him, you know, i could tell you under the trump administration, everybody knew who the commander in chief was. and i guess we have the prisoners running the prison here and what's so disturbing, we know the israelis are telling us we have analytics that show that russian and chinese actors are perpetuating this misinformation about what's going on under gaza. and those same people seem obsessed about it in 2016 and the election, but i guess they are just believing their own misinformation at this point. we know, of course, hamas is using human shields, of course they are using hospitals. there are multiple multitudes of video and photos from underneath schools, mosques and hospitals, which is a war crime in and of itself. so, it is phenomenally disturbing to me that the people charged with our foreign policy are buying into russian and chinese misinformation and then pressuring their own commander in chief who appointed them to go down this disastrous path of a ceasefire. >> john: congressman, point taken about the trump administration, nobody questioned who was in charge. however, there were plenty of people who were embedded in the agencies and departments who were dishing dissention about the president's policies at every opportunity they possibly could have. i -- >> that's why we call it the deep state and i mean, truly we need to -- we need to clean house there and at the end of the day, the commander in chief and the executive branch is the only one elected, everybody else is appointed and serves at his pleasure or as a civil servant. they didn't put their name on the ballot. if they want to dictate policy, then go run for office. >> john: i wanted to ask you about this independent assessment articulated by john kirby aboard air force one and sabrina is he pentagon, that u.s. intelligence has confirmed and downgraded top secret intelligence that hamas is indeed using these hospitals for military purposes and is intentionally using people who work in the hospitals or people who are patients there as human shields. what are you saying? >> well, i'm glad the administration is doing this. this is the war of ideas and counter hamas, chinese and russia's, and iran's propaganda that we need to do to show that evidence. number one, and then number two, of course, john, anybody who has dealt with the taliban, al-qaeda, hamas, knows the evil that's at play here. we know and the israelis are telling us and showing us that hamas is shooting people in the humanitarian corridors, they are forcing people to stay in harm's way, they are forcing people to stay in the hospital. the israelis told us they offered a field hospital, move the patients out and we'll help take care of them. hamas is forcing them to stay in al-shifa because they know at the end of the day they care more about the propaganda value than they do their own people's lives. what we need to be talking about, what we should hear from the president, how do we liberate the palestinian people from hamas. not the other way around. >> john: yeah, ok, there would seem to be a question if you believed the u.s. intelligence that hamas is using these hospitals for military purposes. the bigger question is, other than evacuating all of the patients and i don't know logistically how you do that, and then levelling the place, what do you do about it? >> well, this is -- and this is -- i had to do this in afghanistan. you have to go in surgically and take these people out as best you can. i'll point out to the protestors on the college campuses, there is a difference between what hamas did and targeting and torturing, intentionally killing civilians than civilians killed as collateral damage hamas started. idf is in a horrible situation and the terrorists know it, that's why they do it. >> john: i would hazard a guess if you attacked a hospital that had civilians in it to get to hamas, you would be in a heap of international condemnation. we'll see what they can do. very difficult nut to crack, no question. congressman, good to catch up with you. thanks for joining us. thanks for hanging with us again. >> sandra: john, back to washington, where the march for israel is ongoing, actress debra messing has taken to the microphone there. the plan was, according to the agenda, the actress would be meeting with mothers of two different hostages. this is a video now playing of the various hostages. there is also a cousin of six of the hostages that is joining her there. john, obviously very emotional moment for all those who have shown up in droves to show their support for israel. >> john: and yet at the same time, as we see emotional videos and we see again the world reminded, that more than 200 people are being held hostage by hamas, the people are tearing down the posters across the country. let's listen for a second. >> it has been 38 days since the 240 hostages were taken. mothers, brothers, babies, grandmothers, we cannot allow the world to move on. we must not rest until these families are made whole. we have a number of them here with us today. in solidarity with them, i would like to ask you to hold up your placards, their faces, for a moment of silence. thank you. i now have the honor introducing three family members of hostages. orna nutra, alanna shikert, and ms. goldberg. may their courage and strength inspire us all. >> good afternoon. my name is orna nutra, i'm omar's mom. omar, born one month after 9/11, celebrated his 22nd birthday only a few weeks ago captive by hamas. omar is a warm optimistic and people-loving person. everywhere he goes he immediately makes new friends. he is this big guy, 6'2", always with a smile on his face. in some ways omar grew up like any other kid on long island. he is truly a member of this wonderful jewish community. he's crazy about sports, any sports, but he especially loves basketball. he was always a leader, whether the captain of his high school, on long island, or the regional president of his youth group, usy, he is also a dual citizen of both the united states and israel. and was raised with a love and a passion for both of his homelands. so naturally after graduating high school he decided to take a gap year in israel to connect with his roots. and the closer he grew to his new israeli friends, the more he reflected on his own identity. as a did he -- descendant of holocaust survivors on both sides, he knew the importance of israel. being the person he is, he made the decision to join his new friends and serve in the idf and protect the country. [cheering] he was drafted as a lone soldier in the armor corps. he was protecting people when he was taken by hamas. and since then our lives have turned upside down. from a place of deep pain we hold strong for you, omer. we speak in your name tirelessly. we hope and pray and we act and i must believe that our prayers and actions have power. omer, you are not just my beloved son, you touch so many in deep and profound ways. [cheering] [crowd chanting bring them home] your friends, their parents, whole communities, both here and around the world are praying and working for your safe return. and to everyone gathered here today, i want to tell you that there is power in speaking omer's name. posting his picture, and keeping his story in the public eye, calling your representatives every single day. there is power in showing him the same love and compassion he has spent his young life showing everyone he meets. we all must use the power that we have to help bring omer and all of the hostages home now. [crowd chanting bring them home] thank you. >> my name is alanna, i'm here to tell you about love. on october 7th, my cousin, her husband, their 3-year-old twins, my cousin, her 5-year-old daughter, all six of them were brutally kidnapped from kibbutz meoz. the kibbutz was ravaged by hamas, they hid in their bomb shelter for hours until it filled with smoke and they could not hide any longer. at which point, she sent a haunting voice note to her family group chat, we are not going to make it out of this, we love you. the pain i have experienced since they were taken has been so sharp it follows my every breath. i wake up each morning to remember this truth. my family is being held hostage by terrorists. i am here with you because i love my family and i promised i would scream to the ends of the earth for them. this unwavering love of family is the heart of what it means to be jewish, and it is more importantly the heart of what it means to be human. but for too many in the west, the suffering of hostage families like mine has become a footnote. collateral damage in service of some perceived higher universal truth. for too many it feels like to care about one family, to love one child, is to diminish the suffering of another. but the simple human truth is that you don't have to choose. you can uphold the suffering of palestinian families and israeli families like mine. [cheering] you can call for peace and the immediate return of the innocent men, women, and children who were violently taken from us. it doesn't need to be political to share in my grief or in the anguish that the israeli people are feeling. to demand the release of the hostages is not an act of politics nor is it a cry for war. it is an act of love and a cry for humanity and love is the only thing that can repair our shattered hearts and bring us back together in the name of peace. thank you. [cheering] [crowd chanting bring them home] >> my name is rachel and i am the mother of herch goldberg poland, a wounded civilian american israeli kidnapped from the music festival on october 7th. right now we -- how we are living is hard to describe to you. we hostage families have lived the last 39 days in slow motion torment. for 38 nights, none of us have slept the real sleep of the before. we all have third degree burns on our souls. our hearts are bruised and seeping with misery. but the real souls suffering are those of the hostages. and they want to ask everyone in the world, all the screamers, the indifferent, the experts, the academics, the knowledgeable, the passives, the perfectly outraged, the righteous, the indignant, haters, leaders, lovers, the every single one of us why, why is the world accepting that 240 human beings from almost 30 countries have been stolen and buried alive. these children of god range in age from nine months to 87 years. they are christians, muslims, jews, buddists, and hindu. why are they left underground in the dirt? abigail is three years old. she watched her parents get murdered in front of her and was then kidnapped and she would like me to ask the world why are you letting her stay in the dark in her trauma, buried in the earth's crust? and joshua molel, tanzanian african graduate student studying agribusiness would like for me to ask you why somehow his life actually doesn't matter. the world must prepare what we will say to them. there was a christian german who hid jews during the holocaust and he was asked why he did such a heroic and dangerous act. his answer was simple. at least i will know when i die and stand before god he will not ask me what he asked cain in the bible. where were you when your brother's blood cried out from the ground. what the world needs to start thinking about today is what will your excuse be? [cheering] bring them home now. bring them home now. [crowd chanting bring them home now] ♪♪ >> please welcome the co-chairs of the bipartisan congressional caucus to combat antisemitism, senator jackie rosen, james langeford, chris smith, and kathy manning. >> please join us now as we recite a prayer for the hostages. god of mercy and compassion, we pray, we plead that you bless, protect and guard those of your people israel and of your people from all faiths and all nations, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, soldiers, civilians, adults, youth and babies, the captured and the missing who have been cruelly and heartlessly torn from their homes and carried off. >> may god have compassion on them and bring them out from darkness in the shadow of death. may god break their bonds, deliver them from their distress and bring them swiftly back to their families embrace. as we read in the words of the pro pro pro prophet jeremiah, they will return from the land of the enemy. >> and so we pray before you, oh god of redemption, fulfill speedily the worlds of genesis "here i am with you, i will watch over you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. indeed i will not leave you until i have done what i have said to you." >> may the holy one do all that must be done so that relief, rescue and long life may be the lot of everyone of the civilians and the soldiers who have been taken captive. we pray in the words of the 130th psalm -- out of the depths have we called you oh lord, oh lord hear our voices. be atentative to our supplications and let us say together, amen. [applause] >> sandra: that was the anti-semitism task force there, a bipartisan group cracking down on that -- a major surge in this country. up over 300% just from the same time last year in this country. what a show of support, john, to look at the crowds in washington. >> john: very moving statements as well from the families of the hostages that are being held in israel. alana, the cousin of six said, you can abhor the suffering of the palestinian people and abhor the suffering of families like mine. one of the big questions what is next in this conflict. big news from the white house and the pentagon today. john kirby starting it aboard air force one saying i can confirm for you that we have information that hamas and palestinian islamic jihad used some hospitals in the gaza strip including al shifa and tunnels under them to conceal and support their military operations and to hold hostages. so that buttresses the argument that israel has been making a couple weeks now that hamas has been using the hospitals as a headquarters and for other military operations. you don't know what israel will do about it, but certainly they're heading in the direction that they have to go after the hospitals. >> there's a long list of those yet to speak there, including college students that have experienced anti-semitism on college campuses. some have joined us here saying they don't feel safe their voices will be heard. a big thanks to everybody joining us. thanks for joining us on "america reports." i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. we'll see you tomorrow. "the story" with martha starts right now. martha? >> martha: thanks very much. good afternoon, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. right now on "the stor