continuing our coverage of breaking news of ongoing explosions in gaza. nbc's raf sanchez is reporting from ashdot israel, what do we know at this hour? >> reporter: chris, tonight is feeling different from other nights. we are hearing intensified bombing in gaza, 10 miles south of where we are. i'm looking over my shoulder because just a moment ago we were seeing israeli iron dome missile interceptors in the sky, a sign of rocket fire coming, but israel's chief military spokesman is confirming that an intensified bombing campaign of gaza is underway three weeks after the october 7th hamas terrorist attack. he also says israel is expanding its ground operations inside of gaza. that's not a sign that they have launched. chris, you may be able to see over my shoulder here, this is one of these iron dome interceptors, and if you bear with us one second, you're likely to see it explode. there you go. now, that is likely a sign that it just intercepted a palestinian rocket a little bit further south of where we are, possibly over the city of ashkelon. i want you to take a listen to what the israeli military spokesman had to say a little bit earlier. >> translator: the ground forces are expanding the ground operations. idf is operating at all dimensions in order to achieve the goals of the war. >> reporter: now, chris, we have seen the israeli military operating inside of gaza already. two nights ago, there was a large formation of tanks inside gaza. last night israeli forces landed by sea in southern gaza. they fought against hamas militants inside of the strip. it does not appear at this moment that this is the full scale ground offensive, it does seem this is a significant intensification of the israeli attack inside of gaza. we're just hearing more booms now. chris, another sign that something unusual is going on. the palestinians are reporting that all internet is down inside of gaza. palestinian humanitarian organizations are saying they cannot reach their staff there. we have been texting people in gaza. we have been seeing those messages not going through. and hamas is confirming that internet is down inside of gaza. they are accusing israeli of deliberately taking the internet down. they say israel wants to commit atrocities under the cover of darkness. we have asked the israeli military whether this is a deliberate policy to take the internet down. it could be a sign, potentially, that israeli forces are entering from the grounds. they want the internet out so that hamas fighters are unable to communicate with each other. the israeli military spokesperson repeated earlier israeli's warning to palestinian civilians to the north of gaza to head south saying it is not safe in gaza city for them. israeli says it is targeting palestinian-hamas terrorists in the north, but also across the gaza strip. >> i want to reiterate about the mobile networks being down. we have reported in the last hour, one of the major internet providers had confirmed that. now both of the palestinian internet providers are saying they have been cut off, there's absolutely no connectivity, and our richard engel is reporting. trying to reach our folks in gaza and was unable to make contact with them. i want to ask you about something that the idf spokesman said, that they are expanding the ground operations in all dimensions. what might that mean, all dimensions, raf? >> well, so, chris, last night, in the early morning hours, we saw israeli naval commandos, their equivalent of the navy seals coming in from the sea. they landed on a beach in the south of the gaza strip. they say that they attacked hamas naval facilities there. so those were boots on the ground, but they came from the sea. they didn't cross through that ruined border fence, through which hamas terrorists burst on october 7th. they landed by the sea. we have seen israeli tanks going into gaza, israeli infantry going into gaza. when they're expanding their operations they're going in bigger numbers. the other possibility, chris, is that they may be planning to move in and begin to start taking and holding territory inside of gaza ahead of the long awaited full-out ground offensive. we expect israel's military to establish a beachhead inside gaza, a kind of zone on the other side of the border fence where israeli troops can gather, knowing they have pushed hamas fighters away. it is possible that what we're seeing tonight is the beginning of the establishment of the secure zone into which israeli troops, vehicles, armor, will pour when the actual ground offensive comes. i should say, chris, we have not yet heard anything officially from prime minister benjamin netanyahu or from the israeli government because ultimately the israeli military answers to the democratically elected government of israel. it is a political decision, not a military decision to go ahead with the ground offensive. i can tell you, the government has been under a lot of pressure from the families of the 224 or so israeli hostages being held inside gaza to delay the ground offensive, to give more time for negotiations to try to get those people out. we have seen four hostages, all women released so far. that is a trickle compared to the 200 plus being held. it has given hope to the families that there may a channel to get their loved ones home or their message, which they have been repeating in protests daily outside of the israeli defense ministry is give time for negotiations and they fear that once the ground offensive begins, those negotiations will collapse, chris. >> let me ask you about the hostages in particular. i'm just looking at the notes as they're coming in by that briefing from the idf spokesperson, one of the things he said is they are targeting underground terrorist infrastructure, is that a reason for concern for the families of those hostages? >> it definitely could be. our working assumption has always been that hamas plans to hold these hostages who they see as incredibly valuable human bargaining chips in that vast network of tunnels underneath gaza city, underneath the rest of the gaza strip. admiral hagarai earlier on today said that israel has located a hamas command center underneath the el shifa hospital in gaza city. we have seen that facility just being overwhelmed, chris, by a tide of wounded and dying people. many of them civilians, many of them children. great, great concern. we should say nbc news has not been able to verify those israeli claims about a hamas command center underneath the hospital, but we do know -- >> hamas is denying it's being used, it's being used by armed groups? >> reporter: they are denying that there are tunnels underneath the hospital, and they say they are concerned that this may be a preamble for an israeli strike against that facility. but in terms of the hostages, there is a lot of fear that targeting of tunnels could be targeting the place that the hostages are being held. hamas has said that some 50 of the hostages have been killed so far. they're blaming that entirely on israeli air strikes. we have no way of verifying that. but each one of these chilling announcements from hamas, a new source of fear for the families waiting for news of their loved ones, chris. >> the difficulty of us verifying these claims on both sides just got a lot more difficult with the communications being cut off by those two internet providers or being cut off by israeli strikes involving the two major palestinian internet providers. raf sanchez, thank you. i want to bring in national security columnist at "the washington post," max boot. max, can we drill in for just a moment on the timing here? why would israel do what they're doing now? >> well, there was a report on israeli television that there had been talks ongoing to try to feed hostages and -- free hostages and those talks had broken down. clearly, israel, sooner or later was going to feel compelled to go in on the ground, and i think the surprise is they had not done it earlier. they have certainly been bombing the gaza strip ever since the horrific attack of october 7th. they have to lay a ground offensive in part because of u.s. pressure because the u.s. wanted to move defensive assets into the region, but i think israel at the end of the day understands that it's not going to be able to defeat hamas from the air. it is going to have to go in on the ground, however difficult and dangerous that may be, and i think what you're seeing now is the first stage of a renewed and expanded israeli offensive. >> does that mean that it's imminent. when you talk about first phase, how long are we talking? >> well, i don't have, you know, i don't have access to israeli planning, but i would assume, to me, this looks like the beginning of a major ground offensive, and that doesn't necessarily mean that the bulk of the ground forces are about to go in, but it certainly seems to me that they are preparing the ground for a much larger operation by ground forces. >> you just came out with a piece, max, saying that israel needs a political offensive, just as much as a military offensive. raf was just saying that ultimately, this will be a political decision, not a military one. we have not heard from prime minister netanyahu. would we expect that he would? and in making these decisions, if it is a political decision, how much is he listening to the military for what clearly will be a very difficult and challenging decision? >> well, there's certainly been reports and tensions between the prime minister and the military war cabinet, so that is of some concern. i think my biggest cause for concern right now is not about the purely military part of the operation. i think israel is going to face a difficult task, but they also have a very competent military. my concern, as i suggested in that column is about the political side of the equation. is israel going to have a peace offensive to go along with its military offensive, and so far, it has not done that. i think it's imperative for israel to show that it can offer palestinians a better life post hamas, than they have under hamas. it needs to be promised to lift the embargo on gaza once hamas is defeated. it also needs to bolster the palestinian authority, and to stop this land grab and creeping annexation in the west bank because the only conceivable long-term governing authority in the gaza strip other than israel itself, the only alternative is the palestinian authority in the long run, and the palestinian authority needs to be bolstered and strengthened so it can become a more capable administrator of both gaza and the west bank, which it's not at the moment, and so, you know, israel needs to reach out to more moderate palestinians as well as even while it's waging war on the most extreme faction, those in hamas. but i haven't really seen that outreach, and i just see the focus on military force, and i'm not sure that they've thought through fully, what happens the day after this offensive finally ends. >> and i can go back for just a minute to the hostage situation, obviously an absolute number is not clear, but the one we have been working with is 220, only four have been released. many of the 220, perhaps 10, are american citizens. is benjamin netanyahu willing to risk the possibility of losing hostages to go in? >> i think clearly the answer is yes because that's what the israeli public demands. they are not going to live indefinitely with the threat of hamas on their border because hamas has succeeding in seizing these hostages. that's a tragic reality but i suspect that the idf does not have much capability to mount effective hostage rescue operations because day just don't have very good intelligence, i think, about hamas. and clearly, hamas was dangling the prospect of more hostage releases to try to delay the israeli offensive, but i think israeli patience has been wearing out, and they know that there are terrible risks to the hostages but i think they also feel they're a terrible risk to the hostages if they remain in hamas hands, and ultimately there's a larger risk to israel itself if this terrorist organization, which inflicted the greatest one-day loss of life in israeli history, if this terrorist organization is allowed to continue governing and threatening israel from gaza. that is something that i think is intolerable to the vast majority of israelis. >> next, what about iran and hezbollah, how do you think they're watching what we're seeing unfold at 9:14 in israel? >> obviously they're watching it closely, and i think this would be a nightmare for israel if hezbollah and iran were to open a second front in the north while israeli forces are heavily engaged in the gaza strip. i think the idf is certainly aware of that contingency but it would be a very difficult war for israel because hezbollah has 150,000 rockets poised on israel's northern border, but i haven't seen any indication so far that hezbollah is, in fact, anxious to join in a full-blown war against israel. there have been attacks by hezbollah across the northern border. there's been some israeli retaliation. so far, it's been fairly low key, but that could obviously escalate out of control very quickly, because, you know, both sides may not be intending to launch a major war, but things could get out of control very rapidly with hezbollah threatening israel from the north, and so i think that -- i think both sides have an incentive to keep things quiet on the northern border because israel doesn't want with a two-front war. hezbollah remembers the massive damage israel inflicted in 2006 in the last war but we have seen plenty of examples in history of wars breaking out even when they weren't intended and this is a tinderbox situation. >> max boot from the "washington post," your deep expertise in the region is invaluable at a time like this where there is an escalation of israeli attacks on hamas. thank you so much, we appreciate you being with us. i want to bring in provash budden, deputy senior vice president for emergency programs at amer cares. thank you for joining us. gaza's two top internet providers say service has been cut off. the red crescent has lost contact with their teams. has americare's lost contact as well, and overall, what does this mean for civilians in gaza? >> thank you, chris. it's absolutely dire the situation in gaza, with not only the internet out and communication out, but all the basic necessities that are needed for millions of people that have been affected by this crisis. at this point, we are coordinating with our partners. a lot of them have operations in and around gaza and the west bank and egypt itself. but we're very concerned about partner staff on the ground as they over the past three weeks have been seeking safety and shelter for themselves and their families, and at the same time, trying to provide important humanitarian assistance to people affected. >> your organization currently has aid prepositioned in egypt near the gaza border, as i understand it. do you have any idea when it will be let in, and when you watch what's unfolding right now, does it make you concerned about whether it will get in at all? >> we have our aid positioned and we are increasing the supply chain to the border in rafah. the border in rafah is limited right now, as you know, nearly 80 trucks have been able to get in over the past week, but that's just a drop in the bucket compared to the 500 trucks that are normally sent into gaza prior to this crisis. we know there's just not enough aid at this point that is getting in. critical aid such as medicines, medical supplies, food and water is getting in a little bit, but we want to make sure that more is able to get in, and the incursion that may take place this evening, really constrains the about of aid workers to function throughout the gaza strip to get in important aid. >> we have heard discussion about a potential pause for humanitarian aid to get in. do you have any hope of that? what would that look like? >> we do hope there would be a pause and a cease fire that allows this type of important aid to be delivered into gaza. and we expect that if there is safe spaces for humanitarians to operate in, aid needs to be delivered in places where people are sheltering and hospitals, in schools and shops, and so many people out on the street living in a very miserable condition. the season and the weather is changing, and will get colder, and we need to make sure there's enough protection for people living on the streets. but adequate access to important food, water, and medicine through partner operations, the u.n. system, the red crescent system as well, and so we do everything we can to coordinate and plan for scenarios where we can have humanitarian access into gaza. again, we need to push to be able to access not only the border in rafah, but all borders and all types of opportunities to provide humanitarian aid into gaza at this time. >> in the meantime, one of the questions we have heard repeatedly raised by palestinian civilians is where can i go to be safe. the israeli military has told people to go south, but of course then there's also that footage we have seen of people in those southern areas hit by air strikes. is there anywhere for civilians to go? >> it's increasingly difficult for civilians to find safe spaces. as you can imagine, with a push of a million people from the north to the south, there's just not enough adequate space, and so much of gaza itself has been damaged from the continual bombing. the infrastructure is ruined, and as the incursion may take place, there's deep concern about the safety of civilians and where they can find safe spaces. there's no guarantee for any safe space right now in gaza, and we call on all parties to ensure that there is safety for civilians that need access to humanitarian assistance, and that the humanitarian community has the ability to provide important aid at this time. >> well, we thank you so much, and we thank all of the folks from amer icares who have been doing extraordinary work under the most difficult and, in fact, life threatening of circumstances. thank you, we appreciate your time today. i want to bring in retired fbi supervisor and special agent carl smay. good to talk to you again. you trained forces in israel, you have firsthand expertise as well about hamas. tell me what you see as you're watching what's unfolding tonight in israel and in gaza. >> thanks for this opportunity to talk to you again. to clarify, when i went to israel, it was an exchange with the israelis, it was more of an exchange program. i got firsthand knowledge to see how the israelis were collecting intelligence. particularly with human intelligence, and so frankly, they were excellent at what they were doing, how they were recruiting sources and so i was really shocked at this massive failure, you know, when they didn't see this attack coming. and as you have been talking about with your other guests, what israel is facing, they have a fundamental problem, it's a huge problem. they have two conflicting goals. on the one hand, they want to crush hamas so it can't attack israel anymore. and second, they want to save the hostages. four have been released so far, i don't see that continuing while bombs are falling. that's a really tough problem that israeli leadership is having to grapple, which objective is going to be more important. >> that's why i asked the question of raf sanchez, and i don't know how long you've had a chance to listen, carl, but when we hear from an idf spokesperson that their new offensive includes looking at underground areas, is that a concern for hostages? >> absolutely. i mean, i don't think israel has very good intelligence on where all of the hostages are kept. you know, the speculation is that they have been broken up into small groups and they're probably being kept underground because that is the safest place right now. look, hamas is responsible for the safety of every man, woman and child that they took from israel. and they know that those people that they took have maximum value, if they keep them alive because they can be used as bargaining chips and also as human shields. so, you know, the bombing certainly puts those people at risk, and i think it also complicates probably the issue of trying to keep them alive. there were so many hostages taken, i really wonder if hamas was prepared for the sheer number of hostages they took. i think their attack was successful beyond their wildest dreams, and when they started taking elderly, injured people, babies, you think about the logistics, you need diapers, medical supplies. it's a lot harder to take care of those kind of people than if you had taken healthy adults. >> we hear the reports of everything from people who need life saving medication to a little boy who needs his glasses who can't see without them, and all of those folks are still being held. we don't know under what conditions. when you look at the possibility of a ground offensive, knowing what you know about both sides, who does it favor? >> it's going to be really difficult. israel's history in gaza before was not good, i think as one of your previous guests pointed out. there's a reason why they pulled out. urban warfare is ugly. it's very difficult. there's going to be mass casualties on both sides, both for the idf and for the civilians in gaza. and in terms of any sort of a hostage rescue, i think those chances are very very slim. i mean, fighting inside a tunnel basically negates any israeli superiority they have in the idf. you can't use tanks in there. you can't use aircraft, so you're going to end up sending guys in there, and they've got restricted movement. your radio communications don't work very well. any technology you're using, like drones, once again, those also have limited utility down there because as you get down further into a tunnel, you start losing signals. if you have ever been on a cell phone, your go into an underground parking lot, you've lost the signal. the same thing happens with radio, and wireless communication. the other thing with the tunnel is it's basically a fatal final. it's a giant kill zone, right? there's nowhere to hide, no cover, there could be booby traps anywhere. that really, i think, is going to be a death trap if the israelis try to get in there. >> you assume that they're booby trapped? >> yes. hamas had plenty of time to prepare for this. they have shown a higher level of sophistication than anybody ever thought, certainly the idf, they didn't see this coming, they were caught very unprepared, i'm sure hamas has prepared for this. they knew this was going to provoke an israeli response. as a matter of fact, i think they're counting on israel to respond, so you've just got to believe they have made every sort of course of action they can take to prepare if the israeli attack, including booby traps. >> let me ask you, before i let you go what you'll be looking for as we head into the weekend, to tell whether or not this might be a warning sign to hamas of more to come or if this is the beginning of a final push? >> chris, i think that's going to be based on what we see unfolding on the ground. the frequency of the attacks continue at this rate or is this a sending a message by israel to say this is what we can do to you. no one knows how this is going to play out. i think it's going to be a matter of have the israelis decided to forego the hostages and focus on the attack and focus on crushing hamas. you know, so that's just a really really hard problem to solve for the israeli government, and for the israeli people that are suffering, especially for those that have family members that are being held by hamas. >> karl, thank you so much. karl schmae, we appreciate you taking the time to come on the program again. i want to bring in general barry mccaffrey, an msnbc military analyst. let me ask you the question that i just asked karl. what are you watching for moving forward that will tell you what israel's intentions are in the coming days? >> well, we're about to find out when, probably not if, there's a ground/air/sea intervention in gaza by 70,000 idf troops. it's more likely than not. i think the israelis have concluded from a strategic sense they cannot live governing gaza. it's 2 1/2 million people, so i think the operation is going to happen right now. i think the pressure has two purposes, one is to wipe out as many commanders, hamas commanders as they can down to a small unit level before they go in, and secondly, i think they believe that intense air combat pressure in particular on hamas is more likely to result in a significant release of hostages. let's say 20 or 30 than it would be a cease fire or a pause for humanitarian purposes. hamas is holding babies, elderly, sick people. you know, mothers. so i think it's possible in the next 48 hours that hamas, desperate for a cease fire will release a chunk of people, but israel's hot getting them back unless they go in the ground, would be my conclusion. >> yeah, was it always unrecall realistic to believe general hamas was going to release hostages unless they were forced to do so? >> of course. well, the reason i think they probably said we're going to release them eventually, only when we get every palestinian out of there, when we get a cease fire, when we're able to proclaim we had a strategic victory over the israelis, we slaughtered their systems and were still in power. so i think that was their thinking. and right now, they're probably getting pretty desperate because the idf has been ruthless in providing fire power to take out their chain of command. a comment, chris, the 300 miles of tunnels and underground and boiling out of the ground, if you have a choice between being in the 70,000 troops idf will put in the ground or the 15 to 20,000 that will be underground, there's no comparison. the idf is extremely good at dealing with tunnels. it's not a hopeless task. i think they're going to offer massive rewards, use intelligence agents. they'll probably get a bunch of them out if they go in on the ground, but clearly at the end of the day, hamas in those tunnels, if they sit on it for several weeks and fight them, they'll kill most of them. >> admiral hagari, the guy briefing tonight for the idf acknowledged exactly what they're doing, and what you and i have been talking about, what richard engel reported what is now 90 minutes ago that there was an increase in these attacks, that they were coming in waves, but he also said that they are expanding their activity without confirming any kind of this widely anticipated offensive, nor did he say that israeli troops have entered gaza, something we knew was in one way happening, because israeli tanks have made some very brief temporary incursions into gaza twice in the last two days. is there something specific that will tell you they're ready to go. are we just going to see the ground forces and this will be a quick movement, and there will be no equivocation? >> well, right now my guess is the israelis want to give time for the united states to deploy air defense assets, to get the two carrier strike groups completely in place. we have exposed vulnerable troops in both iraq and syria and in other locations in the middle east. so i think that's primarily what's going on. so i would be unsurprised if the idf doesn't use the coming several days or even weeks to continue to degrade hamas, to terrorize them, to drive them under ground and to try and get some of the hostages out before there's a ground intervention. so i think that's what's going on right now. they're all over gaza right now, we have to assume, with special operations forces from the sea and from israel. but look, at the end of the day, i cannot imagine the israeli people accepting a return to the situation on 6 october, where they're waiting to see is it this month, this year, this decade where they come out of gaza and murder us again. the idf has to rectify the situation conclusively. you want to talk about, you can't kill an idea, whatever, the israelis can't deal with hamas. it's impossible. the united nations could. jordan, saudi arabia, and egypt could. or some other special force, but i think, you know, what will govern gaza in the coming years has to be outside agencies. the egyptians are the laggards. they don't have a thing to do with this. they need to be pressured to step in and provide political guidance and humanitarian support. >> i just want to make note, general, of the fact that we have been showing people, even though it's obviously dark, it's 9:32 in israel, but now these are our first pictures that we're seeing. we do have some photos over gaza. as we look at that, you mentioned those two carrier strike groups, including the eisenhower, but what kinds of communications are going on among americans? not just on those strike groups, but also in land bases throughout the region, general? >> well, you know, modern communication, u.s. military communication is simply beyond belief. you talk from an individual into the pentagon war room. so this is an air, land, sea, coordinated operation to provide powerful deterrent forces to keep iran out of the war and to put a check mate on hezbollah to attack in the north. that's what's going on. it's very well put together. lloyd austin, secretary of defense has a lot of years in combat. he knows what he's doing. and so i think at this phase, the biden administration has done a masterful job in trying to prevent the escalation of this conflict. both horizontal to bring in other regional actors and also vertical to make sure this thing doesn't go high order from the iranians, or against israel directly. >> general barry mccaffrey, thank you so much, sir, it is always a pleasure to talk to you. i want to bring in nbc's monica alba from the white house, and as we watch israel bombarding gaza for the last couple of hours with the intense missile and artillery attacks, one of the questions was what's happening at the white house. we know the white house had been asking israel to delay a ground invasion. they have just weighed in. what are they saying? >> reporter: that's right, we just heard from john kirby who is the spokesman, of course, for the national security council who says along with everybody else they are closely monitoring these news reports, they are following the developments. they have seen what the idf has said about this, but they don't want to weigh in anymore on operational movements from the israeli military until they can learn a bit more about the situation, the goals, the objectives of why now, and why these kinds of different movements this evening. so this is something that the white house of course has been in touch with its israeli counter parts on and they have said and pointed out the context, we have seen this slight ramp up in the last couple of days where the idf has had these different kinds of operations, different than the air strikes we have been seeing consistently over the last 18 to 20 days, that is something that gives you a sense of the white house and biden administration saying that israeli has been telegraphing this was going to continue to increase and ramp up. the other key thing from the white house is that, yes, certainly the biden administration has been asking israel to consider everything from a humanitarian pause that would be very very temporary to even a longer amount of hours. it's not clear the duration and scope of that, but the reason for that is multifold. one, they would like more time first for humanitarian aid to be able to get into gaza. that is a huge priority for the administration. and then they also want to be able to ensure there can be more hostage recovery. that is a key piece of this as well. but the u.s. of course is still working to get what they believe are american citizens who are held by hamas in gaza. that's a big part, and then you also have americans, palestinian americans, many of them, some hundreds or so in gaza who have signalled to the state department that they would like to get out, and they haven't been able to do so. the u.s. is essentially asking israel, and we have seen this pressure on the global stage from everybody from secretary blinken at the u.n. to president biden's own comments this week in the rose garden asking them to consider all of these key things that they would like to see happen, and of course the senses, those things are more likely to take place in a more successful manner before any major ground invasion. so the u.s. is still waiting to learn a little bit more. we of course know here there's been another big international headline with president biden meeting with the chinese foreign minister, wong yi at the white house. the president has been briefed about what is happening in israel and gaza tonight, in addition to all the other foreign policy challenges that the white house is juggling right now. >> not a surprise he's being kept up to the minute. do we know if the president has had contact with prime minister benjamin netanyahu today. >> we don't know today. but they have been in constant touch. there are nine phone calls between the two and of course there are diplomatic channels that are going every single hour between the u.s. and israel, and of course since the president's visit there and since he spent all of that amount of time with the israeli war cabinet in that war room, remember, he posed tough questions about what is the plan after the war. what is the plan after a major browned invasion, that it doesn't seem to be clear answers to yet, at least from the u.s. side of things. and that's the other key thing that the u.s. is pushing the israelis to determine and there is a question of delay, what we have seen over the last couple of weeks. the u.s. said they don't want to tell the israelis how to run their military operations. they won't be doing that. that's not their position. and something they won't be doing. they will gently advise and ramp up calls to protect civilian life. that has been something we have seen an intentional shift on in the last couple of days that we did see from the president, again, and from the secretary of state. and then we also saw from the president something notable over the last couple of days which is that he did call out and say that he was concerned by extremist settlers in the west bank and the uptick of violence there which is something that has been communicated, we understand, to the israelis, chris. >> monica, thank you for that. i know you'll get back to us as we learn more. in the meantime, i want to bring in chief foreign correspondent richard engel on the gaza border. we spoke 90 minutes ago when you brought us this breaking news. what have you seen and what have you learned since then? >> reporter: well, the last several minutes things have dramatically quieted down. the pace of the israeli air strikes. we hear some of them. still tank and artillery fire going into gaza. nothing like we heard an hour and a half ago. it was some of the most intense strikes since the beginning of the war. the major development is there has been a complete calm communications breakdown in gaza. we have been unable to reach our teams, palestinian red crescent which operates the ambulance, also out of communication. that means people inside gaza who are under attack who have been cut off from fuel, basic splice, many of them out of their homes. can't call ambulances. can't call each other, which only adds to a sense of fear. we don't know exactly where this is going. the israeli military said a short while ago in a statement that it had intensified air strikes in gaza tonight, and intensified its ground operations. we don't know if this is the start of a bigger push or just a new phase of this conflict. at this stage, a more intensified period has begun. right now in this moment, you can see gaza behind me. it is black, silent, the people in there unable to communicate among themselves. unable to communicate with the outside world. >> richard engel, thank you so much. we appreciate your reporting. still ahead, we go live to maine, we are expecting a press conference issue an update in less than 20 minutes. we'll be back right after this short break. we'll be back rights short break. a prime target for cyberattacks. but the same ai-powered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. ♪ ♪ my name is josh sanabria and i am the owner at isla veterinary boutique hospital. i was 5...6 years of age and i knew i was going to be a vet. once alexandra called me to let me know that bank of america had approved my loan... it was important to me. we not only just provide the financing piece, we do everything that we can to surround them with the right people. all you need is a perfect, amazing team that will guide you through the right steps to be successful. and that's what bank of america was for me. [deep exhale] [deep exhale] [trumpet music plays] 579 breaths to show 'em your stuff. every breath matters. don't like rsv take your breath away. protect yourself from rsv... ...with abrysvo, pfizer's rsv vaccine. abrysvo is a vaccine for the prevention of lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious if you are 60 or older. having asthma, copd, diabetes, or heart disease puts you at even higher risk. abrysvo is not for everyone and may not protect all who receive the vaccine. don't get abrysvo if you've had a severe allergic reaction to its ingredients. people with a weakened immune system may have a decreased response to abrysvo. the most common side effects are tiredness, headache, pain at the injection site, and muscle pain. ask your pharmacist or doctor about pfizer's rsv vaccine, abrysvo. visit these retailers or find other retailers near you at abrysvo.com. [deep breath] (sean) i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro! (jason) sean! do you mean this one - the one with titanium? switch to verizon, and get iphone 15 pro on them. (sean) wow! (vo) get iphone15 pro, apple tv 4k and 6 months of apple one. all three on us. only on verizon. the ball is out and there's a pile-up. -let's go! -get in the pile! ugh, i'll deal with this tomorrow. you won't. it's ripe in here. my eyes are watering. i'm a busy man. look how crusty this is. shameful. ugh, it's just too much. not with this. tide. tide can tackle any pile. that a tackle pun? just clean the pile, ron. okay. this too. that was easy. when stains and odors pile up, it's got to be tide. can we get real clear about life with psoriasis? yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms? like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist can help you get clear. make the appointment and ask about real clear skin. right now, police are asking for patience as they carry out a multistate search for a gunman who killed 18 people in lewiston, maine. we just got an update. we expect a press conference they originally scheduled for 3:00 or 14 minutes from now to take place at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. meantime, investigators have received more than 530 tips since the rampage wednesday night. and we've got this brand new video within the last hour from the search where divers are scouring the andra skogen river. that means those touched by the tragedy have been forced to grieve at home privately. no vigils, no memorials. officials acknowledge the weight of keeping those lock down orders in place. >> there's a lot of stuff going on here, but what matters to us, again, is the safety of our communities, the safety of our residents, we're going to continue to fight on their behalf to bring this individual to justice because we know that that has an impact on starting that healing process. it's not a slam dunk. this is going to take a while. it's going to take a while for communities to work through. it's going to take forever for teams to work through. >> but we begin with the new clues in the search for why that bar, why that bowling alley in lieu lewiston. why were they targeted in the killing sprees. joining me correspondent tom winter. there's some information about a female acquaintance of robert card. does she play into this? >> that's right. that's one of the things authorities are looking at and trying to determine whether or not this former girlfriend or former acquaintance of robert card was somebody that he used to spend a lot of time with playing corn hole, and apparently there was a corn hole tournament at this bar the night of the shooting. and so the question is was card going there to confront this exacquaintance or ex-girlfriend of his and is that one of the reasons why he went after that facility, and of course we have been reporting out for several days about the alleged voices that he heard, according to witnesses some of whom may be his own family that he had concerns that he was hearing things or thought people were talking about him, both at this location and at the bowling alley. that's one of the avenues, chris, they're looking into, but not necessarily a firm motive at this point. >> tom winter, thank you for that update. much appreciated. we are also learning about some of the victims that were members of the deaf community, gathered for the corn hole tournament before their lives were cut tragically short. nbc's rehema ellis is in lewiston, maine. and what stories have been hearing that you can share about those who were lost? >> reporter: well, chris, as you point out, that tournament was just down the street here about 4 miles. it was a corn hole tournament for deaf athletes. they went down there to have a great time. one of those who was a part of it. his name is josh seal. he was known in this community. he himself is deaf, and he was known in this community by people in maine because he was the interpreter during the pandemic when the governor's office would hold informational meetings and telecast them about what was going on during the pandemic. josh seal was there. he was a beloved member of this community. a short time ago, nbc news spoke with his wife, who talked about her husband and their four children. take a listen. >> i'm still processing. it still doesn't feel real. i'm trying to support my kids. you know, i have a fantastic family, deaf community. i have a huge group of people supporting us, and we're not alone in this process. the other victims and their families were going to be connected forever with this trauma, and we'll be able to support each other in that. and i just tell myself one day at a time. >> you can see the pain on her face, it's something that's being felt throughout this community. there were at least three other members of the deaf community who were killed when this massacre unfolded just down the street from me on wednesday evening. chris. >> beyond heartbreaking. rehema, thank you so much. officials are urging people in lewiston and auburn, lisbon and bowdoin to stay inside today, closing multiple businesses and schools for yet another day. joining us now campbell mckenry, a college student on lockdown, and an intern for the organization every town for gun safety. thanks for being with us. i can't imagine what the last 48 hours have been like for you and your friends who are there under shelter in place orders. what has been happening? >> hi, chris. the last 48 hours have been chaotic to say the least, and as more and more information gets released about the victims of this tragedy, it just gets even more incomprehensible, if that's even possible, so i just know that the entire lewiston community is in mourning, the entire bates county is in mourning and people are honestly really scared. this lockdown is on its second day now, and we're just sitting around waiting for information, constantly hearing sirens, and constantly hearing helicopters. >> are you in a dorm, campbell? are you in a situation where, and i don't mean to say there's anything good about this, but there are people who can not leave their homes, they're alone or with small members of their family. do you have a support group essentially there, and what are your conversations like? >> i'm incredibly grateful to be sheltering in place in my off campus house. i have three amazing roommates and we have been leaning on each other during this time. i know friends were not as lucky and had to spend the night in the dining hall, which is traumatic and heartbreaking for them. conversations have been full of anger and frustration. i know young people are sick of having this happen time and time again. people have had enough to be quite frank, and i think that young people want to see accountability and action from their lawmakers. >> so that leads me to your work with everytown, which of course was founded in the wake of the shootings in newtown. you're an intern, what led you to get involved with that group, and does your work for the group take on new urgency now that a mass shooting event has affected you in such a very direct way? >> so i decided to start interning for everytown when i learned that the leading cause of death for children and teens in america had become gun violence in 2020. that's just unacceptable. i was in 5th grade at the time of sandy hook as were many of my peers, and i know that this is something that young people have been forced to cope with and struggle with. in terms of my work at everytown, i'm exposed to these senseless tragedies every day, and you think that you would, working with it, you would think you would be able to understand the pain and trauma that comes with these events, but for it to hit so close to home is just a whole different story, and i know there's so much pain and anger, especially because we know the situation is still unfolding, what we do know is that the suspect had multiple, multiple issues that could have prevented him from accessing a gun. and i know that maine lacks fundamental gun safety laws that could have prevented this. i think there's a lot of anger. >> we're almost out of time, i have to ask you, in spite of your work with everytown, did you have a feeling, i have been on that campus, it's a beautiful place where you go to school, did you have the feeling that it can't happen here? >> i mean, i never hoped or even imagined that it could happen here, but unfortunately we're living in america. we're living in a gun culture where this type of tragedy is almost inevitable. if it can happen in a place like lewiston, it can happen anywhere. i hope if anything can come out of this tragedy, it's meaningful action and change. >> campbell mckendry, first of all, good on you for volunteering, and thank you for taking the time to talk to us. i hope this ends soon. we would love to check in with you and see how you're doing and how your friends are doing. give our best to your roommates, thank you. >> thank you so much, chris. a city that has consistently ranked among the safest in the country, the editorial board of the portland press herald noting the profound shift, writing this. like so many other american communities before ours, we'll have to mourn not only the loss of people close to us but also our sense of security. gone is the idea that maine is unusually safe or otherwise somehow immune from the rampant american disease that is gun violence and mass shooting. with that, i'll say, that does it for us this hour. our coverage will continue with "katy tur reports" after the break. "katy tur reports" after the break. promises. as a fiduciary, i promise to be the financial steward that you and your family need. i promise to put your long-term financial well-being above any short term transaction. everyone has a big picture. my job is to help you invest in yours. [announcer] charles schwab is proud to support the independent financial advisors who are passionately dedicated to helping people achieve their financial goals. visit findyourindependentadvisor.com sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand for a better night sleep. so now, he wakes up feeling like himself. the reigning family room middle-weight champion. better days start with zzzquil nights. this is spring semester at fairfield-suisun unified. they switched to google tools for education because there's never been a reported ransomware attack on a chromebook. now they're focused on learning knowing that their data is secure. ( ♪♪ ) when my doctor gave me breztri for my copd things changed for me. breztri gave me better breathing, symptom improvement, and reduced flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ask your doctor about breztri. (vo) it's another ultimate endless shrimp vision changes, or eye pain occur. flavor drop with new tequila lime shrimp one of seven endless choices right now, only at red lobster welcome to fun dining (sean) i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro! (jason) sean! do you mean this one - the one with titanium? switch to verizon, and get iphone 15 pro on them. (sean) wow! (vo) get iphone15 pro, apple tv 4k and 6 months of apple one. all three on us. only on verizon. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. struggling with the highs and lows of bipolar 1? ask about vraylar. because you are greater than your bipolar 1, and you can help take control of your symptoms - with vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. vraylar treats depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar 1 in adults. proven, full-spectrum relief for all bipolar 1 symptoms. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. sleepiness and stomach issues are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. ask about vraylar and learn how abbvie could help you save. this is american infrastructure, a prime target for cyberattacks. but the same ai-powered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. ♪ good to be w