civilians as human shields, that uses civilian infrastructure, even hospitals, in the most cynical way possible. that is as fighting positions, as military operation centers. and so israel has to confront that while at the same time not wanting to go assaulting hospitals in fire fights that could put innocent people who are getting life saving medical care in the cross fire. so there are not easy answers to this question, but this is the complexity, this is the burden that the israeli defense forces are facing as they conduct their operations. and our position is that israel has the right to go after hamas. but it does face this added burden, and that burden does not lessen its responsibility to act according to the laws of war, and so how that plays out in a particular operational dynamic, ultimately those decisions lie with the military fighting. even as israel goes after hamas and the tools and infrastructure of its terrorism. >> reporter: do you have any proof of life on hostages, especially the americans in the negotiations that have been going on, has there been anything that could reassure the negotiators, the president, you, that hostages remain alive and potentially could be rescued? >> we have been very transparent about the fact that we have limited visibility into both the whereabouts of the hostages in gaza and their condition. and i said as recently as yesterday, that we have nine missing americans, one missing green card holder, and i cannot tell you how many hostages are alive. we have information, and i'll be careful about how i characterize that, about some of the hostages and a notion that there are a substantial number of hostages who are not just alive, but who could potentially be part of a hostage release. i couldn't give you a number of exactly how many americans would be included in that. that's something we'll have to work through as we continue these investigations. and of course we won't know for certain until we actually get the release of the hostages and they're safely returned to their families. that's something we're going to continue to work on. >> i might ask about the house spending proposal, that does not include money for national security priorities that the administration has. israel, ukraine. particularly ukraine, what are their next steps for getting funding, if this spending proposal is not an option. >> i will leave it to karine to talk about the professional dynamics and measures put forward in the house, what i will say is the biden administration put forward a funding request for israel, for ukraine, for the indo-pacific and for the border. we detailed exactly what we needed, including for ukraine, and we still need that, and we need it as soon as we can get it. we are working actively with both the house and the senate, both republicans and democrats to secure the votes and to get the vote to get that funding. and i continue to remain confident that while this has been a winding road since we began the effort to secure additional funding for ukraine, that there is a strong bipartisan majority in both houses to do it, and we will ultimately get it done. how exactly, through what vehicle and what measure, that's something that i will defer to the legislative experts on. i will only say we're continuing to make the case actively. i'm on the phone personally, daily, with members, democrats and republicans to make the case, and we are leaning forward in making it clear that the united states national interest will be deeply harmed if we are not able to secure and sustain funding for israel, ukraine, the indo-pacific and the border. >> if i may ask about the trip, please. what is the president's message going to be regarding taiwan's upcoming elections? will the president warn president xi directly, for example, against interfering in the elections? >> i'm not going to preview what exactly president biden will say to president xi. i think he should have the opportunity to speak to him directly in person without me proclaiming it from the podium. i will say that the president broadly speaking is going to set out a vision for peace and stability and the maintains of peace and stability across the taiwan strait. he will do that in his meeting with president xi. in terms of the specifics of the conversation, i'll leave that for the president to do person-to-person, face-to-face. >> thank you, jake. how confident are you that the u.s. and china can restore military communications. it's been a year since china suspended the talks. what are the main sticking points from the chinese side? >> i'll refer to china on the sticking points. ultimately they'll have to answer that for themselves. the united states has been ready for the entire period. you're taking a listen to national security adviser jake sullivan. i'm yasmin vossoughian in for katy tur. national security adviser there reiterating israel's right to defend itself. reminding folks of what they're up against with hamas. after october 7th they would repeat acts like october 7th as jake sullivan put it until israel is wiped off the map. he goes on to say that civilian safety and hospitals inside gaza are of the utmost importance to both the biden administration along with the president as well. and saying hostage negotiations are ongoing. interestingly, while this press conference was ongoing here in washington, d.c., we had another press conference going on in israel held by israeli defense forces. with a spokesperson there providing evidence, not confirmed by nbc news of hamas bunkers located beneath hospitals inside gaza. i want to play a snippet of that for you. we don't have that as of yet i'm being told. while all of this is going on, we're getting reporting about the hospital situation on the ground there. we are collapsing. that is what a neurosurgeon said from inside gaza at al-shifa hospital. the w.h.o. saying al-shifa is no longer functioning. the facility has gone for three days without electricity or water. three newborn babies died at the hospital over the weekend according to the palestinian health ministry. 37 more had to be removed from their incubators are also at risk of death. why they have yet to be evacuated despite repeated requests from staff to dpet them -- get them to a safer location. amidst the death and desperation, we are seeing a glimmer of hope. yesterday, prime minister benjamin netanyahu hinted at a potential deal to get them out. >> we weren't close at all until we started the ground operation. putting pressure on the hamas leadership, that's the one thing that might create a deal. >> do you know where all of the hostages are being held right now, mr. prime minister? >> we know a great deal, but i won't go beyond that. >> what the prime minister envisions for gaza after the war and how much worse it could get before it ends. after a new warning from hamas. joining us from tel aviv, nbc news correspondent, raf sanchez. first and foremost, i want you to walk us through what is happening at al-shifa, other hospitals in gaza. babies, stories of newborn babies losing their lives in the hospital, and whether or not the patients will be able to secure safe passage. >> reporter: it is an almost unimaginable situation right now at al-shifa hospital, the biggest medical facility inside of gaza, and it is nonfunctional, according to the world health organization. they are saying the hospital no longer has food, no longer has electricity, and it cannot function anymore as a medical facility. there are still some 2,000 people there, a combination of displaced people who were seeking shelter at the hospital, but also these gravely ill patients who medical staff feel they just cannot move safely, even if they were able to get through the fight, and which at this point is happening in the blocks, immediately around the hospital. these are people who are too unwell to be moved, and yasmin, there are no cases than these dozens of prematurely born babies. these are tiny gazans, younger than this war, who were being kept in incubators in the knew -- neonatal unit. i spoke to the director of the neonatal unit. take a listen to what she had to say about the situation with the babies. >> babies were evacuated to the surgical department, the oth department, and all of them are wrapped in towels. okay. not incubators. each in one bed, and we expect all to die because we don't have water to prepare milk for them. we don't have electricity to provide them with warmth. they don't have staff to care for them. even the staff is scared. >> reporter: the stakes she's describing here, could not be starker. she says these newborn babies are going to die in al-shifa hospital if something is not done, and if something is not done immediately. there are two options, one, get the electricity back on, or two, evacuate these babies to another facility where they can be properly cared for. the israeli military said they tried both, but hospital staff saying these babies, these critically ill people, they cannot be moved. they also say that they delivered 300 liters of fuel to the hospital to try to get the generators running again. hospital officials are saying they weren't able to retrieve it safely. israel is saying hamas blocked hospital officials from getting it. but either way, this is 300 liters of fuel and the hospital apparently needs some 10,000 liters every single day just to maintain minimal operations. >> those images are incredibly hard to see. i want to play some sound that i mentioned a little bit earlier while we were watching the press conference at the white house. the spokesperson for the israeli defense forces was holding a press conference in israel, talking about how they had found evidence of hamas bunkers beneath some of these hospitals. i want to play the sound for you and reiterate that nbc has not confirmed what it is the spokesperson is sharing. but let's play it. >> underneath the hospital in the basement, we found a hamas command and control center, suicide bomb vests, grenades, ak-47 assault rifles, explosive devices, rpgs and other weapons, computers, money, et cetera. and we also found signs that indicate that hamas held hostages here. this is currently under our investigation, but we also have intelligence that verifies it. >> raf, do you have any reporting on this? >> yasmin, this is the run tc hospital, another one of the hospitals in northern gaza. well within the zone of the fighting. and unlike al shifa, the israeli military is now in full control at the hospital, and they are claiming that they have found tunnels that run underneath the hospital. they are saying they have found some evidence that would suggest that some of these 240 or so hostages were being held inside of those tunnels at one point, and they are also claiming they found weapons not just in the tunnels underneath the hospital but saying they found some weapons inside of the hospital itself. now, yasmin, nbc news cannot independently verify this. it has been put out by the israeli military in the last few minutes or so. it would not be a surprise to learn that hamas has tunnels underneath the hospital, would not be surprised to learn that hamas's tunnels underneath other hospitals. the tunnel network runs in the hundreds of miles, but what you are hearing from human rights groups is even if there are tunnels underneath these hospitals, it does not absolve israel of its responsibility to safeguard the lives of these desperately unwell people as well as these prematurely born babies. >> we're thankful for you. i want to bring in former israeli console general in new york, shimon peres. thank you for talking with me again. i appreciate it. a lot to digest there. i want to start with what we heard from jake sullivan who did not address what prime minister benjamin netanyahu said not only about the security of gaza and what will be the security of gaza after the war is over, but also about really the future, and what is ongoing with this war. i want to read from a piece that you wrote, and have you expand on it a little bit, and what you say, netanyahu is gradually setting the stage for a political showdown with the u.s., like the fable of the scorpion and frog, this was inevitable. not only does he offhandedly dismiss any idear request coming from washington, netanyahu wants the gaza war to go on indefinitely without any political corollary. expand on why you say netanyahu wants this indefinite war to go on. and what the united states should be doing about it. >> mr. netanyahu, yasmin, has since the 6:29 a.m. on that dreadful saturday of october 7th, he's been busy trying to salvage himself from this debacle, from this horrible incident or war on his watch. part of that is the longevity of the war. he thinks that by blaming the military, blaming the general security, blaming the intelligence, blaming lack of early warning would show let him off the hook. on the other hand or in addition to that, he's trying to frame this in terms of some historic, epic second war of independence, constantly comparing this to and doing it deliberately because that allows him, you know, the more epic, the more historic, the more dramatic the event, the more he sees himself as some kind of a wartime leader, trying to change the architecture of the middle east. all of this in order to shed responsibility and accountability, which is why -- and this goes back to what you said in your introduction, which is why the u.s. is somewhat upset with him. jake sullivan did not allude to that. i expect secretary blinken and president biden to state something about this in the next place. now, for mr. netanyahu, the longer the war goes on, he believes, i think he's wrong, but he believes, genuinely that this would alleviate the criticism that everyone would be consumed by an ongoing war, and as the days go by, you know, tactical victories will accumulate, and the strategic blunder will be forgotten. i think he's absolutely dead wrong about this. but this is his thinking. >> we know that lloyd austin, secretary of defense had a call with his israeli counter part over the weekend. other reporting saying that there are growing concerns inside the united states of israel's actions along the lebanon border. do you think as if israel is baiting the united states to get into this war? >> that's another difficulty. the answer is it's quite possible. here's the thing. the u.s. from the outset of this war on the 10th of october, president biden spoke from the white house as you probably remember with vice president kamala harris and secretary of state blinken flanking him, and said that he's sending american reinforcements to the eastern mediterranean in order to deter. he didn't name names but he was referring to iran and hezbollah and says don't. he repeated that word with a high decibel level, don't. and for the u.s., it was all about preventing escalation. what is called horizontal escalation. vertical escalation is what you do in gaza or how intense the fighting is. vertical is when it spreads geographic. what the u.s. is seeing in the last two weeks is gradual escalation with hezbollah, trying to bait israel into some kind of disproportionate retaliation, and that would, people in washington believe, is where israel is sort of manipulating the u.s. i hope this is not true. i think that the counter forces inside the war cabinet will prevent mr. netanyahu from even contemplating or first timing with such an idea. the concern is absolutely there. >> you ended your piece saying netanyahu has to go. how would you see that playing out? >> you know, i start pieces with that and i end it. and i know i'm like cato the elder, netanyahu must go. there are three ways in which this could happen, one is totally unrealistic, and that is that he takes responsibility and resigns. the second is through a parliamentary vote, what is called constructive emotion of no confidence. that is when 61 out of 120 members of parliament of the can i -- can i -- knesset vote. and the third is more practical, more feasible one, and that is that immediately after the war ends, whatever we call the end of the war there will be mass demonstrations and public anger and resentment will flood the streets, and the political system will have to get rid-im. and there's a fourth possibility, and that is that it just won't happen. >> ambassador alon pinkas, thank you so much. appreciate it. coming up, we are four days away from a government shutdown. what's house speaker mike johnson's plan to avoid it. and what he is saying today as the defense's first witness. we're live at the courthouse, and we're back in just 60 seconds. (carolers) ♪ iphone 15 pro for your husband! iphone 15 pro — ♪ (wife) carolers! to tell me you want a new iphone? a better plan is verizon. (husband) no way they'd take this wreck. (carolers) ♪ yes, they will, and you'll get iphone 15 pro, ♪ ♪ aaannnnnddddd apple tv 4k, and apple one - ♪ ♪ all three on them! ♪ (wife) do that. (carolers) ♪ we tried to tell him but he paid us a lot... ♪ (husband) it was a lot... ♪ mhmmm ♪ (vo) this holiday turn any iphone, in any condition, into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium, apple tv 4k, and six months of apple one. all three on us. it's holiday everyday with verizon. he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ welcome back, former president trump's eldest son back on the stand today for the second time in two weeks, this time as the first witness for the defense and the $250 million new york civil fraud trial that threatens the empire, joining us outsides courthouse, vaughn hillyard. good to talk to you, two weeks ago, don jr. distancing himself from the day-to-day operations of the trump org. also, pointing the fingers at his accountants. what have we heard so far today? >> he actually just left the courthouse here and spoke to reporters gathered behind me here. just literally about two minutes ago. he just ran back over, and when he exited back towards his vehicle to get in, i was able to get two quick questions to him. number one, why had his lawyers not filed a motion for a mistrial at this point, which they had repeatedly flirted with just one week ago on the day that donald trump, his father, testified, and he told me there's no reason they can't put forward that motion in the weeks ahead before the defense closes their case. the second question i asked was whether he intends to appeal the judge engoron's decision if he does not change his initial ruling back in september that financial fraud was, in fact, committed because ultimately it's going to be this judge's determination come december. the penalties that are incurred by don jr. who is a defendant, as well as his brother eric and his father and others in the trump organization, and he told me, quote, i will have to. meaning appeal. so don jr. clearly leaving the courthouse frustrated after, again, more than four hours of testimony, which came in response to lines of questioning from his own defense attorney. was the kickoff of what you could call the second half of this trial here. don jr. was the first witness called to testify by the defense, and answer their questions, and he methodically went through each of the different trump properties and why they were valued at the rates they were. started laying out the case that he was the top executive, he signed off on the financial records and relied on the word of the accountants, and believes there's great stake in the trump organization as a whole. i want to bring in criminal defense attorney and nbc news legal analyst, danny cevallos, and ”the new york times” reporter, david fahrenthold