bret, start with you. when you take a look at the situation in the halls of congress, you have 30 democrats, including vice president and nancy pelosi saying they are not going to go to this address. plenty of democrats are, including ben cordon, who is sitting in for kamala harris, what message are they sending to israel, our closest ally in the middle east? >> john, good afternoon, it is a mixed message. you see senator carden talking to mike johnson. he is retiring this year, but taking that role where the vice president tradigtionally sits. sometimes the vice president does not sit back there. it is a speech that is key moment for the israeli prime minister coming under fire in

his own homeland of israel, however, going to tell the story how they are fighting back on hamas. listening to griff and the protesters, there is a disconnect about october 7 and remembering what it was. and over time as this political back and forth has played out, it has gotten exacerbated. democrats want to make a political message. the administration want israel to deliver on ceasefire deal and normalization with saudi arabia. >> sandra: bring martha into our coverage here, great to have you here. put up on the screen, we've put together number of lawmakers and faces who skipped this address. it was a number that continued to grow as we got closer to this, martha. this was bret moskowitz on the

address today and those notably missing. he said republicans are going to drive a wedge between our caucus and they have been trying to do that with this issue for months. my members should come. it is not about a particular leader, it is about the relationship with the country. your thoughts heading into this? >> martha: this is a political hot plate, especially in michigan, 100,000 noncommitted voters in the primary process. and think at the moment netanyahu said you are not sending weapons we need in a timely manner. this is a hot potato. few months from election, there is parallel between carter and reagan election, when we had american hostages being held by iran. iran is very closely linked and backed hamas. one question in ongoing

negotiations, second blinken would love to have hostage release deal heading into this election. will they get it or not? the powers that be behind this ashesllow them to have that or might it happen after the election? interesting parallels and all tied up together. bibi netanyahu under enormous amount of pressure as he inserts himself in this today. >> john: general keith kellogg, there are people in congress, a lot of americans and people in israel believe netanyahu is dragging out this war so he does not have to face the music over october 7. what are you hearing? >> i think we're at real inflection point with the speech with netanyahu before congress join session and visit with president biden and vice

president harris and on friday with former president trump. most volatile place is middle east. look at israel and trey yingst said they are tacking hamas, houthi, yemen, iran, democratic nation under assault. the concern i have got this thing could blowup and united states had ambivalence and tried to pick both sides. we have democratic leader being held in disdain. scenes we are seeing now are being translated in real time, there is no clarity of thought. we should bring clarity of thought to it. we mention hostages, we could have picked up the phone and c called leadership in qatar and

doha, and say, release the hostages, especially american hostages within 72 hours. we have not done that in seven months. this is the same, this was our position years ago bh you had president trump in state of union in february of 2020 say if you harm an american, your life is forfeited. i believe in clarity of thought. that is needed. >> sandra: general, bret, martha, please stand by, the israeli prime minister is making his way. let's listen. [cheering]

[applause]

[applause]

>> members of congress, i have high privilege of introducing to you his excellency, benjamin netanyahu, prime minister netanyahu of israel. [applause]

>> speaker of the house, mike jo johnson, issue senator ben c carden, minority leader hakeem jef jeffries, be senate majority leader chuck schumer, senate minority leader mcconnell, senators, members of congress, distinguished guests. mr. speaker, i want to thank you for giving me the profound honor of addressing this great citadel of democracy for the fourth time. [applause] we meet today at a cross roads of history. our world is in upheaval. in the middle east, iran's axis

of terror confronts america, israel and arab friends. this is not clash of civilizations, it is clash between barbarism and civilization. [applause] it is a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life. for the forces of civilization to triumph, america and israel must stand together. [cheering]

because when we stand together, something very simple happens. we win, they lose. [cheering] my friends, i can assure you of one thing, we will win. [cheering] ladies and gentlemen, like december 7, 1941, and september 11, 2001, october 7, is a day that will forever live in

infame. it was jewish holiday, it began a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky. thousands of young israelis were celebrating at an outdoor music festival and sudden ly 6:29 a.m, as children were still sleeping soundly in their bed says and town in next to gaza, turned into hell. terrorists stormed into israel, butchered 1200 people from 41 countries including 39 americans. proportionately compared to population size that is like 20 9/11s in one day. these monsters raped women, they beheaded men, they burned babies

alive, they killed parents in front of their children and children in front of the their parents. they dragged 255 people, both living and dead into the dark dungeon of gaza. israel has brought home 135 hostages, including seven who are freed during escue operations. [applause] >> one of those freed hostages is here in the gallery sitting near my wife sara. on the morning -- [apppause

on the morning of october 7, entire world saw the look of desperation as she was abducted to gaza on the back of a motorcycle. i met noah's mother a few months ago, she was dying of cancer. she said to me, prime minister, i have one final wish. i wish to hug my daughter noah one last time before i die. two months ago, i authorized a breath-taking command rescue

operation, our special forces, including officer named morah who fell in this battle, rescued noah and three other hostages. [applause] n noah, one of the most moving things, when noah was reunited with her mother leora and her mother's last wish came true. we are so thrilled to have you with us today. thank you. [applause]

many hostage families are also here with us today, including bibas. bibas is the grandfather of those two beautiful red-headed boys, toddlers, they were taken hostage with their moth er and the son. entire family taken hostage. two beautiful red-haired children taken hostage. what monsters. with us also a father whose son bravely escaped hamas captivity with two other israelis and tragically they were killed making their way back to our lines. we have with us also, the families of american hostages.

[applause] >> they're here. the pain these families have endured is beyond words. i met with them again yesterday and i promised them this. i will not rest until all their loved ones are home, all of them. as we speak, we're actively engaged in efforts to secure

their release and i'm confident these efforts can succeed, some of them are taking place right now. [cheering] i want to thank president biden for his tireless efforts on behalf of hostages and his efforts to the hostages families, as well. i thank president biden for his heart-felt support for israel. he rightly called hamas sheer evil. he dispatched two aircraft carriers to middle east to deter a wider war and he came to israel to stand with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.

president biden and i have known each other for over 40 years. i want to thank him for half a search of friendship to israel and being as he said, a proud irish american zionist. [applause] my friends, for nine months, israel soldiers have shown boundless courage. with us today -- [applause] with us today is lieutenant.

he is an officer in the israeli paratroopers, his family immigrated to israel from e ethiopia. he heard of the bloody rampage, he put on his uniform, grabbed his rifle. he did not have a car. he ran eight miles to the front lines of gaza to defend his people. [applause] you heard that right, he ran eight miles, came to the front

lines, killed many terrorists and saved many, many lives. [applause] we all honor your remarkable heroism. another israeli is with us here today is stand ing right next t him. this is master sergeant baheri. [applause] he is a veteran soldier in israeli community, on october 7, he killed many terrorists, first defending comrades in the military base and rushed to defend neighboring community, including devastated kibbutz

berri. the muslim soldiers of the idf fought alongside their jewish, jews, christian and other comrades with tremendous bravery. a third hero, lieutenant sufur, is here with us. [applause] he fought as an officer in the

tank corps and was wounded in battle while protecting fellow soldiers from a grenade. he lost his right arm and the vision in his left eye. he's recover ing and incredibly within a short time, he will soon return to active duty as a commander of a tank company. [cheering] i just learned there is a fourth hero here, lieutenant hamel who lost a leg in gaza and continued to fight.

[applause] my friends, these are the soldiers of israel, unafraid. [applause] as the bible says, they shall rise like lions, they have risen like lions, the lions of juda

and israel. ladies and gentlemen, the men and women of the idf come from every corner of israeli society, every ethnicity, every color, every creed, left and right, religious and secular, all are endowed with spirit of mcabi, jewish warriors of antiquity. with us is the father of one of the mcabbies, his father escaped the holocaust and moved to israel and raised a family of eight children. he named his son after helps

late father and moshi, became exemplary officer in an elite unit and served for two decades, while raising six beautiful children of his own. on october 7, moshi volunteered to return to combat. four weeks later, he was killed with a mine exploded in a tunnel shaft next to a mosque. at his son's funeral, he said this, if the state of israel had not been established after the holocaust, the image engraved in our collective memory would have been the photograph of that helpless jewish boy holding his hands up in the air with ryan knauss rifles pointed at him. because of the birth of israel, because of courage of soldiers like my son moshi, jewish people are no longer helpless in the

face of our enemies. [cheering] please rise so we can honor your son's sacrifice and i pledge to you and the dereefed families of israel, some who are in this hall today, sacrifice of your loved ones will not be in vein. [cheering] it will not be in vein because for israel, never again must never be an empty promise,

always remain sacred vow and after october 7, never again is now. [cheering] >> my friends, defeating our brutal enemy requires courage and clarity. clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. yet incredibly, many anti-israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. they stand with hamas. they stand with rapists and murderers, people who came into the kibbutz i, into a home, the two babies in the secret attic,

they murdered the families, the parents and found the secret latch to the hidden attic and murdered the babies. these protesters stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves. [cheering] they refuse to make the simple distinction between those who

target terrorists and those who targ targetivilians between democratic state of israel and thugs of hamas. we learned from the national security director of u.s. director of national intelligence that iran is funding and promoting anti-israel protest in america, they want to disrupt america. protesters burn american flags even on the 4th of july and i wish to salute the fraternity brothers at the university of north carolina who protected the american flag, protected the flag against anti-israel protesters. [cheering] >> usa, usa, usa, usa, usa!

[cheering] >> for all we know, iran is funding the anti-israel protests that are going on right now outside this building. not that many, but they're there, throughout this city. i have a message for these protesters, when tyrants of tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are funding you, you have officially become iran's useful idiots. [cheering] some of these protesters, it is

amazing, some protesters holdup assigns proclaiming gays for gaza. they might as well holdup assigns saying chickens for k f. protesters chant from the river to the sea, many don't have a clue what river and what sea they are talking about. they get an f in geography and in history. they call israel a colonialist state. don't they think the land of israel with where abraham prayed and david and solomon ruled? [applause]

for nearly 4000 years land of israel has been homeland of jewish people, it has always been our home and will always be our home. [cheering] it is not only campus protesters who get it wrong, it is people who run those campuses. 80 years after the holocaust, 80 years after holocaust, the presidents of harvard, penn and i'm ashamed to say, my alma mater, mit, could not bring themselves to condemn the call for genocide of jews.

remember what they said? they said, it depends on the context. let me give these academics a little context. antisemitism is the world's oldest hatred, for centuries massacre of jews was preceded by wild accusations, we were accused of poisoning wells to spreading plagues, to using blood of slaughtered children to pas passover. these preposterous antisemitic lies led to persecution, mass murder and history's worst genocide, the holocaust. just as lies were levelled for centuries at jewish people, malicious lies are being levelled at the jewish state. no, no, don't applause.

listen. the outrageous slander that paint israel as racist and genocidal are meant to demonize jewish state and demonize jews everywhere. no wonder we witness an ap appalling rise of antisemitism around the world, whenever and wherever we see the scourge of antisemitism, we must condemn it and resolutely fight it without exception. [applause]

and don't be fooled against jewish state come from people who wear fancy silk robes about law and justice. case in point, prosecutor of international criminal court has shamefully accused israel of deliberately starving people of gaza. this is utter, complete n nonsense, it is a complete fab ricasion. [applause] israel is enabled more than 40,000 aide trucks to enter gaza, half a million tons of food and more than 3000 calories for every man, woman and child in gaza. if there are palestinians in gaza who are not getting enough food, it is not israel blocking it, it is because hamas is stealing it. [applause]

the icc prosecutor accused israel of targeting citizens. what is he talking about? idf dropped fliers, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get palestinian civilians out of harm's way. hamas, hamas does everything in its power to put palestinian civilians in harm's way. they fire rockets from schools, from hospitals, from mosques, they even shoot their own people when they try to leave the war zone. senior hamas official boasted, listen to this, palestinian women and children excel at

being human shields. his words, excel at being human shields. what monstrous evil, for israel, every civilian death is a tragedy, for hamas, it is a strategy. they actually want palestinian civilians to die so israel will be smeared in international media and be pressured to end the war before it is won. this would enable hamas to survive another day and as they vowed to carry out october 7 again and again and again. well, i want to assure you, no matter what pressure, i will never allow that to happen. [cheering]

the vast majority of americans have not fallen for this haum propaganda and continue to support israel and i want to say, thank you, america, and thank you senators and house members who continue to support us, continue to support israel and the truth and see through the lies. but as far as the minority, that may have fallen for hamas's con-job, i suggest you listen to colonel john spencer, head of urban war fare at west point, he studied every major urban conflict, i was going to say in modern history, he corrected me, in history. israel, he said, has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history and beyond what international law requires. [applause]

that is why despite all the lies you have heard, the war in gaza has one of the lowest ratio of c combatant to nonkcombatant casualties in history of war fare. you want to know where it is slowest in gaza? l lowest in rafah. in rafah. remember what so many people said, if israel goes into rafah, there will be thousands, maybe tens of thousands of civilians killed? last week i went into rafah, visited our troops as they finished fight be hamas remaining terrorist battalions and i asked commander how many

did you take out in rafah, 1203. i asked him, how many civilians were killed? he said, prime minister, practically none. with the exception of a single incident where shrapnel hit a weapon depot and killed two dozen people, practically none. you want to know why? because israel got the civilians out of harm's way, somebody people said we could never do, but we did it. [applause] these heroes here today, heroic soldiers should not be condemned for conducting war in gaza, they should be commended for it.

[applause] i want to thank all of you here today who forcefully oppose false accusations of icc, and stood up for truth, these are down right dangerous. icc, trying to shackel israel hand and prevent us from defending ourselves. if israel's hands are tied, america is next, tell you what else is next, ability of all democracies to fight terrorism will be imperil, that is on the line. let me assure you, hands of the jewish state will never be shackled, israel will always defend itself. [cheering]

my friends in the middle east, iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing. and that should come as no surprise. when he founded islamic republic, ayatollah pledged we will export our revolution to the entire world. we will export islamic revolution to the entire world. now ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of iran plans to impose radical islam on the world? the answer is clear, it is america. the guardian of western civilization and the world's

greatest power. [cheering] that is why iran sees america as its greatest enemy, last month, revealing comment, essentially about the war in gaza, but about something else. it came from foreign minister of iran's proxy hezbollah, he said this, this is not a war with israel, israel, he said, is merely a tool, the main war, the real war is with america. iran's regime has been fighting america from the moment it came to power. in 1979, it stormed the american embassy held scores of americans hostage for 444 days.

since then iran targeted america in middle east and beyond. in beirut, killed 241 u.s. service men, in africa, bombed american embassies, in iraq supplied explosives to maim and kill thousands of american soldiers, in america, in america, they actually supent death squads here to murder former secretary of state and former national security advisor and brazenly threatened to ashes sas nat president trump. iran understands that to truly challenge america, it must conquer the middle east and for this, it uses many proxies, including houthi, hezbollah and hamas. yet in the heart of the middle east, standing in iran's way is one proud pro-american democracy, my country, the state

of israel. [cheering] that is why the mobs in tehran chant death to israel before they chant death to america, for iran, israel is first, america is next, so when israel fights hamas, we're fighting iran. when we fight hezbollah, we're fighting iran. when we fight houthi, we're fighting iran and when we fight iran, we're fighting most radical and murderous enemy of the united states of america. one more thing, when israel acts to prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons that could

destroy israel and threaten every american city, every city you come from, we are protecting ourselves, we are protecting you. [cheering] my friends, if you remember one thing, one thing from this speech, remember this. our enemies are your enemies. our fight is your fight. and our victory will be your victory. [cheering]

ladies and gentlemen, that victory is in sight. israel defeat of hamas will be powerful blow to iran's axis of terror. another part of that, hezbollah attacked israel on october 8th, day after the hamas attack. it is launched thousands of missiles and drones against us. 80,000 citizens in northern israel evacuated homes becoming effectively refugees in their own land. we are committed to returning them home. we prefer to achieve this diplomatically, let me be clear, israel will do whatever it must do to restore security to northern border and return our people safely to their homes. [applause]

last friday, a 30 iran ian prosecution houthi attacked tel aviv with a deadly drone, exploded few hundred feet from american consulate, killing one and injuries nine. on saturday, i authorized swift response to that attack. all our enemies should know this, those who attack israel will pay a very heavy price. [applause] >> as we defend ourselves, as we defend ourselves on all fronts, i know america has our back. and i thank you for it. all sides of the aisle. thank you.

[applause] my friends, for decades, america provided israel with generous military assistance and grateful israel provided america with critical intelligence that saved many lives. we have jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on earth, i choose my words carefully, that help protect both our countries and we also help keep american boots off the ground, while protecting our shared interest in the middle east. [applause]

i deeply appreciate america's support including in this current war, this is an exceptional moment fast-tracking u.s. military aide can expedite an end to the war in gaza and help prevent a broader war in the middle east. in world war ii, as britain fought, winston churchill d, famous words, give us the tool and we'll finish the job. as israel fights, i appeal to america, give us the tools faster and we'll finish the job faster. [cheering]

my dear friends, the war in gaza could end tomorrow if hamas s surrenders, disarms and returns all the hostages. [applause] but if they don't, israel will fight until we destroy hamas's military capabilities and rule in gaza and bring all our hostages home. that is what total victory means and we will settle for nothing less. the day after we defeat hamas, a new gaza can emerge.

my vision for that day is of a de demilitarized and deradicalized gaza. israel does not seek to resetel gaza but for the foreseeable future, must retain overriding security to ensure that gaza never again poses a threat to israel. [applause] gaza should have a civilian administration run by palestinians who do not seek to destroy israel, that is not too much to ask. it is a fundamental thing, we have a right to demand and to receive. [applause] a new generation of palestinians must no longer be taught to hate

jews, rather to live in peace with us. [applause] >> those twin words demilitarization and deradicalization, those two concepts were applied to germany and japan after world war ii and that led to decades of peace, prosperity and security. following our victory, with help of regional partners, the demilitarization and deradicalization of gaza can lead to future of security, prosperity and peace, that is my vision for gaza. [applause] now here is my vision for the broader middle east. it is also shaped in part by what we saw in the aftermath of

world war ii. after that war, america forged security alliance in europe to counter growing soviet threat. america and israel today can forge security alliance in middle east to counter the growing iranian threat. all countries at peace with israel and those countries who will make peace with israel should be invited to join this alliance. we saw a glimpse of that potential alliance on april 14th, led by the united states more than half a dozen nations worked alongside israel to help neu neutralize hundreds of missiles and drones launched against us. thank you president biden for bringing that coalition together.

the ground-breaking abraham accord saw peace forged between israel and for our countries and were supported by republicans and democrats alike, we can call -- [applause] >> i have a name for this new alliance, i think we should call it the abraha accord /* abraha alliance. i want to thank president trump for brokering the abraham accords. [applause] >> like americans, israelis were relieved president trump emerged safe and sound from that

dastardly attack on him and on american democracy. there is no room for political violence in democracies. [applause] i also when thank president trump for all the things he did for israel, for recognizing israel's sovereignty, to recognizing a jerusalem as our capital, and moving to the american embassy there. [ cheering ] that is jerusalem, our eternal capital, never to be divided again! [ cheering ]

my dear friends, democrats and republicans, despite these times of upheaval, i am hopeful about the future? i am hopeful about israel, because my people, the jewish people, emerged from the depths of hell from dispossession and genocide and against all odds we restored our sovereignty and our ancient homeland, we build a powerful and vibrant democracy, a democracy it pushes the boundaries of innovation for the betterment of all humanity. i am hopeful about america, because i am hopeful about americans. i know how much the people over this country have a sacrifice to defend freedom.

america will continue to be a forceful light in a good and a dark and dangerous world, for free peoples everywhere, america remains the beacon of liberty, its extraordinary founders and division back in 1776. [ cheering ] working together i am confident in our 2 nations will vanquish the tyrants and terrorists who threaten us both? as as does prime minister, i promise you this, no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the road ahead and, israel will not relent, israel will not bend, we will defend our land at, we will defend our people, we will fight until we achieve victory, victory over liberty -- victory over liberty

over tierney at, life over death, good over evil. that is our solid commitment. [ cheering ] [ applause ] and we will continue to work with the united states in our area partners to transform a troubled region from a backwater of repression, poverty and war into a thriving oasis of dignity, prosperity and peace. into this noble mission as in many others, israel will always remain america's indispensable ally, through thick and thin -- [ applause ]