you say folks, you see somebody suspicious, you engaged in a person. >> i don't disagree. it goes back to my comments that we need to be a very direct to our local law enforcement counterparts that they understand exactly what their expectation is. >> i yield back. >> you are recognized for your questions. >> thank you for being here. do you have a picture? i was watching your testimony. you have a photograph of the vantage point, secret service snipers? >> i do. >> there were 2. is that correct? >> yes, sir, stage left and stage right. >> i know you had one for the one that ultimately shot. >> that is the vantage point of the sniper who neutralize the assailant. >> where they have also been impaired in terms of actually

seeing until he popped his head up? >> they had an unobstructed view because of the tree periods because they had an obstructed view. so the discussion that i don't believe that a sniper saw someone on the roof 20 minutes before just doesn't make sense to me. it sounds like the one who took the shot probably saw him for the first time a split second before he pulled the trigger. >> that is my assessment, senator. >> first off i would like to clarify the requests that have been made so that we get the information in a good form. i think would be helpful least all the way back i think to november 5th of 2022 when president trump announced he is running for reelection i think it would be helpful if we could get a matrix of any request for additional security, the resolution of that request wasn't honored, was denied, was it downsized?

if you could give us that, i think i will be the best way versus mounds and mounds of paper. if you can do that i know you are looking for the same thing i've heard from you that any subsequent request or field request is being honored, i believe that is true is that your testimony? >> yes, sir. >> thank you. i am more worried about the 24-30 seconds between the time i believe local law enforcement officer was hoisted on the shoulders of a police officer and saw them armed less than 20 meters away from the president who i believe jumped down. what happened in those 24-30 seconds? no such thing as a panic button, you think you have panic, he covered the president and jump off stage none of that happened. is it just that i hear a text message? what actually happened in the 30 seconds where a law enforcement officer knew that a gun was

pointed in the direction of the president from a fairly short range? what actually did those folks who did have knowledge of exactly what was happening and could probably infer what was about to happen, what did they do? and either one based on your interviews. >> thank you, senator. from the interviews, the officers in the immediate vicinity were operating with urgency to get to this person but he was on the roof. the officer who had looked over the edge based on what i've been told the shooter turned toward him with a rifle that's with the officer observed he was under threat himself in that second so he had to retreat and step down and get back in order to protect himself and keep himself safe from potential rifle fire but once he got to the ground with other officers, there were other butler county local officers, pennsylvania state police, they were moving around trying to find -- >> i think clearly we've got an

operational problem here because we had more than 20 seconds to have somehow cut through all of the crap in the communications. whatever impediments there were need to be removed. i mean, it is pretty clear to me, first off that law enforcement officer i love law enforcement, i wear the black and blue pin everyday they do great work secret service did phenomenal work on the stage. but they failed because their job is to protect the public and if they needed put themselves in harm's way to stop them. now i will let the interviews go through but there was a massive failure. there were at least two law enforcement officers who knew a guy was about to pull the trigger at the president. i am just not really happy with the fact we couldn't have communicated cover president trump and try to secure the situation. i will let the investigation go through but i think it is going forward i think it is very

important to point out we can't let a scenario go in the future where 20 seconds can elapse when a law enforcement officer within two football fields of a former president of the united states has material knowledge someone is about to get shot on stage and we don't have instantaneous response. you know, in the old days may be shoot a gun in the air. i know for a lot of reasons why they did not do that but they had to be some way to actually defuse that situation and it did not happen on july 13. i want to end by saying mr. rowe, i think you've been forthcoming in your answers. i know you are frustrated. i have seen you twice now. you are clearly embarrassed by what happen and you don't think there is any reasonable explanation. to my colleagues worried about communications, they should spend times at the local government and state legislatures to understand just how bad communication is between law enforcement and first responders we need to invest in this infrastructure that was part of the failure. but if you can please get to me and this committee and

chronology of requests excepted, denied, and the reasons forward i think it will be very helpful. >> i will, senator, thank you. >> senator blackburn you are recognized for your question. >> thank you, mr. chairman thank you for your patience and for being here today. director rho i want to come to you first because the counter sniper has decided to speak out about the culture at your agency and i think it's very telling. and he sent an email and i will quote from that. "this agency needs to change and if not now one? the next assassination in 30 days?" but here's what i want to talk with you about. because in this email he says, and i am quoting again, the motto of the usss is cyk." every supervisor is doing it

now" that's the end of his quote so you're the guy in charge. you are one of those supervisors you've been a career guy at the secret service. the public has lost trust in the ability to execute the mission to protect. and i want to know how you feel about the fact that employees in your agency are worried about covering they are behind. and not worried about protecting a former president. >> thank you, senator. i am hurt by that email but not in the way you think i am saying. i am hurt because my people are hurting right now. we need them -- >> why did someone delete the email? >> i will get back to you on that -- >> the agency deleted the email. >> may i address your question? >> please. >> i will get back to that end

whether the email was deleted or not. my agency was hurt. emotions are raw. i actually want to hear more from not technician, that officer in his email he referenced he had spent time serving our nation as a united states marine. that he is a 20 year professional of the secret service. i am committed to being a change agent. meaning i am committed to reviewing some of these things. i looked at the points in his email very quickly, i saw as i was on my way over here this morning. i want to have further conversations not only with them -- >> if i may, if i may, all right. so, you want to talk with him, what about the others? what about this culture? are you going to allow these whistle-blowers to speak out? because it is troublesome if

somebody went into the server and deleted that email. i would hope you will get to the bottom of that. and be able to provide some answers, because this, as you have heard from both sides, this is a situation that cannot be allowed to happen again. >> yes, ma'am. >> ever. mr. abate, am i saying that correct? we've heard it three different ways. >> abate. >> abate. you mentioned a social media account about espoused anti-immigrant anti-semitic views but you did not say what flopped on my platform that was on and what the user name was and this is kirk's we are talking about. >> that is correct. i did not want to comment on it

because we hadn't confirmed it and i figured as soon as we confirm -- >> would you use imply that and also the age in which he had those feelings? and we understand of the gaba account is pro-immigration, pro-lockdown, leftist views is that accurate? >> i haven't seen it directly but from what i've been told i believe it's accurate though it has been publicly revealed, we are still working to certify verify that is his account but it does have differing points of view it would appear. >> okay. and what age? and how fresh is that gaba account? >> the gaba account based on my recollection it's from 2021 i believe? >> and the other proceeded with that? maybe age 14? >> yes.

the other account that we talked about was in the 2019/2020 time frame so it would've been a couple of years before the gab. >> before that. are there other accounts that you are currently verifying? and receiving information from? >> we have a bunch of legal process and we are waiting on a number of the companies to include other social media companies as well. >> okay. my time is expired, thank you for your patience today. thank you for the information. we will look forward to getting more information and director rowe we will hold you to being a change agent because things at the secret service absolutely have to change thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. i want to thank our witnesses for your testimony here today. with what happened january --

excuse me, july 13th could and should have been prevented from what i have heard today. i am grateful to our witnesses for a very candid answers and for helping to provide additional clarity and new information about the circumstances surrounding this attack. director rowe, some of what you have said today it conflicts with information on accounts we have had from local law enforcement we have had the opportunity to talk with. they have been voluntarily and i was expeditiously cooperating with our bipartisan investigation which we certainly appreciate. but we now need to speak with secret service agents directly who are directly involved and i would say we need to make them available as soon as possible. those interviews cannot start weeks or months from now. time is of the essence when

memories are fresh to get the information most important to us so my question for you as we wrap up this hearing, acting director rowe will you commit to interviewing them as soon as possible in a matter of days, not weeks in a matter of days? >> yes, sir. >> thank you. show live the american people deserve to know what went wrong and they deserve accountability for those security failures. as we continue our bipartisan investigation into security failures that day and any underlying systemic issues will continue working to follow the facts. get clear answers and make important recommendations to ensure that security failure like this never happens again. the hearing record will remain open for 15 days until 5:00 p.m. on august 14th, 2024. for the submission of statements and questions for the record this hearing is now adjourned.

[gavel sounds] >> all right it has been so far a hearing on capitol hill capitol hill, 1:13:00 p.m. on the east coast and we have heard from multiple senators, john, who are really growing those who are in charge of the many, many mistakes and faults that happened that day. whether or not we got to the root of the problem, or god the answers that the senators were pressing for, that still remains in question at this hour. >> john: i think we got a lot more information today than we did was secret service director at kim cheatle in front of the house committee a week ago. still a lot of questions not answered but ronald rowe was quite transparent when he said he went up on that roof and butler, pennsylvania, he says there is no excuse for somebody not being with some kind of overwatch. >> sandra: joining us right now as he has been standing by and we thank you for that, ron

as you remember the senate homeland security committee he was in that hearing throughout the morning and on into the afternoon. senator, thank you. what struck you as you sat there? >> i would say how little we learned witches is i think disappointing. the most of what we have learned on july 13's law enforcement i think it was interesting and sounded like the acting director was throwing local law enforcement under the bus. without giving us any details when asked by senator hawley according to whistle-blowers those local teams didn't stay on the roof because it was too hot could answer that question so it frustrates me is 17 days after the assassination attempt, basic information is not available. i mean, i would love to have access to the agents on the ground there. all kinds of answers by this point in time and the fact that he doesn't have those is very disappointing.

>> john: one of the points that was made as local law enforcement offered made an offer to the secret service that they could fly a drone they had over the event. for overwatch and surveillance of the area and the secret service said no thanks. i can't imagine why they would've done that. >> we were also told when committee staff went to butler on friday the local law enforcement also offered them radios that the secret service could have indirect munication with local law enforcement, they did not take those radios either. that is a great failure here. members of the public but also law enforcement aware of the sky, but it just simply did not filter up through the secret service until literally minutes before the shots were fired but we also learned that at 5:45 p.m., 26 minutes before the shots were fired, secret service sniper teams did receive the photos and were aware of the fact this guy was at the agr building so they could have been scanning that

for 26 minutes before they took the shot. so again, so many unanswered questions here basic information we should already know the answers to. i think that is what is so frustrating right now. >> sandra: you use the word, frustrate, it seems lindsey graham the senator got pretty frustrated with this on the assassin having encrypted apps listen here. >> you are telling me the guy that took eight shots at the president, former president, has apps that we can't get into? >> that is correct, senator. >> we have encrypted apps of an assassin, a murderer, and we can't get into them all these days after? that needs to be fixed, folks. i am all for privacy but for a point. what if in the future someone is using these apps to communicate with the foreign power? i think we need to know these things. >> sandra: i mean, senator,

there were moments where you kind of said how is no one thinking of this? >> people of thought about that. again, encrypted apps are about the right of citizens to have privacy from the federal government. i am concerned about the encrypted communications that the secret service uses that they don't retain communications on. they didn't maintain a record or record that so that is lost to us. local law enforcement recorded all their communications, we literally have a second by second tiktok timeline of how local law enforcement was talking to each other, we have no idea what the secret service was saying in between them themselves. they will probably be lost to history. that was my question. did you retain that? they said they didn't. >> john: that was surprising those columns would not of been logged somehow. a lot of frustration obviously in that room particularly this exchange between senator josh hawley of missouri. and the acting secret service

director. when holly was asking whether or not anyone had been held accountable, suspended, or fired as a result of what happened listen here. >> who was the lead site agent who made the decision to leave the agr building completely outside of the security perimeter who was that? >> senator, i cannot give you that name, this person is operational. what i need to know is exactly what happened and i need my investigators to do their job. -- >> but people didn't do their jobs. >> i cannot put my thumb on the scale otherwise -- >> what you mean? >> the objective -- you are asking me to completely make a rush to judgment about so many failing. i acknowledge this was a failure -- >> is it not that someone has failed question on the former president was shot! >> sir, this could have been our texas school book depository i've lost sleep over that the last 17 days -- >> they just fired somebody they need to be accountable! >> i will tell you, senator i will not rush to judgment that people will be held accountable and i will do so with integrity

and not rush to judgment put people -- >> i -- unfairly persecuted? >> people are dead! >> we need a proper investigation into this, senator. >> john: to your mind, senator johnson, should people of been held to accounts or at the very least suspended while this takes place while listening to direct or low, people are still on the job. >> first of all, they know their own chain of command. within days talk to us about the chain of command and these people that made bad decisions that cost lives and others grew dumb i grievously wounded so it's the lack of transparency that they were talking about with the one email at the very end of the email. that's what appears to be

happening here. so much could've been avoided. so much we should already know by now. you better come clean and they better come clean fast. >> sandra: this was an exchange with senator cornyn asking rowe why the portal former president was not delayed from taking the stage since the alert was already in place of the suspicious person. >> why would the president be allowed to take to the stage when a suspicious person had been identified before the secret service or local law enforcement were able to investigate the circumstances >> at that time suspicion had not risen to the level of threat or imminent harm. >> sandra: were you satisfied with that answer? >> i understand it. partly because again, the communications were side load but again, at five: 45 secret service snipers had a

picture of crooks and they knew he was at the agr building so i need to talk to the snipers who had that information? what was their reaction and if they have strong binoculars i realize he had a place to hide with the ridge up there but they couldn't completely conceal themselves and that was the question that needs to be asked and i only have 5 minutes. like a question during those guys literally an hour with all the questions i have. that is what the secret service personnel had to subject themselves to become detailed transcribed interviews to get the facts out to the american public to what happened. unacceptable from a 17 days later and we are still asking basic questions that should have been answered days if not weeks ago. >> john: i thought it was stunning local police officer on the tag channel telling his commander there is a guy on the roof with a gun and the people on the ground are yelling there's a guy with a gun and yet somehow that never got past the secret service. >> the silo communications. that's the main problem here it needs to be fixed for sure.

that probably explains an awful lot of that but again why didn't the secret service have that agr building covered? so many unanswered questions right now. >> sandra: senator, thank you. we have breaking news. >> john: thank you, senator. just breaking right now is the root lebanon explosions is the israeli defense forces retaliate against the deadly strike in golan heights. are trey yingst's life for us in jerusalem with the latest. who was targeted here? >> john, good afternoon. following a massive explosion in southern beirut. we understand according to the israeli military this is an air strike targeting a has a blog commander that the israelis say is responsible for the deaths of those 12 children and teens in the northern part of the golan heights on saturday. remember, this is how all of it began over the weekend that iran

made rockets slam into a soccer field and killing 12 young souls. the israelis promising they would respond and it appears this is the response. currently there are no fresh instructions for civilians among a possible retaliation by hezbollah following the strike in beirut but we should note we are getting initial statements from senior israeli military leadership including israel's defense. moments ago who tweeted out "has blue cross the red line" and i have spoken with israeli officials over the past or go days trying to get an understanding of the thought process of how the israelis would plan to respond to that rocket attack on saturday that killed those 12 people. the top officials we were talking about both the prime minister and the defense minister travel to part of the golan heights in this village of a population of about 11,000 people. when the top leaders were there

it was a very emotional moment for them. with the community this is an area that is not part of israeli territory under international law. but it was a moment of again, with the defense's' calling a redline that was crossed. earlier today hezbollah was talking about drone attacks they killed one civilian and it illustrates a picture of how violent this group is and how often they have been attacking northern israel since oct october 8th firing thousands of rockets into the northern part of this country. again what we can report at this hour there has been and is really air strike at the suburbs of beirut, lebanon, they say is responsible for that rocket attack that killed 12 young souls in the jewish village on saturday. >> sandra: sender here this is breaking news we are reporting

as it is happening thank you for that. crossing the wires right now, to pursue diplomacy between israel and hezbollah. the state department was just giving a briefing moments ago. said the u.s. will continue pursuing diplomacy for escalation here is the direct quote from the spokesperson. we are continuing to work toward aid to poetic resolution that will allow israeli and lebanese civilians to return to their homes and live in peace and security. we certainly want to avoid any kind of escalation." i want to put that out there as you continue reporting from there. >> it's a little late for that statement. over the last nearly ten months hezbollah has been directly involved in this fight launching attacks toward a israeli centers. they have even expanded those attacks all along the border between israel and lebanon. the israelis have warned time and time again if these attacks

lead to the deaths of dip civilians, they will respond accordingly. we are currently in uncharted territory because hasan nasrallah, the leader of hezbollah in the past has threatened to target tel aviv, the city we are currently in. if the israelis target beirut. again the defense minister in israel tonight saying that has blue cross a redline by targeting those civilians over the weekend and now the question is whether or not has a bullet will respond and make good on those threats. we should put all of this into context that the larger efforts by the americans to try to de-escalate the situation along the northern border. as we speak there are tens of thousands of israelis entirely displaced. they are living in hotels in cities like tel aviv and displaced from their homes and antitank guided missile attacks along the border and that continuous rocket fire being launched by hezbollah from southern lebanon. in addition to that you have the

american efforts underway. a top advisor to president biden has been shuttling messages back and forth between washington and beirut trying to de-escalate the situation understanding there are no direct conversations taking place between hezbollah and the israelis. we should note here according to all of the reporting we have on the ground israeli officials have expressed concern and a lack of confidence in that american-led process to de-escalate the situation along the border. to understand not only are these people displaced from their homes but the death toll is rising not only among civilians but among soldiers operating along the border. so we have been speaking with military officials before that rocket attack and targeted to try to understand if and when they would be an israeli operation into lebanon but i take you back to 2006 the second lebanon war. the devastation to lebanon as a country and to beirut as a

capital was so significant that hassan nasrallah the leader of hezbollah said if he knew that he never would've attacked israel. so the question is whether or not has below will respond to the strike in beirut, lebanon, that according to the israelis is taking out a senior hezbollah commander responsible for the deaths of those 12 civilians over the weekend. >> sandra: trait angst reporting live from northern israel on that. thank you very much we will check in with you shortly. >> john: will bring in kurt volker the american united states is engaging in diplomacy hereto tried to keep this from spinning out of control. yesterday they appeared pretty confident this would be a limited attack and lead to a wider conflict ratio. but this attack in the southern suburb of beirut against a person a friend of ours in beirut describes a senior military advisor who runs has below is that potentially

leading to an escalation? >> it certainly could, john. this is something that people of the winder out for months. there is a tremendous risk of this war expanding dramatically because no one is holding iran to account. they have these proxies and what we will hear from the administration is diplomacy and we don't want to see any escalation. diplomacy is important and we need and we need a position of strength behind that to get people to respond. and right now we are seeing actors on all sides looking at the u.s.'s saying what are you going to do here? we can't allow this kind of a tax. it actually creates the conditions for escalation. >> john: what do you make of the attack against the soccer field and the goal line heights?

hezbollah says it wasn't us but obviously it is not in their interest to target their arabs, but clearly the united states and israel says yes and hezbollah says you are paying for it and here is how. >> i would not believe has below at their word saying they didn't do it. you could have been someone below that level who decided to do this on their own. but that doesn't matter because you have to hold leadership accountable which is what israel is trying to do and it seems to be a shot across the bow the way they do this not going all out but going everyone senior commander in order to try to prevent this from happening again. that is the forceful response that you have to show in order to get the other side to take it seriously. if it is words only and diplomacy only, they will feel they got away with it and feel they can do it again. >> john: unconfirmed reports from has below that the target of this head air strike may have

survived it. if he did live through this is that potentially leave a diplomatic escape valve? >> they may want to take that and say okay, no harm done. even if he was killed, they may still want to do that in order to avoid a major war but has below has a lot of capability. they are dependent upon iran for support. if iran tells them know this is the time to go, we may still see an escalation. >> john: we have these pictures of benjamin netanyahu meeting with the war cabinet just before the strike took place. war cabinet did give him authorization to go ahead and launch a retaliatory strike against hezbollah, but now you have some noise coming from the nato front but it is a member of nato.

with the turkish president threatening to send troops into israel he said "we must be very strong so that israel can't do these ridiculous things to palestine just like we entered libya we may do similar to them, which seems to me mr. ambassador that's a crazy notion. >> it is. and it is very much an example of the void where we don't see a clear goal a clear strategy in u.s. leadership on this to bring about a known conclusion than others are showing up to show their own strength. and any sort of movement toward a real end game they impact on that. and i think that is what we saw with the attack an israeli response a great risk of escalation there would be horrible if turkey were to get involved. which means i think we need to

see a direct role. >> john: just to button the self this is what israel's foreign minister said about the potential of turkey rather of sending troops into israel and threatens to attack israel, just let him remember what happened there and how it ended. clearly that would not be a good calculation. kurt, thank you so much for joining us we appreciate you. >> pleasure, john. >> sandra: as the military has confirmed it struck beirut targeting the commander allegedly behind the deaths of those 12 children. we continue to watch what is happening there while also here we are anticipating a white house press briefing. any moment now we will get brandon a reaction from the white house. a quick break and we will be right back. d of high quality prn to feed muscles for up to seven hours. so take the challenge. ensure, nutrition for strength and energy.

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>> sandra: fox news alert as the we were reporting moments ago the israeli military has now confirmed the strike in beirut that has targeted the commander responsible for the golan heights attack in the deaths of those 12 children as we learn more let's hear from trey yingst in tel aviv for us what we know now? >> yes, good afternoon this story is developing each and every minute. according to initial reports the man they israelis were trying to target in this strike in the suburbs of the lebanese capital of beirut. there was a large explosion earlier tonight, initial reporting indicated they targeted the has below stronghold on the southern part of the city. some of the aftermath video does show a lot of destruction to a high-rise building in this area. let me tell you a little bit about him, he is a man who

actually has a $5 million bounty on his head from the u.s. state department for his role in the 1983 u.s. marines barracks bombing in beirut that killed more than 240 americans. the man who has been on the radar for israelis for many years. he is a direct report to us on this role of the leader of hezbollah and according this is the man to be targeted earlier today. we should know initial responses from has below saying they were unsuccessful in their targeting of beirut. when more information comes out it turns into simpler propaganda so we have to be very careful with what we are reporting here but what we know is an air strike took place in southern beirut earlier tonight. this was the israeli retaliation to that iranian made rocket

attack in a community in the northern part of golan heights that killed 12 young civilians. the israelis for days have been promising there will be retaliation. we saw the country's prime minister benjamin that now and the defense minister you have gallant visiting the aftermath, our team was there in the hours after that attack speaking with the family members as they buried these civilians and i can tell you this is a moment that shook the country. understanding the rocket fire from has below and the threats are increasing earlier today sirens were sounding across the country as they were launching new drone and rocket attacks they actually also killed a civilian in the strikes that took place earlier today since the october 7th massacre days ago, they have been involved in

the five of the israelis have not targeted beirut with the exception of one time and they were targeting a top hamas commander. the man responsible for founding the elko somber gains, some of the members that took the massacre. so we have this militia in southern lebanon. this is the first time israelis have targeted has below in beirut the lebanese capital it is a significant step up on the escalation ladder and it does raise new questions about whether or not has below will respond. i want to read you one quick quote we are getting in right now from a senior israeli officials speaking with channel 12, one of the largest israeli news stations. this official says whether or not war breaks out depends on hezbollah. we have seen a lot of this back and forth across the border over the past several days pointing the finger, has below officials

threatening tel aviv, israeli officials threatening beirut. and tonight the israelis targeting beirut with the air strike we were left to wait in the coming hours ahead to gather more information to determine if that strike was successful and whether or not has below will respond. sandra, john? >> pray we will give you a break to gather more news here as we bring in kellogg a second crossing right now on this is really strike. targeting this head of has full operations room. what we are learning right now is the fate of that leader of that commander remains unknown according to three senior security sources. we are trying to gather more information on that. tray will check back in with you shortly. john? >> john: joining us by phone is retired lieutenant general keith kellogg. the person targeted is if one should car goes by a moniker which tray pointed out goes a long way back in the terms of the u.s. looking for him in

the barracks bombing in beirut a $5 million bounty on his head, a friend of mine in beirut says hezbollah is insisting he survived the attack that he was not killed. a lot of other reports that he was taken out. game out for us if you would with the potential outcome of this is. could this plunge israel into an all-out war with hezbollah like we saw in 2006? >> yes, john, thank you for having me i appreciate you having me obviously on the phone in the lobby but what you see is the potential for escalation. the first is the israelis had to respond because even though the attack was on the jewish community which is a small like 2% of the israeli population, the fact is who has not responded the jewish population the way you hear about the jewish population talking about the arabs and the bedouins and it's an organization it's a

tribe. sort of an in-house joke. if israel is not part then the bruise would've done it. i think they have escalated to the point that the leader of hezbollah knows there is nothing you can hide from. and i think they were gambling that the israelis made a risk assessment. to make sure you understand the next step if you respond to this what we had just done in beirut was going to be worse than before. so i think there is a risk assessment here by the israelis which i think is a good sign when they are telling hezbollah we are prepared to go the distance on this and you are probably not. think they will back off because he doesn't want a full on lebanese war and i don't think anybody does. but then there is a downside here is the downside.

i don't think the israelis prepared logistically in the fight with thomas we have not bag those and i'm not sure the logistical for a long-term fight that you would see in lebanon. so a bit of a quandary. and as far as the united states because in a timely manner the weapons that they have used against hamas in gaza. so i think that is the risk equation that benjamin net yahoo has taken. i'm not sure they can afford a long-term for hezbollah and desarrollo. >> sandra: thank you for jumping on the breaking news with us. this just in from the state department holding a briefing they were holding the briefing as they found this was happening here is the reaction

from the state department listen. >> it just happened so i don't have any comment to offer if we have anything more to offer from the team. israel has every right to defend themselves. certainly for things we just talked about from proxies like hezbollah and it faces threats like no other country does especially in that region of the world. you of course want to make sure through our diplomacy conditions we have created in which civilians can return home but i just don't have further updates on this. >> sandra: it sounds like they are still in the early stages of digesting what is happening and where this goes next. >> yes, sender. again, thank you for having me. but i think we are making a mistake saying israel has the right to defend itself. i think we ought to change this terminology. to be more pro-israeli. we should say they have a moral obligation to defend themselves. because there is moral between

right and wrong and ambivalence here saying they do a little bit right they do a little bit wrong. we need full-scale follow-up behind the israelis and what they do. they are not the ones who led an attack on october. they are the ones who killed the 12 young children in the soccer field and they need to push back. which is say they have a moral right to do this. is moral obligation by the israelis. so i think to say this in bureaucratic terms and i think part of the problem instead of saying, sondra, this is important to israel, the democratic state that they to respond by the way to prosecute this fight. the only way hamas, hezbollah will back down is if they say we are full behind them and if not they will continue to see these attacks. >> john: based on what we heard from the vice president so far if she runs for president's statement that wonder how from

the commitment is going to be. thank you so much we appreciate you jumping on with this. >> thank you. >> john: we will take a short break will have more on this and more on the secret service fbi. (inaudible sounds) (elevator doors opening) wait, there's an elevator? only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, ♪ ♪ liberty. ♪ introducing, ned's plaque psoriasis. he thinks his flaky red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. otezla can help you get clearer skin. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla.

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>> sandra: fox news alert as we come in what we are learning from this strike is striking in lebanon. a commander that was in charge of the attack that killed 12 israeli children. former cia chief dan hoffman, we are still getting initial information about this strike. tell us about where this goes next? >> the first i would emphasize is israel has this commander on their target list and they need to fix that location and launch the strike to avoid as much collateral damage as possible. they're trying to restore dominance. i agree with him wholeheartedly. they want to make sure there are

no further attacks on civilians since this is how you show that is by saying you are trigger a variety to make hezbollah pay a price they don't want to pay if they do this again. >> john: this was a pretty big target. the head of the precision missile project the chief military advisor to hassan nasrallah he was a asset how do you think your response? a lot think there is not a wider war but if he gets bloodied in the nose does he have to res respond? >> that's the challenge and look, this guy this hezbollah commander would've been considered a high-value bargain. but israel is saying is sure. if you want to launch another, we have another half dozen guys so it's up to you, hassan

nasrallah. watch very carefully for nasrallah and his public statements. if he says something like we will respond in a time and place of our choosing, that might be his way of saying they will die on this so it we will have to wait and see. i can tell you in israel their intelligence selection consider it a full-court press. and our united states intelligence community as well is not just from has below but from iran as well. to determine whether hezbollah and iran may choose to respond because that has been their so-called access of resistance they are all mounting these attacks on israel at the same time is a very dicey situation. >> sandra: dan, if you could stay with us, two things one we are awaiting a white house press briefing. in the stages we will get in there when she starts talking about this breaking news. but first let's get back to tres angst the latest from there as we are getting some of this

initial video out of beirut. tray? >> sandra, good afternoon. we are reporting all of this in real time gathering information from sources a and a source familiar tells fox news that israel's defense minister is set to speak over the phone today with secretary of defense lloyd austin to discuss the strike that took place earlier this evening in beirut targeting hezbollah. also, speaking with a senior israeli official we got more context into what the strike means for israel and how the israelis are preparing for the possibility of a response from has below. this source of a senior israeli official telling fox news this strike in beirut was about sending a clear message. the source goes on to say we do not want to see a wider war, but this is now in the hands of has below. when i pressed the senior israeli official about when the decision was made to strike

beirut, the stronghold of hezbollah in the southern part of the lebanese capital, this source says within 24 hours after that rocket attack in the northern part of golan heights, this option was being discussed among others ultimately a decision was made by the israeli cabinet to launch the strike against has below again to send that clear message to the iran group. >> john: so here is the thing, tray. so they send a message that we got your number, we know where you live and we can attack any time we want. does nasrallah take that as a message to step down and stop attacks against israel? or does he take that as a provocation where he unleashes some of his vast arsenal of precision weapons which could reach all the way south? >> absolutely. it's a great question, john. that really is the question of the hour. whether or not hezbollah's

leader, hassan nasrallah will use the off ramp that is really being provided by the israelis. the israelis i am told have a variety of options on the table to choose from. they went with a single strike in this has below stronghold of southern beirut and they chose not to strike other targets deeper in lebanon where hezbollah has some storage facilities for those precision guided missiles. and again, if nasrallah decides to launch a counterattack as he has promised to do in the past, recently saying in an interview if the israelis targeted beirut he would respond by targeting tel aviv. if he does that come of this source says the israelis are prepared for the possibility of a broader war and if they say this is now in the hands of hezbollah but we need to put this into context. nasrallah has lived through war with israel. he sought in the second lebanon war back in 2006. beirut leveled. he saw the destruction and the

death among a civilian population in lebanon. he understands a broader war is politically unpopular in lebanon. he is under a lot of pressure domestically and of course internationally as you have actors like the americans trying to encourage both the israelis and hezbollah to take this exit ramp, come to the negotiating table, and ultimately get together in agreement. israeli officials say it is too late for that and the war is underway, hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into northern israel since october 8th and as recently as a few hours ago, they killed an israeli civilian and one of those attacks. john, sandra? >> sandra: tres angst on breaking news. jump back and as you get more information but meanwhile we are waiting on the white house press briefing you can see that monitoring bottom portion of your screen, she has not yet addressed the breaking news on the israeli defense minister about to speak with secretary austin she will surely has something to say on that,

but until that dan hoffman what are your thoughts on what we heard from trey? >> i think israel is seeking to restore escalation dominance but so far the cooties launch that drone attack in israel that killed one civilian and the israel responded this is israel understanding all eyes are on them. i think it factors into them in terms of responding in this manner. >> clearly a war with has below would be devastating for those in beirut more broadly across lebanon. but it would also be potentially devastating for israel as well. i was at the last war in 2006 that occurred mostly in the northern part of israel and little towns that dot the area alon