central command has conducted in the region are in coordination with nato. and particularly with the british. and their capabilities reinforce hours. so that all of central command in the region responds in a like way. all targeting is done in a joint and combined way, all responses are done in a joint and combined way. and that levers the american capability so that when we include allies, it multiplies the capability to respond. however, if we are going to enter a new phase and there will be overwhelming response from attacks from iran and israel, you can bet that there there is always the possibility there will be collateral damage among our allies.

and then things will become extremely difficult. we have plans to respond under the circumstances. we have to remember that behind- the-scenes, there is a great deal of conversations that have taken place, diplomatic conversations taking place through intermediaries such as qatar. and other allies in the gulf region. one of the things we do not want to have happen is have the spiral completely out of control and american assets being attacked by iran or iran's allies. or just continue to use intermediaries to make sure that does not happen. >> colonel jack jacobs, sir, thank you for now but i know we

will speak with you throughout the night. we appreciate you in advance. welcome, everybody. we are following breaking news coming out of the middle east but you are looking at live pictures of two separate things. when is a view of tel aviv inside israel. where folks are being told to shut down all large gatherings, school has been shut down for the next two days as well. you're looking at the map on the bottom of your screen of iran and how far iran is from israel. about 700 miles. we're just learning that iran has launched a drone attack on israel. we understand israel's defense capability and that is the iron dome. however, that attack is being dubbed as a, quote, unquote, major attack by u.s. officials. this attack will continue long into the night. it will likely be followed up by missiles as well. the degree to which this attack will go, really is in question.

president biden returning from delaware to consult with his security team in light of this attack. i want to go straight to the white house right now well ellie is standing by. bring us up to date. i know the president just returned from the white house moments ago. >> reporter: as about 20 minutes ago, he is on route back to the white house. we are awaiting his arrival any minute now. that comes after the white house, shortly after noon today announced that the present would be changing his plans but originally scheduled to stay the whole weekend at his beach home and changing the plans to come back here to the white house to meet with his national security team and talk about the situation in the middle east and the situation room. among those that we expected to attend the meeting, we expect the secretary of defense and secretary of state as well as the national security advisor. the cia director and we expect

vice president harris to be among those joining virtually as she remains in california this all comes against the backdrop of what we know has been this ironclad commitment and support that the president has pledged to israel as the u.s. has had roughly two weeks to prepare for this moment after iran issued the threat of territory strike against israel. the u.s. has said it is prepared to defend israel with military assets, like ships and other assets. they have been repositioned. the question as we wait to see where the drones land and what targets they had as well as what they pose to u.s. assets, u.s. troops in the region. how the u.s. could respond to the threat but how they could protect the troops. that is no doubt something these top officials are going to be considering when they

meet in the situation room. remember, iran has warned the united states not to get involved, if and when the strike did occur. the u.s. is really walking this my mind of offering the ironclad commitment, the support to israel as a long- standing ally but also not wanting to get dragged deeper into this conflict. no doubt, among the high-stakes conversations that will take place in the situation room in what we expect to just be a few minutes until the president arrives. >> i'm getting a report from inside iran from folks on the ground saying that that they are calling this a hard revenger from the iranian perspective. what that looks like in the long run, i think is in question. do we know, if the present has plans to speak with benjamin netanyahu in light of the tax two >> reporter: as of now, we have not heard of any official plans

for the president and prime minister to speak. we know the last time those two had spoken was the high-stakes phone call where the president offered the condition. he said that intel is -- and tell israel had more civilian lives and aid into gaza, that u.s. policy towards israel could change. you think of the tension building up in the background of the situation as the president pledges the ironclad support for israel. no doubt taking precedence against the rising tension between these two leaders. it is possible they could speak. we do not have any official plans for these two leaders to speak. >> let us talk more about that. i that brings up a good point which is the political pressure that the president is under with his ongoing support for israel in light of his re- election campaign and some polling that shows younger voters, not in line with the

present and american voters not in line with the president as well because of his support for israel and the war in gaza. >> reporter: over the past six months of the israel/hamas war began, we have seen more and more this issue become a political vulnerability for the president as many young voters criticize his handling of the war and the ironclad support for prime minister netanyahu as he faces criticism over his handling of the war. as we continue in his fight for a second term until november, that continues to be an issue for this white house. they are trying to solve and make up for the lack of support in other ways. >> we are just getting some nor -- more news in piecemeal and i want to reiterate this is a developing story. we are getting news and and we

are trying to confirm it print and then i'm getting it out to you. so more information from my colleague, carolee. it is about the administration there is not expected to attack u.s. assets in the region. more to come on all of the allie raffa, tonic but want to go to josh lederman . josh, what more are you learning? >> i think we need to think of this in two phases as we are beginning to learn more about the drones that have been launched from iran towards israel. the first is the phase of israel bracing for the arrival of this attack how much worse it can be. we know according to reporting our colleague carol lee . the u.s., also in addition to these drones is expecting that this iranian attack will involve, potentially, dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles. as we have discussed now, it

would be a significant escalation and a much more perilous to israel than the drones. more difficult for israel's air defenses to deal with. that is something that is being closely watched at this point in time. beyond that, the whole second phase of this, after this attack concludes and israel has a chance to take stock of the damage and respond to any type of damage injuries, that kind of thing on the ground, what the israeli response will be. right now, we're hearing from israeli officials that they are focused on the first base. they are focused on shooting down anything that is large towards israel, in partnership their outlays, like the u.s. they are providing assistance in that regard. at some point in the future, in the next few days, they would move on the second phase, the

retaliation they have been promising if israel -- if iran has launched any from my running territory into israel. i just spoke with a u.s. official, who is on the ground and insight israel who said they are very worried right now. they do not know what this will look like any better than you or i do. of course, instructions given to a u.s. personnel, who are serving in israel not to leave. certain major cities and limit their travel and try to take extra precautions. right now, this is a very live situation. even the people who have access to a lot of intelligence do not know what this will look like or how significant it will be or what kind of response it will provoke from israel. >> is there a concern about how this will affect the war with gaza? feeling as if they are more vulnerable to proxies in light of the attack as well and how they position themselves to defend against vacuum munich certainly, a distraction the

israeli military is very squarely focused on defending itself from iran. we have to take a step back. as dramatic and deadly and horrible for israel as the october 7th hamas terror attacks were, israel has never regarded hamas to be a significant of a military threat as iran. in fact, on the spectrum of threats to israel's safety and existence, hamas and the other gaza-based groups, have been lower down on the list then has bullock, which has a precision guided missiles into israel. hezbollah and the other proxies , even father and lower down then the iranian military and the revolutionary guard, which is the unit of iran security forces that israel purportedly struck in the airstrike a few weeks ago on the embassy compound in syria that set off

this whole round of -for-tat excavation. for now, israel is going to focus more on the bigger threat, iran, which israel has considered an existential threat. that will change the nature of what they're able to do in gaza at least over the course of the short-term. >> we are now getting word the president is -- confirmation that he is back at the white house. as you get more word from the president, we will bring it to you. i know you will do as know, as you get more information. thank you for riding with us through all of this as we get through the muck. want to bring in barry mccaffrey to talk more about all that is happening. in general, thanks for joining us. we are getting this new information, updated information that it start out as a drone attack and it will be followed up by cruise and ballistic missiles heading towards israel. we know israel has the defense

capability of the iron dome. the fear that so many of the analysts i am speaking to the last hour have talked about that the iron dome will then billy -- then be overwhelmed and not be able to defend itself against those ballistic missiles. >> honestly, it is complex and a dangerous situation. this is a week coming up of great problems and unknowns on how the retaliation will actually take place. the iranians have an immense capacity to attack israel. i think israel's air defense capability is utterly superb. it is not just iron dome but it is patriot missiles and air to air fighters but my guess is against the drone attack, they will largely defeat easily. however, if the iranians then use cruise missiles with a couple of hours trying to target or ballistic missiles and they have one with a 1600 pound warhead that can hit 12 minutes

after it is fired, then the stakes will be increased. i don't think the air defense will be overwhelmed but they will clearly be catastrophic losses if one of them slips through and has a major city. what will israel do? they will retaliate. they have fighters that can carry nine tons of orients -- ordinance and the iranians cannot deal with it with any manner. we are in a tricky situation but when i say we because united states commodity, is involved in the situation also. >> how quickly would you expect israel to respond? >> wiser heads will prevail in israel. they will try to ride this out without seeing it escalate. there is no sense on the iranian parts or israelis to go

to regional war. the key is, has bullock him up north with 120,000 fighters, is iran going to trigger has bullock to raise pressure in the north? most of the idf is out of gaza but they are between 10 and 20,000 troops left inside gaza. most of the reservists have gone back to work. they still have a sizable presence of north against hezbollah. if that might open up, that would be an immediate threat to israel's existence. again, the next 24 hours, we may see what the retaliation strike is by the israelis. but they will not ignore any significant loss of israeli life or strikes on symbolic targets in tel aviv or other major cities. >> why do you think iran begun with drone attacks followed up by ballistic missiles

>> i am surprised they would do that. i would've thought they would've tried and symbolic attack against an israeli embassy in the world. they are busy convinced themselves they had to respond against israel proper. the drone attack may be up to 100 jones. some of them could get through. mostly, they will get shot down. the follow-on ballistic missile attack, if one occurs is much more problematic. the patriots can take out iranian cruise missiles. ballistic missiles also. we have seen it in ukraine. the situation will get extremely complex and dangerous but i cannot imagine israelis will not respond they also have long-range missiles. they have missiles on submarines with a very short flying time. the f-35 aircraft with nine tons of ordinance will go after strategic targets if there is

any significant loss of life in israel. >> are you concerned -- i arced -- asked marc about this as well. he is a former cia officer but about the potential for attacks from special forces, domestically smaller attacks, more focused attacks, targeted attacks from the iran or israel amidst all of this purdue feel like this will remain in the air? >> who knows. my guess is the iranians will be hard-pressed to present any significant threat to special operations forces inside israel. 9 million people, they are all acutely aware of the domestic threat, particularly given that terrible 7th of october attack. i don't think the loss on the iranians will play a role. other than they are potentially seizing ships right now in the persian gulf.

they see a flag carrier that was related to economic ownership by the israelis. the iranians are vulnerable. they have huge land borders. the israeli special ops, i would guess are in there now. they remain in there. their intelligence service has phil traded the senior ranks to an astonishing degree. this, so far, will be a war of the air. f-35 and is really attack missiles and the same on the iranian part. >> general, thank you. want to bring in courtney kube to talk more about this. i also want to play some tape we are getting in of the present making his way towards the oval office. we know the present cut his weekend short in delaware to come back to the white house to meet with his

national security team in light of the events that are developing in the middle east. images of the present making his way towards the oval office for the sit down the more information we get out of the white house, we will bring it to you. courtney, bring us up-to-date. what are you running from your sources? >> reporter: in a word -- in a couple words, this has begun. this is the iranian retaliation we have been expecting for more than 10 days. it is really ratcheting up over the last 24 hours but the expectation that it would occur this weekend. it is beginning the way that u.s. officials have been telling us they were expecting. in a number of drones, a potential drone swarm making his way towards targets in israel. the expectation is this attack or the military operation by iran will also likely include dozens of land attack cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. but we have not seen that yet. keep in mind, when you talk about a drone flying from somewhere in iran towards israel, that will take longer

than a ballistic missile would just given the tyranny of distance, it would make sense the drones will launch our first and they will take time to make their way to israel. as far as targets go, the targets we've been talking over the past several days seem to be where u.s. officials to believe this is going. that is israeli government sites. potentially, military or intelligent site as opposed to sites that would target israeli citizens or civilians or even religious sites inside of israel. we are also told that iran is still expected to be caring out a major military operation. they are expected to be targeting things they would consider to be somewhat proportional to the strike in damascus. the building that the israeli military struck on april 1st in damascus was on a consular site.

it is in dispute exactly what the building was being used for. there is no doubt it was on a consulate compound. thereby, was in some way had a diplomatic overall feeling or even, frankly, protection from what we would normally see. that is where the proportionality of this comes in. u.s. officials believe that is why they are likely to target government sites. they still do not expect the strikes to go after u.s. sites in the region. keep in mind, the u.s. has a lot in that area. there is always the possibility for some drone or missile to go awry and go off course and for there to be some sort of, frankly, a mistake that could lead to some catastrophic outcomes. the u.s. military already has a massive presence in the region.

in the last several days the pentagon has repositioned some things, specifically a number of u.s. ships including the uss carney. that made sam that we have been talking with that for months now. it has been in the red sea and throughout the region defending against attacks by the houthis. that is similar to what we may be seeing here tonight much out of iran. the carney has been shooting those down for a number of months. they were on their way back home and they were up in the mediterranean heading towards the u.s. now they are being held there and stay in the region to help it text israel against some of these. in addition to the carney, their other u.s. assets that have been repositioned in the area. the u.s. military says they are ready to help defend against desperate this point, it is a waiting game. officials are saying they expect this to unfold over a matter of hours. >> are the u.s. officials you have been speaking to seeing the drone attack, the initial drone attack as a warning shot for israel to get prepared for what is upcoming behind it?

>> reporter: no one is describing it that way. by nature of the fact that it takes so long for the drones to get from wherever they are munching, originally in ironic, all the way to somewhere in israel. the fact that it will take hours to get there gives israel the heads up. there has been a tremendous amount of diplomatic back channeling ever since the strike in damascus. officials, countries, all in that region and throughout europe and to the u.s. have been urging both sides to try to de-escalate. the reality is, iran has been signaling they would carry out some sort of retaliatory action and a lot of palatial's management officials believe they have to do something to fight back against what was a significant strike in damascus. do not forget, it was not just the fact that the strike hit on a consular compound that belonged to iran in damascus.

it also took out a very senior i running general and a number of other senior officials. it was a serious strike. officials who we have spoken to believe there is almost no way that ironic cannot respond. it is just a matter of exactly how serious responses. >> how are they characterizing the seizing of the ship, the aries? are lacing any connection? >> reporter: at this point, that is not expected to be -- no one believes this is part of the overall operation. this is not the first time we have seen a running activity in the region, even in recent months. it may just be a very strange coincidence. so far, as of now, officials in the u.s. government are saying they do not see this as part of this overall operation. >> courtney kube, thank you,

my friend want to bring in bureau chief martin fletcher to talk about the moments there. i am looking at a live picture of tel aviv right now. i spoke to richard engel a bit earlier. i could hear folks going about their lives in spite of the warnings are being given by the prime minister and might of this launch from iran. what are you hearing and seeing? how are you feeling in light of this launch? >> how i am feeling is runnable at the moment. i am actually sitting here on my balcony overlooking one of the most busiest streets in tel aviv. it is actually pretty much coming to a standstill. there is very few people on the streets. what is happening the people have heard the warnings and they know that these missiles are on their way.

drones are accompanied by bigger missiles too. and they're heading towards targets in israel per no one knows what the targets are. we have been told that they're mostly going to be military targets but there are plenty of military targets in tel aviv itself, including the army headquarters. the army headquarters is based only about half a mile away from where i am sitting. that was a target, civilians could be affected in a big way as well. little is known how many missiles are on their way. what is the payload? this is a very tense moment, as you can imagine. the first missiles could be hitting as soon -- about 45 minutes away from now. people are rushing out to get to stock up last minute. my wife has just gone out to buy flashlights and emergency food and water in order to

stock up the safe room we have here in tel aviv. every building here is supposed to have a safe room. people are getting ready for the worst, frankly. >> and here you are doing what you do best, reporting on the situation and we are appreciative of it. i am glad you brought the point up. it is something i thought about when i was speaking to courtney kube about the targets inside israel and how they are targeting military areas and intelligence areas and buildings. however, as we know, israel has a small country. it would be hard to avoid civilian casualties if, you are targeting these areas, unlike if israel were to retaliate and target a nuclear facility inside iran, which is more of a rule area inside iran and able to avoid more civilian casualties. talk more about that. the lay of the land in israel.

>> military targets, as you say, it is a tiny country. military targets and military installations are spread throughout the country near civilians that make civilian centers. there are very few, i would say there are very few military targets that are separated in any significant way from civilian areas. again, israel has a very sophisticated defense system. maybe one of the most sophisticated air defense systems in the world. we have been saying a lot of the iron dome recently, which is the anti-rocket defense system shooting down rockets in the sky, short range rockets. the iron dome system is useless against ballistic missiles, for instance or much longer range cruise missiles. on the other hand there's two other defense systems, what is called david slaying and the

other one is called the aero system. one of those systems is medium range rockets and the aero system is against ballistic missiles. israel is well prepared to shoot down these missiles on the way. the question is, how many missiles are on the way? and how many anti-missiles can israel fire at any one time? will israel be overwhelmed by a number of rockets on the way right now ? or would israel be able to shoot them down? another significant question, with all the rockets in the air above israel, israel's defense system is firing and shooting down iranian rockets. that is a lot of debris falling onto the ground all over israel. they could easily fall onto towns and villages affecting civilians. however accident again israel defense system is against

incoming rockets, there is a lot of debris and a about a potential damage to civilians, regardless of whether they are nearly installations or not. i emphasize that this is a moment of extreme vulnerability for israel and the question is, how many missiles are on the way? what is the payload and can israel shoot them down >> i know there are bunkers in israel. has there been any expression from the government asking citizens, israeli citizens to seek shelter and find bunkers for safety? >> that is a great question. so far, the is really home defense system has told people to be aware. they have closed all schools tomorrow they have told people not to gather in more than 1000 people in one place, at one time. that is about it. there have not been any alarms

that we have heard but i guess the rockets are not close enough yet. they will come. there has been no significant move by the government to tell the people, go in your shelters. people here have not yet to be told to go into the shelters. i'm sure they will be soon but it has not happened yet. as i mentioned early, as every israeli home is supposed to have some type of safe room. i must correct myself. there are many villages, especially air villages from israeli arab that do not have any security rooms in their homes. local arabs are more honorable than jews, to put it crassly. each house that was built in the last 30 years has to have

some kind of a safe room, a concrete room. it can protect the citizens against rockets or bombs. that only applies to the towns and many of the villages. many of the arab villages do not have the systems of defense at all. we are just going to have to see what happens when the rockets fall and hit the ground. >> what did you see, martin, as netanyahu -- is objective and striking iran in, top iranian literary officials inside syria? >> another great question. it is a bit of a mystery for many israelis but what did israel hope to achieve by killing these people? they work really a top israeli target and have been for years. israel spends a lot of energy trying to track the movements of its enemies. and the potential targets. the leader that was killed and his deputy and the other senior leaders were clearly on

israel's hit list for a long time. i assume that the intelligence all came together and the government was faced with a decision and the proposal from the security establishment, which which of told benjamin netanyahu, we can get them. we know where they are and when they are going to be there. do you get the green light? israel has had many situations over the past know where leaders were and not attack. it is a belligerent government. though right ring part of the israeli government is pressuring netanyahu to take action and act against the defense in gaza. it is the white weeding -- -- white weeding. in large part of

israeli population and even part of the government saying we should not attack rafah because there's too many civilians. that is limiting what israel is doing. that kind of pressure on prime minister netanyahu could encourage him to get the green light to kill the iranians, who have been on israel's hit list for long time. they were present with opportune and they took it. whether that was a wise move or not, it depends on where you are and how you see the situation developing. clearly, they understood that iran was going to retaliate. i think the feeling was that they were not expecting iran to strike from his own territory into the heart of israel. that is what iran has done so that must've been a major calculation by the israeli government but on the other hand, they are ready for it.

they said they are ready for this. they are ready to defend themselves against any attack by iran. and they also say that israel will retaliate. that israel will hit back against iran it is a major escalation in the israel/iran conflict. and the threat was an engagement america is also saying that they will help israel defend itself. americans are involved. jordan, as we know, has closed its airspace because they're afraid of what would happen. the question of a wider war, which has always been the fear since october 7th, since the horrific hamas attack against greater civilians but ever since that day, the fear has been a wider and regional conflict today, seems to mark the beginning, potential beginning of a wider conflict. generally, it is a war beginning now, open war between iran and israel. they may have it possible that

after this attack and after israeli retaliation that both sides say, that is enough. we have done what we need to do. we show the other side we cannot be bullied. and maybe they can tamper things down but it could easily escalate to a much worse situation. >> martin, i am going to let you go but i have one more question and then i want you to get to a safe place. i cannot imagine israelis want a wider war right now when there wanting the hostages to come home. >> absolutely. driving into tel aviv today, we drove through two separate demonstrations by people demanding the release of the hostages. even tonight, with the fear of what may happen with iran, people have still been demonstrating the streets to bring the hostages home.

the fear is growing here that there may not be that many hostages left alive. there are more and more reports that a good number may be dead already. what will happen now? this escalation between israel and iran is just another major, major delay in any potential release of hostages from gaza. >> martin fletcher, my friend and colleague, thank you. please, stay safe. stay in touch with us, of course as well. we appreciate you. i want to bring in josh scott heimer, to talk more about what is happening overseas. i know that you got a briefing, an intelligent briefing on potential strikes early on in the week. walk us through that and the reaction you are having now to what we are running a bout this major strike as it is being characterized by u.s. officials. >> thank you for having me. i cannot go into specifics of

our classified briefing and what i have been reading about for days on a looming threat with attack from iran as the present has talked about. this is clearly overwhelming. you have talk of 100 plus drones on the weight plus cruise missiles and the fact that it is a direct threat and attack from iran into israel, is a significant development and one that, of course, as israel says, is prepared for in terms of defensive systems. you have iron drtme, and all systems that are meant to intercept but this is an overwhelming number of drones headed their way. >> talk to me about what you expect the president to take into account right now as he weighs the possibilities with this potential conflict printable for politics and the

commitment that he has made to israel. the domestic politics he faces here and the commitment he has made to israel. >> he came out front today making it clear of our ironclad commitment to our key ally, the democracy in the region, israel. and you making clear whether that is to iran directly or their proxies, like has below, hamas, jihadist, or the houthis . they continue to launch attacks at us and the united states and our allies. to make it clear we stand by israel and i think that is a clear message. i think that is one people in our country want to hear. secondly, as was mentioned before, it is critically important for everyone to understand that israeli security is key to our national security and our defense in the region. it is our right against terror in the reason. i think that is why it is critical we stand by in this

moment. it is a very tense moment overall. i was in qatar and egypt last week doing everything we could to get the hostages home, including the american hostages. there was one who lives in my district, the alexander family. we know that october 7th, 40 americans plus were killed. there is a lot of things going on here. we do not want this to spread into a regional war. and the president is doing everything possible to prevent that. >> what do you want to see happen? >> first and foremost, we need to see the larger goal of getting hostages home and getting humanitarian aid into the region and getting a pause. that is critically important. i want to make sure this does not spread into a broader regional war. the challenge is the fact that iran has decided to launch such

an overwhelming attack and we are praying for everyone to make sure israel can launch enough countermeasures to deal with the attack. that is first and foremost to make sure everyone is safe. and then we have to see what kind of response it evokes. i think that is what we will have to watch both for what happens now and what happens with the response. when congress comes back next week, when we get back, we have to pass the supplemental resources for israel, ukraine, for humanitarian aid in gaza and in the region print and support for taiwan. the package of the senate has passed that the house is been waiting and sitting on for weeks, that is the best way we can show strong support for our key ally in the region and ukraine. we cannot wait any longer. i am hoping the speaker brings it to the floor as quickly as possible when we get back in the beginning of next week

becca schulte movement on our side from congress. >> how do you stop this becoming a bigger conflict when we do not have a direct line to a ron coomer we talk to iran through other avenues. but we do not have a direct line to them and even with benjamin netanyahu, despite our support for prime internet yahoo and israel and president biden has reiterated the support over and over, amidst the conflict and the impending conflict, i should say. he often times does not listen. with rafah, they have reiterated along with his government that they will move into rafah, even though the present has urged them to not go into rafah. how do you get them to practice restraint? >> first of all, you have a country that is under attack right now for the second time in my. months ago, hamas, a terrorist organization that hates us more

than they hate israel as do the other iranian proxies, they attacked and brutally killed, beheaded, ripped babies out of wombs, including 40 americans and have americans hostage. we can never lose sight of the fact they are a terrorist organization bring andy's other our proxies are terrorist organizations backed by iran. has below on the north is. the houthis are. they are all iranian back proxies but we cannot lose sight of that . i think our relationship with israel depends on a constructive relationship and ironclad relationship. we are not always going to agree on everything but that dialogue is critically important. and to make sure we have the dialogue but do not lose sight of who the enemies are. the yemenis are iran and their proxies. that is what you are seeing today.

when our enemies attack, not just allies, but they have been attacking us. they have killed americans. the houthis are firing rockets. they have killed servicemembers in recent months. i look at this and say, we cannot lose sight of the fact of who the terrorists are. these are more terrorist proxies attacking and on rent and other proxies attacking our ally. our key ally is under attack from those who seek to do us harm as well. that is why we need to make sure we protect the region and it does not spread in a broader way. >> thank you so much for joining us on the saturday afternoon with this developing news. we appreciate it. i want to bring it returned four-star general mccaffrey and mccaffrey again. just to kind of give people a look at what is happening domestically in the country as well.

i've been told gas stations have become crowded. people are very scared. the ironic television network is defending its operations. they have chosen a name for it as well. they do not know what will happen and iran is reiterating and support coming from russia as well, from moscow as well, amidst this attack. these are claims we cannot verify. however, this is a source on the ground i have in iran talking about the scene inside around amidst this attack. and the appending of what will be. colonel, pick up for me, a little bit on where we left off this idea of we know drones are headed towards israel. we now have confirmation they will likely be fired followed by ballistic and or cruise missiles. the first hit we will see timing wise with a look at the mileage between iran and israel and the time and when it takes a drone to get to israel is

between six and 7:00 p.m. eastern standard time. what can we expect to see at that point as we look at images here live in tel aviv? >> what we will see depends on a great deal on what iran subject to desire. if it was only to demonstrate that it hit israel and retaliates with the attack earlier, you could argue that the wave of drones would be the only attack and later followed by other kinds of vehicles that are more difficult to shoot down. just to demonstrate the capability and to get it off their plate. they had to retaliate in some way. if the objective, on the other hand, is to cause a great deal of consternation of destruction of israel, then what they would do would be to calculate exactly

-- they would have all the assets attacked all at the same time and overwhelm israel with drones and other vehicles arriving at the same time. not very much warning for some of the vehicles. but we would have some idea of exactly what their intention is, depending on when the other aircraft, the other missiles -- when the missiles are launched. the likelihood of the latter half, i think it is low. as we heard from martin fletcher , just about anything will cause casualties on the ground and that may motivate israel to strike, predetermined targets, very substantial targets inside iran. and then we do not know what will happen after that.

>> if you would stand by. i want to bring in richard engel, who is standing by in jerusalem as well. richard, bring us up to date. we are about 50 minutes to the top of the hour. the expectation is we could see these attacks but -- between 6:00 and 7:00 our time in new york, after midnight -- after 1:00 a.m. your time. what more are you learning and seeing? >> reporter: you had mentioned how iran is describing it. they are copping -- calling operation truthful prowess. they would respond to the attack about two weeks ago on the embassy compound in damascus now they say that they are carrying out their word but the iranian say this is an attack that will be carried out in three stages. one following the other. three sequential stages. the first one, the drones. we have heard the israelis talk about the drones.

second, more drones but fired from my rock and syria. showing a little bit of the strength and proxies. and also let's response time for israel because iraq and syria , syria particular very close to the border. and the third with targeted ballistic missiles. we have not heard any indication that that has begun her but there are some indications that u.s. forces in iraq and syria have begun firing some of the drones as they transit over the country. jordan is expected, also, to fire on the drones to try and block them from ever entering israeli airspace. i know speaking to officials in the region that from qatar, to jordan, to egypt, officials are watching this closely and watching it this will escalate. watching to see if this is a -- i don't think you can call it a symbolic response, but this is a response that is over in a day or two. and the region moves on and tries to get out of the crisis

of the gaza war. and you get in peace talks or this brings a new phase and we are in an escalating conflict directly between iraq -- iran and israel potentially involving the u.s. but a lot is riding on what will happen over the next several hours. you talked about tension. there is some tension in israel. i am in jerusalem right now but i can see buses are driving on the street. cards are still on the streets. people are still out and have a lot of confidence in the air shelters in this country. they have a lot of confidence and the air defenses. in the americas and the united states and close allies are working closely to defend israel. there is nervousness here and have been a lot of nervousness for the last 48 hours or so. but not a panic. >> richard engel, i thank you. please stay safe, my friend. we will see richard throughout the evening as the situation develops.

>> general mccaffrey, i want to come back to you on this. i'm sure you relisten to reach her -- richard engel on the ground there. this three-pronged attack. knowing israel's military capabilities and defense capabilities, do they have the ability to defend themselves in this three-pronged attack? >> in my view, this is a major escalation by the iranians. i would have thought they would have gone after one is really embassy or they would have fired five ballistic missiles at one military target and then signaled that was it. if it is actually 100 something odd drones, which might arrive in the next hour or so, if they combined this with ballistic missile attacks, that missile will hit israeli targets in 12 minutes. then, i predict we will see a major response.

of fighters going out after a strategic target in iran. they will fire. we may see a window opening up. i thought martin fletcher's interview was thoughtful. why did netanyahu greenlight with several major revolutionary guard leaders in syria on their embassy. military organizations are immensely resilient. if you kill the general, someone shows up again in 30 minutes and takes command that is equally capable. netanyahu did, deliberately, provoke the reaction. i don't think they thought they would go on this magnitude but

we aren't ages ground the israelis are in for a rough go. >> general and colonel if you would stand by. we are watching the clock ticked by. we could be seeing the drone heads as we look at these live pictures in tel aviv. i want you with me if that happens. i do want to bring in gregory meeks, he is a ranking member. thank you for joining us. talk me through how you are feeling about this and what you are expecting to see. and what the president needs to take into account with the support of israel. two very nervous and worried as everyone is. and rightfully so, given what we have seen or hearing. i think that we are waiting to see what the targets are of the drones and/or the ballistic missiles. i am hoping that there is a way

to contain this. and if it is, not something substantial but has been talked about. so that we can get to de- escalation and it does not rise to a scenario where we just have an all out war in the middle east between israel and iran. it is a wait-and-see in that regard. also, know that it is now, as i saw my colleague on just before me, extremely important -- i am reaching out to talk to chairman mccall and others so that we can try to get the supplemental on the floor to vote on monday. we talked about last week how extremely important passing a supplemental was for ukraine and israel, taiwan and humanitarian aid. this escalates that need. on a congressional standpoint -- >> can you explain to our viewers why this escalates the

need? >> because it is money and for ammunition, et cetera, that can go to both ukraine, israel, taiwan, immediately as well as humanitarian aid to go into gaza. this is something we can move on in a fast time. that is why it is important to get that out so everyone has what they need to defend themselves. >> congressman, talk to me about the situation that we find ourselves in. i think it is a rare one. that we could be looking at and israel/iran conflict. it is something that has been talked about in various circles as more existential than actual reality. what we are looking at reality now. and what that could become and the united states and possibly getting drawn into it. because of their fervent support for israel as an ally.

>> clearly, we understand with israel. i think that this is what the president was talking about from the very beginning. trying to make sure that we did not have an escalating situation in the middle east. apparently, we do. that is why we have to be very clear watching what takes place. and where the targets are that iran has currently sent over. are there two isolated places to show they have the ability to do something or will they designate to certain targets and hit the targets? a substantial men takes place. it is my hope and we will see, i guess within a matter of hours where the destination of the drones and the missiles are headed.

i know that israel has, as well as, the jordanians as well as united states, the appropriate equipment in place to try to knock down the drones and the ballistic missiles as they are headed in the direction of israel. at this date, i think we all just have to see what happens and then hope that it is a situation that we can have a de- escalation thereafter. that nothing drastically was hit and we were able to take out all that was sent over by iran. we met gregory meeks, thank you, sir. we are making our way towards the top of the hour. about four minutes from the top of the hour. and the vision that you are seeing, the picture that you are seeing of tel aviv may be very different in just a couple hours or so as we are awaiting this attack from iran. now confirmation they have launched this attack from iran towards israel.

and what we are hearing from u.s. officials is that it will be followed up by a missile attack as well. it is being called and characterized as a, quote,", major attack. as we make our way towards the top of the hour, what are you thinking about. what are we expecting to see on our screens in just a few minutes or so? colonel, to you first. >> you may wind up seeing some vehicle shot down. they are slow enough so they can be shot down while away from israel's borders. the real hinge point will be what happens after that. that these other rapidly moving , large numbers of missiles and markets -- rockets are headed towards israel. some are undoubtedly to land on israeli soil and then it will be difficult for and yahoo do

not respond by attacking on iranian soil. >> do you believe the iran regime understands his own over her belly a mess this attack with united states completely behind israel and understanding the military capability not just of israel but of the united states? and how wonderful the regime is. not is because of this but because of domestic turmoil we have watched and reported about years now inside iran. >> several years ago we had military officers that he was not too worried about iran because he thought he had deliberate objectives with political leadership. i could not disagree more. these people are religious zealots. they are brutal to their own population and have vowed to exterminate the israelis. they are proclaimed enemy of the united states against the

political interest for years. there are nearly a nuclear power. i think this attack on israel, it is now unfolding. the key to me will it be followed by ballistic missiles? a combined attack. it looks to me like a major attack to which the idf will respond. the iranians cannot possibly deal with the israeli f-35 going in low level, stealth technology. nine tons of ornaments. they will strike to chi -- strategic targets. is hard to understand what either side is doing at this point. general, thank you. colonel, thank you.