because you're more likely to die younger from a stroke. in big tobacco's fantasyland, the deadliest industry can rebrand itself as your friend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com in big tobacco's fantasyland, the deadliest industry "outfront" next, breaking news we're following israel now warning it's, quote, only begun

to strike gaza after hamas launched its deadly terror attacks against israel, killing more than 900 people, and kidnapping more than 100 others. how imminent is a potential israeli invasion of gaza. plus, the tragic toll. former u.s. ambassador mark ginsburg, a frequent guest on this program, just revealing hez nephew was killed by militants as he was trying to rescue hostages. he's my guest this hour. i'll talk to an american doctor who is right now stuck in gaza. the deafening sounds of explosions now surrender. what is the u.s. doing to get her out? let's go "outfront." good evening, and welcome to a special edition of "outfront." i'm wolf blitzer in washington in for erin burnett who is on assignment right now on her way to israel where at this hour israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is promising massive

retaliation after palestinian terrorists launched a surprise invasion, killing at least 900 israelis and holding dozens more, possibly more than 100 people, more than 100 people hostage taken to gaza. prime minister netanyahu warning the israelis are just getting started. listen. >> translator: we have begun, and i emphasize we have only begun to strike at hamas. what we will do to our enemies in the coming days will resonate with them for generations. >> the israeli airstrikes are just beginning, we're told, and that suggests israel may be getting ready to launch a ground invasion of gaza very soon. and that could mean a very bloody battle with both sides suffering significant deaths. fears the situation could get about -- could be about to get even worse as the death toll continues to rise. 11 of the 900 killed so far are confirmed to be u.s. citizens, according it president biden.

take a look at this. these are live pictures from gaza where it's now 2:00 a.m. earlier you could see smoke and flames in the background after israel's defense minister ordered a, quote, complete siege of gaza. no electricity, no food or fuel allowed in. hundreds of continuous israeli airstrikes also targeting what israel calls strategic centers that house hamas terrorists. parts of gaza flattened, one strike tearing through a marketplace. the palestinian health ministry says nearly 700 palestinians have been killed. 3,700 injured. and tonight hamas is leveling what is a chilling ultimatum, threatening to execute its hostages if israel targets people in gaza without warning. israeli authorities have not said how many people were kidnapped, but hamas claims it's over 100, which includes many children and the elderly. and president biden now saying it's likely americans may be among those being held by hamas

in gaza right now. we have a team of reporters standing by including our own nic robertson and jeremy diamond who are both in israel tonight. oren liebermann is over at the pentagon. but let's start with nic. i know, nic, activity has just picked up where you are. tell us what's happening, what you're seeing, what you're hearing. >> yeah, wolf. when we were talking an hour or so ago, things had been just calm-ish for a couple of hours. but in the past 10, 15 minutes here, we've seen multiple explosions over the horizon behind me, big flashes in the sky, heard the sound of very, very heavy impacts. that's gaza coming from gaza, literally some of the big detonations are really reverberating. it appears that airstrikes have picked up again. we were hearing fighter jets in the skies. above us there's been a lot of drone activity, there's been a helicopter buzzing along close to the line with gaza there. i'm hearing another fighter jet

in the sky there. so the activity, the strikes do seem to have picked up over the past 15 minutes. what does it mean? will it continue at this level, will it ease off again? but certainly an indication that the israeli air force is targeting hamas positions again inside of gaza tonight with an intensity. wolf? >> earlier, nic, you saw this convoy entering gaza. tell our viewers what was going on. >> reporter: yeah. we saw a large military convoy pass down the road here, take a left-hand turn just a little down the road from where we are. and that road goes to one place only. it will lead you to the gaza border fence. there's a couple of small kibbutzes. these are these kibbutzes where hamas went in and killed a lot of the residents there.

but we're seeing a number of armored convoys, armored personnel carriers carrying a lot of troops with equipment, with stores and provisions clearly going and planning to stay for some time. we've seen heavy howitzer type equipment, heavy tanks moving up and down this road as well. the equipment and the men that we're seeing, and the women, the female soldiers, doesn't mean that they're all going into gaza. but what it does mean is that they're moving closer to that fence, securing that fence, making sure that no one else can get back into israel. >> nic, stand by. i want to go to jeremy diamond. he's "outfront" on the ground in jerusalem for us tonight. jeremy, you spent the day at a hospital, i understand, talking with people who survived this heinous terror attack. what did you hear from them? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. hadasa hospital here in jerusalem received about 60 patients on saturday alone.

that was the day that that deadly terrorist attack took place at the nova festival in southern israel. and the hospital also received soldiers, policemen and others who were dealing with that day's violence. but one person micheh ohana, she was shot in the leg, she received shrapnel wounds to her stomach. and, through it all, she came face to face multiple times with hamas gunmen. she, at one point went from car to another car and eventually began running when they came face to face with at least three or four pickup trucks in which she said that there were about 20 hamas terrorists in each of those vehicles. as the shots rang out, wolf, michel ran for cover, and at one point she made her way behind a tank. this is her describing that scene.

>> translator: we just opened the doors of the car and started running to the fields. everybody ran to another direction. i went to the right because i saw in the distance i saw a tank of the army and i thought maybe that would be the safest place to go to. we were thrown a grenade. and in that time we couldn't see anything. and they were taken. some people were taken. i lied under the tank because they surrounded us from every direction because they saw the people on the tank. and the more of us there were, it was getting worse because a large group, they could just shoot at us. those of us who could go underneath did. and i did. and i thought i would survive there. but this is where i got shot in the leg. and i didn't even know where it was from because everybody had blood on them. and i was covered with blood. [ speaking in a global language ] i really don't know. it's a miracle because people

who were next to me did not get out alive. >> reporter: and michal told me that multiple times during that incident, she thought that she was dead. she thought that she was going to die. but she still took the time today sitting in her hospital bed to remember her friends who died and who were also abducted. one friend she said was abducted after he first got away from the music festival. but he returned to try and help his friends, and he has not been seen since. wolf? >> these stories are so, so heartbreaking. jeremy, thank you very much for that report. "outfront" now, major israeli major ben wallhouse, the israel defense force's spokesperson. major, thank you so much for joining us. first of all, what's the latest on the ground right now? >> thank you, wolf. the situation now is that we have secured the south, we no longer have hundreds of terrorists streaming across the border trying to kill our

civilians. we still have forces that are going house by house making sure that none of them are left, hundreds went across the border two days ago, entered into more than 20 up ttowns and cities. at the same time, as your viewers note, we are undergoing indiscriminate rocketfire. >> so, is it true that israel is now in full control of all of its land at this hour? >> yes, that is correct. we have fortified the border fence on gaza as well. we have streamed forces down there, and they are working to make sure that the entire south is safe and secure. >> prime minister netanyahu said today that the israeli airstrikes in gaza, in his words, are only the beginning. are we looking right now at a ground war here as well? >> well, hamas' attacks are continuing. the rocketfire is continuous. i'm sitting here in tel aviv.

my children are continuously going from upstairs down to the basement to the bomb shelter. sirens all throughout israel. so the idf has been directed by the government to stop those attacks and will do what's needed to make sure that hamas doesn't have the capability to renew them. >> so you're clearly leaving open the possibility of a major israeli ground invasion into gaza to deal with that? >> the idf has many capabilities and we're going to deploy them all in order to stop hamas' ability to keep attacking our civilians. >> as you know, major, hamas is saying it will start executing the civilian hostages taken from israel into gaza and broadcasting it if israel targets people in gaza without warning. will that change israel's response at all? >> that shouldn't surprise anyone. hamas aswar here is a war on civilians. it started with a massacre of women, children, elderly, entire

families. they kidnapped tens of families and people and young people, toddlers, elderly women. they're continuously firing rockets at our civilians. and, at the same time, they're hiding behind their civilians in gaza to try and avoid attack from us and cause more civilian casualties. so it's not surprising that they would say something like that. and our priority is to make sure that hamas cannot carry any of that out and cannot continue attacking us. >> do you believe, major that, some of the hostages may already be dead? >> i don't have the information to give you that now. it's also for operational reasons. but, obviously, our highest priority is to protect our people at home and also protect those people in gaza, and that's what our forces are doing in the land, sea, and air. >> major, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. and the war has tragically hit very close to home for my next guest, a man who has been on our network many times over

the years. the former u.s. ambassador to morocco, former white house adviser on middle east policy as well. he just announced the death of his nephew, a lieutenant commander for israel. ambassador, thanks so much for joining us. you and i have known each other for many years. we are so, so sorry for the loss -- your loss this evening. what do you know so far about what happened to your nephew? >> eli was a lieutenant commander and a navy s.e.a.l. in israel. and he had just retired from serving as an operational commander three weeks ago and was called up to lead his unit into where the music festival was taking place to rescue hostages that were being held by hamas. and during one of the efforts to break down one of the apartment

buildings, he was shot and killed by hamas terrorists. i found that out from my sister-in-law this morning. i'm here in morocco doing work. so it's been a terrible day for my family and i. >> our hearts go out to you. give us a little bit more about your nephew, ambassador. what was he like? >> eli, he was the oldest of my three nephews who was raised on kibbutz. my brother mike had been killed up there in 2006. so, eli had lost his father to hezbollah, hezbollah attacked in the war and he was raised as someone dedicated to israel's military prowess. the fact that he became not only a navy s.e.a.l. but also the lieutenant commander for the navy s.e.a.l.s, and then trained in the united states at the u.s. naval academy and in order to develop his skills to train

israelis in special command operations. i mean, his work in the last year is pretty secret, wolf. but for those of us who, and i particularly, i guess, substitute father, we were so proud of him. he leaves a beautiful wife in a kibbutz and four children, as well as two brothers and my sister-in-law. and we're all mourning. i can't make, unfortunately, to the funeral tomorrow because the flights are extraordinarily hard. but i'll make it to israel to be with my family as soon as i can. >> and when you do, please pass along our deepest, deepest condolences to your family. as you know, the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has warned there will be difficult days ahead and that israel will go on offense against hamas, in his words, like never before. what do you think that looks like specifically over the next

24 to 48 hours? >> well, i've listened. i've spent an enormous amount of time in israel as well as in gaza. i've watched the success of efforts by israel to try to quell hamas. but i'll tell you, wolf, my biggest fear based on the fact that my family lives up on the lebanese border is that did i bolically given my own view and hatred for hezbollah and hamas, it's very conceivable that part of the scheme here directed by iran is to exhaust israel's supply of iron dome missiles because hezbollah, as you know, wolf, and you're an expert on this, if hamas fired 2,000 to 3,000 missiles at israel in a matter of two days, hezbollah has 150,000 guided missiles. and no iron dome system that israel currently has and is

already badly depleted, can withstand that type of attack. >> it's a very serious situation, as i continue to say. and i hope i'm wrong this war is only just beginning. ambassador, our deepest, deepest condolences to you and your family. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf, thank you very much. "outfront" next, our breaking news continues. we're going to take you back to the ground. our ben wedeman is standing by as israel inches closer and closer to a potential ground invasion after suffering its most devastating attack in decades. plus, i'll that you can to an american doctor who is right now stuck in gaza, fearing for her life as she is now surrounded by the sound of explosions. what is the u.s. doing to try to get her out? and new details coming in right now from the pentagon on what the u.s. is now doing to help israel in the hostage rescue effort. we'll be right back.

we're following more breaking news right now. new strikes in gaza happening at this moment. which raises the question, is an israeli ground invasion of gaza imminent? prime minister netanyahu promising to hit them, quote, like never before. they are calling for another complete siege of gaza and saying the ground war is not off the table. with some 2 million people

crowded together on a 140-square-mile piece of land, what kind of fighting would unfold in one of the most densely packed areas on earth? ben wedeman is in jerusalem for us. i know you spent a lot of time reporting from gaza. you know how difficult that terrain is over there with urban areas, very crowded urban areas that lend themselves potentially to guerilla warfare, and underground tunnels as well that could be booby trapped. what could the idf forces be facing there? >> reporter: it's going to be a huge challenge, wolf. because the assumption is that they are going to go into gaza in a way that we haven't seen in the past. i was there in 2009 when the israelis made a massive incursion into gaza. they basically cut the strip in three parts. but they avoided the most heavily populated areas. now, the assumption is if they're going to go in and try to, for instance, rescue the captives, the assumption is that

hamas is keeping them in areas that are heavily populated, for instance, like refugee camps, which is one of the most densely populated of gaza's eight refugee camps. that refugee camp is composed of streets that are extremely narrow. so it's going to be difficult for armor to get in. and, of course, it is so full of people that it is inevitable that civilians will be killed. and, of course, everyone knows there are no bomb shelters for civilians in gaza. so this is going to be a very difficult, very violent operation. and, of course, hamas, as we've seen this operation that this attack they launched on saturday was very well prepared. they clearly studied this operation long in advance, and taken captives was clearly one of the essential parts of that

operation. and their assumption is probably that they have planned for the israeli counterattack, the israeli invasion inside of gaza. so, we've seen their capabilities are much greater than they have been in the past as well, speaking of hamas. and, therefore, the israelis are probably going to be facing perhaps the most difficult ground operation they have done at least since their incursion into south lebanon in 2006. >> i've been to gaza. i reported from gaza, i can confirm everything you're saying. ben wedeman, thank you very much. and "outfront" now, dr. barbara zin, she's an american pediatrician who is stuck in gaza right now. she was there on a medical mission to treat children when hamas launched its terror attack on israel. dr. zin, thank you so much for joining us. i know you're hearing these airstrikes that are going on in gaza right now. it must be very, very scary. what have you been experiencing?

>> well, i happened to be walking on the beach. i volunteered the palestinian children's relief fund, and was walking with one of their employees and his daughter on the beach when things started. we went for a walk at about 6:00. then about 6:30, we could see some missiles and the iron dome missiles encountering them. and, yeah, since then, we were told to stay in the hotel. there is two of us here, and we are just waiting to leave, really. >> as you know, israel has been striking various targets in gaza throughout the day in response to the hamas terror attacks that have been going on against israel. you were there on a routine mission, a very important mission to take care of children. were you prepared at all for this? >> well, whenever you go to gaza, you always know that there is danger of some violence while you're there. but, no, i wasn't.

i wasn't prepared for this. >> let us know if you need to go into some sort of bomb shelter or whatever, because i can hear those explosions going off right near you. [ explosion] >> there are you bomb shelters here. >> is there any safe area that you can go to? >> um, yeah. actually, i have a sister-in-law who's palestinian. she tells me to stay away from the windows so i'm away from the window. stay by corners of walls that are more fortified, and open your mouth so your eardrums don't break if there's a lot of pressure. so, i'm following her advice, and i'm in a safe part of the room. >> i don't know if you heard, but the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, doctor, is warning that israel will go after hamas, and i'm quoting him now, like never before. there's been calls for complete siege of gaza. a ground invasion is not off the table either. how worried are you right now for your own safety?

>> well, we're doing what we can to try to get evacuated. the organization i volunteer with, palestinian children's relief fund, is working hard and we're developing a plan to go down to the rafa border. we're going as fast as we can to enact that. >> you're trying to leave that southern border of gaza into egypt. is that right? >> right. so we have to get a visa into egypt. so we're waiting for the permission from the egyptian government. our state department is helping a little with that. and then the biggest concern is that it's about an hour, 45 minutes to an hour to drive that gaza city down to rafa. so the worry is that the israelis will, you know, bomb the vehicle that we're in. so we're working on trying to get some cooperation for that. >> as far as your discussions with the state department about evacuating, what are they telling you tonight? what are they saying?

stay put, shelter in place, or try to get into a car and drive -- [ explosion ] border with egypt? >> they're not really giving us advice. they are telling us what's open, and then -- yeah, they are going to help us get the visa. but they're not giving us advice on how to get to the border or anything at this point. i don't know that they could. >> and just before i let you go, doctor zind, i know that you've got a lot going on. just a few moments ago we heard that huge explosion over your head. what was it like hearing that? >> well, i get startled by them. they're not direct hits to m my hotel, and i feel like our hotel -- [ explosion ] is safe. but they're startling and i'm weary of them, and i just take the precautions that i described before. >> well, dr. zind, good luck to you, thank you so much for joining us. >> okay, thank you.

"outfront" next, our breaking news continues. president biden says it's likely americans are among the more than 100 people taken hostage by hamas and taken to gaza. we have new details from the pentagon on what the u.s. is now doing behind the scenes to help with the rescues. plus, so far the u.s. is refusing to say that iran is directly involved in this attack on israel. but is there any way hamas could've done it without iran's help? stay with us.

back with our breaking news right now. israel at war. this is a special edition of "outfront." i'm wolf blitzer in for erin

burnett, who is on her way to the region right now. just moments ago, live here on cnn, this moment an explosion in gaza happened as we were talking to our guest, an american doctor, who is now stuck in gaza. this as the u.s. defense official is now telling cnn that the u.s. is offering israel special operations planning and intelligence support as part of the effort to rescue hostages taken by hamas into gaza. earlier today, president biden said americans are likely among those hostages as well. i want to get straight to oren liebermann over at the pentagon for us. oren, what is the latest you're learning from your sources there? >> reporter: wolf, we have seen president joe biden and defense secretary lloyd austin promise any sort of assistance to israel, and this is very much a part of that. according to a u.s. defense official, u.s. special operations forces are offering their support and assistance in the planning and intelligence of the hostage rescue effort. now, it's important to point out this does not mean u.s. special operations are going into israel

or into gaza. instead, this is an offer of assistance of isr, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. it is a critical effort both by israel and the united states as well as perhaps others around the world to try to figure out how many hostages there are and where these hostages have come from. the u.s. has said they're working literally every hour to try to learn more about the hostages and the question, what to do, how to get them out, is that even possible. so the u.s. trying to offer israel its assistance in the planning part of this. and that assistance comes both from u.s. central command as well as special operations command, and joint special operations command. so you're seeing all of this effort to try to get israel the help it needs. and, wolf, this comes on top of the u.s. assets headed to the region, a carrier strike group, that was announced by d.o.d. over the weekend, and more fighter squadrons, those aren't planning to take part in any israeli operation, but it is a message of deterrence to iran as the u.s. carefully watching whether the fighting in israel spreads beyond the borders of

the country. >> and it's a message of deterrence to hezbollah in south lebanon as well if they have any ideas about a second front in this war. >> absolutely. >> oren liebermann, thank you very, very much. "outfront" now, the former u.s. ambassador to israel, we should disclose that he is married to cnn executive vice president virginia mosley. ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. have you been talking to your former colleagues on the ground? what's the latest you're learning? >> wolf, first of all, thank you for having me, wolf. i've been talking to him hourly. remember, we have hundreds and hundreds of u.s. state department officials that are on the ground. their families are there. we have local people, local employees that we have. we have a fantastic operation in israel. but they're scared too. they're trying to do two things, they're trying to make sure they're doing their jobs, protecting the people that are on the ground, making sure to make arrangements, but also they're worried about their own

families. so this is become a tragedy which is when people talk about this is israel's 9/11, this is beyond 9/11. this is the equivalent of 40 or 50,000 americans dying for a country of 9 million people. words can't describe the atrocities that have occurred here. and my former colleagues, they're emotionally connected to this. they're feeling it every day. and they're also trying to do their job. so, yeah, i am in constant contact with people hourly, and my heart breaks for them, and it breaks for the families of the victims and the hostages. it's senseless, these people are, hamas are mad men and doing things that god only knows why and how they thought that this was something that they could accomplish. >> i keep hearing the same thing in my phone conversations with

israelis. and i speak to a lot of them almost every day now. we know, ambassador, that at least 11 u.s. citizens were killed. president biden said today there are americans likely being held hostage by hamas in gaza as well. does any of this mean the u.s. would or could get directly involved in this war? >> i think it's been very clear. the president has been abundantly clear that we stand by the state of israel, that we stand by the state of israel, we have israel's back. and two things providing them the resource they need to get these hostages out, to protect the citizens of israel, both americans and israelis. he has been quite forceful in making sure that the enemies in the region -- listen, hamas' goal here is to get the region involved. hamas doesn't speak for the palestinian people. the palestinian people inside gaza don't like hamas. in fact, they hate hamas. people need to recognize that. their objective is one

objective, which is destroy the state of israel. and their objective is to pull the rest of the region into this. and president biden and vice president harris have made it very clear as secretary austin has, do not question the united states' will here. the rest of the countries in the region, hezbollah and iran, we're watching very closely to make sure that you don't get involved in this action. >> as you well know, hamas has long been tied to iran. it gets a lot of financial support from iran. and, according to the "wall street journal," i'm sure you saw the article, iranian security officials helped hamas plan the attack against israel. how involved do you think iran was? >> again, i think the administration has said there's no clear evidence from their perspective that iran was directly involved. listen, none of us should be under any illusions here. much of the funding that hamas gets does come indirectly or sometimes directly from iran.

but, again, our view of this is, and america's view, has been very clearly, do not get involved in this at your peril. and i think the president has been very clear, we have israel's back on this and they should be quite focused on that. we are showing our viewers live pictures coming out of gaza. we're hearing the explosions, more strikes going on right now. israel clearly is continuing its operation there. on another issue, and while i have you, ambassador, with hindsight, was it a mistake for the biden administration to unfreeze some $6 billion in iranian money for humanitarian purposes? >> first of all, it's, without question, one of the more ridiculous things i've heard. given, one, i think the administration said not a penny of that money has gone out yet. but i was there for two years where hamas was shooting off rockets. i was there three months ago when eight or 900 rockets were sent into southern israel, into

tel aviv. this has been going on -- this idea of provoking israel and poking israel constantly has been hamas' game plan from the beginning. they don't speak for the palestinian -- their goal is to see exactly what's going on right now in gaza. they don't care about the palestinian people in gaza. what they want is to create chaos. they want to create what's going on now. this is what they are trying to be successful at doing. so, my view of this is is that, and the president has been very clear by his statements, as you know, wolf, better than most, this president has been as pro-israel as one can get. and his comments when he has said multiple times you don't have to be, you know, a zionist to care about or a jew to care about -- and to be a zionist. just an hour ago, the vice president called me to express her views about what's going on.

and she's heavily engaged in this. the whole white house is fixated on making sure that they are looking towards and focusing on the support of the state of israel and the israeli people, and the americans that are obviously involved in this as well. so, there's a strong commitment on behalf of this administration. >> i've covered him over many years, and he said you don't have to be jewish to be a zionist. thank you so much for joining us. thanks for all your service to our country. "outfront" next, israel's prime minister says israel will retaliate against hamas like never before, his words. so what should the world expect in the coming hours? also breaking this hour, the house of representatives, they've been paralyzed as republicans have been struggling to select a new speaker. the war in israel now adding new pressure to their search. we'll update you when we come back.

we're continuing to follow the breaking news right now. take a look at these live pictures just out of gaza. a new round of strikes taking place there just hours after the israeli prime minister warned that his country's response to hamas' unprecedented terror attacks against israel was just beginning. this as one of the president's top advisers, john kirby, says there is currently no intention for u.s. boots on the ground in israel. "outfront" now, our analyst and our guest seth jones is joining

us. he is the director of the international security program at the center for strategic and international studies. and just returned from a trip to israel where he met with senior idf officials. also with us, the former u.s. deputy assistant defense secretary and executive director now of the mccain institute. and retired lieutenant general ben hodges, former commanding general of the army in europe, which worked very closely with the israeli army when it was part of the european command. seth, let me start with you. prime minister netanyahu says israel will go on offense against hamas like never before, his words. you talked to idf officials during your recent trip there about how they would respond to an attack by hamas. so what should the world expect now to see in the immediate days ahead? >> well, wolf, i think what i would expect to see and what some idf officials said to me

was something along these lines but i don't think they expected anything quite like this, is a ground invasion of gaza. and that will include dismounted infantry. we've already seen the tanks being moved close to gaza. armored personnel carriers because they're going to need to bring in soldiers into gaza, they've got f-15s and f-16s and apaches. they've used bulldozers in these operations. i've seen them in action in several of the refugee camps including in the west bank. so, i think this is going to be a brutal ground assault into gaza right now. and i think the hope for the israelis is it doesn't spread much into the west bank, and then, obviously, up north to lebanon and then syria. that's a worry. >> that's a good point. general hodges, how prepared do you think hamas is for this type of response from israel? >> well, i think this is exactly what they expect. and some people even speculate

that's what hamas is hoping for to draw in israeli ground forces in the way that seth described it. i mean, it will be extremely difficult, and it would be a chance for hamas to inflict casualties in an environment that's suited to their purpose. if i'm the israeli commander, the question in the front of my mind is what is my objective, what am i supposed to accomplish not just going in there to, as we say, to mow the grass. there has to be some end state that's clear to the commanders on the ground so that they can plan how they're going to do this. >> evelyn, as prime minister netanyahu is warning, he's warning that the israeli response in gaza is just getting started. hamas is warning it will execute civilian hostages if israel continues to attack gaza without warning. what does this mean for how long this war may go on, and how much more bloodshed there could be

before there is any hope at all for peace? >> yeah, i mean, i tend to agree with seth. everything that we're hearing coming out of israel right now indicates that the government is prepared to go in to gaza to, essentially, perhaps try to rescue the hostages, but definitely try to root out the hamas militants. and that could take months, and they do it at great peril to themselves. it's not an easy operation. ideally, you actually want a negotiation, and some kind of prisoner swap. but it's unclear what hamas' goals are. >> seth, do you think it's possible that hamas has already started to kill some of their hostages? >> yes, that's what i'm hearing from israeli officials right now. they clearly do not want to make public announcements about any numbers. but i would not be surprised if some of them were actually dead

initially from the immediate hamas operation. some may have been executed already. so -- it's not entirely clear, wolf. we don't have full information. but i would not be surprised based on what i'm hearing. >> what do you think, general hodges? >> well, i mean, hamas is not known for any humanitarian sentiment. so, they'll do exactly what they want to do without regard for what it does to these people. the israelis, of course, will have thought very hard about their operation doing what they can to save and protect as many of them as possible. that'll be in the front of their mind, i imagine. but, again, this is what hamas, i think, they expect. they know that the idf, israeli defense force, is probably the best in the world in terms of being able to do this kind of fighting. they are built and equipped and trained to do this.

they just called up 300,000 reservists. that is a lot of soldiers. clearly the israelis are thinking, this is going to be long-term. this is going to be intense tif. but it's not going to be, like, a lightning strike kind of thing. this is going to be a grinding -- and by the way, it'll be difficult to use the air power that seth referenced. that's always been an advantage for the israelis. but in this kind of environment, for -- it'll be a little bit more difficult to use air power. >> yeah. that's an important point as well. evelyn, if there is direct, direct evidence or intelligence that emerges connecting iran to this hamas attack against israel, what will that mean for iran? >> i think it will mean some kind of retaliation from israel. it makes me think back on when israel launched the attack on the nuclear weapons facility

that was being constructed in syria. in that case, israel launched the attack, took out the facility, gave some warning to the united states. at the time i was in the u.s. senate as a senior staffer. and it actually, kind of, was enough to prevent any further escalation, meaning israel gave its response. and we were able to ensure that it didn't result in any further war. so, israel could respond with some kind of strike, but then the iranians and the israelis would understand, okay, we don't want an all-out war. but it's a very, very dangerous situation. i have to say, it's highly conceivable that the iranians were involved in training hamas. clearly they support them. and i also wonder whether the iranians gave some advanced notice to the russian government. >> it's interesting because everybody who knows the israeli air force knows they certainly do have the air capability to

strike various targets in iran if in fact that should happen. "out front" next, our breaking news continues. our manu raju just emerging from a crucial closed door meeting on capitol hill. how much is the situation in israel adding to the urgency for the house of representatives to get a new speaker?

breaking news we're following, republicans meeting behind closed doors tonight, as the house of representatives remains paralyzed without a speaker. six days after a group of rebel republicans ousted kevin mccarthy. the gop now facing growing and growing calls to unite behind one speaker candidate to make sure the u.s. is able to support

israel in its war against hamas. but there is no sign at all republicans are ready at least yet to rally behind one candidate. and some are even pushing re-electing kevin mccarthy speaker, which he did not necessarily rule out. cnn's manu raju is "out front" on capitol hill for us. manu, i understand you just emerged from this closed door meeting in the house. what is going on behind the scenes? >> reporter: wolf, there is a session happening right now behind closed doors, where house republicans are venting their concerns, their frustrations about the historicer ouster of kevin mccarthy last week. a number of mccarthy supporters going to the mics criticizing their supporters who pushed for the ouster of mccarthy. getting a lot of criticism from those members, calling for some punishment directed toward them. there is a real fear tonight among republicans that this could drag out, that republicans may not coalesce behind one

candidate and that candidate may not get the votes to be elected speaker, and this could drag on, paralyzing the house for some time to come. this as republicans are directing their ire at republicans, namely republican matt gaetz of florida. >> matt gaetz is frankly a vile person, all right? he's not somebody who's willing to work as a team. he stands up there, he grandstands. he lies directly to folks. >> i'm not backing anyone until we deal with the fact that we have people in our conference who'd shut this house down on a whim again. >> we're not here to -- eight people who kicked us in the shins. they don't support our party. it's all about media clicks. >> reporter: at the moment there are two candidates for speaker, steve scalise, the house majority leader, and jim jordan. can they get enough votes to be elected speaker of the house, which would require 217 votes,

meaning they could only afford to lose four republicans on such a vote. and it is still an open question about whether they can get there or whether another candidate emerges, these two candidates deadlocked in the days ahead. >> one thing almost all of these republicans agree on -- correct me if i'm wrong -- is that the u.s. has to continue to support israel in this war against hamas. how much of a factor is that in putting pressure on these republicans to come up with a speaker? >> reporter: yeah, republican after republican that i have spoke ton recognize that there needs to be a u.s. response to deal with what's happening in israel. but the house cannot act unless they elect a speaker. and there's a question about how much money that the u.s. will request to give to israel. that will take some time to play out. but wolf, if this persists into next week and beyond, then the questions will be how quickly can they move on this new aid package for israel. wolf, other issues are still waiting as well, including aid to ukraine, funding the federal