molly: 100 israelis and 198 palestinians killed along with hundreds wounded and dozens taken hostage after the surprise attacks on israel this morning, bombarding the nation and erupting the border region into deadly conflict. welcome to "fox news live," i'm molly line. griff: and i'm griff jenkins. we were just looking live at trey yingst in the middle of rockets firing. trey, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: yeah, griff, molly, right now islamic jihad and and hamas is have haunched a massive barrage into southern and central israel. in the distance i can see some interceptors coming off, my cameraman's going to pan back with here, and and you can see this is israel's missile defense system, the iron dome, in action. they've had to resupply these batteries as much as possible

throughout the day, but what hamas is trying to do is overwhelm these systems, so they're firing barrages at different angles and at different times to try and get past the missile defense in the southern part of israel. there are still soldiers right now coming back from the gaza border area, griff. they are engaged in gun battles along the border or with a number of palestinian militants who are till here in southern israel -- still here -- working at this hour, doing everything they can to free the hostages still taken by these palestinian militants as the military makes a plan for what will take place in the coming hours and days. griff: trey, when you began covering this early today, you were describing the ground component as well as the missiles being attacked now. you've got a full on ground component if as idf forces try and take back areas,

territories, towns that were seized in the, and the hamas militants are trying to hold, and you've got missiles going right now. where does this take us? >> reporter: yeah, it takes us into some very dangerous territory, griff. israel is bracing for the possibility of a multi-front conflict. the leader of hamas has just released a statement saying that he will expand the fight to jerusalem and the west bank. as we saw for ourselves just a few weeks ago, there are a variety of militants across the west bank in palestinian cities very close to israeli troops. and israeli civilians. and the cities that sit just along the border with the west bank. so the indication right now is that hamas and islamic jihad will continue their rocket fire into southern and central israel, they could even expand that fire. and they also say they are going to bring in militants from the

west bank and palestinians in jerusalem to this fight. israel has called up hundreds of thousands of reserve troops. we are not sure what the plans of the israeli military are. we have very limited information right now about what will take place in the coming days, but there are many options on the table. one of them has to do with sending troops into gaza which is a real possibility given the significance of what occurred earlier today with more than a hundred israelis killed in a cross-border attack. the other possibility is lebanon and hezbollah getting involved in this fight. and it's certainly of concern to israeli officials, and it's part of the reason they are raising the posture here, because they want to insure that if iran or proxies across the region decide to capitalize on this opportunity that has been seen as a moment of weak withness and an intelligence failure by the israelis, that the army is prepared. and so that's part of what we are seeing right now.

griff? griff: and just lastly, one last little insight there because you're seeing cars behind you, people leaving perhaps some of the attacked areas. obviously, this caught the israeli government off guard, but what has been the reaction to israeli citizens? >> reporter: you see some civilian cars behind me x these are people who were trapped the entire day in their communities along the border. some of those communities just now retaken by israeli forces. one woman pulled over and spoke with us, and and she was with her young son. and you could see in her eyes terror as she recalled what took place in her neighborhood, describing gunfire from palestinian militants as they beat on the doors and shot into people's houses. she said it took hours for israeli troops to get there and that there were people inside her neighborhood that were killed and that were taken hostage by these militants. it was hours inside of a shelter

with her son and, again, you could see just in her eyes the terror that she ebb appearanced today -- experienced today, just one of many civilians here in southern israel. one that, thankfully, were able to make it out. and these cars, again, civilians that are just now making it to safety. griff, molly. griff: amazing reporting, trey. we'll check back in with you as this story develops. molliesome is. molly: president biden speaking with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu just this morning on the phone. netanyahu's office says biden expressed his full support for israel's right to self-defense. lucas tomlinson is live with the latest developments just outside of the white house. >> reporter: molly, officials say this was the largest attack on israel in a half century dating back to the yom kippur war 50 years ago yesterday which also took israel by surprise, as you mentioned. president biden is here at the white house, he spoke to his israeli counterpart. the white house releasing a

statement in the president's name saying, quote: the united states unequivocally con. dems this appalling asaws against israel from from gaza, and i made clear to prime minister netanyahu that we stand the ready to offer all appropriate means of sport to the government and the -- support to the government and the people of israel. terrorism is never justified. israel has a right to defend itself and its people, the united states warns against any other party seeking advantage in this situation. my administration's support for israel's security is rock solid and unwavering. like the yom kippur war, today's attack launched not only on us rile's sabbath -- israel's sabbath, but former defense secretary mark esper this morning offered this blunt assessment of what happened. >> it was a surprise. it caught9 the israelis completely off guard. you can't say anything but it was an intelligence failure. and i think, look, we're dealing with a tactical situation on the ground which is terrible and

tragic for both the israeli citizens and the israeli military. >> reporter: senator tom cotton releasing a statement a short time ago which i will read in part, quote: this war is a transparent attempt by iran to derail the peace talks between israel and saudi arabia. now, just a reminder of the reach of israeli forces going back to 1976, there was an air france flight from israel that was hijacked by palestinian terrorists as well as german leftist terrorists as well. israel, there's an i elite commando use equivalent to the u.s. army's delta force, launched a daring raid to rescue the passengers. benjamin netanyahu's brother head that raid and, tragically, he was killed, the only israeli casualty from the forces. molly? molly: lucas tomlinson, thank you for that update. u.s. embassy people in israel are instructed to shelter in place amid the violent crashes -- clashes.

we are joined by chief will the political anchor bret baier. thank you so much for coming back up and joining us again. a few moments ago we were talking about potential escalation and just within the last couple of minutes we heard reporting from both trey yingst on the ground there and jennifer griffin as well talking about hezbollah to the north, also iranian-backed. so i just want to get your thoughts as we're beginning to see some of these outside factions beyond hamas start to weigh in on where this could potentially go. >> yeah, molly, i think this is directly tied to iran. i don't think you cannot connect the dots. and if you talk to intel officials, they will say that this funding is right from iran both to hamas and to hezbollah and that this has, had to be orchestrated for some time. i said the last hour about, you know, it had to be more than just weeks, and there is concern about the $6 billion that was funneled back to iran in that hostage deal which is obviously

a major concern, and critics of the administration if are pointing to that. but it's also the funding beyond that, the funding to the palestinians, the funding to iran over sanctions relief over the past couple of years that a lot of experts have seen funneling right to these groups, that a maas and hezbollah. -- hamas and hezbollah. this is complex. this is an attack that we haven't seen in decades. and when you see those ground units going community to community shooting women and children, taking these people hostage, this was planned for quite some time with a lot of backing. and all eyes really point to iran. molly: yeah, it's really, truly barbaric, what's happening there on the ground. when you talk about the level of planning involved, we've also seen the cusp of historic deals. the united states working between saudi arabia and israel, but when we talk about the planning, that theoretically would be going on long before those deals got close to

fruition. is that what we're, what you're thinking? >> i mean, we don't have the insight to that. i'm just talking to experts who know the region really well and look at this attack and the complexity and say this had on a long time in the making. this normalization talk has obviously been happening for months, and after my interview with the saudi crown prince and then the israeli prime minister, it really did feel like it was on the cusp of possibly a breakthrough. remember, saudi arabia normalized relations with iran first, and then in the hopes that they were going to get some kind of deal with israel, both sides expressing a lot of optimism. i think that optimism is way out the door right now judging by the statements that are coming from those middle eastern countries and judging by what we're likely going to see not in days, but weeks in this operation. this is not going to to go away anytime soon, and to your point earlier, if you start seeing

hezbollah really increasing its attacks in the north or you see other are elements start to move in the middle east, we could see something very expanded. in the beginning of this today, you had some elements of the biden administration in embassies and palestinian affairs put out statements urging israel to have restraint. i think that that messaging has changed in that the president i putting out a statement that the u.s. will do anything to support israel. right now it's all about the israelis trying to protect themselves and rescue those hostages and take out the terrorists who have taken over these communities on the border. molly: yeah. it's incredible developments today. bret baier, thank you so much for your insights. i'm sure we'll be checking in with you all throughout the day. thank you. >> you bet. griff: thank you. now let's bring in former speaker of the house and republican congressman from the house kevin mccarthy. mr. speaker, thank you for coming in for us today.

i understand you had some -- you've had some conversations with officials in israel. what can you tell us? >> i've been to israel many times. i was just there in may speaking for the 75th anniversary. president herzog had just call me a couple days ago a, but i was speaking today with their speaker, speaker ohana. they are telling me this is their pearl harbor. you've got to understand, 5,000 missiles are what are overwhelming the iron dome. the iron dome can only take so many. and then to enter israel, this has not happened where a foreign has actually controlled land inside israel since 1948. there are still a number of villages, i believe the latest is seven,. >> you're having street combat trying to win that land back. but the atrocities that have happened here, the killing and kidnapping of children, of grandparents and others, this is well planned months in advance, and this could not, hamas could not go forward without the

approval of iran. they would not have the resources for the missiles, for the weaponry without iran applying them. but now to have maybe a at battle on the northern front as well, this is what the world has to understand. you cannot refrain from violence here. israel has to take care of this situation, and it won't be one or two days. this is different than anything we have seen in 50 years, what is going on in israel. and there's a reason for it. the shift in our administration to iran in this new administration, the $6 billion, but ill also argue when i -- i would also argue when i was in israel in may, my very first question was why won't president biden invite president bibi to america? he still hasn't invited him to the white house. he would only meet with him in new york. that sows real doubt inside the middle ooh east, and we were finally making further progress on the abraham accords which the trump administration were able to do with saudi arabia.

but think about our shift with this new administration, president biden picked a fight with saudi arabia. that moved china in to bring saudi arabia closer to iran. all of this the has ramifications for the world. foreign policy matters, appeasement fails. only strength, and we've watched that through history. griff: yeah. >> we can go back time and again, appeasement fails. a strong america makes the world safer. griff griff congressman, i want to ask you because we've raised this point earlier already today on this show and that is all of this underscores the national security implications that now at this very moment the legislative branch, in my estimation of where things stands, are essentially paralyzed because there is no speaker of the house. they can't bring things to the floor. your reaction, your thoughts on that. >> you're 100% correct. there is nothing the house can do until they elect a speaker, is and i don't know if that happens quickly. the speaker is part of a gang of eight that takes action to be

able to have the briefings and others. but think about this, the whole -- why would you ever remove a speaker during a term to raise doubt around the world? the other thing that happens here too is it's driven by only 4% within the republican party, driven by one person that's afraid of an ethics complaintsome i don't know what's in it, but it must be very serious that matt gaetz is so afraid that he would put himself and his fear of what he has done over the protection of the nation. and for those democrats all to join those eight individuals after i just moved to keep government open, could you imagine had i not done that? that our military not being paid right now, that our border would be wide open? think about -- you to know this, griff, you've been down there, the number of people we catch on the terrorist watch list coming across our border. this could shift to our country. but think if we were shut down right now. and and to remove me based upon doing what's to right, i will always stand to make sure i will give my job up to do what's right for this nation and make sure i fight for america.

griff: and we look at really what this will do, as bret baier was just so accurately talking about the, the normalization of relations in the middle east are pretty much all but thrown out. are you concerned, and thank you for your time, last question, but are you concerned there are some members of your party that don't fully grasp the national security and global implications of what's playing out today? >> very much so. the other thing that transpired here in this biden administration, the way this biden administration pulled out of afghanistan. that led to ukraine. remember, president biden met with putin before he invaded ukraine, and what did president biden do? he lifted the sanctions on nord stream 2. he showed appeasement. that moved a lot of our allies to shift more to china, but it also developed this new axis of power we haven't seen since the 1930s. it was -- it's now china, russia, north korea and and iran. and look what iran is doing. all those countries want to

expand their sphere of influence. china wants taiwan. north korea wants south. putin wants to invade further the old soviet9 union, and iran wants the middle east, and they're using hamas to do it today is and we're watching i. we better stand firmly with israel and let them do what they need. and it may last longer than a week. otherwise they will not be safe, and the world will not either. griff: yeah. i think you're right. i think we're in for a marathon, not a sprint in the response you are going to get from prime minister netanyahu. former speaker kevin mechanic carr thu -- mccarthy, thank you for your insight. >> thank you. molly: and for more reaction, we will be back after the break with general jack keane, retired four-star general, coming up. ♪ ♪ know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at

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duckduckgo is a browser you download to your mobile and desktop devices. unlike chrome, the duckduckgo browser has privacy built-in. it comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesn■t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. and there's no catch. it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you around. join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today. molly: for more reaction on the hamas attacks, let's bring in general jack keane, retired four-star january and fox news senior strategic analyst. general, thank you for sticking with us. just within the last hour, trey yingst and jennifer griffin both talked about the potential of hezbollah to the north, also iranian-backed, being brought into this conflict. getting involved in this conflict potentially. your thoughts on how this could

expand. >> yeah. well or, if that happens, and it would be quite significant, i mean, they're already indicating that the israelis conduct a ground operation inside of gaza, that that would bring them into the war itself. if the israelis did -- they did a ground operation back in 2014, and they may have to do it here. the expansion with hezbollah is really quite significant. so our viewers understand, iran has given them over 100,000 rockets and missiles that they have in their arsenals. as a matter of fact, when they fly them into the damascus airport, the israelis have conducted strikes against initial warehouses that they, they're storing them inside of syria. what would take place here would be really quite significant because their missiles and rockets are more sophisticated, longer range, more lethal and more precise. and it would have the capacity to overwhelm the iron dome can

and other air defense systems that the israelis have not only from different multi-geographic locations, but just in terms of the here numbers of it. the sheer numbers of it. and if the israeli troops have to go into lebanon, they went back in there in 2006 and full of a prolot of hubris at the time, to be frank about it x they thought they could deal with the situation in a couple of week whos. they left after about a month, and they had their noses bloodied in doing that. and the prime minister relieved all of his top generals as a result of the failure of that military operation. so this is serious in terms of the expansion if hezbollah comes into the fight and what they would bring to the a table. plus certainly, i mean, lebanon being involved in another war and the casualties it would have in terms of civilians there would be also catastrophic for the lebanese people who really are innocent here as much as the

israelis are innocent in the sense that they're not, they're not certainly supporting the hezbollah. some of them do and sport them -- support them very vociferously, but most of them just want to live their lives like people around the world with want to do. but this is potentially a very dangerous situation strategically. and once again, this is the iranians and hezbollah. all those rockets and missiles come there from iran. and where did they get the money to do all that? they strip all of, all of their finances, their primary means of financing comes from their own budgets and also from allies that give them donor money, and they put it clearly on their proxies. and hezbollah is a major proxy of the iranians. and i'm sure that $6 billion some way that we gave in exchange for hostages at some point will find its way into the

coffers of their proxies in the middle east as it has in the past. molly: general keane, thank you so much for that insight both regarding the physical map, the potential expansion in that regard, as well as what this could mean as far as other countries and diplomatically. we appreciate your insight. griff? >> yeah, great talking to you. griff: molly, the pentagon sharply condemning the unexpected attack on israel, confirming the department of defense will help israel defend itself from violence and terrorism. chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live from the pentagon. jen, we just heard general jack keane talking about iran funding proxies like hamas, and you have some new reporting on that $6 billion we heard earlier in the show ronna mcdaniel, the rnc chairwoman, talking about the $6 billion given to or unfrozen for iran in the hostage deal last month as possibly playing a part in this. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, griff, i've

spoken to senior officials who were involved in that hostage deal, and they explained to me where this money came from and where it is currently sitting. and what i can tell you is that from talking to them, none of that money has been released into iran's hands as of yet. here's how it worked. basically, the money, the $6 billion, was set up, there were accounts set up urn the trump administration -- under the trump administration for iran to sell, they got a waiver to sell their oil to four countries, india, turkey, south korea and another country. the $6 billion in the south korean bank account was iranian money for those oil sales. it was not u.s. taxpayer money. the money then that was exchanged to the, to the iranians is now being held in a qatari bank. the qataris, the u.s. treasury has insight into when that money is released to iran, and they have to have permission, bills of lading hoeing that it's used for -- showing that it's used

for humanitarian goods, food and medicine. that has not happened. >> yet. so to link the two right now currently to the hamas invasion is incorrect. but what you can see and ever since -- i was based in israel from 19999-2007, and i saw firsthand that it was iranian money that was flowing into the gaza strip that was allowing hamas to build up its rocket supplies. they have been building up these rocket supplies, tens of thousands of rockets, since 2007. i was there for a 34-day war with hezbollah firing rockets, dozens and hundreds of rockets, even thousands of rockets into northern israel in 2006, the summer of 2006. after that hamas and iran and hezbollah, they have been rearming, and they've been waiting for this moment for some time. but to link the $6 billion that were part of that hostage deal is misleading. now, in terms of what we've just learned from the gaza strip, hamas is claiming to have taken hostage dozens of israeli soldiers and officers.

they claim to be holding them in the tunnels they use to move weapons across the border. the israeli defense forces, or idf, say they have now regained control of the gaza division base in southern israel. that was one of the bases that a hamas overran earlier today. and they've also regained control of the second base. centcom just released the following statement: we're closesly tracking the situation surrounding the appalling terrorist attack against the people of israel. we stand with israel and extend our condolences for the lives lost in these attacks. u.s. centcom remains in communication with our counterparts. we've also just received details of defense secretary austin's call with his counterpart, secretary a austin spoke this morning with israeli defense minister to convey his condolences for the victims of this appalling, abhorrent terrorist attack by hamas on

israel. secretary austin will continue to consult with the minister in the coming days and weeks to insure that israel has the support it needs. here's the statement from secretary austin. i'm closely monitoring developments in israel. our commitment to israel's right to defend itself remains unwavering, and i extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this abhorrent attack on civilians. over the coming days, the defense department will work to insure that israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism. that could be a reference, griff, to the $2 billion this in u.s. military weaponry that is stored in israel. i would expect in the coming days and weeks, as israel runs out of some of its stockpiles, that the u.s. makes them available to israel. griff? griff: all right. jennifer griffin with all the insight from the pentagon. jen, great stuff. thank you. for more on the fallout from the surprise attack on israel, james

jeffrey joining us now. he's a former ambassador to iraq and, mr. ambassador, thank you for taking time. you just heard jen griffin talking about the complexity of in this attack. or what are your thoughts? >> first of all, besides many, many israelis and palestinians who died today, two other things died. one is israel's deterrence against the foes on its perimeter in the south and in the north and, secondly, the biden administration's risky gamble to de-emphasize the middle east and particularly iran and focus on china and ukraine. we now have to help israel get back and reestablish deterrence. israel will have to, that's whas going to war, launch a major ground incursion into gaza to reestablish deterrence. general keane was right that the israelis didn't do well in lebanon in 2006, but what they

did do was reestablish deterrence. hamas has to be defeated. right now they're enjoying a psychological and to some degree tactical victory, and hezbollah has to be one way or the other by the israelis or by us deterred if from entering this fight. griff: are you concerned then, as general keane was, that the expansion of what comes next involves hezbollah, and what is your estimation about what that would do to our relations with our partners in the middle east? >> well, first of all, everybody in the middle east is watching not just jerusalem, they know how bibi netanyahu will react, but they're watching washington with. that's what's so critical. everybody's referring to a surprise attack 50 years after the yom kippur war. at a critical point in the yom kippur war in 97 -- 1973, russia threatened to intervene. president nixon and henry kissinger put the entire u.s. military including at the time

captain james jeffrey on full just short of war alert. the administration has to be prepared to talk similar, very, very courageous and risky actions to keep hezbollah and iran out of this conflict because the israelis are going to need time to deal with gaza and hamas, and that won't be easy. griff: mr. ambassador, this is nothing that indicates that that is something this administration is interested in doing. >> we will have to see in the hours ahead. again, if hezbollah starts moving towards some kind of intervention, everybody will look to washington and what it will do. griff: and you're looking live now on the right pseudoof your screen -- right side of your screen two gaza city missile strikes happening here. it appears -- and thank you for your time, mr. ambassador. i just want to ask you one last question, and that is if you had to predict and guess where we are headed, is this a days-long thing, a weeks-long thing?

what does the future hold? >> this is a months-hong thing that will require an israeli ground incursion of tens of thousands of troops into gaza and very heavy fighting while the rest of the region will be on the knife's edge of an even greater escalation which is, again, why washington has to play a much more aggressive role and simply saying we'll support israel with weapons deliveries. griff: ambassador, thank you for your insight, sir, and giving us your take on all things. >> thank you. molly: southern israel is left with devastating damage after hamas bombarded the country with rockets terrorizing the people and killing many. alexandria hoff is live with the most striking images and reactions from from washington. alexandria. >> reporter: hi, molly. yeah, the horrific sights and sounds are echoing here in washington with lawmakers expressing that the united states firmly stands in solidarity with israel and its people who are shaken from their beds this morning as the

assaults first came by air through a barrage of missiles coming from gaza. you can hear them there. smoke billowed over the city that's about 30 minutes south of tel aviv where one man described that nightmare that has now consumed the lives of him and those around him. >> translator: at around 6 in the morning, a rocket fell near the house, and due to that, everything got burned. the house destroyed, the windows and the walls. we heard a massive shock. the child was startled. i don't know. we live in a reality that is not real. >> reporter: immediately after the missiles, the rockets came the militants crossing the border into israel. additionally, what's been described as an israeli army tank seen here in some of this footage a, it was apparently captured by hamas, and at one point who were posing for photos with it. the reaction from capitol hill has been swift. chuck assume, who's in china right now, added the terror

attacks by hamas on the people of israel are absolutely horrific. the u.s. stands with israel in its unwavering fight to defend itself. from senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, today's violence is a reminder of the evil that motivates hamas, palestinian islamic jihad and their hay -- hatred e. congressman michael waltz wrote this is 100% iran calling the shots. congressman alex reid agrees. >> it's a huge role. they support terror im. their goal is -- they made it clear, the goal is to wipe out israel. when somebody says their goal is to dill you, you ought to believe them. -- to kill you. >> reporter: jewish members in the house of representatives released a statement: hamas has declared war on israel and her people. our commitment to israel's security is ironclad. earlier in the show we heard from former house speaker kevin

mccarthy, he said there is nothing the house can do right now legislatively until they elect a new congressman. -- a new speaker. it's unclear if congressman patrick mchenry who is serving as temporary speaker, would be able to receive a briefing. finish. molly: alexandria hoff, thank you. griff: new yorkers sharing their shock and grief over the attack on israel today. c.b. cotton is live9 with the latest from new york. hey, c.b. >> reporter: hi, griff, good afternoon. we're in one of the city's many neighborhoods which has a large jewish population speaking to people who are devastated by what's unfolding in israel. this is typically a joyous holiday season for those in the jewish faith, today it's a holiday which follows the week-long holiday. and now it feels like there is a dark cloud hanging over what would normally be a very, very happy time for those in the jewish faith.

many people, because of this holiday season and today being the sabbath, many who are jewish are not comfortable speaking on camera, but we've talked to many off camera who are absolutely horrified, and they feel as if they're growing more anxious by the hour as they try to reach loved ones in southern israel. this is just an absolutely horrific time. we did speak to one woman, she is not jewish, but she lives in this neighborhood and has many friends who are a part of the faith, and she shared part of a conversation she had early this morning. listen to this. >> yeah. as a matter of fact, i just came out and said, oh, my god, this weather's so terrible. and she said, it's the not as terrible as what's going on in israel. it's like god's crying, they're being treated to -- so badly. >> reporter: and new york city mayor eric adams releasing a lengthy statement recalling the a hamas if attacks in part cowardly and unprovoked. he also mentioned that he was on the ground in israel less than two months ago, and he says he witnessed jews, christians and

muslims living alongside each other in peace. now, new york is known to have the largest jewish population outside of israel, so there are a lot of concerns about this region. mayor eric adams saying right now there are no credible threats to the city, but he says there is intelligence members on the ground actively gathering new information. and even though there are no credible threats right now, he says members of nypd have been deployed to jewish houses of worship today just to make sure everyone feels safe. griff. griff: all right. c.b. cotton live for us on the streets of new york, thank you. molly? molly: for more on the deadly attacks on israel, let's bring in our political panel. joining us today is democratic strategist brad howard and and vice president of restoring integrity and trust in elections, may mailman. thank you both for joining as we're watching really history unfolding in israel, something

we haven't seen for many, many decades. brad, i want to start with you. we're also seeing rather unusual circumstances in washington where there's a battle over who will become the next speaker. we saw the historic ouster of kevin mccarthy last week and big damages ahead, potentially some briefings delayed, that sort of thing, because there is no leader yet in place. your thoughts on what we'll see this week in washington given this new, enormous attack on israel in the backdrop. your thoughts. >> yeah, i think the top line of this crisis at the moment is that this was a massively coordinated land and air and sea assault. and so this is unprecedented in modern times for the country of israel and for the united states. it's a great test for the united states. like, are we going to step up and defend one of our allies, a critical ally in the region, or are we going to let domestic politics get in the way and hamper our response. the biden administration has responded quickly and robustly

and has pledged their firm and unwavering support to prime minister netanyahu. i think that's a strong signal to the rest of the world that despite this domestic turmoil, we are committed to defending israel through and through. but, you know, the country will and can function, it's just going to be a little more complicated than before with. moll to moll may, we were talking about all these domestic issues that potentially were being put off while congress was in sort of a big mess. now we're a looking at something that could affect a key international lie. your thoughts on the week ahead and what should be happening in washington. >> yeah. when i hear firm and unwavering support, that to me does not sound like the biden administration's reaction was to the say not defend themselves and then 12 hours later. you know what. >>? we don't need a statement. there's nothing he can can say. the world is a more dangerous place now. there is more human suffering now, there is more terrorism now, there are more risks thousand to people around the world than there were during the

trump years. so you know what? kevin mccarthy, he's not speakerny. steve scalise, jim jordan can be speaker, it doesn't matter. we have a commitment to israel. we're going to honor that commitment. there are weapons stockpiled, and we're going to follow through with that. but there was a failure here. there was a failure. our military was somehow not ready. i don't know whether we were learning about white rage or what it was, but we need to fix our position in the world because it is broken. molly: brad, your thoughts on that because a lot of people are saying, look, it wasn't just israel that was caught without the intelligence needed or had some indication this was the happening, but the u.s. and israel are very closely tied and share intelligence. seemingly, the united states also did not have much warning on this. your thoughts, brad. >> clearly, this was an intelligence failure across the board, but even the more liberal members of the knesset in israel are saying this is not the time for that discussion. this is the time to pond and and

to -- to respond and have the backs of the israeli people, and that's what the united states should and can do. there will be time to investigate what happened here and how we missed it, and and i think that absolutely needs to happen so we can deter future aggression from israel's eau points, but right now is the time for americans to unite and to do the right thing here and defend israel at all costs. molly: may, your final words. >> yeah. well, right now we are facing invasions, threatened invasions or full-out war in europe, in the middle east, in potentially asia and at our own southern border. there's something that we clearly don't get. and maybe the thing that we don't get is the way that nations respond, the way that nations see themselves, the things that nations want. so i think it's time to put, you know, the diplomats aside who have, you know, a long ivy league background and to get somebody in the white house who understands people, who understands relationships and

who has a proven track record of peace around the world. molly: may mailman, thank you very much. brad howard, appreciate both of your insights as we're watching all of this unfold. thank you. griff? griff: molly, more on the attack on israel with the latest developments on the ground after the break. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. -ahh, -here, i'll take that. woo hoo! ensure max protein 30 grams protein, one gram sugar, 25 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients for immune health. (♪) one role of a lifetime. one sore throat. but she had enough. she took mucinex instasoothe sore throat lozenges. show your sore throat who's boss. mucinex instasoothe. works in seconds. lasts for hours.

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molly: white house hopefuls are are on the campaign blitz in iowa as many of them have commented on their support for israel after deadly attacks by hamas. mark meredith is live from iowa with all the details on this. >> reporter: molly, good afternoon. these folks are waiting to hear from former president trump making two stops in eastern iowa today. in a few moments, he'll be with speaking in waterloo, and we expect him to add additional comments to the situation which you and griff have been talking about, the deadly attacks in israel overnight. 9 he called it a disgrace, and we expect him to go a a lot

further than that. we've seen members of the national security council saying that his comments earlier that he was essentially blaming the biden administration, that they were taking a big issue with. so we'll see if he adds on to those remarks. florida governor ron desantis, he's also in iowa today. he had a chance to talk about his reaction speaking with supporters earlier this morning. he also spoke to reporters vowing to provide additional support to israel. here's what he had to say earlier today. >> first, just let me say as americans this morning, we all stands with state of israel who is undergoing a terrorist attack by hamas, by iranian-backed mill tans. -- militants. they not only have a right to defend themselves, they have a responsibility to defend themselves with overwhelming force. we will stand by them when they do. [applause] >> reporter: we're also hearing from former vice president mike pence. he released a statement saying every american should condemn the unprovoked and massive attack on israel by terrorists

and hamas. our prayers are with the families and soldiers. prime minister net an what hue says israel is at war. we also heard from former u.n. ambassador nikki haley who said hamas is a blood thirsty organization blacked by iran an. reports out of israel are horrific with the stunning number of dead and wounded and should be universally condemned. we are expecting this to continue to dominate the campaign trail, is and as i mentioned, the former president is expected to speak at length about what's going on. molly? molly: mark meredith, thank you very much. and for reaction on this morning's attack there in israel, we bring in senator tim scott. he is currently in south him in?a, and are we bring there we go. hello, senator. thank you so much for joining us. you know, i want to get right to this, the magnitude of this has been startling, truly stunning. your thoughts as we're continuing to watch it all unfold. >> devastation. 5,000 rockets, more than 300

dead, many, many, many uncounted for and too many taken as hostages. standing shoulder to how older and back to back with the nation of israel is america's opportunity and our responsibility. elle say without any question you look back at the actions of the joe biden administration, $6 billion for hostages, realizing that money is fungible, that is devastation. it makes him complicit with these attacks. it's a challenge that a we have to overcome by having a new president, but today we should send a clear message to our allies in israel. we are with you. we stand with you. do not give up. do not give in. do not surrender. we are with the prime minister. molly: senator, you're breaking up just a little bit. i'm going to see if you can continue -- oh, we may have lost senator tim scott. is he still there? it looks like we have lost him at this point in time. we did get that initial statement.

griff, to you. griff: all right. border officials facing an unprecedented number of migrants including some on the terrorist screening database watch lust. so joining us now, former border patrol chief and texas public policy foundation distinguished fellow on border security, rod rodney scott. chief scott, i felt it's important to bring you in because you told me shortly after you retired that you felt we could have a national security risk at our border and, clearly, what we're watching play out in israel was a coordinated, planned attack. it fits the terrorist attack description by with every account because it is a unprovoked attack on civilians. we have had 150 individuals this fiscal year hit that terrorist screening database, it's more than the culmination of the previous six fiscal years. so what is your thoughts today as we watch this play out in israel?

>> so, first, my thoughts and prayers go out to those in israel. it's horrific attacks and, like you said, unprovoked. but i think this highlights a few things we really need to think about here. israel has some of the toughest border curt in the world, and they're still susceptible to this -- security. they have some of the best intelligence in the world, and yet this was a surprise attack. we have an administration right now in this country that ignored my threat, my red flares, if you will, that when we saw 12 people on the terrorist watch list coming across our southwest border in one year, that got my attention. and you just cited the more recent numbers. having an a open border, allowing anybody to come in is a national security threat. this administration keeps wanting to talk about we're vetting people coming in. that's just simply not true. we have very little information on the people across this entire globe. we do have information on some threats, but today is a perfect example that you really don't know what's going to happen

tomorrow. and border security is national security. we simply need to have realistic processes in place so we can processes in place so we can choose who and what comes into

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