this morning, about 200 yards from where i am from syria. now, take a look at our drone, or sky camera in the drone. migrants keep coming up. since this fiscal year began in the first 17 days, sandra, 108,000 migrants have been encountered, of which 83,000 roughly have been released. that's 77% of the migrants that we have encountered this fiscal year in the first 17 days have been released. now, the special interest aliens are held longer by ice because they get additional vetting. yesterday we had the head of dps along with a handful of a half a dozen texas state representatives came right here to see the situation firsthand and they were very concerned about what they saw, take a listen. >> that's scary for us here in the community because we don't know what these peoples' intentions are.

>> we don't have a sovereign nation without a secure border. we must secure our border. we must know who is coming over here. >> just the last piece of video i wanted to show you, border patrol agents, texas dps officers rescuing a honduran man that was drowning, saved his life. that's part of the unsung heroes job, they do it every day, it gets little attention but that is part of the crisis that we have going here, sandra, back to you. >> sandra: griff jenkins on that, latest developments from the border. thank you. >> just as the civilized world united to defeat the nazis, and united to defeat isis, the civilized world must unite to defeat hamas.

>> for those living in limbo waiting desperately to learn the fate of a loved one, especially to families of the hostages, you are not alone. as the american president, there is no higher priority than release and safe return of all these hostages. >> sandra: that was earlier, president biden is now wheels up from israel after an eight-hour visit but he did not meet with key arab leaders who pulled out of a planned summit after the deadly hospital blast in gaza. top of the hour on "america reports," i'm sandra smith in new york. hi, john. >> john: good to be with you. john roberts in jerusalem, and so the scene here is that as the president wings back to the united states, left one certainty where it's headed next. we new the idf was extremely unlikely to mount a ground operation while the president was on the ground here. will that happen in the coming hours? is israel prepared?

what will happen on the northern border? will hezbollah launch more furious attacks against israel if it goes in on the ground in gaza and what, sandra, of the fate of now 200 to 250 hostages who were being held by hamas. >> sandra: we just learned through trey yingst, john, that obviously adds to the growing number that we knew of that were currently trapped in gaza wanting to get out. >> john: yeah. here is where things stand at this hour. the national security council confirms israel was not responsible for the deadly gaza hospital blast after a u.s. intelligence assessment. >> sandra: israel has given egypt the green light to give food, water and medicine to the gaza strip. >> john: and protests outside the u.s. embassy in lebanon hours after the gaza hospital attack. police used tear gas to disperse the rioters. u.s. embassy there is still open

and they say personnel are still safe. >> sandra: greg, what is the latest from there? >> unrest is raging throughout the region following that explosion at that packed hospital in gaza yesterday. yes, a mass protest was launched outsided u.s. embassy in lebanon, across the border from where we are now. remember, gaza and hamas authorities claimed it was an israeli strike that left as many as 500 dead there. israel and president biden, based on u.s. intelligence said it was a palestinian rocket. that did not stop protestors that had been clashing with lebanese security setting buildings nearby the embassy alit. and unrest, too, in the west bank. at least two were killed in clashes between protestors and police. they are upset about the hospital and the overall humanitarian crisis in the gaza strip as israel pounds the place going after hamas militants responsible for the recent

carnage and hostage taking. there are some signs as you indicated from president biden, too, at least some aid could be getting in there. and all along this israel-lebanon border, witnessing sharp exchanges between hezbollah and israel. thought triggered by the looming ground invasion against hezbollah's allies, hamas. take a look at what we saw earlier today. >> sirens over the israeli-lebanon border town, six hezbollah rockets fired, four knocked down by the israeli iron dome defense system. two got through. where you see the smoke, this is an israeli village hit by a hezbollah missile. it came over the mountain in front of us. lebanon just about a mile and a half away. first responders, military, police, moved out fast to try to see if anybody was injured. any casualties, what damage was there.

soldiers assess no one was hurt but continued the search. the border has been hot all week and deadly on both sides. drones keep watch 24/7. it is a drone overhead right now, guys, all of these villages along here have been evacuated. the fear is that hezbollah could open up a second front if israel goes against deeper the hamas ally and the gaza strip. we are watching and waiting. >> sandra: greg on the border there, thank you very much. greg palkot. >> hamas is a terrorist organization, it's a resistance, it's a resistance movement and we need to stand behind it. hamas sometimes does take extremist approach but we need to understand why. >> israel, what do you say. >> israel what do you say. >> how many kids did you kill today. >> hamas -- ok. all of us hamas.

>> john: some college students across the united states finding ways to justify and even defend the brutal terrorist attack on innocent israelis, many of them children. even more protests are planned for today, including one in new york city getting underway right now. harvard university is facing more fallout after 30 student groups endorsed a letter blaming israel for hamas' terrorist attack. molly line is live in cambridge, massachusetts can the latest. >> hi, john. a pro israel counter protestors are also showing up at some of these rallies, creating some tensions but they want to make sure their voices are heard and in a protest yesterday in new york city, things did remain peaceful. officers stood their ground between protestors waving flags and the hundreds who attended a rally held by nyu students for justice in palestine, happened in manhattan, washington square park yesterday. >> israel you can't hide.

>> israel you can't hide. >> you are committing genocide. >> you are committing genocide. >> the palestinian student group is slamming nyu attack accusing president mills failing palestinian students, posting we are forced to plead for the university administration to address our most basic humanity. and at harvard, more than a half dozen gop lawmakers, including elise stefanik and ted cruz sent a letter to the president calling on her to condemn the joint statement put out by student groups blaming israel in the wake of hamas' brutal attack. any voice that excuses the slaughter of women, children and babies has chosen the side of evil and terrorism. harvard must condemn the stapt and make it clear it opposes violence against citizens as members of the alumni and united states congress, we are deeply

disappointed in our alma mater. mitch mcconnell slammed leaders of ivy league institutions saying now is the time for moral clarity, not anti-semitic hate dressed in faculty lounge jargon. >> leaders cannot be silent. terrorism is evil, anti-semitism is despicable and israel has a right to exist. it shouldn't take a ph.d. to understand that. >> elite academia facing very harsh criticism. john. >> john: molly, thank you. sandra. >> sandra: thank you so much, john. let's bring in fox news contributor steve hilton now. steve, thank you very much for joining us. we were just going through with the team on the board, it's hard to believe some of the protests we have seen at the college campuses and happening coast to coast. we put a list here of those colleges with anti-israel rallies, protests, statements that have gone out from the

universities, some that have been withdrawn, but over the course of this war what we have seen so far. a larger concentration here in the northeast, but you go down to the southeast united states, florida, middle of the country, texas, in the southern parts, and on into the coast, and california, steve, does this surprise you? >> i am shocked by it, actually. because it's one thing to protest in favor of palestine and get into a political argument but we are way beyond that now, even in the early days they may not have really understood what had been going on. but they now know clearly about the butchery and the slaughter and some of the materials for the protests actively praise what's going on. look at the way they feature the paragliding terrorists on the materials for the protests and what you are seeing now is the left's true colors revealed. so through all their enless lectures on equity and justice

and compassion, they are morally bankrupt. they have no moral standing to lecture us ever again on this stuff. they go on and on about racism, what could be more racist than massacring people because of their race. they go on about anti-semitism, they used to talk about anti-semitism the whole time. seems a lot of people on the left only care about anti-semitism if they can use it as something to beat up on trump or trump supporters. it's absolutely despicable. >> acuny graduate center here in midtown, manhattan, 5th and 34th in new york city, a pro palestinian rally that is happening blocks away in the city. i want to bring you back to the board, steve. because this was a question that was put by mpr-pbs newshour, and

a poll, they asked those who believe who believes the u.s. government should publicly support israel, it's a break down by generation. obviously you look at the older generation, baby boomers, greatest generation, nearly every1, 83 to 86% say publicly support israel. gen x, 63%. 48% for gen z and millennial generation, and do you think israel's military response -- too much, 37%. steve, what do you take away

from this? >> what we are seeing here, the consequences of the ideological takeover of the hard left of our education system, and we have let it happen year after year. actually, decade after decade, and now you are seeing the consequences of that where these astonishing numbers, you have to ask, what would they have said about the holocaust in that case. would they have come up with justification for that? it is absolutely disgusting but i actually in many ways it's on us we have allowed this to happen, this takeover of our institutions, so-called elite institutions and what it really means is we have to focus what once this immediate crisis has passed, we have to focus on taking back control of these organizations, institutions that educate our children, whether that is through school choice, happening across the country, whether that is helping rival academic centers rise up, knew universities that are free of all this nonsense, a strong

voice in the last week or so, part of a team setting up a new university in texas at austin specifically to counter this ideology of oppression and hate that has taken over our university system. that's the real lesson of all this. we have to fight back. >> sandra: it is really something, happening live a couple blocks away. megaphone is out and the rally continues. as this is happening, steve, this is just a few students, they are on "fox & friends," talking about anti-semitism on college campuses in this country. listen. >> this has been just a despicable display of propaganda, leading to jew hatred on our college campuses, it's rampant, dangerous. >> college campuses are so scary right now. jewish and israeli students genuinely don't feel safe going to class. >> the students don't know what they are saying and they are

fermenting hatred. >> sandra: and we hear the voices of those students and see this rally happening, pro palestinian rally, the wall street journal writes this, hamas war shows us what american universities stand for. ideologies become more important than scholarship and political correctness dominates decision-making to the point that calling an act of terror, an act of terror is to risk upsetting significant numbers of students and faculties. children are our future, steve. what does this tell us about where this country is going? >> it's a really deep problem for america because along with all the vile anti-semitism taught under the guise of palestinian politics, it's part of a general anti-americanism that we are seeing, and a complete collapse in the values that are so fundamental to our country. makes me think it's the moment for hillary's deprogramming camps. what else do you do with the

current generation that are absorbed the brainwashing over years. we need t address that. that's going forward. the most important thing is we try and stop the next generation and the generation after that from being subject to this absolutely disgusting ideological brainwashing. >> sandra: go back to the screen and you clearly see the decline and support, public support for israel from the oldest generation to the youngest generation as i noted dropping below half, just 48% of that group. there is obviously a trend there. steve, great to have you on all that. thank you very much. >> thanks, sandra. >> john: sandra, protests erupting across the middle east after the deadly hospital blast in gaza. a u.s. intelligence assessment backs up the israeli position the idf did not launch those rockets. those details just ahead. >> sandra: plus new concern the middle east could be edging closer to a bigger regional war

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>> sandra: ok, so that was brand-new video into fox news channel of the attack on the hospital in gaza. the national security council says u.s. intelligence data does suggest that israel was not responsible for the bombing of that hospital in gaza. that explosion killed hundreds

of people. the nsc spokeswoman says the assessment is based on overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information that all backs up what israel had already said that the explosion came from within gaza. but in the immediate aftermath, some of the media was quick to run with claims from hamas. listen to this exchange between cnn and the idf. >> we all are trying t seek the proof and that was the question that i asked you and you have provided what you can at this point and i appreciate that. but please don't suggest we are not trying to identify this because that is exactly what we are doing, sir. >> you'll never be content with whatever i share because you ask for more and more and more and more. you can take what i say for face value. you don't have to believe -- >> i am reporting what the palestinians are asking for. >> but it's not the

palestinians. you are parroting -- >> sandra: the claims it was israel that attacked that hospital came from hamas, that was a remarkable exchange. peter learner responded to that on "outnumbered" a short time ago. >> i could not stop the thinking about an organization that butchers babies in their bedrooms and then they get to say to the media and it's just automatically accepted as fact. >> sandra: and that was accepted as fact by multiple organizations in the minutes and hours that follow. jonathan hunt is joining us now. jonathan, is there any doubt left here with what we know from intelligence data? >> well, sandra, in the sense of do we know with 100% certainty the source of this explosion, no, we don't. we might never be 100% certain

given the fog of war that surrounds these things. but two things here. one, president biden is confident enough to weigh in on this based on u.s. intelligence and two, hamas while claiming israel carried out the strike has offered no physical evidence of such a strike, and one would imagine knowing hamas they would be quick to parade pieces of shrapnel, for instance, from israeli munitions if they had such evidence. israel, on the other hand, has offered satellite video and audio evidence that they say proves this was a rocket fired by islamic jihad in gaza. they say the rocket malfunctioned and fell directly on to the hospital, still fully loaded with fuel because it had not traveled far and that is what sparked the huge explosion. israel also released what officials say is audio of a conversation between hamas and islamic jihad members discussing the alleged misfire.

>> now president biden after meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu today said u.s. intelligence has also analyzed the evidence and as a result he, president biden, agrees with the israeli assessment. >> i was outraged and saddened by the enormous loss of life yesterday in the hospital in gaza. the based on the information we have seen to date, it appears the errant rocket fired by a group in gaza. >> and we have seen the video from the parking lot behind the hospital just aired today. we believe that video is genuine, and having been in the vicinity of a lot of israeli

airstrikes over the years in gaza, i can tell you this, that there would almost certainly be a big crater there, that is not something we have seen if it was an israeli airstrike. also you see just a lot of charred vehicles, not a collapsed building. that would speak to the israeli claim that this was a fire ball from a fully fueled islamic jihad rocket. so as you look at that video and having seen a lot of the aftermath of a lot of those kind of strikes in gaza, you have to say that the israeli claims certainly seem genuine at this point. sandra. >> sandra: a lot of details we are still learning at this hour. jonathan hunt on that for us, thank you. john. >> john: you know, the point that jonathan makes there will be some likely shrapnel leftover from the missile casing is a good one, whether it was a missile or it was a bomb, and if

it was an islamic jihad missile casing, could be very often metal tubes more than anything, they probably wouldn't want the world to see that evidence. >> sandra: we heard this from mitch mcconnell, john, on the media, the immediate media narrative following that hospital bombing. listen here. >> we have also seen just how the default position in some highly in influential corners of our society, from national newsrooms to elite college campuses, how quickly they have been to blindly amplify terrorist versions of events. that was especially true of the reporting of a deadly explosion at a gaza hospital yesterday. the media can revise its headlines but the shameful and

society has heard what it wanted to hear. >> sandra: all we knew in the minutes of the hospital blast happening during the hours when we were covering it yesterday, all we knew what hamas was telling the world that that was israel. >> john: all we knew there was an explosion and hamas saying it was an israeli airstrike and you know who picked up on that and condemned israel, united nations, without -- without so much as making a phone call to check. that's where we are in this conflict. israeli troops preparing for a ground invasion at the gaza border but it may not be just hamas that they would be up against. iran's foreign minister tweeting time is running out for israel, fueling concerns hezbollah could join the fight and trigger a multi-front war.

former head of israel's national security council and advising the israeli security establishment. general, good to have you on with us. the question on everybody's mind now that president biden is making his way back to the united states, when will the ground operation begin? >> the simple answer is that i don't know, and even if i knew, i would not say, and i'm not so confident that the ground operation is so essential or certainly not necessarily essential in this very days because as long as the airstrikes are successful and we can increase the pressure on hamas, and we can prevent him from getting essential goods, ammunition, energy, especially energy, we believe they will become weaker and weaker and as a state we are much more patient. so i'm not sure the ground

operation is going to be conducted and even if it is, it might have several different versions and i'm not sure all the decisions in regard to this matter have been already made. >> john: so in terms of the hostages then, and it was believed a ground operation would very much be aimed toward liberating the hostages, do you believe that potentially putting enough pressure on hamas through airstrikes may negotiate release of these hostages? >> unfortunately, i am very pessimistic about that. we have to understand the mindset of the leaders of hamas and the real leaders of hamas, especially the leader on the ground is so determined to continue and to kill as many jews as possible in a way in a very similar status of the status of hitler 80 years ago, and i don't think that he shows any, or intends to show any kind

of flexibility, even in order to get his own prisoners from israel or for anything else, so as far as he's concerned, this is an existential war against israel in the way we feel very similar regard to the nature of this war or the importance of this war but pessimistic about the potential to reach a reasonable deal soon, and if we speak about the ground operation and the ability to liberate the hostages or at least some of them, of course this is a very important consideration and i believe that if we do whatever we might be doing, some of the efforts will be to reach the place where these people are staying, hopefully to be able to rescue at least some of them, but even here we have to be very careful and it is very hard to be optimistic about this situation. >> john: general, a matter of

much concern and discussion is whether or not hezbollah might open up a second front in the north. i don't know if you can see this but put up this graphic of hezbollah's rocket arsenal, considerably different than it was the last time israel went to war against hezbollah in 2006, back then a few rockets hit haifa but not much further south than that. in a minute and 15 seconds, rockets could be raining down on tel aviv and 80 seconds to jerusalem, and 120 seconds, reach every city in israel. the only city that would be safe would be ilat down there. how concerning is it with hezbollah's new rocket arsenal a second front opens in the north? >> there is no question that hezbollah is not only much bigger and much more dangerous enemy than hamas, actually the main military threat against israel in the past two decades

is the hezbollah, and at this moment i think that hezbollah did not want or does not want or still does not want to open a full scale war against israel. hezbollah is two consideration. one consideration of lebanon. hezbollah at the end of the day we call a terrorist organization, which is what it is. but it is a national movement in lebanon, they claim to represent the needs or the interests of the people of lebanon, they claim they protect lebanon, and they understand if they open a front against israel the results will be terrible definition and beirut may be seen as gaza today, and many, many people in lebanon, including from their own community, they will ask the very hard question. and the second reason why they

hesitate a little bit reluctant, because i'm not sure it's exactly what iran is interested in. iran wants to cause as much damage to israel as possible but iran has other agenda, they want to proceed with nuclear deal, and they are not interested to risk everything in this region, and this is important to understand, if this front opens again, whether it does now or maybe it might be relevant scenario in the future, i think that after we manage to solve the problem of gaza hopefully soon, everybody in the world will have to understand that israel cannot continue to live when hezbollah fighters, thousands of them, are in positions in the range of 200 meters, 300 meters from israeli civilian population. this kind of phenomena, when terrorist organizations is actually possess a country like

lebanon and behaves as if it is the legitimate lebanon, something the international community will have to think very hard later whether it is acceptable or maybe time has come to try to remove it. >> john: all right. well, hopefully your assessment is correct on that front, because i don't think anybody wants to see another front opening on the top, especially because i want to leave our viewers with this. when you compare hamas strengths to hezbollah, 30,000 fighters, anti-tank missiles, grenades, and rockets, $100 million in funds per year from iran, hezbollah, 100,000 fighters, 150,000 rockets and missiles, and three quarters of a billion from iran. it's a very different force from the north. appreciate you joining us. >> thank you very much. >> sandra: john, we have been watching the pro palestinian protests popping up all over the

globe. a moment ago we had a live shot in istanbul, turkey, where pro palestinian rallies were continuing into another evening there, 9:30 p.m. now athens, greece, a pro palestinian rally there. quite remarkable to see this happening. we know these have been happening night after night, but obviously these have been increasing since the blast of that hospital, john, and the immediate assumption and blame on israel for that blast after hamas told the globe that israel was responsible for it. we are watching these pop up. this is athens, greece, 9:30 at night there. senior correspondent mike tobin is live in southern israel for us near the gaza border. mike, that is another rally, there are other ones popping up at the globe at this hour.

what are you seeing there? >> mike: seeing here is israeli armor repositioning a process it never seems to stop, i can hear the drones overhead. artillery fire going into the gaza strip, some rockets coming out. pace seems to have slowed with a flurry at dusk. relatively, relatively, emphasize relatively quiet night. countering the narrative it was israel's responsibility that explosion at the hospital. frankly we are behind the hospital, video has been released, some showing these rockets barrage there of on a trajectory and explosion in the foreground and that being the hospital itself, where the explosion took place. a couple of different videos captured on security camera. despite that and evidence to the contrary, you still have so much anger seething through the arab world. the palestinian health ministry has never released an official

number as far as civilian casualties they claim from the explosion last night. just one number from the number of palestinians killed in the response to the october 7th massacre and that has climbed over 3400. and still, with the anger through the world, a leader for hamas fanning the flames of all this anger. >> call on all the people of the arab and islamic nations to condemn this massacre, this brutality, these crimes, good out and all the capitals in all cities, raise your voices for this enemy to stop. let this nation stand as one. >> mike: once the false narrative takes hold, never seems to lift. meantime, you have the sounds of war here in the gaza strip and thousands of troops at the ready. sandra. >> sandra: mike tobin on the ground there in southern israel.

thank you. israeli tech worker living in seattle the past decade left home to fight hamas after the surprise invasion killed members of his own family. he is serving a combat role on the northern border of israel and lebanon and security reasons, rotem, please tell us what you have seen on the ground there and why you are there. >> so what have i seen -- i've seen a bunch of young people getting ready to protect and defend their families and defend their home. and that's what it's all about here. defending our country. why am i here -- i'm here because that's the right thing to do, i'm here because of being a soldier in the idf, i've been a regular and reservist for almost 30 years now.

and when i saw what's happening in israel my unit would be drafted and jumped on the first plane i could and made it over here. >> sandra: you felt you needed to not sit out but join the fight. you were living in seattle with your wife and four young children just a couple weeks ago when all of this unfolded and you felt compelled to join the fight. what are you seeing as far as resources, what are you preparing for there? >> i would rather not go into details. the idf is prepared to any scenario. we are making sure that whatever it is that we get the order to do we'll make it done the best way and the most effective way. the decision on what to do and when to do is up to ranks much higher than i am. >> sandra: i want to point out where you are, considering you are right on the border there

where israel deemed it important enough and dangerous enough to evacuate citizens from that northern border with lebanon because of the continued threat of a hezbollah attack. we hear a lot of sounds around you. i know you are being delicate with what you can tell us and about where you are and what's happening, obviously to protect yourself and others. >> i'm on the southern side of israel now. >> sandra: ok, ok. obviously you have not been able to be completely specific with our producers and we understand that. what is going on around you, what can you tell us about what's happening on the ground? >> i can't tell you anything you don't know yet, say it this way. the idf is getting ready, we are ready, and when the order is given we'll do whatever we have to do in a very effective and efficient way. >> sandra: obviously for so many people back here at home who see

that you have done this, left your home in seattle, left your family, how hard of a decision was that, rotem? >> it wasn't an easy decision but it was a very clear-cut decision. i've heard about it on friday, a friend of my reserve unit, said i think we are going to meet each other earlier than we thought, and what are you talking about, check the news, i see what's happening on the news, we are going to be drafted, my wife knew this was going to happen, we had been speaking about it being a reservist for over 20 years now, so it was clear -- it was clear i was going to jump on the first plane and make it. so how hard decision it, it was hard. regarding the decision, decision was easy. war is no decision-making, clear

what i was going to do. >> sandra: what message do you want to put out to the world as we see the pro palestinian rallies here at home, college campuses, and reporting a moment ago, athens, istanbul, obviously we are seeing an escalation of these pro palestinian rallies, those that actually support hamas after this narrative that quickly ran all over the globe this was indeed an israeli attack on that hospital when that was only coming from hamas itself, and now our own intelligence is supporting israel's claim that this was not an israeli attack. what message do you want to put out to the world as they watch this all unfolding? >> i am -- i'm not a politician and i don't want to become one, so i'll just say that people

should open their eyes and just veer away from the psychological operations is being continually echoed in various media that are just taking whatever hamas is saying, which is pure lies and propaganda, and basically -- it's a murderous and vicious organization that is -- we have all seen their true face in what happened last week and the only thing i'm asking people to do is just open their eyes. i don't want them to watch the videos but if that's what they need to do watch the videos, but for their own mental health i recommend they won't. but open your eyes, watch the

videos if you have to. and understand what israel is dealing with. israel is a peaceful nation, only democracy in the middle east, and we are not -- we are not here to fight. we never wanted to. so, just doing what we are forced to. >> sandra: rotem, there are many listening to you right now and hard to leave the family, you said the decision was quite easy for you once this began to help defend and these are pictures of the family members that you lost in the very beginning of this fight. this is your cousin, her husband, and three children who were killed in that surprise attack. and we want to let you know. >> murdered. >> sandra: people are seeing their faces right now and we can't imagine how hard this is for families like yours. >> it's hard.

my cousin, her husband, and their three children, rotem, same name as mine, 19 years old, and 16 years old, and 14 years old, were murdered by hamas on that saturday. we all knew the whole family knew -- we texted them, we called them, no communication whatsoever. and on thursday we came to learn that they were murdered by hamas on that saturday. we buried them yesterday. i don't think that any family should bear that kind of thing. i don't think any parents should bury their children and their grandchildren, not that way, not any way. and this is just yet another proof of how murderous hamas is. this is -- this is not someone

you can speak say this way, can speak english with or hebrew or any other language. >> sandra: rotem, there are a lot of people hearing your story right now and we know you left seattle right away to join this fight and help defend, and we appreciate you joining us and we'll be thinking about you, and we will check back in with you. >> thank you very much. >> john: that's tough. we want to take you to capitol hill now, this is some live pictures outside, this looks like independence avenue on the house side, this is a jewish group calling for peace. apparently some of them had entered the canon building a short time ago, we have the picture from the rotunda there, they are just calling for a ceasefire, calling for the war to end, calling for peace and what's interesting, sandra, this

stands in sharp contrast with what we have heard talking to people here in israel, whether you talk to somebody who is on the right or talk to somebody who is on the left, and a fellow said i consider myself far left wing but i'm all in favor of military action against hamas, taking hamas down because they are no longer a threat because israel has lived long enough with this cat and mouse game where they knock down hamas, degrade them, and hamas rises back up again and attacks israel, and we saw the culmination of that two saturdays ago with that horrific attack out from the gaza strip to all of those towns and kibbutzes and small villages inside israel and all the people killed, brutally murdered by these terrorists. >> sandra: you are looking live at capitol hill, obviously we have been focusing on a lot of activity on the hill today, john, another round of votes

for -- to get a house speaker in place. this is a bit different type of activity, capitol hill, a jewish group at the capitol calling for a ceasefire. john, remarkable images in washington. >> john: really is. we'll keep watching that taking place at the canon building. meantime, as war rages here in israel, the usual bustling old city of jerusalem has turned into a ghost town, tourists mostly gone, shops closed, religious centers all but empty. and many are afraid what comes next. this is the damascus gate, entryway to the muslim quarter of the old walled city of jerusalem. for hundreds of years people have come to go to the vibrant markets and recent years,

clashes between police and palestinians, and this would be teeming with the shops open selling their wares, but after the explosion at the hospital in gaza yesterday, all but locked up tight. deserted streets of the old city we met a christian palestinian and tour guide. >> i hope with arrival of president biden, of course he's siding with israel, everybody is siding with israel, ok, that's fine. but also he has to be just. and give the palestinians the rights. >> said, armenian, worries the war could spread and urges both sides to put down weapons and talk. >> i ask god jesus to make peace and put this, to sit together and finish everything and make peace. >> john: and muhammad owns a shop in the christian corner of the old city.

his concern is for the people of gaza. >> it's mostly blah blah blah, and egyptian are not getting the help for the gaza people, so it's -- it's very sad what's happening here. if it stays like this, people would die from hunger and not having water or electricity, don't have stuff to take care of the injured people, way more people there will die. >> john: also met linda and janet from little rock and arizona. they came for the holidays and got stuck. israel was in the south of israel when the hamas attacks started. >> we heard boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom, and the next two and a half, three hours, and my friend came out after ten minutes out of their tent and they said israel is at war. >> john: how concerned are you that things are going to escalate in the days and weeks ahead if you don't get out? >> i'm just trusting the lord. that's all we can do. >> they could very well escalate

but we are at complete peace. lord sent us in here for prayer, intercession, and it's in his hands. he's going to protect this land and this people. >> john: so many people affected in so many different ways by this conflict. now this. >> i come to israel with a single message, you are not alone. you are not alone. as long as united states stands and we will stand forever, we will not let you ever be alone. >> sandra: that was president biden earlier on his trip to israel as this war against hamas rages on. his trip to the middle east was supposed to calm the region and enforce u.s. support but jordan canceled a meeting, and arab leaders to avert more fighting. what's happening there, lucas. >> sandra, some with arab

leaders in jordan, the summit was canceled because of the hospital attack in gaza. >> i was outraged and saddened by the enormous loss of life yesterday at a hospital in gaza. based on the information we have seen to date, it appears result of an errant rocket fired from gaza. we stand for civilian life during conflict. >> during the president's seven and a half hours on the ground here in tel aviv, meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his war cabinet, the president stressed that some aid will be resumed and the israeli war cabinet said aid will be moving into gaza and the president later said $100 million will be given to the palestinians in the west bank and gaza. prime minister benjamin

netanyahu said the following. >> this will be a different kind of war because hamas is a different kind of enemy. while israel seeks to minimize civilian casualties, hamas seeks to maximize civilian casualties. >> israel blames islamic jihad for the strike on the hospital in gaza. video from israeli forces show the rocket barrage was launched over the hospital at the same time the parking lot was struck. military experts say the damage is consistent with an errant rocket, not a bomb dropped from an israeli fighter jet. there were cars intact ten yards away, and israeli said they intercepted messages that points the blame to gaza. and president biden said he would give $100 million to the palestinians in west bank and

gaza and said the number of americans following the hamas massacre has climbed to 31, and 13 other americans remain missing. sandra. >> sandra: lucas, thank you, in tel aviv. john. >> john: bring in the chief international correspondent for the israeli public broadcasting corporation, thank you for being with us. appreciate it. let me just talk to you a little bit about what lucas tomlinson was just reporting, and that is the narrative on this hospital explosion, why do you believe it was that the international media, even the united nations was so quick to believe anything that hamas said about this? >> so i think it's a combination, combination of two, i would say, motives or narratives. first is the david versus goliath. luckily enough israel is the goliath compared to the palestinians as a people. and therefore, the sympathy goes

for the weak and the sympathy goes automatically for the palestinians in any conflict here between israeli, between israel and the palestinians. so you know, the bias is first of all, if it's innocent palestinian lives who was sacrificed there, then usually, i mean -- it's -- it's a big power in charge. this is almost automatically, and on top of that, i think that you know, given few incidents in the past like the journalist from al jezerra, and people undermine the israel line and why should i believe you guys if you -- if you maybe did it.

>> john: the flip side of the coin, why should you believe an organization that went into kibbutzes and towns and murdered 1300 people including women and children and small babies. >> of course, i'm not justifying, trying to explain, and my job is to follow foreign media. >> john: what i was doing is observing how quickly the foreign press were to believe an organization that had just been responsible for a heinous terrorist attack. why wouldn't you question that. iran. president biden came here, he warned outside actors don't, don't, don't, if you think thinking are getting involved here, i think a message to iran. was that a strong enough message? >> i think yes, but the question is whether hezbollah is listening to biden, whether hezbollah is listening to iran, and because hezbollah has its own interests. and first of all, he doesn't

want to appear weak when their brothers in gaza strip, meaning the hamas terrorist organization, affiliate organization to hezbollah and some kind of proxy of iran, is being eradicated or hit very hard, how come lebanon doesn't do anything. so hezbollah on one they mention they have to do something, right. now the question is, whether -- what would be the scenario when the ground invasion of the idf of gaza strip will commence, hezbollah doing past ten days. >> john: small scrimmages. >> yeah, but limited range of hostile activities or he will change israel to a point that israel will no longer be able to

turn its eye away and just respond concrete to what is shot on us. this point might come and this point might be a conflict not only between israel and hezbollah, but also between israel and the american administration. number one priority for biden administration for the u.s. is to -- is to limit this conflict in gaza to gaza, not to let it deteriorate and to spread over to spill over to a full scale conflict in the middle east. that's what the u.s. wants, and aircraft carriers are meant to deter hezbollah from starting doing such a thing. >> john: a lot of questions and uncertainty in the days ahead. moav, thanks for coming in. good to get your perspective on things. >> sandra: back to capitol hill right now, with a minute or so we have left, this is a live look inside the capitol, john, this jewish group that has gathered there in just the last

hour or so at the capitol, they are calling for a ceasefire is what we are told. we are also told there's a building police presence there, and that arrests have been made but it is a very large group. that's about all that we know at this time. >> john: you see them there with the flexicuffs looking like they are going to put them on the protestors to get them out of the building. it's a peaceful demonstration, clapping and singing but clearly not the sort of thing the capitol police can allow to go on for very long. so they are moving in and taking people out. looks like they are going peacefully. >> sandra: ok, john, see you there again tomorrow. >> john: all right, sandra, we will be here. >> sandra: thanks so much for joining us and our continuing coverage here on the fox news channel. i'll see you all at 4:00. i'm sandra smith. >> john: and i'm john roberts. >> martha: thanks. good afternoon. i'm martha maccallum.