i'm jane pauley. stay tuned for "face the nation." and please join us when our trumpet sounds again next sunday morning next sunday morning. ♪ . i'm margaret brennan. this week on "cface the nation, israel declares war after ham mass does an assault by air, land and sea. overnight, gaza hammered by

israel with air strikes. hundreds are dead, thousands of israelis and palestinians are wounded. why were warning signs missed? we'll hear from israel's ambassador to the united states michael herzog and from secretary of state antony blinken. after the stunning ouster of former house speaker kevin mccarthy, can the republican-led congress pull itself together and get back to work? we'll check in with south carolina republican congresswoman nancy mace, one of the eight republicans who voted to topple their speaker. and a growing chorus of democrats warn that the migrant crisis is spiraling out of control. we'll hear from illinois governor j.b. prtizker and new york city mayor eric adams, fresh off a tour of latin america. senator tim scott joins us to discuss his bid for the white house. it's all just ahead on "face the nation."

good morning. it has been a stunning week in washington and overseas. congress no longer has a speaker of the house. kevin mccarthy was ousted just days after appearing on this program. it is the first time in u.s. history that the house ejected its leader. in the middle east this morning a war may be expanding amid an exchange of strikes between israel and hezbollah as that militant group enters the conflict. the number of israelis and palestinians killed could exceed 900. we have learned several americans are among the dead. it is unclear how many. for the latest we begin with cbs's holly williams in tel aviv. >> reporter: hamas gunmen broke

through the fence that israel uses to contain palestinians in gaza. the militants designated as terrorists by the u.s., fired waves of rockets into israel and arrived by sea and even in paragliders. it was a complex and coordinated attack. what followed was a frenzied blood -- this israeli soldier was apparently lynched on camera. cvilians were slaughtered on the highways and in the towns of southern israel. and hamas also took israelis hostages, including women, children, and the elderly. they paraded some of them through the streets of gaza along with their other trophies. captured israeli military vehicles. according to israeli media, around 750 people are missing.

what happened today has never been seen in israel, said prime minister benjamin netanyahu. we'll destroy them and we will take mighty vengeance. israel has targeted the gaza trip with hundreds of air strikes. demolishing the 14-story building that it says was used by hamas. but many here are demanding to know how israeli intelligence failed to detect the planning for such a massive assault. it came almost 50 years to the day after the beginning of the yom kippur war and there are echo of that conflict when israel was attacked by surprise. prime minister netanyahu has warned palestinian residents to leave the gaza strip. but margaret, as we know, they are unable to do that. >> holly williams from israel. we're joined by the israeli ambassador to the united states, michael herzog.

mr. ambassador, first, i want to offer you our condolences. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> we know that your prime minister is promising a sustained campaign. do you have any sense of how israel will define success? >> well, israel is at war. yesterday, we were attacked by a terror organization that infiltrated israeli territory and killed hundreds of israelis, at least 600 were butchered including whole families, women, elderly, children, babies were taken out of their mother's lap and murdered. this is war and we have to fight that war and win it. we have to destroy the hamas war machine. in war, we have to fight it. >> how is it that hamas managed to take israeli defense forces

by surprise? did they shut down communications? >> well, it was a surprise attack. there was definitely an element of surprise, but i think we'll have enough time to investiate that once we conclude that war in victory. >> you said you want to destroy the hamas war machine. hamas is armed and funded by iran. the biden administration says they don't have evidence that iran was linked to this particular attack. does israel have evidence they were? >> well, we suspect behind the scenes, as you know, hamas and iran are closely tied. iran provides materiel support, funding, weapons to hamas. they are tied in what he they call the axis of resistance. resistance to the existence of the state of israel.

they're part of the same coalition. as far as we are concerned, this is an iranian-led coalition and we suspect that iran is involved. >> does that mean that israel will take the fight to iran? >> i'm not going to say what exactly what israel is going to do, but i will just say that whoever strikes israel, we'll strike back. >> sir, this is just stunning to see what has happened in the past few hours. but there are questions within isr israel, as you know, about how such a strong military was taken by surprise. there has been a massive expansion of israeli settlements in the west bank area, and with that, a buildup of forces to protect them. the former ambassador to israel,

martin indict has raised the question of that's why the border towns over and around gaza were left unprotected. were they? was that a factor? >> well, i don't buy that argument. i think that analogy is irrelevant to the current situation. yes, it was a surprise attack. but i don't think it has much to do with the fact that the idea hezbollah occupied in the west bank. they prepared a surprise attack. they breached the border fence. they came with paraguiders and through the sea. as i said, there will be sufficient time after the war to investigate what exactly happened. right now, we are at war and we have to fight that war and win it. we were attacked by a terror organization funded by iran, and that's where we are right now. >> but you have said that perhaps hamas miscalculated by looking at all the domestic problems israel has within its

own politics right now. >> absolutely. >> do you think that was actually, though, a factor when it comes to military readiness? did it leave your forces vulnerable? >> they may have -- maybe they were under the impression given the debate in israel, that israel is weakened, so that they can provoke us. they thought so. i think they definitely were mistaken. you have to know israelis understand that when israel is under attack, israelis close ranks and they fight together. there's no position coalition right now in israel. there's no debate. all service are volunteering. our embassies are flooded from phone calls who want to go back to israel and fight hamas. so in that sense, i think it was a gross miscalculation on their

part. >> but did it impact readiness? there were concerns of, you know, your reservists having objections, political objection, and refusing to serve? >> no, it did not impact readiness. i think israel is strong. as i said, israelis closing ranks right now. we'll fight back. >> back in 2006, you had a soldier taken captive and held in gaza. it took over five years to get him back. and israel did so in exchange for a thousand palestinian prisoners. at what cost is israel prepared to get these new hostages out? >> i think it's premature to discuss that. i think we just were attacked yesterday. we understand there are probably dozens of kidnapped israelis and others in the hands of hamas.

we'll have to deal with it in due time. the whole issue of hostages is a very sensitive issue. i think you know it from the u.s., we have experienced with that in the past. it's a complicated situation, but i think it's premature to discuss any deals or prices or whatever. right now, we are at war. >> are there americans among those hostages? >> i understand there are. i don't have details. >> you don't know the numbers? >> no. >> or ability to -- >> no. >> what is it that israel and your prime minister is asking of the american president right now? >> so there was a very good phone call between president biden and our prime minister yesterday. the u.s. administration sounded very strong voice of support for israel, for the nation, for the terror attack and israel's right to self-defend.

we are in discussions with the administration about the situation and about our needs. i want to take the opportunity to thank the administration for their solid support of israel in self-defense. >> before i let you go, how is israel going to allow some of those palestinian civilians who are trapped within gaza to escape so that they aren't victims of these strikes? >> well, the fact of the matter is, that hamas uses civilians as human shields. >> yes. >> unlike -- we use our weapons to defend our population, they use the population to hide their weapons behind them. so it's very unfortunate situation. we cannot allow terrorist impunity just because they hide behind civilian population. we give the civilian population due notice and warnings before

we strike any military target and we'll continue to do so. to the extent the population of gaza is suffering, i think the adverse to this question is hamas. >> thank you for your time and our condolences once again. >> thank you very much. we go now to secretary of state antony blinken who joins us from the state department here in washington. good to have you with us, mr. secretary. i know you have been working -- >> thanks, margaret. >> can you answer the question yet of whether the hamas assault is over? are there more attacks to come? >> the assault isn't over. there continue to be very active fighting around gaza. at the same time we've seen more quiet in other parts of israel, but there is intense fighting going on? >> what about americans? there are a lot throughout the

region. how many are among the hostages an the dead? >> we've got reports that several americans are among the dead. we're working very actively to verify those reports. at the same time the reports of americans being taken hospitalas, there, too, we're work to get the facts and find out if the reports are accurate. >> you don't know if there are hostages or not? >> we can't confirm that in this moment but we're actively working to see if we can confirm the reports we have. >> has the united states asked israel not to strike iran? >> the only things we've said to israel is we're here, we've got your back, we want to make sure you have the support you need, we want to make sure you have the assistance you need. at the same time i was on the phone yesterday and many others were on the phone with counterparts from egypt, from saudi arabia, from jordan, qatar, the united arab emirates, turkey, lebanon, and many european countries as well, to make sure that, first of all, people have heard what the president said about others in

other places not taking advantage of the situation and to use the influence that they have with different groups to make sure that they don't do that. precisely so that we don't have a broadening of this conflict to other places. >> the door is open for israel to expand this, to take the fight to potentially sponsors of hamas like iran? >> israel is focused entirely on gaza and on securing its citizens, a number of whom remain under direct threat right now in israel proper, and as i said, trying to do what's necessary to have accountability and this doesn't happen again. that is israel's focus. >> is there a sense that this was an attempt to take advantage of the west's focus on ukraine? >> no. i don't see that. i think -- look, we don't -- we'll have to see as we learn more what the motivations were and what they are, but here's

one thing that's clear, we've been actively working on trying to help israel and saudi arabia normalize their relations as well as israel broadening its relationships with many countries in the region and beyond. very hard work and a not clear that we could get there, but if we could, it would really change the prospects of the entire region far into the future. now, who is opposed to that? hamas, hezbollah, iran. so i think that speaks volumes. there are two paths before the region. the path of greater integration, greater stability, including critically making sure that israelis and palestinians resolve their differences or the path of terror that hamas has engaged on that has not improved the lives, it has destroyed lives including palestinian lives. >> you're suggesting that this may have been a strategic choice, but then i look at conditions having been deteriorating for palestinians living in the west bank and gaza for a while now, right wing

coalition in israel, the cia director bill burns has publicly warned of his concern and u.s. intelligence concern about the risk of instability in this region. jordan's king has been warning about the risk of extremism. did the netanyahu government underestimate that risk? why were they so vulnerable? >> first, let's be absolutely clear. that there is no equivalence between the differences that exist between israelis and palestinians and the actions of the israeli government in that regard and these absolutely we've seen directed at israeli men, women, and children. none. now, we have been concerned about the risks of instability for many, many months between israelis and palestinians. we've said from day one, even as we're working towards normalization between israel and

saudi arabia, that can't be a substitute. we think the best way to resolve it remains a two-state solution and one that ensures palestinians and israelis alike know equal measures of democracy, opportunity, dignity in their lives. that's why we've been focused on that track as well. >> but that has not been a priority between the parties themselves? as you know, gaza -- i'm explaining this to our audience because you know how concentrated the population is within such a small area, and every time we have a conflict like this, it raises the question of what the humanitarian impact will be. if this is a prolonged attack, what kind of humanitarian crisis are you expecting here and impact on civilians? >> well, we've seen this unfortunately repeat itself, although the magnitude and scale of what hamas did here is something we haven't seen before. in prior instances, those who

have suffered along with the victims of terrorism are civilians, including in gaza, and whatever israel does in gaza, as always, we look to it to do everything possible avoid civilian casualties. something hamas doesn't do on the contrary. not only seek to avoid them but deliberately targets civilians. gunning them down in the streets dragging them across the border in gaza. there's no comparison. but we look to israel as always to apply the highest standards when it comes to avoiding civilian casualties. >> thank you for your time this morning. >> thanks, margaret. >> "face the natioion" will beb baback in one minute. stay with us. progress means producing renewable fuels fofor trucks on t the road totoday. we're e partneringng with farms to develelop these f fuels using evererything frorom plant byby-productss toto cow manurure.

anand then usising those f fs to help p lower the e lifece carbonon intensityty of the tranansportationon indu. drivining the worlrld forward totoday, while forgrging new roroads to the f future. that's energy in p progre. hi, i'm stacey, and i've lost 60 pounds on golo. (guitar musisic) this belt i used to wear, way down at the first and second notch, it's the only thing i've kept from before losing weight and d i'm keepining this becee i'i'm never gogoing back.. last week eight house republicans joined by a unified democratic caucuses voted to

eject kevin mcarthy from the position of speaker of the house, a historic first. one of those republicans, representative nancy mace, joins us this morning from mount pleasant, south carolina. good to have you back with us. let's go straight to the news. you had said to the "wall street journal" the reason you voted down mccarthy was because promises you were made were not kept, you've been working very hard on specific issues for a very long time. when you shake a hand, make a promise, you ought to keep it. what promise did he fail to follow through on? >> first of all, he made a promise to our country he would follow the law and present a budget in 12 spending bills. there's a law from 1974 the budget impact and control act that says we were supposed to do that, but congress always manufactures an emergency every yeek like they don't know that september 30th exists and skirt the laws with crs. i want a speaker who will keep their word and get the job done.

secondly, i was public ability working on many different issues, whether trying to get a balanced budget amendment on the floor, working through the ethics committee to come up with a process when we are trying to get people off of committee, that they are allowed due process vetted via the ethics committee. working on women's issues, gun violence issues in our communities and i had his pledge of support on many of those things, but this is bigger than me and him. this is about the future of our country and mortgaging our kids' future. i'm unwilling to do that. >> on the balanced budget amendment was introduced by you september 18th, very recently. your rape kit backlog bill moved through judiciary committee fairly swiftly at the end of september. and they already were in process of voting through those appropriation bills as you know. and, in fact, voting could happen now, except there's no speaker so we're stuck. what was it that flipped the switch? >> well again, for me it's

someone that will keep their promises, keep their word, and not kicking the can down the road. it was a matter of trust. not just for me, but there were other members in our conference, there were members on both sides of the aisle and it's very important that when we make a promise to the american people we ought to keep it. i've been back home in south carolina the last couple days since we recessed and adjourned and heard from a lot of people and it was a lot of thank you for your vote on tuesday, thank you for your position on abortion. we support you. we've got to stand up for the people of our country. i'm going to stand up against the folks in washington that want to do the same thing they've always done. again, when we make promises to our country we ought to keep them, and i'm excited about the prospects of the speakers next week. >> that's what i want to ask you about. what fulfillment of those promises is required for you? is that what you're asking of jim jordan and steve scalise, the two candidates? >> i have spoken with both of those gentlemen and i think they would both be great leaders.

my bar for the next speaker is to commit to the promises that the former speaker made to our country and get the job done. to be productive. we have a lot of work that we have to do. we have a very short window of time to do it. >> yeah. >> put us to work and let's fulfill the promises that we kept, that we made to the american people how quickly can this get done? >> i think it can get done quickly. we need to be swift with it. i have spoken to both of them. they're committed to bringing our party together and unifying and not continuing the division we have. it's a great opportunity. it could be cathartic for the party and positive next week. >> i have to take a break and. this c conversatioion on the e side witith you. stay witith us.

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we'll be right back with south carolina congresswoman nancy mace, plus the migrant crisis with new york city mayor eric adams and illinois governor j.b. prtizker.

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