i'm jane pauley. please join us when our trumpet sounds again next sunday morning. ♪ ♪ ♪ good morning and welcome to "face the nation." i'm margaret brennan in washington. there has been a significant escalation in the fighting between israel and hamas in the last 48 hours. in gaza, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated even further. there has been no pause to let aid trucks in days.

some communication systems have been restored today following a blackout that started on friday. meanwhile, there have been more attacks from iran-backed militia groups targeting u.s. groups in iraq and syria. the eisenhower strike group has crossed into the mediterranean sea where it will join with other u.s. navy assets already in the region. we begin this morning in tel aviv with our charlie d'agata. >> reporter: what the israeli government calls its second stage of the war began with its fiercest arielle onslaught yet. then an artillery barrage according to israeli defense forces video and tanks, flanked by soldiers on foot rolling inside gaza without pulling back this time. even if israeli officials stopped short calling it an invasion. prime minister benjamin netanyahu called it israel's second war of independence.

the war inside the gaza strip will be long and difficult, he said, and we are ready for it. addressing what aid agencies call the catastrophic crisis unfolding inside gaza constitutes a war crime he said -- the idf is the most moral army in the world. the idf does everything to avoid harming those who are not involved. but each air strike and artillery shell brings more death and destruction for more than 2 million people with nearly nowhere to take shelter. the hamas-run health ministry now says more than 8,000 people have been killed, around half of them children. a mother mourns, saying, leave him in my arms. there are fears for those held beneath gaza, too. even before the wave of air strikes and the heavy

bombardment that continues, there was growing concern for more than 200 hostages still trapped inside gaza. making things much more complicated for special forces, hostage rescue teams, former intelligence chief tomer told us. >> do they have the as well generals or the equipment in the tunnelling system, in the middle of all of this chaos, to find out where these hostages are being kept? >> to be very frank and direct, it's a kind of a mission impossible. to find the hostages intelligence wise is very, very, very difficult, almost on the line of impossible. >> reporter: hamas has still been able to retaliate, missiles hitting a tel aviv neighborhood, and while the israeli government's stated goal is the total destruction of hamas and the return of the hostages, the long-term strategy is less

clear. former vice prime minister livni. what does gaza look like after a ground invasion. >> i think we should think about it right now and not to wait until the end of the ground operation. look at the situation and think not just about the next day, but the next year, ten years, think about the future. now it's clear, should be clear, israel doesn't want to reoccupy gaza. >> reporter: but how israel's new phase of the war is waged, how long, how many more people may die, will determine whether it remains confined to this tragic little corner of the middle east or ignites the region. this morning, the u.n. raised alarm that civil order is starting to break down inside gaza. thousands of people storming their warehouses and distribution centers in a

desperate need for wheat, flour, and hygiene supplies. margaret? >> we go now to white house national security adviser jake sullivan. jake, good morning to you. >> good morning, margaret. >> does the u.s. know if the roughly 500 to 600 americans in gaza have survived the past 23 days of bombing and have the hostages? >> we are in regular contact with most of the americans who are in gaza. we can't say every single one, but all of the ones that reach out to us, we follow up on a regular basis, sometimes a daily basis, and so we know that many of them are still there, still waiting to get out. we are working actively to try to make that happen. the challenge right now, margaret, is the egyptians are prepared to let americans and other foreign nationals out of gaza, the israelis have no issue, but hamas is preventing their departure and making demands. we're trying to work through that to create a circumstance where all of the americans in gaza are able to get out. >> let me ask you about israel and how it has explained its

mission to the u.s. government. saturday their military said it killed a hamas leader who had overseen the drone strikes and paragliders who carried out that horrific attack on october 7th and announced they killed the commander of forces and another key hamas commander. have they told you yet at which point they will declare this mission a success? >> they have told us in broad terms that making sure that hamas can never again threaten israel in the way it threatened israel before is their core strategic objective in this conflict. in terms of what the specific milestones are, that is something that ultimately is up to israel. this is their military operation. they will make that decision. we will continue to ask the hard questions of them, margaret, we would ask of ourselves in a military operation like this, what exactly are the objectives, how are the means matched to the objectives, and how will this evolve over time?

that's a conversation we've been having and a conversation we will continue to have in the days ahead. >> sounds like that end game has not been specifically laid out. do you expect at this point a full-scale israeli invasion and occupation of gaza? or is that off the table? >> well, i'll let the israeli defense forces speak to what their operational planning is, and i'm not going to characterize it on television today. what i will say is that the united states has been very focused on a core challenge here, which is that hamas is using civilians as human shields. they're hiding behind civilians, hiding among civilians, they're putting rockets and other terrorist infrastructure in civilian areas. that creates an added burden for the israeli defense forces, but it does not lessen their responsibility to distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians and protect the lives of innocent civilians as they conduct this military operation. that's true from striking from the air, true of going in on the

ground, and this is something we talk about with the israelis on a daily basis. >> i understand there has been a tremendous amount of death in gaza. i know president biden said the other day he has no confidence in the numbers presented by palestinian authorities in gaza, but i wonder, at which point does the u.s. say there needs to be some cessation of violence? >> first, president biden was making a straightforward point, which is that the particular institution, the gaza health ministry, which is run by hamas, we can't take what hamas says at face value, but we have also been clear repeatedly that we have seen thousands of palestinian civilians killed in this conflict, that that is a tragedy, that each and every one of those individual deaths is a tragedy, and that life of every civilian, palestinian, israeli, anyone, is sacred and has to be

protected, and it is important for israel to distinguish between going after terrorist targets to take out terrorists who continue to threaten israel and going after civilians. that is an obligation and a responsibility for israel, and it's something that we will continue to press them on. we also believe that there should be humanitarian pauses to get hostages out, potentially to get aid in, and we will continue to work towards that end. >> i know, jake, i've heard this and frankly, some of the language is a little contradictory or sounds that way, because secretary blinken said even a temporary pause in bombing would benefit hamas. he said that on this program last week. then a few days later he went to the u.n. and said, a humanitarian pause must be considered. then the u.s. at the u.n. voted against a humanitarian truce. what exactly is the biden administration calling for here? because everyone from the pope to the world health organization to the u.n. is saying just stop the violence for a period of

time at least. >> well, what a lot of people are calling for is just a stop to israeli military action against terrorists, period. just stop. no more. israel cannot go after terrorists who conducted the largest massacre of jews since the holocaust and who continue to fire rockets and continue to attack israel. we have taken the position that israel has a right to he defend itself against terrorist attacks. that is different from what secretary blinken spoke about, which was a humanitarian pause. a pause in the fighting, for example, so that there's a period of time where there can be safe passage of hostages. >> just hours? >> president biden and his team are working hard to get those hostages out. we will continue to do that. i won't put a time frame on it, but i will say that given the number of hostages, it would be more than just hours if we were able to secure their release and we are actively working to secure their release. similarly, when secretary

blinken said any pause in fighting benefits hamas, that's a reality. there are a lot of complicated realities in this. a humanitarian pause would be a good thing to get hostages out, but you can bet that hamas will try to use that time to their advantage as well. these are the things that israel is trying to grapple with. >> to that point, benny gantz, part of the netanyahu war cabinet said we will listen to our friends but we will act in accordance with what is right for us. is there any daylight, jake, between the u.s. and the netanyahu government right now? >> we have conversations like friends do on the hard questions that i talked about before, on issues associated with humanitarian aid, on distinguishing between terrorists and innocent civilians, on how israel is thinking through its military operation. those conversations happen multiple times a day. they happen between the president and the prime minister, they happen by the secretary of state, secretary of defense, myself, other senior

members of our administration. we talk candidly, we talk directly, we share our views in an unvarnshed way, and we will continue to do that. sitting here in public, i will just say that united states is going to make its principles and propositions absolutely clear, including the sanctity of innocent human life, and then we will continue to provide our advice to israel in private. >> i understand this is another country's decision here, but the u.s. gives more than $3 billion in aid to israel. some of those weapons being used in gaza are purchased or helped to be purchased with u.s. taxpayer funds. whether it's intended or not to some of the world, it looks like the u.s. is endorsing all of what israel is doing here. are you at all asking the military to be more limited in its tactics or more strategic? >> the united states of america,

when we transfer weapons another country, whether it's israel or anyone else, requests, requires, an assurance that those weapons will be used in accordance with the law of armed conflict and we seek accountability to ensure that is the case. we will continue to do that. we will also work around the clock to try to make sure that life-saving humanitarian assistance gets to people in need, but fundamentally, what president biden says, how he has described things from the point of view from civilian protection, access to life-saving goods and medicine for civilians, this is where the united states stanceds and we d not stand for the killing of innocent people, whether it be palestinian, israeli or otherwise, and we weep and grieve for every lost life and will continue to do so. >> is that going to be your message to saudi arabia's defense minister when you meet tomorrow? you know a number of arab partners are concerned about the level of violence in gaza right

now. >> we've been talking to our arab partners, including to saudi arabia, about the unfolding crisis in gaza. we listen to them carefully and share our perspective. ys, we will have the opportunity to dive deep, not just on what is happening today, but on what tomorrow could bring. what president biden said in the rose guararden this week was we can't go back to october 6th. hamas can no longer terrorize israel but there needs to be a political horizon for the palestinian people two states for two people, the right of palestinians to live in safety, dignity and equality and we're going to work towards that and arab states including saudi arabia have a role and responsibility in that as well. >> before i let you go, do you believe iran is deterred? >> well, what i believe is that the united states will follow through on what we said we would do. if our troops are attacked we will respond and we responded. we are vigilant because we are

seeing elevated threats against our forces throughout the region and an elevated risk of this conflict spreading to other parts of the region. we are doing everything in our power to deter and prevent that, but i'm not going to predict what the future brings, other than to say that if we are attacked we will respond. >> jake sullivan, thank you for your time. "face the nation" will be back in one minute. stay with us. (♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪) ♪fun music♪ mom, can i help? camping was fun, but it looks we brought the woods back with us.

if you have kids, then you really need weathertech. it's the ultimate way to kid proof your vehicle. from laser-measured floorliners for the front and rear... to cargoliner... seat protector... and seat back protectors... we've got you covered. your turn. [laughter] find these american made products at weathertech.com. we go now to general joseph votel, former centcom commander overseeing operations in the middle east. general, it's good to have you with us. i want to pick up where we left off with the national security adviser. he said the u.s. has elevated threats against u.s. forces, elevated risks of the conflict spreading. what are the trigger points you are concerned about? >> thanks. good morning, margaret. good to be with you. i think the thing i've been concerned about and probably many have been concerned about is that any miscalculation along

the line can move this to a different level, so, you know, an attack on an american installation, whether it's military or diplomatic or commercial, that causes casualties, significant casualties and death, i think could significantly change the calculus for us. it's certainly a much broader attack by the so-called iranian threat network, whether hezbollah or whether it's iranian aligned militia groups in syria, to broaden the conflict. i think these are all aspects that could lead to a widening of the conflict. >> there have already been 20 militia attacks. 19 service people who suffered from traumatic brain injuries. one contractor died. how do you understand that level of aggression? >> well, it's very clear, i mean, iran is hbehind this.

there are elements in iraq and to some extent syria, are perpetrating these attacks. as the national security adviser said, we have to hold them accountable for that. it is critically important to not just be responsive, but to be directly responsive and be forceful in our manner. ultimately what we need to do is compel these elements and iran who is behind all of this to stop this type of action right now. >> in israel, their prime minister said yesterday this is going to be a long war and we're in the second phase. you just heard jake sullivan say the u.s. is still asking questions like what exactly are the objectives. how do you describe what the idf is doing right now in gaza? >> well, i think what idf is doing, is i think the task they've probably been given is destroy the war-making capacity of hamas. so they are going after command and control locations and they're going after logistics

equations, headquarter locations and they're going after the likely sites that hamas would use to perpetrate missile strikes or rocket strikes on to israel, so from my perspective it's clear what the israeli military is doing. i think their job is to destroy that war-making capacity of hamas. >> should they stop once capturing gaza city? >> well, again, i think they'll have to make an assessment of their progress. most of the effort now seems to be in the north, northern part of gaza and around gaza city, which i think, as most people who study this will recognize, are the primary areas where hamas operates. they definitely directed their operations against the places where hamas is, and i think they're actually approaching this in an incremental manner. we've seen introduction of

additional forces over the last couple days, so they're thinking ability it that way, and, of course, like any military force would do, they have to take assessments of their progress as they continue with their operations. >> there is concern about another front here outside of gaza and i know on wednesday president biden said he is alarmed by, quote, extremist settlers attacking palestinians in the west bank, end quote, places they're entitled to be. one of israel's government ministers has video of him arming israeli civilians with m-16 and m-4 assault rifles. how concerned are you about an uptick in violence in the west bank? >> i think this goes back to what we talked about a few minutes ago. it's the miscalculations. it's a tinderbox and when you have people that are scare and weapons and trying to protect themselves, the chances for something going wrong in this i

think can increase. yeah, and the rhetoric has been very strong about this, about the vulnerability and the fact that israeli settlers in the west bank are targets. that's essentially what these islamic movements have been saying. so i think it's a critical situation that could flow out very quickly. >> general votel, thank you for your analysis today. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back, so stay with us. progress means producing renewable fuels for trucks on the road today. we're partnering with farmers to develop these fuels using everything from plant by-products to cow manure. and then using those fuels to help lower the lifecycle carbon intensity of the transportation industry. driving the world forward today, while forging new roads to the future. that's energy in progress.

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after 22 days, the house is back in business. our scott mcfarland takes a closer look at the new speaker, louisiana's mike johnson. >> reporter: the friz obscurity and the back bench of the u.s. house in his fourth term. >> the mines of freedom hear us loud and clear, the people's house is back in business. >> reporter: the congressman

from louisiana's ascent to be second in line to the presidency. >> would you like to get right into governing? >> reporter: was so unexpected and so quick, his wife missed the vote. she's not here. we couldn't get a flight in time. this happened suddenly. >> reporter: the overnight rise to the most powerful position in congress. >> you're going to see this group working like a well-oiled machine. >> reporter: prevented the traditional deep dive into his caree and positions before he took the gavel. >> people are curious, what does mike johnson think about any issue under the sun? go pick up a bible off your shelf and read it. that's my world view. that's what i believe. >> reporter: the evangelical christian is an attorney specializes in constitutional law. once a talk radio show who has towed a hard line against abortion rights. >> what about the brutal rights and murder committed on a preborn child. >> reporter: he wrote an editorial equating abortion with the holocaust and a judicial

system allowing abortions to hitler. he's been staunchly against gay rights and referred to it as inherently unnatural and voted against legalizing same-sex marriage. after the 2020 presidential election, johnson was an architect of congressional efforts to overturn the results not only voting to decertify the results but joining republicans in texas to challenge the outcome, espousing a conspiracy theory -- >> when you have a software system used around the cont that is suspect because it came from venezuela -- >> reporter: now speaker, johnson has less to say about that. >> you helped lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results -- >> come on -- >> >> reporter: if republicans maintain the majority next november johnson would lead the house in the next certification, january 6th, 2025. bolstered by the defectors that removed kevin mccarthy. >> the swamp is on the run, maga

is ascendent and if you don't think moving from kevin mccarthy to maga mike johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the republican party lies you're not paying attention. >> reporter: those same defectors are the ones open to shutting down the government if their demands aren't met. the new speaker now has just 19 days to keep that from happening. speaker johnson would like to split aid for israel from aid from ukraine which puts aid for ukraine in a fragile position. there are dozens of republicans who oppose it. he would need a critical mass of democrats to support it then and bills with a critical mass of democratic support is one reason why there's no speaker kevin mccarthy anymore. >> good point. thank you. we'll be right back. differy managers. (other money manager) different how? aren't we all just looking for the hottest stocks? (fisher investments) nope. we use diversified strategies to position our clients' portfolios for their long-term goals. (other money manager) but you still sell investments that generate high commissions for you, right? (fisher investments) no, we don't sell commission products. we're a fiduciary,

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