welcome back to "face the nation." we continue with north carolina republican senator thom tillis. before the break, you were telling us that you had finally seen some movement from the 82nd airborne. the president has supported the national guard. what is happening as of today. are those resources reaching who needs them? >> they are beginning to move. i think they're moving a little bit more slowly than i hoped that is why we're working with the ground, i want to thank all of the local, state, federal responders out there. they're doing extraordinary work. but we've got to plus up the resources out there into some of the hardest hit areas, areas that we haven't reached yet and i think that could be done through the leadership of an active duty d.o.d. personnel working with the state and with the national guard. we just need to surge more resources. we've got to clear roads.

most roads are closed in western north carolina. i've been out there twice this week and every day last week and every day this week. just the basics of debris removal, the rescue operations, things that the department of defense, the 82nd airborne, the 101st are accustomed to doing in battle situations are exactly what with he need in western north carolina. >> so you would prefer the military be in the lead and not fema, is that right? >> it has to be a coordinated response and fema knows how to do this well. they've done it in other major disaster events. the american people and those in nrk need to understand the scope of this storm is more like katrina. it may look like a flood to theowd observer, but again this is a land mass roughly the size of the state of massachusetts with damage distributed throughout. we have to get the maximum resources on the ground immediately to finish rescue operations and then sadly be there for recovery and

rebuilding. >> i notice that a state senator in north carolina named kevin corbin had been posting on facebook asking people to stop conspiracy theory junk as he the government's controlling the weather or stealing donation money. who or what is fuelling that kind of misinformation and do you think it is harming recovery efforts? >> well i've been involved in a number of storm responses and this is one i believe discipline is absolutely essential. kevin is a friend of mine and he's right to call out people. many of the observations are not even from people on the ground. i believe that we have to stay focused on rescue operations, recovery operations, clearing operations, and we don't need any of these distractions on the ground. it is at the expense of the hard working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their life. so, i think they should listen to kevin's advice and do the same.

look, if there are any challenges, call my office and we'll track them down if there are real issues, but most of what i've seen is a distraction and not helping the core of the effort right here which is to save lives and start rebuilding. >> former president trump claimed the response in north carolina was terrible and emergency funding is being spent on immigrants. do you know what he's talking about? >> well, here, let's stipulate -- >> is he right? >> i think that the president is right to say that billions of dollars is being spent as a result of biden's failed immigration policies and border policies. however, we have the resources that we need, we're going to have to go back and pass more resources. we could have a discussion about the failure of this administration's border policies an the billions of dollars it is costing. but right now, not yet is it acting the flow of resources to north carolina. >> it is not a factor, to be clear. okay. >> not at this time.

>> okay. homeland security is projecting that fema can meet the immediate needs. but they're not sure if we could make it through hurricane season without more federal help. your asking for federal help but the speaker of house has said he's not calling people back early to vote for approve it. are you going to try to persuade him other wise when he comes to north carolina this week? >> well i think we have to look at it. because, margaret, we have a storm about to hit florida that is going to have additional fema request over the next week or so. we're talking about a major rain event that is forming down in the gulf coast that is supposed to hit -- two-thirds of the state of florida. other events could draw those funds down. i'm in the camp of let's go back and we know we need additional resources, let's make sure there is never attention drawn to whether or not they could respond. not just in north carolina, but the storm event. so i'm in the camp of let's go

provide some certainty and then come back and do more after the election. >> well that election is coming soon an it is not the federal government that administers it, as you know. but we do know in your state that there are some concerns that helene could impact the ability of north carolinians to either vote in person or via absentee ballot. what is the state doing at this point? does there need to be more attention to that. >> the state is doing a great job. the i've spoken with the leaders and they're coming back and taking lessons from louisiana and a number of other states that have to provide voting access in difficult situations like this. they'll be passing legislative matters this week to address it. i think that north carolina will be prepared to make sure that everybody who wants to vote will have access to the ballot and vote before election day or on election day. >> all right. senator, a developing story.

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we go now to our imtiaz tyab in lebanon that reports after one year of fighting in the middle east, the toll on civilians, especially women and children remains high. >> it is been one year since hamas's brutal october 7th attacks. since then, israel has been waging a war on multiple fronts. in gaza, which is now in near total ruins over 41,000 palestinians have been killed. mainly women and children. close to 97,000 have been injure and nearly all hospitals have been destroyed. as israel's war with hamas shows no sign of letting up. while in the west bank, israeli forces have carried out massive raids across the occupied territory. >> we're here in one of several villages in the israeli occupied west bank. palestinian villages where the

situation is extremely tense following israel's decision to launch what is being described as one of the largest operations its conducted here in the west bank in decades. >> since october 7th, 741 palestinians and including 163 children have been killed in the west bank and east jerusalem. but it is in lebanon where israeli attacks are only intensifying, following the wave of booby-trapped explosions targeting hezbollah members and then the assassination of the leader, nasrallah, just over a week ago, triggers violence that seen more than 1.2 million people displaced and over 2,000 killed. >> this was once a five-story building and it is pretty much all but obliterated. we don't know exactly what that was, that clearly a very loud strike in the distance and it

underscores the situation across southern beirut as israel continues to strike it heavily. >> some fleeing that violence have found shelter at beirut's blew mosque, like 14-year-old mustafa, who shows us the pet birds he couldn't bear to leave behind. a rocket fell so close to us, he said. >> you must have been so scared? >> yeah. >> you were? >> yeah. >> and over the past week israel has already targeted the houthis in yemen, various groups in syria and iraq and is now confronting iran directly as the region braces for israel's response to the iranian ballistic missile attack this week following the assassination of the key alley hezbollah hassan nasrallah. overnight netanyahu said that israel will win with or without the support of its allies. margaret. >> that is imtiaz tyab in beirut. the israeli death toll and civilian and military standing

at nearly 1700 in the last year according to the u.s. funded national defense university. the impact of the war will be felt for generations. which is why we want to take a closer look at children in conflict. in gaza, at least 14,000 kids have died, another 12,500 injured according to the u.n. catherine russell is there unicef who helps disadvantaged children around the world. good morning. you're deeply concerned by what is happening right now in ala lebanon. thousands fleeing without supplies. what is the speed of the escalation do to your ability to help these kids? >> i think the speed and intensity is shocking honestly. and it does make it challenging for us. however, we have been in lebanon, we're on ground there, we are doing a lot of work moving in tons of supplies, medical supplies and other supplies. but i think the challenge is

that the population, about a million people, have been displaced. and so that kind of movement makes it very challenging to try to provide the services that people need. but i think, we're there and we're doing it. obviously we need more resources. that is always a challenge. but i feel confident at this point that we could meet the needs but it is taking a tremendous amount of effort on our part to do it. >> the u.n. refugee chief, one of your colleagues, said today that the strikes on lebanon had violated international humanitarian law. is that effecting your workers? >> i would say for humanitarian workers, the last year has been so challenging. i mean, we have lost a record number of humanitarian workers around the world. there are so many conflicts going on and in so many places where they're so vulnerable. and as the head of this -- my operation, i worry constantly about our teams there and our staff there. and i think unhcr, they did lose two staff people in lebanon and

that is a crushing thing to happen because these people are so amazing and they risk their lives every day to help children and desperate people and to see that happen is really crushing. >> anra told cbs they're heading down the track to a man mate disaster again in gaza. i was told the food deliveries have been continuously declining since may. there are law and order challenges, that is part of the problem. 1 million people didn't get food in august. that number now is 1.4 million. how bad is the malnutrition and the hygiene an the mental health of kids there? >> it is all terrible. and i think it -- if you look at gaza,s it a hell scape for children. they've been moved and they know family members that have been killed and they have been injure and they don't have enough food to eat and water, and clean water. i think these children, you mentioned it earlier, they're so

traumatized by what is happening and i think the notion that we could even if we could get more supplies in there, the trauma is going to have lifetime and even post generation challenges for them. because it is just so profound and it is been almost a year of this. that he really -- it is hard to imagine what that is like for a child. you can't really imagine anything comparable for them and i think they have no security, they have no certainty in life. they're just really suffering every single day. >> but you were able to get polio shots into kids. how come you can't get them food. >> it is such good question. first, i would say, it is terrible that we had to go in and do polio vaccines. there hasn't been polio in gaza for years, decades and we saw some cases of it because they're living in such terrible conditions and water is dirty and all of the rest of it. so we were able to go in and vaccinate children for polio,

half a million children. i mean 500 million children. it was a real success story. and think the important point shows that if the authorities there help us, make it possible for us to do our work, we can do it. we could definitely do it but we need more support. but there is not security right now. it is very dangerous to move things around. the roads are amess. we get stuck at checkpoints and it is one problem after another and the polio lesson is we could do it and they could help us do it if they choose to. >> if there is coordinated international pressure to allow for it. >> yeah. >> moving away from the middle east and to africa. i know sudan is an issue you have been trying to put on the world's radar for some time. nearly 4 million children under five are acutely malnourishes and there is a cholera outbreak. >> sudan is the most alarming

place for me because of the scale of it. it is the largest displacement crisis in the world and the largest hunger problem in the world. we have declared that there is famine in part of sudan. children are grossly malnourishes and on the verge of famine where it hasn't already been declared. there is incredible violence and children are moving constantly and very vulnerable. i was there several months ago and the stories i heard were heartbreaking of what children have seen and experienced of this 19 million children live in sudan, 17 million have been out of school for a year. >> 17 million children are out of school. >> right. they can't get medical supplies. it is really challenging. i met with some children in a camp that unicef supports an the amazing thing was they could still talk about the hope for the future, which i -- i'm always struck by this.

children are children everywhere and they could have hope but the international community has got to do better in sudan and everyone has go the to put pressure on parties to stop fighting and making lives so miserable for children. >> catherine russell, thank you. >> thanks. we'll be back in a moment.

to discuss the ongoing conflict in the middle east, we go now to retired general frank mckenzie, kwho was the former commander of u.s. forces in the middle east. it is good to have you back with us, general. we saw. >> good to be with you, margaret. >> we saw the u.s. and israel say there could be severe consequences for what iran did with those 180 missiles fired at israel. president biden said he doesn't support an israeli strike on iran's nuclear facilities and would be thinking instead about alternative targets to oil fields. what do you think expect the u.s. to do and what do you expect to happen in the next few days? >> well, margaret, let's begin by saying iran is country that is in a corner.

they're strike against israel several nights ago was not particularly successful. their ally, hezbollah has been decapitated and its own capability is greatly limited. so iran is on their back heel. israel has a lot of choices here. they could choose for something that would be heescalatory or against the nuclear program or the oil infrastructure or look at military intelligence targets. they have a wide variety of options. i will say this, the nuclear target is a very difficult target. it is large and complex. i held the plans for that when i was a central command commander and there are alternatives to that target and hold that in case you get to an escalatory ladder with the iranians but they're certainly going to hit back and i predict it will be stronger than the moderated response we saw in april after

the first large iranian attack on israel. >> you heard the republican chair of the house intelligence committee not advocate for an attack on nuclear facilities, but say it shouldn't be taken off the table. it is been widely reported for some time, general, that it is only the united states who could effectively take out the underground facilities that iran has. does that remain the case? >> well, let me begin by saying, you should never take a potential target off the menu. you want your adversary to have to plan to defend everything. so giving him assistance and not having to defend a particular target is probably not the best way to establish this kind of deterrence. having said that, the iran nuclear target is a difficult target and we have special capabilities that allow us to get at it. the israelis do not have those capabilities. they could hurt this target this-f they choose to strike it. but again because of the size

and complexity and scope how it commanded over the last ten years it is a difficult target to take out and it is very resource intensive and i would argue from a military point of view, there are perhaps targets are more productive. >> do you want to give us some options? >> well, again, we talked about some of them. p i think oil infrastructure is a possibility. and the oil infrastructure could be very broad. you could look at refinyers, you could look at storage facilities and locations where it is unloaded on to ships. so within the oil target, it is not monolithic. you could be escalatory or less escalatory as you look at targets there. that might be something to take a look at. but the other thing is the iranians targeted tel aviv, israel has the capability to go after ivgc headquarters and intelligence buildings around tehran or anywhere else. as we know from april, israel

has the act not with impunity. by with great force over iran at a time and place of their choosing and i'm sure their thinking about those options right now. >> there is also the risk of unintended consequences. since you've characterized iran as cornered here, are you concerned this could be the kind of event to allow them to pursue a nuclear weapon. they've given themselves options but never fully pursued it in the way that the u.s. intelligence said that the supreme leader could have to make the ultimate decision to do. could this be the trigger event? >> it is always been my belief that the iranians flirt with breakout, with getting material to create a bomb in order to extract concessions because us, because we dance andeagyer to come to an agreement with us. they also know if you cross the line. you can't go back. that is a rubicon that can't be

recrossed. even if they do develop the fisle material, when they do in a matter of days or weeks, they have a delivery problem. they have to create a missile to allow it to take the missile to tel aviv or whatever target they choose. that is a matter of many months and that is the valley of death for iran because you're in that period of time they will have declared nuclear and they will be vulnerable. it is not a physics problem, the aeronautical engineering systems are vulnerable to attack. it is not as easy to declare we're going nuclear. they have to balance a number of things as they do that. >> important context. if i could ask you, sir, former president trump as you know faces an ongoing assassination threat as revenge for ordering the killing of sulemany, the general and you played a key role in that and you face threats as well. mr. trump said big threats on my life by iran, the entire u.s. military is watching and

waiting. the biden white houses that condemned the threats but some republicans say it is not loud enough. how do you think this should be messaged? do you think iran is getting the message, not to go through with this? >> so, whenever we look at iran, we need to look at what is their basic motivation. the goal of iranian state craft is regime preservation. they view the election of president trump as a threat to that regime preservation so i have no doubt that iran is very active in attempts to go after the former president as well as other officials of which i'm keenly personally interested as well. but i think that is what is driving their behavior. it is a desperation. it is actually the same sort of desperation that drove the massive attack on israel of three or four nights ago. they're in a corner and they really don't have any good options but they don't want to sit still and do nothing. they do view president trump as worse than the alternatives that could be elected. >> general, thank you for your

analysis. that is going to do it for "face the nation" for today. thank you all for watching. until next week. for "face the nation," i'm margaret brennan.

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