wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. i'm amna nawaz. geoff bennett is away. hamas releases two israeli hostages and aid trickles into gaza.

nine candidates in the race for house speaker make their pitch to fellow republicans as congress remains largely at a standstill. the israel-hamas war divides college campuses across the united states, leading to heated protests, fear and uncertainty. >> i am scared for the future of israel and palestine and what the future will look like on campus. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour. >> actually, you don't need

vision to do most things in life. yes, i am responsible for the user interface. if i can see it and understand quickly, anyone can. people who no, no. -- know, know. >> the william and flora hewitt foundation. advancing ideas and supporting institutions. >> and, with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions by viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. hamas has freed two more hostages, israeli officials say 220 people with more than 30 nationalities are believed to be held captive. meanwhile, the bombardment of gaza continues. the health ministry says more than five, -- 5 million -- 5000 palestinians have been killed. we have a room or. a warning, some images are disturbing. >> kidnapped from their homes.

held captive. two of the oldest hostages taken by hamas are finally free. hamas said it release them from humanitarian reasons but husbands remained in captivity. the release follows mediation attempts. this comes as preparation for a ground invasion rolls on. and, israeli airstrikes continue to pound gaza. the palestinian prime minister warned against an offensive. >> what we hear about a ground invasion means the continuation of new crimes, displacement and killing. >> at a meeting of european meetings, the european union foreign policy chief said there was a consensus for a pause in fighting to allow for humanitarian support.

>> for aid to get in, there has to be a pause. otherwise, made could fall victim to military activity. >> a drugs came in -- the united nations said they carried a fraction of >> needed. without fuel, hospitals and sanitation systems will grind to a halt. hospitals are struggling. incubators. all of this is israeli airstrikes rain down on gaza. israel is intensifying its bombardment. fear echoes from the neighborhood in gaza city. as families escape, another airstrike.

not too far away, paramedics rescue civilians. the injured were rushed. health officials said 266 people have been killed in the last 24 hours. more than 100 of them were children. in southern gaza they were meant to be a safe haven. it toppled residential buildings. he thought his daughter was safe. he came from northern gaza. >> we were told it is a safe place and everyone came here because it is considered safe. unfortunately last night was the hardest so far. >> another father that could not save his child. he was one of dozens morning the loved ones killed in israeli airstrikes. including, this father who held

his child close even in death. >> because of how worried he was . god have mercy. >> this daughter broke down as she identified her dead mother. she lost her mother and sister today after losing her grandparents, aunt and cousins. >> i wish you would have taken me. >> in northern israel, a growing threat. not just rockets but missiles and fighters with guns. just beyond the hills behind me is lebanon, we've been hearing gunfire. israeli authorities are evacuating all of the towns.

>> painted tanks from a previous more, but now, the real tanks are back. as israel attempts to evacuate, space in safer parts of the country is running out. some say they have not received any help. the only families are left on the street. >> we are waiting for someone to take us anyplace. i call every day. i'm waiting two hours. >> threatened and alone, they wait and hope as the conflict intensifies. today, militants attacked an idf

checkpoint outside of town. >> i need to save my family. we don't know what happened. we wait. we're sleeping in a shelter. >> she grew up amidst the withdrawal. she fears her children will suffer the same trauma. >> it was a very hard war. nightmares, so many rockets. kids understand was happening. >> olga is afraid but believes it must secure the area future once and for all. >> this is not right.

we're are always feeling threatened. >> she won't wait for the government to find refuge. they are scrambling to pack everything they can into a small car, evacuating to stay with family in central israel. >> they are not helping us. there is. a lot of people traveled to the hotels and came back because the state was canceled. >> whether it's to fight porphyry, -- amna: joining us in our studio is nick schifrin. i know earlier today you saw firsthand the video that israeli officials showed you about the kind of violence hamas militants

inflicted on israeli communities on october 7. tell us about those videos and why you are seeing that now. >> officials told us they decided to show us the film because they felt we had to see it. he saw a small clip. i have to say in 15 years, this is some of the worst violence i have ever seen. we saw horrific scenes. we saw a parent and a hamas militant screaming as they watched him die. they put together footage. we can see the victims after

they have been piled into the shelter. others with missing limbs. we see them being taken into gaza. this created such a chill in the hearts of israelis across the country because it feels like an accidental state -- existential fight. amna: meanwhile, the u.s. is working hard to prevent the war from expanding. >> they are spending significant assets to the middle east to deter and defend u.s. troops. they sent a carrier strike off the coast, thousands of soldiers

, now we have a second carrier. it will sail through the suez canal, a clear warning to iran. officials believe they do defer. multiple patriot battalions will do that. officials tell me roughly eight strikes have been hit. this is a significant escalation. amna: do u.s. officials want israel to delay that?

>> they don't like the word delay, but the fact is the u.s. has four main priorities, releasing the hostages, delivering humanitarian assistance and freeing citizens trapped in gaza. they benefit from more time and priorities get much more difficult. amna: what have you been hearing? >> the hostages are a concern, but israeli officials say there is a suspicion to see two more hostages to try and recoup forces. officials are telling me it is

strategic to remove what capability hamas has, they know they can be ready to go and at the same time, they are upscaling reservists who come in with active duty. that is double, so this is a huge operation. so many skills they need to learn in a short amount of time for being deployed across the country. >> thank you to you both. >> united auto workers added a

new factory on day 39. some -- the union said the detroit big three need to offer more. workers are on strike against ford, gm and stellantis. a senator has pleaded not guilty, this time to federal charges. he is accused of taking bribes but he is denied wrongdoing. in russia, a court ordered russian-american journalist, alsu kurmasheva, to stay in custody until early december she appeared in a hood and mask, held in a defendant's box. she'd been detained last week on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent. evan gershkovich of the wall street journal, is also being held in russia on espionage charges.

the united states is vowing to defend the philippines after chinese ships collided with vessels in the south china sea. it happened sunday off the disputed second thomas shoal, where beijing has sweeping territorial claims. video caught a chinese vessel ramming a philippines supply boat. then, another chinese ship blocked the philippines' coast guard from approaching. manila condemned the actions. >> we are here to really decry in the strongest possible terms this egregious violation and illegal act within the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, and the obfuscation of the truth by china distorting the story to fit its own ends. >> the u.s. has long back the philippines. the presidential election said

they will make a surprise showing. the far right populist had voiced admiration for former president trump. on wall street, stocks mostly gave ground on continued concerns about interest rates. the dow jones closed down. the nasdaq rose and the s&p 500 slipped to seven. the world's oldest dog ever has died. the guard dog -- at his death, he was 31. 217 in dog years. still to come on the newshour.

weighing in on the house republican struggle to choose a leader. israel's military tactics raise questions about whether the nation is abiding by the laws of war. a new book asked lawyers -- explores mitt romney's relationship with his own party. >> the pbs newshour from washington and arizona state university. amna: nine republicans are jockeying to serve as speaker of the house after several failed votes. a weeks-long stalemate over the future of the chamber. this evening, the candidates are pitching their plans to unite a divided house republican conference in a closed-door candidate forum. joining me now from the capitol is leigh ann caldwell. day 20 without a speaker?

does any contender stand out? >> it's going to be a tough path for the nine candidates. the three i am watching, first is tom,. the largest caucus in the republican conference. here is byron donalds. amna: these two of nine who

voted to certify election results. >> that vote will not have much of an impact. but donald trump does not like that he voted to certify the election, and my sources are telling me behind the scenes donald trump is pushing him to slam him so he does not win the speaker's race. donald trump is not plan on saying anything negative. amna: are the republicans doing anything differently this time in terms of the process they could help them avoid the gridlock's of the past? >> they are not. it's not just one candidate or two candidates, there is nine candidates. they have to wheedle that down

to one which is going to be contentious. then of course, they have to go to the house floor and get a majority of the house, 217 members. it has to be done with all republicans. they can't lose more than four votes. it's going to be very complicated. amna: is this the universe of people who could be speaker? >> the backup option was to give a temporary speaker for a limited amount of time. that is something democrats would support. that is final -- the final option we will be watching. amna: thank you. let's continue looking at the

potential political fallout of the race and how it could affect aid for israel and ukraine with amy walter. and tamra and keith. i nt to thank you for the latest report, something that stuck with me is when you said if you step back, it's easier to see a longer trajectory that has been undermined for the last 30 years. talking about the crisis in trying to find a speaker. >> the 30 years -- i am officially old. it began in 1994.

the first antiestablishment was started by newt gingrich. then, we moved to the second group of revolutionaries, the tea party, and finally now with trump. if you look at the trajectory, the first is not that they disliked -- they saw compromise as something that was considered more of a sin than an asset. you also see a leadership from the establishment that found a way to incorporate or fight back and only find a new set of rebels was standing at the gate.

that is where kevin mccarthy found himself, this was two weeks ago, maybe we can take it back to the election of 2022, kevin mccarthy wanted a bigger margin so he was left with a margin that does not want to see leadership. amna: does he still have as much of a hold on house republicans? >> you can say does have a stronghold but his endorsement may not be something on the line.

the threshold for becoming speaker is so difficult which means you can't lose anyone, or only a handful. i see this divide shaping up in the republican party that essentially has 20% of republicans don't want to burn it down and have discomfort with trump and willing to accept joe biden won the election and then you have the rest of them who have fully gone all in on the trump republican party. that includes foreign policy, it's easy to forget but there was a time where there was a bipartisan deal to avoid a shutdown and then trump said, i

don't like that and then there was a government shutdown. there really is this divide between republicans who realize it requires some type of compromise and those that don't care. it's hard to find a speaker candidate. amna: i want to remind folks about the address that president biden gave about a funding request. top lines from that request, over $9 billion for humanitarian assistance. do they see these needs as vital u.s. interests? >> the american public sees this

is not as focused, issues that are not as critically important for policy reasons but is this the prism through which they are determining the vote for president? unlikely so. what is important about the package is it seems to have a little something for everyone. including the border and immigration funding, this is something republicans have said they want to see before they give foreign aid. however, getting the deal done is going to require republicans

to accommodate ukraine funding which they have said they would not like to see and it does not have any policy changes to immigration, it's just more money and republicans would like to see a difference in direction on some key policies that democrats will not agree to. the white house is not going to get involved.

there was some sarcasm about jim jordan, the white house is not going to get involved but as you say until there is a speaker, nothing can get done on the funding measures. amna: good to see you both. the hamas terror attack on israeli civilians two weeks ago and the subsequent bombardment

has roiled college campuses, from arizona state, to indiana, george mason and more. jeffrey brown reports. >> from the river to the sea. >> between rain showers in new jersey, members of the local chapter of the students for justice in palestine staged the latest of demonstrations. after the hamas attack on israel, the group called it justified retaliation and those behind the attack, freedom fighters. now, it's ending -- defending its own right. >> we are speaking out about

palestine. >> protesters cover themselves to hide identities and spoke to us anonymously. >> plenty of students are terrified. a lot of my peers are afraid to leave their homes. there has been a threat to our safety. >> down the street, a jewish organization said members -- >> it's terrifying. >> hillel helped organize a

visual for students to help grieve and mourn, now, she is hurt and angered. >> i don't want someone starting a conversation, i can only share my beliefs, and frankly this has turned into antisemitism. >> around the country, more than 30 student groups have signed onto a public letter holding the israeli regime responsible for the violence. the backlash was immediate, including lawrence summers

declaring that in nearly 50 years, he has never been as disillusioned. criticizing university leadership for not denouncing terrorism. the current president did compare atrocities, and days later released a video saying -- >> howard university rejects hate of jews, muslims, any group of people based on their faith, national origin or any aspect of their identity. our university rejects the harassment or intimidation based on beliefs and our university embraces a commitment to free expression.

>> and israeli student was assaulted. >> the rise in anti-semitism has been abhorrent. people have been cheering after women were raped and their dead corpses paraded through gaza. >> protesters claimed a lack of equal support for the university administration. >> there has been a bias. we are all against violence. >> a different type of pressure came from donors and outside groups. >> whenever dissatisfaction with how universities are being run,

this makes it boil over. >> the ceo of a private equity firm called on fellow alumni to stop donating. the former utah governor announced he would do just that. they called for university leaders to resign for allowing a palestinian literary festival that included hate filled rhetoric. >> this is not an issue of woke or anti-woe, this is an issue of right or wrong. this is an -- a group that believes jews should be killed. the inability to actually say that is morally confused and bankrupt. >> a billionaire called for the

names of students that signed a group to be circulated so employers can avoid hiring them. individual students have been targeted. some branded as anti-semites. >> for me and other jewish students, the statement was so hurtful and upsetting. the answer is not to doxx students. >> a sophomore says after this it's hard to see away forward. >> i am scared for the future of what it will look like. one thing i know is we need to

work on consensus building. >> students saw protests as a key part of the discourse. >> if you are interested in having a conversation, i have had multiple conversations and have always explained we just want to live. the most powerful weapon we have is our voice. >> in the meantime, colleges grapple with finding their own voice. universities like rockers have declined our express. amna: president biden and the leaders of european countries

released a letter overnight endorsing israel's right to defend itself. nick schifrin looks at those laws of war and whether they are being followed. >> the rules that define armed conflict are laws and resolutions that govern military targets and require militaries to balance priorities. we have seen on the ground so far, terrorists have turned a music festival into a massacre. in gaza, health authorities say 5000 more dead. for more on the question, we have two views. a legal advisory to the idf and

a senior research fellow. in human rights lawyer. thank you, welcome to the newshour. is israel following the law of armed conflict? >> the laws of armed conflicts are entrenched in our command, training, we have legal advisors. it's important for us to abide by the rules that relies on circumstances and there is flexibility. >> what do you see? >> this current escalation began when hamas fighters committed unspeakable war crimes, killing

children in the israeli response has been to target civilians. one of the first things the military did was cut off supplies to gaza which has set into motion a crisis. punishing civilians is collective punishment and is a war crime. >> the israeli military specifically cut off water and electricity that israel provides to gaza. >> what the terrorists did was a brutal attack against israel, they are an enemy that is after us and israel is acting fully within its rights to defend its

obligation to defend its citizens. the only thing in the law regarding civilian populations. i don't know how many but many tracks going in so there is no starvation. talk about the collective punishment and it's not just revenge. >> israel is not obligated to continue sending and electricity it argues could be dual use. >> water is not a dual use item.

it is something civilians need to drink and the israeli army acknowledged there are water shortages and their responses those people should evacuate. civilians need to be protected all the time. there blocking fuel that is needed to deliver this is life-saving equipment and impeding that is a war crime. there is a simple and clear thing that needs to happen,

>> let me switch over to the israeli air campaign. the law of armed conflict talks about proportionality. do you believe the israeli air force has been proportional? >> understand that the military infrastructure is inside civilian buildings and according to the law it becomes a lawful military target. you have to examine harm to civilians.

you have displaced israelis. the other enemies will enter the fight. civilians are unfortunately harmed. >> i have reported from wars and i have seen how hamas uses schools as military bases. >> i would agree to proportionality inquiry is case-by-case.

it's not only what i would call excessive, it violates about the need to avoid populated areas. you raise the risk of indiscriminate attacks. >> let's look into the future. will the idf try and limit casualties by using some smaller weapons?

>> of course, we will do whatever we can but you have to understand, hamas booby-traps the links so if we attack town in one place, it will lead to another collapsing somewhere else. they are using palestinian lives . are we supposed to do nothing? allow other enemies to join? >> what is your message to the idf? >> the option is to obey the law and the law has specific protections for civilians. i am worried about civilians who remain in northern gaza.

for many people, leaving is impossible. many people who stay behind risk being complicit in terrorism. that's a dark sign of how they intend to treat civilians. >> thank you very much to you both. >> it was not long ago that mitt romney was the republican nominee. today, a senator from utah is attempting to make sense of changes within the party and his own actions over his decades-long political career.

for numerous hours over 14 months, he shared his thoughts with journalist mckay coppins. lisa desjardins picks up the story from here. >> that's right. the result is the new book. lots of headlines but mitt romney is noxious reckoning with his party but also himself. can you pick a revealing moment that shows this restless quality and how it affects a historic figure making decisions throughout? >> one thing that drew me to him as he was going through process of trying to understand how his party became the way it was and whether he played a role in it. he's been a prominent critic of donald trump but he told me about a moment in the wake of the election where he was openly

hostile to the campaign but trump invited him to talk about joining the administration. romney went back and had some meetings with trump and said he had noble intentions but there was some part of him that wanted the job. what is fascinating is he was often going back to his career and life and identifying those moments where he was rationalizing things. it's important because those kinds of rationalizations.

>> in 2012, both parties had celebrities like this, but that moment has looked worse and worse. he has regret about not just how he indulged trump but how he indulged the more toxic elements for how he was trying to pursue the presidency.

over the years and recently they took over the party and they realized it was not possible to keep him at arms length. >> this has garnered a lot of reaction. sources on capitol hill actually felt there were some hypocritical ideas. how do you reckon it? >> a lot of the venting he did with me with stuff he said over the course of the years. he gave me his private journals. it's funny because he later told me he had not reread those journals.

i put them in their to demonstrate his growing alarm, but the reality is he has been very critical of the leadership of his party, he is a normal sleep disappointed in some of his colleagues will say behind closed doors that donald trump is a menace or a buffoon and then are loyal to him. he deserves some credit for saying it out loud. >> what is his relationship with the republican party? >> he is more isolated than ever. he has made clear he does not have a home in this party, by the end of our conversation was openly talking about leaving the party, as long as donald trump is the dominant figure in the gop, he's going to remain a

vocal critic and i would be interested to see if he remains affiliated with it in the year ahead. >> thank you for all of the work and for joining us. >> thank you. amna: some international singers length their talents yesterday to a virtual concert called voices for peace. the jerusalem youth chorus helped organize this after canceling its trip to the u.s. this week. it's intended to foster dialogue and empathy and here they are performing. ♪

amna: you can find a link tomorrow. thank you for joining us. >> major funding has been

provided by. >> architect. life well-planned. committed to advancing restorative justice more. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just and peaceful world. and, with the ongoing support of these institutions this program

was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions by viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ >>

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ ♪ hello everyone and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> the opening of the rafah crossing suffers yet another setback with critical aid for gaza hanging in the balance, i speak to humanitarian organizations on the ground. and the civilian death toll climbs by the hour.