♪ ♪ ♪ >> good morning.

i'm katie tur. sunday, october 8th. right now, it's eight a.m. in gaza, eight a.m. in new york, three pm in gaza and israel, where airstrikes continue, following the surprise or scale attack by hamas earlier yesterday morning. overnight, gaza residents reported a stream of rockets hitting multiple sites, plumes of smoke could be seen over gaza city skyline earlier. and in israel, more rocket attacks and the border city of -- and now, new attacks and the north. hezbollah firing rockets on a long contested area and the golan heights. the fighting has shocked much of the world. the death toll is already high and it is still rising. the palestinian health ministry in gaza says 313 palestinians have been killed, and 1990 others injured. israel reports at least 200 israelis are dead and more than 1800 are injured, making this the deadliest conflict at least for israel in decades. while prime minister benjamin

netanyahu's vow to gaza in the rubble, pulling back won't be easy as hamas could nap a number of soldiers and civilians and taking them hostage back into gaza. joining me now is nbc news foreign correspondent raf sanchez who is live on the ground in israel. and nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter. rough, please, tell me what's going on right now. >> -- >> i don't think we have rough. molly, can you give us the very latest. >> two things that we are very, very focused on and raf is down in southern israel right now. the israeli military right now is focused on areas of hot bite. england are stand there are about seven or eight areas where there are still active zones, where the israeli military is tr to root out militants, and then trying to secure the area. and then trying to evacuate israelicivilians from those areas farther away froth gaza strip, 80, in advance of at wl absolutely be a mighty israeli response.

that is a full ground invasion. theycertainly want israeli civilians aw from that actual strip. oth massive priority for the israeli government right now, of course, the israeli intelligence community, why we haven't been getting those minute by minute updates from the israeli military that we often do in operations like this. this is a war, but it's because of that ongoing hostage situation. earlier today, katie, the military arm of hamas said they would release the full number of hostages that they are currently holding, both civilians and soldiers inside the gaza strip. that was kind of really the story for hours yesterday. we did not know what was going on. but we understand that civilians and soldiers have been taken hostage into the gaza strip. they have said that they would release the names and numbers later today. we have not heard confirmation from the israeli government, how many israeli citizens may currently be inside gaza. but for the israeli psyche, for the israeli society, and certainly for the government, that is the most sensitive

issue and certainly top of the agenda today. katie? >> it is certainly what everybody is thinking about right. now raf, i think we're able to reconnect with you. can you tell us what's happening on the ground? >> -- >> kayleigh, we are standing in front of what was the main police station here in the city of sderot. you can see it is a whirlwind charred kabul right now. and hamas militants overran this police station yesterday. there was a 20 hour gun battle while israeli forces were trying to take control. i just want to show you, here you can see the debris everywhere. this is one of the cars, it appears to have smashed into something in the course of the gun battle. the floor is absolutely littered with bullet casings. you can see these are israeli crime scene investigators still trying to get to grips with what is an absolutely massive

crime scene spread across streets and streets here. behind me are israeli police cars. many of them are riddled with bullets. we don't know the exact number of israeli officers who were killed here. but this was a fierce, fierce fight to regain control of what israeli, what is really the heart of one of the main israeli cities close to the gaza border. now, fighting continues here inside of israel, more than 24 hours after this surprise attack was first launched. we are hearing the booms and thuds of outgoing artillery. we are hearing, you may just be able to hear that, katie, over our heads, that we believe is outgoing artillery heading into gaza. there are israeli aircraft overhead, continuing this punishing round of airstrikes inside gaza, the beginning of what prime minister netanyahu says will be retaliation on a massive scale. but weighing on the mind of the

prime minister and all other israeli decision-makers is the fact that there are israeli civilians and soldiers inside of gaza, in the captivity right now of hamas and palestinian islamic jihad. israel has shown that it will go to enormous lengths. you can hear those continuing explosions, katie. israel will go to enormous lengths to get its people back. and israeli military says all the options are on the table, including a potential full scale ground invasion into gaza. but this would not only be a highly complicated military operation, this would be a hostage rescue, perhaps unlike anything that the world has seen in generations. and i can tell you, people here are in just a state of shock and disbelief that we are talking about israeli citizens en masse being held hostage inside of gaza. katie? >> it is shocking. and the incursion itself has been shocking to watch. israel is known, molly, for its

adaptability to gather intelligence. that was the reputation. but this attack from hamas, breaking through a giant fence, getting into multiple cities, rocket attacks that are now landing in parts of tel aviv, which is not usually the case. talk to me about the intelligence breakdown and what is israel saying about their inability to see this coming? >> katie, that's right. total massive catastrophic failure, how it's being seen in western capitals. i spoke with john brennan yesterday. and he talked about not only just kind of a failure of intelligence, but also a failure of imagination, and it's something our colleague raf sanchez as we're talking about in the last 24 hours. they couldn't even conceive that this could happen. as you say, one of the most skilled intelligence agencies in the world, they pride themselves on being able to hear and see what hamas fighters, what iran does, the reach of their intelligence is extraordinary. our colleagues in washington, d.c., courtney and dan, spoke

with u.s. military officials, haiti, and they told our colleagues, we were not tracking this. of course, the u.s. and israel shared lots of intelligence, and they work very closely together. u.s. officials told nbc news that if israel knew there was an imminent attack, they did not share it. but also, john brennan was talking, katie, how this would've been an unbelievably complex planning and coordinated operation over months, possibly over a year, maybe as long as the last two years to get materials in, and those communications, the planning. and then, as this settles, as we figure out exactly what's next in this phase, to kind of figure out exactly where they're gonna go, where they're gonna breakthrough. katie, i've been to gaza. many times, the border crossing is fortified. that border fence is incredibly fortified. of course, you saw pictures yesterday. we saw videos of people cutting holes in it. those bulldozers breaking through. so, to planet only the incursion, the fighting of course, they walked attacks. but also how to take hostages

back. i think -- the real worry is speaking with analysts in western capitals if the intelligence wasn't good enough to even get a whiff of this coming, we're gonna certainly have to step up their intelligence to figure out where those israeli citizens are. >> what's the word, molly, around the world about iran at the moment? >> there is no doubt i think in western capitals that iran and hezbollah were absolutely involved. john brennan was clear. they said they believe that the decision-making was with hamas leadership. but there's no way that hamas, of course, they certainly continue to strengthen since the last gaza war. there is no way they could have coordinated an attack at this scale without iran support. >> molly hunter, thank you very much. raf sanchez, thank you as well. we now have video of a hamas kidnapping, the number of civilians. warning, this video is disturbing. >> [speaking in a global language]

-- allahu akbar -- allahu akbar -- [screaming] [inaudible] >> the first one is a woman being pulled by her. the second one, two people at a desert festival. i am joined now by an independent journalist who has had two decades of experience covering the conflict between the israelis and palestinians. she is currently in jerusalem. it's been a shocking 24 hours, i think, it goes without saying more than 24 hours. what -- how do you see this as a reporter who's been covering this conflict for decades >> -- >> hi, katie.

well, i've also shock, i have to say. actually, if you are interested, i have some last-minute details that i can share with you. the israeli death count is up to 600 people and rising rapidly. the music festival that you mentioned, the desert rate, it turned into a bloodbath. and 240 cadavers, 240 bodies were found on the side of this wave. i know that there were foreign citizens who had this big party, a kind of burning man type thing. so that is also developing. the israeli cabinet has voted now officially, a declaration of war. so, israel is in a legally, officially a war footing. which is probably a significant uptick in what is in the israeli retaliation in gaza. and i just want to say

regarding what both molly and raf we're talking about and the hostages, israel has not yet released the number. israel may not know the full number. there are several hotlines now in israel available for disappeared people, people who have not been in contact for the last 30, 35 hours. but among netanyahu, prime minister netanyahu's most extremists minister, including finance minister, there are those who are calling on israel to ignore the fact that there are israeli hostages in gaza and simply flatten the place. so, i don't know whatever netanyahu's thoughts are, or his defense minister, but we are talking about netanyahu facing pretty extreme pressures already now. and he himself is facing, i would say, the same accusations of failure that the military is because the political concept

that netanyahu instilled in israel, whereby israel could live with this is lamest militia next door. and more than that even, that israel prefers to deal with hamas than with the palestinian authority that netanyahu has really demonize, that concept has crashed badly. so, everyone who i have been talking to today around jerusalem is in a sort of hush shock. and all of these things are beginning to bubble. you see people outside, like with radios, old style, listening to the mounting death count. and the fact that there is this list of disappearing people, just unsettling for everybody. >> we haven't been able to independently verify those numbers here in nbc news. are you citing local israeli media when you talk about 600 dead on the israeli side, and those 240 bodies? >> i am citing israeli media

based on reports from hospitals. >> wow. shocking numbers. i wonder -- you're talking about the government and whether netanyahu we'll listen to the far-right, and flatten the place, as you said, and not regard the lives of the hostages or the captured soldiers. in the past, they have gone to great lengths to get soldiers back. israel has been known for refusing to back down on that matter, and really, just making sure that they get their people back. do you have an idea where this might be? benjamin netanyahu is reading in the times that lapid, central head of the opposition, was saying that he's ready to form a unity government with benjamin netanyahu, allowing him to shake off the far-right. >> you are bringing up something that is just astonishing. and i have to say, as much as i feel personally, even, a sense of shock over the magnitude of

this catastrophe, clearly, the death toll that you and i are discussing now is still rising sharply. so, this is a massive loss of life that few israelis can even relate to. but politically, this is an earthquake too, and the opposition leader, lapid, gave netanyahu an astonishing lifeline last night. netanyahu, remember, is a believer prime minister. he has a narrow coalition majority in the israeli parliament of 64 out of 120 seats. he is on trial. he's on a very serious trial for corruption charges. he proposed this judicial overhaul when he returned to power, you know, in early january. and that has caused an uprising inside israel, millions of people protesting against him. so, he's kind of besieged on all sides. he has turned the army into his enemy. his ministers have told him

that the army officers should go to hell. netanyahu himself, when he got warnings for military intel over the last few months that israel was more and more vulnerable, was being perceived as weak due to the social tensions caused by his plan, he responded by saying that the military, military figures had joined the protest, that they were left this. he dismissed these concerns. so, last night, the opposition leader basically said to him, i would preserve your power. i will keep you as prime minister. if you get rid of the extremists. then yahoo is in power thanks to union with, you know, i don't know how else to put it, but not extremists, segregationists, racial supremacists, the most marginal of the marginal people. and netanyahu has said no. that is another reality that israel is facing right now. in other words, for now, these are very early hours and these are very scary hours. but at this moment, it does

appear that netanyahu his intent not only on holding on to power, but he is intent on showing his own responsibility for this catastrophe that has fallen on the country. >> it's a basic failure on his part to secure the nation's borders. he is prime minister. and he has rejected an offer that could have helped move him into a sort of consensus. and so, it leaves the impression, for me as a journalist, that even though israel is now in such a terrible situation, he's still eager to basically save his own skin and try to cancel his trial, is these extremists for his own political fortunes in a way that may not align with the nations interest. not a lot of attention is being paid to this right now because everyone is so shocked in the death count is mounting. that is another shocking

reality. >> noga tarnopolsky, bank you very much, independent journalist out of jerusalem with really good insight into the inner workings of what's happening in the government there and also all of the shocking new reporting about what is really medias reporting about the death toll and the number of missing. noga, thank you so much. still ahead, the latest on capitol hill and how congress is reacting and what role the u.s. should play in this conflict. i must speak with seth moulton, former marine and member of the armed services committee. stay with us. ee stay with us out vraylar. because you are greater than your bipolar 1, and you can help take control of your symptoms - with vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. vraylar treats depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar 1 in adults. proven, full-spectrum relief for all bipolar 1 symptoms. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior

or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. sleepiness and stomach issues are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. ask about vraylar and learn how abbvie could help you save. from pep in their step to shine in their coats, when people switch their dog's food to the farmer's dog, the effects can seem like magic. but there's no magic involved. (dog bark) it's just smarter, healthier pet food. it's amazing what real food can do.

rsv is in for a surprise. meet arexvy. ( ♪♪ ) the first fda-approved rsv vaccine. arexvy is used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. ( ♪♪ ) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. rsv can be serious. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about arexvy today. rsv? make it arexvy. is it possible my network could take my business

talk to your doctor or pharmacist about arexvy today. to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. >> democratic and republican comcast business, powering possibilities.

members of congress were swift to condemn hamas's attacks yesterday and about to support israel. at this point, it's unclear what congress can or will do. senate majority leader, chuck schumer, is a good bipartisan delegation on a trip to china as we speak while the houses without an elected speaker. joining me now is the democratic congressman, seth moulton, of massachusetts, a member of the armed services

committee in a former marine corps officer in iraq. congressman, thank you very much. we just got reporting from the jerusalem post that the death toll is 600. our journalist who is just john was talking about bodies at this desert, hundreds of bodies at this desert right. when congress is back in session next week, assuming a leaders eventually elected, what can congress do? >> well, there's a lot congress can do to support israel, there's a lot congress has done to support israel. but we're pretty much paralyzed right now by not having a speaker of the house. this is unprecedented in american history, of course, to not have a speaker like this. we're not sure whether or not the republicans can get their act together and even produce a nominee for a vote this week. it just highlights how important it is to have a functioning government here at home to deal and respond to these international crises. >> what sort of support are we

able to give given that we are currently in an ongoing, currently supporting ukraine, how much more do we have to offer with the constraints already put on this there? >> actually, this is a different kind of fight that in ukraine. this is not just a question of, you know, thousands of artillery shells and the sort of force on force battle you see in ukraine. this is a counterinsurgency operation. one of the most important things we can deliver to israel immediately's intelligence support. let's be honest here, this is a massive israeli intelligence failure under the netanyahu government. this is an unprecedented attack that happened without any warning whatsoever. the united states, from what i understand, was also taken by surprise. we have intelligence assets all around the world, we have intelligence assets throughout the middle east. that's the immediate support we can provide the israelis to help them and neutralize immediate threats to finding hostages, tracking down these

terrorists. also, you know, coming up with a real long term plans that this doesn't happen again. >> let me ask you about intelligence, i know you're not on the intel committee, did you not get any whispers that the u.s. saw this coming? we have, we certainly have eyes and ears out in that region. it shocking that israel didn't see this coming, the u.s. didn't house whispers of it either? >> look, everybody in washington to get a classified briefing since this started yesterday, so, i cannot speak, and of course cannot speak to classified material anyway. i would say that in general, it's clear the israelis were caught by surprise, since we have intelligence sharing with the israelis, if we knew this was coming, we would've given the morning. >> do you find it surprising, given what has been happening in the gaza strip, there's been a rising of tensions, there was a lot of anger still about what's been happening or what happened at the mosque. there have been people saying

that there are tensions bubbling up and about to bubble over, did you find what happened yesterday as a complete shock? >> i am shocked by the scale and frankly the success of the hamas operation. never before has hamas penetrated into israel so deep. the casualties are at an unprecedented scale. i mean, i cannot emphasize just how devastating this is to israel. therefore, the fact that we're really at the start of a much larger conflict. this is war. israel has declared war. hamas has taken actions that of course our terrorist actions, they're essentially terrorist actions, i can see in a war. and we're really just seeing the beginning of this conflict. i mean, this is devastating on the scale that i think is hard to appreciate if you are not there right now. >> if there is aware that iran was evolved in this or more involve than they have been supporting hamas or -- do you believe the u.s. to do

something about the money that wasn't frozen for them? >> well, look, republicans have been out there accusing the biden administration of somehow, you know, enabling the seatac because of the funds recently on frozen and iran. and attack of the scale had to be planned over months. that's an absurd allegation by republicans. they're trying to politicize national security tragedy, they're trying to politicize a frightful moment for israel, what israel really needs is a unified government in response. what the republicans should be focused on, rather than criticizing the biden administration, which is always stood by israel, they should be focused on getting the speaker in the house. they should be focusing on unfreezing the hundreds of military nominations that are held up by one republican senator, this crazy guy from alabama, who is not a veteran himself, doesn't understand how he's decimating ranks of our military leaders.

that's what republicans should be focused on. the republican party right now is an internal threat to the united states national security. rather than blaming the biden administration, let's end their internal civil war, let's get these nominations out of frozen so the u.s. government and the u.s. military can actually do their job. one of those jobs, of course, is supporting our allies around the world, like israel. >> let me ask you again though, because going forward, the administration has said that they reserve the rights to pull back these funds, to refreeze these funds. would this be a scenario that would cause the united states or should cause the united states to refreeze those funds for iran? >> absolutely, this is something we look at all the time. the biden administration looks at it all the time. just after the unfroze those funds as part of this deal to get these americans back, they also issued new sanctions. this is a constantly evolving thing where we adjust our

posture and our restrictions on iran based on continuing threats. i want to be clear, the idea that funds unfrozen just a few weeks ago is the sort of motivator for this attack, it's absurd. and that's also, let's be clear, terrorism of any kind is not justified. so, the idea that republicans would be somehow blaming the biden administration for this when they should be focusing their anger and response on hamas itself is a sad moment in american politics that reflects their internal dysfunction, frankly. >> congressman seth moulton, thank you for joining, us we appreciate it. >> good to see you, katie. >> and still ahead, how has the hamas attack on israel shifted the political dynamics in that region? it's a crucial question, we're gonna get to next. you're watching msnbc. you're watching msnbc. i had bad days, (cough, cough) flare-ups that could permanently damage my lungs. with breztri, things changed for me. breztri gave me better breathing.

starting within 5 minutes, i noticed my lung function improved. it helped improve my symptoms, and breztri was even proven to reduce flare-ups, including those that could send me to the hospital. so now i look forward to more good days. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. can't afford your medication? astrazeneca may be able to help. ask your doctor about breztri. >> the hamas offensive against

israel has significantly shifted the political dynamics

in the region, raising doubts about the prospects for the u.s.-led efforts to establish normalize relations between saudi arabia and israel. this historic deal has been a cornerstone of president biden's administration and its future, and now appears uncertain. as the conflict escalates, the immediate concern though is whether it will spill over into neighboring areas, potentially involving lebanon or other regions with active militant groups. hezbollah, on sunday, said it attacked israeli targets near the border in solidarity with hamas, raising fears about a broader conflict. hezbollah and lebanon. meanwhile, the governments of saudi arabia, qatar, and iran, have all pointed fingers at israel for escalating the conflict with hamas. secretary of state antony blinken had been scheduled to visit the region next month to advance ties between saudi arabia and israel. but it now appears that the mission will primarily focus on crisis diplomacy.

with more on this, i'm joined by -- a senior fellow at the booking center, -- professor of peace and development at the university of maryland. thank you so much for joining us. let me ask you, the deal with saudi arabia, what happens next? >> well, it's hard to know. obviously the saudis have the strategic interests and they have not been as much attention to the israeli palestinian issue even in their negotiations. their public opinion cares a lot about this issue, probably they care more about this issue than they care about nuclear capabilities or even assurances from the united states. they have to show at least a fig leaf. when this is happening, what an operation like this raises the question of palestine public opinion and actually, in fact, in a supportive way, it makes it harder for them to maneuver. obviously they're gonna wait, they're interested in their interest but they cannot avoid

confronting public opinion. many of us have been saying for months, as this negotiation for a deal between saudi and israel up and saying, you cannot ignore the israeli palestinian issue that remains one that could explode at any minute and backfire, and influence everything else. >> do you believe the attack by hamas was timed to throw the steel off? >> no, i do not. i actually think that, you know, certainly in some ways, it bears on it, a sense of despair in the palestinian areas. i wasn't israel and the palestinian areas last week. the amount of despair in the occupied territories is incredible. they've been under occupation for 56 years, but more importantly they were expecting more from the biden administration. biden has not spent much time to address the israeli palestinian issue. obviously they were expecting our governments to be able to weigh in on their behalf. in that sense, more despair. obviously hamas can capture

this despair, is capturing this despair. but honestly, it's what's happening on the ground. the inability of anybody to stop it with settlements, you know, the statements by far-right israeli ministers who said, basically, the land only belongs to, but not the palestinians. the encroachment that is jerusalem, a major issue. remember, hamas called this -- flood, which is obviously because of the sensuality of east russell and in our world, the muslim world, but especially to palestinians. so, no, there were things happening on the ground that amounted to despair. obviously, hamas is also a political entity, has own political interests. one of the consequences of this is marginalizing their competitive policy and authority further. plus, authority has been considered to be ineffective and more of a contractor of israel security then serving the palestinians, they're further marginalize to the benefit of hamas. >> hamas instead what they're intending to do here is make

israelis feel the pain that they've been appealing under this occupation. i'm not asking to justify what they've done here, i don't think any justification as possible. can you tell me, and you touched on this, about the environment and what has been happening within both the west bank and gaza that would lead to something like this? >> katie, this is an issue that is really painful to talk about. it's painful because, look, no one should be allowed to target civilians or recklessly endanger them, whether it's israelis or palestinians. they have to stand firm on this issue. you know, so far, in a day and a half, we've had hundreds of israelis and palestinians killed, thousands wounded. obviously in the hamas assault on israel in the following attacks, bombings by israel, palestinian -- most of these people had been innocent civilians. we've got to make it clear that while sometimes we supported just cause, we should be firm

in opposing any actions that target civilians or recklessly endanger them. obviously, in the middle of a conflicts like this, when israelis, the washington post had a headline today, defeated and humiliated, -- i understand that. they witness some of their own civilians that are being killed, hurt, and being helpless. some of them are calling for flattening gaza, including civilians. no matter what it takes. you can imagine, on the palestinian side, you have, you know, 56 years of occupation, humiliation, no end in sight, settlements building, taking over the lens. so, yes, hearts harden, hearts harden in times of war. the responsibility for leaders is to go above that. president biden yesterday issued a statement of total empathy. i understand that sentiment, i

understand he wants to reach out to the israelis to assure them, people more than government, they need it, for sure. i hope that's not the only thing he's doing. he needs to make clear that not everything justifies, not anything justifies targeting civilians, reckless endangerment. the prime minister of israel, netanyahu, we're out for revenge, he said to the palestinian, you know, civilians, leave now. where are they going to leave? you know, it seemed like an ominous threat. we need to grow, we need to assure both sides, we cannot assure just one. i'm not talking about hamas, i'm talking about the people, i'm talking about the civilians. we need to have a responsible way of dealing with that, not just looking at the tactical issues that will be, they will need attention for sure. look at the big picture, also look at the big picture of the

intolerable situation that has taken place there beyond the immediate understandable urge to act. >> shibley telhami, thank you very much for joining, us and more in the developing situation between hamas and israel is coming up next. this is msnbc. this is msnbc. glucerna protein smart with 30 grams of protein to help keep you moving. uniquely designed with carbsteady to help manage blood sugar response. glucerna, bring on the day.

you founded your kayak company because you love the ocean- not spreadsheets. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire >> the death toll continues to

climb as violence between israeli and hamas forces drags on for a second day. israeli media is reporting 600 israelis are dead in the gaza health ministry reports at least 314 people have been killed and hamas controlled gaza. thousands have been injured. israeli military has said that hamas militants have taken israeli soldiers and civilians as hostages. president joe biden elaborated on that in and address yesterday, saying that entire families were among those taken by hamas. joining me now is asana, human

rights lawyer, a fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace, and former coordinator and senior legal adviser to the palestinian negotiation team during palestine's bid for you on membership. zahau, thank you very much for joining us. the issue, one of the biggest issues here is that it's hard to untangle gaza civilians with hamas. the city is so tightly packed, the region is tiny. is there any responsibility from the region surrounding it for humanitarian purposes, to get the residents of gaza, civilians of gaza out. does each of play a role here? >> first of all, absolutely. the situation in gaza is very dire. you have there 2.2, 2.3 million people who are unable to flee the fighting. they are, they've been under siege for 16 years by israel

and supported by egypt, a blockade and the siege that has prevented them from any kind of free movement, the idea that the civilians and gaza could get out of the way or find shelter somewhere is not possible. we know from past israeli bombardments of gaza that the result is thousands of palestinians being killed in gaza during these kinds of confrontations. so, there needs to be an international intervention here, absolutely. today, the u.n. security council is meeting to talk about this. it's really important that they talk about how to protect civilian lives on both sides of this current escalation. egypt has played a very important role in the past, you know, in de-escalating, getting to a truce, at least a temporary truce. i'm sure it's gonna play that

role again, given its proximity to what's happening on the ground. but really, what needs to be addressed is the occupation. the israeli occupation is and it's 56 here. the lack of international engagement on ending the occupation, i heard your intervention with representative seth moulton talking about whether there needs to be more u.s. support for israel, military support in particular. i would argue that it's not because there's not enough u.s. support, there's been too much u.s. support for israel without addressing the underlying issue, which is the ongoing military occupation of palestinian lens. these hamas militants, they are breaking down barriers and walls that have kept them out of israel, which is a territory

that was the home of their families, most of the palestinians that live in gaza refugees that were forced out of their homes and 1948, the refugees and their descendants live in gaza now for decades waiting for political solutions that would allow them reparations and a return to their lives. the conditions in gaza are not humane. in 2020, the u.n. said that gaza would be uninhabitable over now, in 2023. you have a gaza strip that doesn't have virtually any freshwater resources, it doesn't have regular electricity. in fact, electricity that did exist, it's been cut off by israel because israel controls every single element of life in gaza. so, absolutely, there needs to be international intervention,

but not just to stop the current round of fighting, it needs to address the underlying issue, which is the israeli occupation. >> 10% by the reporting have access to freshwater in the gaza strip. thank you very much, zaha hassan, for coming on and underscoring this is a humanitarian crisis as well on that doesn't need to be addressed. u.s. lawmakers reacted to outrage -- without a speaker, what can the u.s. actually do? where in washington next. washington next

my late father-in-law lit up a room, but his vision dimmed with age. he had amd. i didn't know it then, but it can progress to ga, an advanced form of the disease. his struggle with vision loss from amd made me want to help you see warning signs of ga. like straight lines that seem wavy, blurry, or missing visual spots that make it hard to see faces like this one, or trouble with low light that makes driving at night a real challenge.

if you've been diagnosed with amd and notice vision changes, don't wait. ga is irreversible. it's important to catch it early. talk to your eye doctor about ga and learn more at gawontwait.com >> lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were quick to promised aid to israel following the surprise attack by hamas. it's unclear what congress can actually do with this point given all the political chaos in washington. the senate is said to be off this week, the house is without a speaker. it's still unclear whether speaker -- patrick mchenry even has the proper security clearance to

engage in intelligence briefings. joining me now is jake sherman, msnbc political contributor and the cofounder of punchbowl news. and s&p see senior national politics reporter, josh allen, to talk to us but everything happening on the campaign trail. jake, i want to ask you what we ended with, does the speaker, patrick henry, have the intelligence clearance to hold a briefing? >> whether he has the clearance or not, katie, i think it's not entirely the question. all members of congress have some clearance to get a sensitive and classified briefing. the question is, i mean, he's not on the line of succession to the president, he is not an elected congressional leader. so, the administration can decide to include him in a gang of eight, the top leaders on capitol hill, and the top intelligence officials, lawmakers on capitol hill. they can decide to include him in that briefing. they have, not to my knowledge, up until now. hakeem jeffries, host democratic leader, did get a briefing last night. the democratic leadership is

working on scheduling a briefing by the biden administration. this week, the house is obviously trying to elect new speaker of the house. you know, katie, the irony of this whole thing is the speaker pro tem position that mchenry isn't is untested. most people believe he cannot move legislation, he cannot move resolutions. the question is, will house republicans test that if they're in a protracted battle for speaker? the answer to that is i don't know. republicans, i've just been thinking, talking to people about this this morning. the question is, katie, does this prompt republicans get their act together and elected elected speaker this week? i think there's a lot of hope that will happen. i am skeptical. mchenry is without a lot of power here, should be concerning, because, by the way, my last point here, katie, the biden administration has not asked for more aid yet to be appropriated to be proof to israel. i have to imagine that the u.s.

will get involved in some way by approving some sort of package for israel in the coming months, especially as it looks like unconfirmed reports that there might be a northern front opening on israel's northern borders. love to see how that shakes out. >> we have confirmed attacks on the northern border. the contested area between lebanon and israel by hezbollah, they've confirmed that. let me ask you about the campaign trail, john. what we're hearing from the republican side is a lot of fire and fury. >> absolutely. they're blaming joe biden, they're blaming his decision to release about six billion dollars in funds to iran because some of these terrorist groups are historically proxies for iran, they may get more funding from iran. the white house, the biden team, they've said that's ridiculous, none of the money from, none of the money that went to iran could be used for these

purposes. there's gonna be a political argument over that. this is an opportunity for a lot of the republican candidates to try to show that they're strong against biden and strong for israel. ron desantis, in particular, the governor of florida, and struggling in this campaign, had a long history in congress of being a big supporter of israel, someone who tried to cut off funds for palestinians. so, that's something he's probably to be talking a lot about on the campaign trail. other candidates foreign policy experience, vivek ramaswamy, in a tougher position. this is something they're gonna be talking about. at the same time, there's not much they can actually do right now. much like the house cannot actually do right now that much. the person who can do something as president biden. there's a lot of powers the president has to transfer money, to make loans of weapons, things like that, if necessary, even without congress acting. i think jake is absolutely right, eventually the administration will pledged

money. in the short term, they don't really need to do that in order to eight israel or an order to provide humanitarian funding for civilians in israel and the palestinian areas. they won't need an immediate infusion of cash to do that. >> let me add some clarity around that six billion dollars that you just mentioned that republicans are hitting joe biden for, so it's clear. john kirby has told me that it's not cash being handed to the iranians. it's actual aid. i need band-aids, bandages, i need food, i need water, whatever it is, it's humanitarian supplies. that aid is delivered in material form. there is a question though whether not that frees up of their money to go elsewhere, seth moulton, who i had on the second ago, said it's inconceivable that iran could've used money, that they just got a couple days ago or a few weeks ago, on an attack that's clearly but in the planning stages for months. jake, let me ask you about the appetite among congress for a

varied supply, a very deep support. it's not just military support, humanitarian support. my last guest on was noting that the occupation that the palestinians have been living under, especially in the gaza strip, has been terrible, to put it lightly, for years. there are millions of people within that area that just cannot escape the violence, might not be supporters of hamas, might not agree with any of this, but have nowhere else to go. the democratic parties obviously got some very progressive wings to it that don't agree with what israel has been doing. is there gonna be a differentiated aid coming? is that a possibility? >> probably. i would imagine there will be humanitarian aid. i would imagine the appetite to get any aid to palestinian residents and gaza is gonna be extraordinarily limited, especially east gaza, as you noted, it's under the control and under the governance of hamas, which is a terrorist organization, it's not a government, it's a terrorist organization. listen, i would imagine a few

things. number one, and the aid package to israel's pass with overwhelming bipartisan -- number two, katie, i didn't mention this before, but the united states doesn't have an ambassador to israel right now. tom nides has stepped down in july, his ten years over. president joe biden has nominated jack lieu, former treasury secretary, white house chief of staff, et cetera, to be the next ambassador to israel. now, members of the senate, senate democrats, they told me this morning they're gonna move to confirm liu as soon as possible. i think this will be a little bit easier given the war, what looks to be a prolonged warning israel. the administration just sent his paper days ago. the senate has not been able to move on that. listen, i think any aid to gaza is going to be an extremely, i don't think could come up in the house of representatives period. hard stop, to be honest with you, especially right now. >> jake sherman, jon allen,

gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us so early this morning, we appreciate it. we're back on the ground in israel after very quick break. this is msnbc. this is msnbc. and year after year, you weathered the storm and just lived with the damage that was left behind. but even after all this time your thyroid eye disease could still change. restoration is still possible. learn how you could give your eyes a fresh start at tedhelp.com. rsv is out there. for those 60 years and older protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain,

fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy. my mental health was much better. but i struggled with uncontrollable movements called td, tardive dyskinesia. td can be caused by some mental health meds. and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. i felt like my movements were in the spotlight. #1-prescribed ingrezza is the only td treatment for adults that's always one pill, once daily. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on most mental health meds. ingrezza can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have thoughts of suicide. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including angioedema, potential heart rhythm problems, and abnormal movements. report fevers, stiff muscles, or problems thinking as these may be life threatening. sleepiness is the most common side effect.

it's nice. people focus more on me. ask your doctor about #1 prescribed, once-daily ingrezza. ♪ ingrezza ♪ he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ this month join the new subway mvp rewards program and get rewarded. get 50% off any footlong when you join subway mvp rewards. so many all star options. it's just for subway mvps right? you catch on quick herbert. join now and get 50% off any footlong. good to be with you.

it is october 8th. right now it is 9 am in york, four pm in gaza and in israel. airstrikes are continuing following the surprise large-scale attack by hamas earlier yesterday morning.

overnight, gaza residents reported a stream of rockets hit multiple sites. you can see smoke rising over gaza city skyline earlier today. and israel, more rocket attacks have hit the city of -- now, new attacks in the north, hamas firing rockets in the area of -- friday has shocked much of the world, the death toll has already high, and it is still rising. the palestinian health ministry and gaza says 313 palestinians have been killed, and 1990 others are injured. israeli military now reports more than 600 are dead in israel. more than 1800 are injured. this makes it by far the deadliest conflict for israel in decades. while prime minister benjamin netanyahu has turned gaza into, quote, rubble, heading back isn't entirely easy as hamas as kidnapped a number of soldiers, sensible eons, and taking them hostage back into gaza.

nbc news