♪ ♪ ♪ >> but to be with. you i'm katie tur. it's sunday, october 8th. right now, it's 10 am here in new york, five pm and gaza and

israel are fighting continues, following the surprise large scale attack by hamas earlier is tuesday morning. israel security cabinet has now officially declared the country is in a state of war. the u.s. embassy in cairo is warning american citizens in egypt to, quote, exercise increased security awareness and precautions. the warning follows the reported murder of two israeli tourists in alexandria. and this morning on meet the press, secretary of state anthony blinken said back in israel, americans could be among the dead and held hostage. in gaza, residents reporting a stream of rockets hitting multiple sites overnight. you could see smoke rising over gaza city skyline earlier today. in israel, more rocket attacks in the border city of sderot. and now, new attacks in the north, hezbollah firing rockets on a long contested area in 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. israeli media now reports more than 600 are dead in israel, and more than 1800 are injured, making this by far the deadliest conflict for israel in decades. and while prime minister benjamin netanyahu has vowed to turn gaza into, quote, rubble, hitting back is not easy, as hamas has kidnapped a number of soldiers and civilians, maybe even more than 100, and taking them hostage back into gaza. >> [speaking in a global language] allahu akbar -- allahu akbar -- [speaking in a global language] [speaking in a global language]

[speaking in a global language] >> nbc news foreign correspondent raf sanchez is in the border city of sderot in israel with more on the latest. raf? >> reporter: israel's government has now formally declared a state of war, the first time that has happened since 1973. it's a response to what it calls the murderous terrorist assault that came from gaza. and what they're talking about art scenes like the one behind me. this is all what is left of what was and israeli police station in the heart of the city of sderot. it was overrun by hamas gunman answered a. there was a 20 hour gun battle as israeli forces try to regain control. they were ultimately forced to demolish the building using a bulldozer, and inside, you can see there are still bodies of some of those hamas militants.

under our feet, just hundreds and hundreds of shell casings, evidence of the ferocious gun battle that was fought here. and over our heads, we are hearing the sound of israeli fighter aircraft on their way into gaza, carrying out, punishing strikes in response to this surprise attack that has truly shaken israel to its core. the deepest cut of all four israel is the fact that there are israeli citizens, both civilians and soldiers, being held captive by hamas and palestinian islamic jihad inside of gaza right now. and it is that fact that with white most heavily on prime minister benjamin netanyahu and other israeli decision-makers as they weigh their next steps. i can tell you everything we have seen over the course of the day, as we have driven the roads of southern israel, indicates that the israeli military is preparing for a large-scale ground offensive

into gaza. this would not only be a hugely complex military operation. it would be a hostage rescue mission on a scale perhaps unlike anything the world has seen in generations. the israeli military says there are dozens, minimum dozens of israelis being held hostage there. they're likely now spread out through the tunnels underneath gaza city. they are an enormous prize to the hamas militants. but they are the children, the fathers, their mothers, the brothers and sisters of israelis who are heartsick today, trying to understand what will happen to their loved ones. inside of gaza, there are hospitals overflowing with the dead and wounded, as these israeli airstrikes continue to come down. it's ralph as it has taken all precautions to minimize palestinian civilian casualties. but the reality is that there are 2 million people living in

incredibly dense conditions inside gaza. there is almost nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. and the death toll that we have seen already, devastating as it is, may just be the beginning of this war. back to you. , >> raf sanchez, thank you very much. with me now, nbc news foreign correspondent, molly hunter. molly, good to have you back. secretary blinken was just on meet the press with our colleague kristen welker. and he is saying that there are americans that are potentially involved. >> that's why, katy. he is saying that they are looking into the fact, looking into the idea that there may be americans among the very, very high death toll in israel. let's take a listen to what he told kristen. >> so, we have reports that several americans may be among the dead. we are very actively working to verify those reports. similarly, we have seen reports about hostages. and again, we are very actively trying to verify them. and nail that down. >> nearly, katie is not sharing

that information, whether or not the u.s. has that information. i think one of the things that we have been grappling with in the last kind of 36 hours, 24 hours is that there hasn't been much information coming out of the israeli military. the israeli government, like they normally would, usually in these kind of military operations, i've covered lots of them, the israeli military controls the narrative. they update very, that he frequently. as we just heard from raf, the hostage situation is among the most sensitive, both for the israeli country, society as a whole, but also, of course, for the israeli government. and we don't know, at least, they have not shared how many hostages may be inside the gaza strip. we do see the death toll ticking up. but i think there's so much confusion. we know there's active fighting in southern israel, at least six, seven different spots, in those settlements, those cities that border the gaza strip. we also know that the israeli government is trying to get israeli civilians out of that area, as raf says, to prepare the ground, really, for a

possible full scale incursion. but there is so much information that it is government is not sharing with us. i'm not sure if the u.s. necessarily knows if there are many americans, how many have en killed, if there are americans, who have been taken hostage? we don't know. interestingly, katie, i got an update from where i am here in london. these really ambassador to the uk has just said that 100 israelis have been kidnapped. that is the first kind of, in any way, solid number that we have been given. earlier today, hamas said the numbers being reported or much less than in the real number they have threatened, they said they would release the full number later today, katie. >> molly, it is shocking. and the idea that israel did not see this coming, that this was something that could happen on israeli soil, and in these israeli towns has been shocking for the world community. but for israelis and particular, what does that going to do for the public support of benjamin netanyahu? >> katie, we have been talking

for the last year, benjamin netanyahu, excuse, me's embattled. he is not popular. there have been huge protests over the last year against prime minister netanyahu's policies. domestically, he is incredibly a challenge. he is divided with his government. of course, he has allied himself with the most extreme right-wing israeli government that that country has ever seen. what is interesting, though, twofold. one, on the intelligence side. as we just mentioned, one of the things that analysts have been talking to me about for the last day or so is this domestic distraction, was that kind of part of the fact that the israeli intelligence were misinformed, was there too much going on, too much divisiveness? there was a lot of finger pointing. as the israeli spokesperson for the military said overnight, though, that is a question for later. but prime minister netanyahu will pay a domestic price for this. there are people who are so, angry, many, many israelis who are so angry that this has happened to them. prime minister netanyahu has banked his multiple

premierships on being the sole protector of the israeli people. he has been in charge of that country during multiple wars. this is a man who is not gun-shy. he is ad hoc. he's been certainly allied with many hawks in his government, not more than the current ones in his government. but i do think it will be very interesting, even the people that have been protesting, katie, those protests were canceled yes or day. i think lots of people, of course, reserves are being called up. so, even if there was a lot of kind of criticism of prime minister netanyahu, when there is a country at war, when there are people that have friends, families being attacked, it will be very interesting to see who lines up right now alongside and behind prime minister netanyahu, and whether that political price is kicked down the road. >> molly, thank you. let's bring in andrea mitchell to this conversation. andrea, it's good to have you. with secretary antony blinken saying that there are potentially americans along among the dead, held hostage. how does that change the american response? >> it changes everything about the american response. there will always be completely

behind israel in this. and they have a pipeline. he said also, where they can supply the israelis without a speaker, without ability to pass that with legislation in the short term at least. but if americans are involved, the intelligence, the whole focus will be changed. it will become, you know, a personal matter, of course, for the u.s.. politically, it's very important if americans are involved, as both victims have been killed, or as hostages. now, we have an american hostage situation potentially in one of the worst places in the world, the tunnels of gaza. and how do you retaliate? normally, benjamin netanyahu would use overwhelming force, almost immediately. now, both he and the u.s. have to calculate, could you be killing human shields, american and israeli human shields? >> what sort of pressure might the americans be putting on egypt in this? because egypt controls the

other side of the gaza strip. the blockades coming from two countries. any pressure on egypt? >> there's a lot of pressure on egypt. there is pressure on everyone. but we have already had tourists killed in egypt. you've got his ball law now in lebanon, hitting israel from the north. so, it is already a two front war. and potentially the west bank. israel is isolated and surrounded geographic lou, but a test such a motor advantage that at least once they are engaged, now they're engaged, they're calling up everyone. now they'rewe all hear reports. we heard from the editor yesterday, the report about all israelis other than the much smaller, politically powerful group, and the orthodox jews, all israelis, men and women, have had to go to military service for decades. they've been called up for business is from government,

you know, from the press corps, from all sectors of israeli life. so, they will have a large force mobilized. but the first thing, they have to regain what they have lost. the fact that what israeli police and other government agencies, law enforcement agencies, military bases taken in the immediate attack, the fact that there wasn't in the invasion in one of the most secure borders in the world, the gaza israeli border, from the israeli perspective, is just unheard of, land, sea, and air. the surprise factor of, this intelligence failure, clearly an intelligence failure on the israeli side, and the u.s. side, how could they not have picked it up? one question is where they distracted? with israel distracted by a year of internal protests which involved the military and the intelligence, demoralizing both of those. those numbers of law enforcement, security agencies, as well as the israeli public. and the destruction here in the u.s. politically.

and not focused enough on the way the incursion into palestinian lands, the escalating violence from both sides in the west bank was affecting israeli security. >> there will be a lot of monday morning quarterbacking on what went wrong. andrea mitchell, molly hunter, thank you ladies. i'm joined now by democratic congressman gregory meeks of new york. he is the ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, congressman, it is good to have. you can restart there an intelligence. >> i mean, the tensions have been bubbling in that area in israel between the palestinians and the israelis now for a few years, going back to what happened in the -- or the israelis reading it. there have been skirmishes in the west bank, this has been bubbling. how did the u.s. not see this coming? >> look, number one, clearly there is a huge failure of intelligence. and generally, the united states and israel works closely together with reference to that. i think we will have more dialogue and conversations in the gaps of the intelligence

failure, particularly in classified sessions, i had a small briefing this morning. i know that there is going to be a classified session that i should be a part of, and no hope congress will be having this back on tuesday. but the focus right now has to be on those hostages. the focus has to be regaining the land that was taken by hamas, a lot of it's being taken back. the focus has to be that we have to focus on getting rid of the hamas leadership. one of the things that this hamas group, the reason why they hate is because they refuse to say that israel has the right to exist. and when you're talking about having peace, you have to have two sides that's willing to negotiate. and if one side is saying that you don't have the right to exist, then they are going to continue to try to plot and do something devastating, as we have just seen. this is not something that just popped up overnight, clearly. >> how do you deal with it? hamas controls the gaza strip. and they use human shields when

israeli fires rockets back, and the death toll among the civilians climbs. they use that for pr purposes. how do you get control of it when there are so many civilians involved, who may not have a choice in this matter, have nowhere to go. they're under blockade. it's not like you can escape and go to another town. it is everywhere there. so how do you deal with that when one of the negotiating partners is a terrorist organization? >> you know, this is devastating. and it is gonna be devastating. and i think what the president united states is doing now, what we need to do more is, and i think that's what the essence of what the abraham accords was supposed to put together. to get some of the arab countries in the surrounding area to work, support, and help the palestinians, to have that negotiation so that they do have a way to go. but to put pressure on hamas also, where everyone turns and understands that they don't care about the palestinian people. they only care about the destruction of israel. >> it's the reason going to get more involved? right now, the images of what i must have done our bad with the

massacre people at a bus stop, what might have happened in this desert raid, the death toll among israelis is 600. the idea that they are kidnapping entire families with young children. but israel is likely to go back with a ton of force. how much appetite does the region have to get involved in what has been or what they've tried to keep as a localized stronghold. >> that's part of what we've got to talk to the region to understand that they've got to be cool, because israel's gotta do what it does right now. just know, i've been in those tunnels. so i've seen it for myself. so right, now they've got to have that kind of security. but what we're talking about security for people who -- >> what about civilians? >> look, i wish i could say that we could be able, and i know that we are having conversations with president -- prime minister netanyahu. i think it is important that in israel they have some kind of a unity government. i know that former prime

minister lupita's talking to join so that it is not just the right wing of netanyahu's -- >> but you're saying to level the place. >> we can't, i think we should do that. i think it's important to have lapid part of it. have a coalition government that helps bring the israeli people together also. to know that we are doing the job it has to be done, without having the necessary ramifications with the whole region. because the one thing that we don't want in the whole region is to blow up. so it is key, i think right now. particularly given the fact that netanyahu is under such pressure, as well as the right wing of his government, to handle the p and others, and then the united states talking. that is what joe biden does best. to talk to others and bring them together, and i think, i know, that they've been in contact with all of the region. turkey is important, lebanon, saudi arabia, jordan, qatar. all are really important and we are having those dialogues and conversations. >> you said get a briefing this

morning, is anything from that briefing the you can share this morning with us? >> i think when you put on recently, what secretary blinken talked about, some of those could be american citizens -- >> doing any names of these? >> we don't. but we know, even from in new york -- >> there's israeli american dual citizens. >> that's correct, dual citizens. so we are concerned. we are not just looking at this report before. there's a friend of mine who is rabbi mela. he is in israel. i look at that police station, he was telling me yesterday that his niece, was close to that place. and was down into a shelter, but had been there for 12 hours, tightly secured at the time. but to hear the gunshots. so i immediately, looking at that i've got to try to text him to make sure that his family members are okay. >> it's terrifying, this is a very small place. so everyone probably know somebody who's been directly affected by this. are you concerned it's going to destabilize the entire region,

the region that's been relatively stable recently, except for the skirmishes here? are you worried that it's going to blow things up, as you said. >> i'm very worried. that is my biggest concern, that i have been working since i've been in congress to try to make sure that we get some stabilization, some peace, true peace in the middle east. and i thought that we were working in that direction. that's why i had been a strong supporter of the abraham accords. and i still think and hope it is a way to move forward. but i am very, very concerned. because israel cannot allow those who planned and have the destruction and have gone out and the leaders of this attack, to just get away with it. that degree is similar to americans and we're looking at osama bin laden. they have to go after those individuals because, clearly, they will not stop. >> it's hard to make a parallel to osama bin laden with what we did after 9/11. because you made huge mistakes, destabilized the entire region

in the fog of the moment. >> right, and the reason why bring that up is because the most difficult vote that i had to make as a member of congress was whether we go into afghanistan or not. and i voted that way. and i still feel that we did the right thing. errors being made. hopefully, with a government that is working on both sides, not just one way, that they will learn from some of those mistakes. also, what is important is continuing to have the dialogue in conversations with the countries in the region. lock them in also. and i think that is something that i know our administration is working on right now, which is vitally important. and i think, also, we've got a look out before we make all the allegations, we've got a look very carefully at what involvement iran did or did not have in this region dealing with hamas. that has to be done, a lot of work has to be done. this is not gonna be an overnight thing. it's gonna >> take time.

anthony blinken says there's no indication that iran was involved. if it were involved, will you support freezing that six billion dollars? >> that six billion dollars had nothing to do with this, not a sip had been spent to anyone, even for the humanitarian groups that it would have gone to, to help on humanitarian causes. it is still in qatar, it had nothing to do -- and obviously, this attack was planned long before we had the transfer of prisoners. but this is going to be a long drawn out war -- >> refreezing the six billion which hasn't been allocated yet, but would you freeze it? >> what i want to do is get all the facts. i think it is important that we talk and speak on what the facts are, that's why i want to reserve any comments i make until i have a classified briefing, so i am clear on what is taking place. because if you are saying things just based on speculation, you can help

incite things. that's the last thing we want to do, further insight something that's gonna cause the region to blow up. because that's my concern. >> congressman meeks, and more of the foreign affairs committee in the house, thank you very much for joining us and giving us what you can tell us as of now. we appreciate it. and the attack on israel's widely seen as a massive intelligence failure. we're gonna try to figure out what happened, next. appened, next.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> israel's intelligence agencies, believed to be one of the most capable and the world, but yesterday's attack got the country flat-footed. it was a massive intelligence failure. apparently, nobody saw that coming. now, there are discussions within the united states government about enhancing its intelligence sharing with his israeli counterparts, as one way to support the country. joining us now is nbc news correspondent courtney kube. courtney, explain to us what they are considering doing. but also, the u.s., by all accounts so far, did not see

this coming either? >> absolutely. even to the point where we heard on meet the press, just moments ago, blinken told our kristen welker that in fact they will not anticipate this. widely reported that the u.s., at least, did not know this was in fact. people, i spoke to yesterday morning u.s. officials and military officials said if israel knew about it they did not share it with the u.s. but you mention that israel had such extensive intelligence capabilities you are absolutely right, katie. they have exquisite capabilities. and when you consider the fact that much of where hamas is based in the gaza strip, it's really in their own backyard. they have not only overhead signals intelligence, but they also have been known to have pretty extensive human intelligence networks inside of the gaza strip and in and around where hamas is operating. so, that's why this is such an unbelievable surprised that this could happen to israel without any real notification that it was coming. and so, of course, one of the ways that the u.s. has been talking about supporting israel

in the hours and days to come is by enhancing intelligence sharing with them. the u.s. already shares intelligence with israel. they are our valley close partners and allies. but what this could mean, we don't know exactly what it will be, but what this could mean will be additional drones flying overhead. it could be more satellite coverage over israel, or more sharing of signals intelligence. again, the u.s. is considering this and speaking with these really government about this possibility, katie. >> nbc's courtney kube, thank you very much. more on the ground from israel, coming up next. don't go anywhere. this is msnbc. this is msnbc. tourists that turn into scientists. tourists photographing thousands of miles of remote coral reefs. that can be analyzed by ai in real time. ♪ so researchers can identify which areas are at risk. ♪ ♪ ♪ and help life underwater flourish. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> we are back with our continuing coverage of the war in israel. let's go back to jerusalem where we find sky news middle east correspondent alistair -- thank you very much. last we had you on, 600 people at least dead in israel. now, we are getting more confirmation that at least 100 have been taken hostage. >> reporter: yeah, truly, incomprehensible figures for the israeli population to try and deal with. 600 dead, at least 100 who have been taken hostage thousands wounded. and i should say on the palestinian side, around 400 killed,, and again injured into the thousands. that is a very high death toll in just over 24 hours of fighting. and there is no end in sight,

currently, of this war. everybody is expecting it to be protracted and to go on for sometime. israel is still trying to get control over its villages and towns around the south. there is still sporadic fighting going on there. and they don't know how many hamas fighters that came from the border might have mounted into israel to operate as sleeper cells and carry out attacks when they see the opportunity to do so. so, it is a fast moving, fluid situation. and until israel really gets control of its borders once more, i don't think they can probably turn their focus to their offensive operations in gaza, although we have been seeing airstrikes in the gaza strip all day. >> alasdair, thank you very much for joining us. let's bring in now somebody who has witnessed a lot of it with her own eyes. rachel moved to tel aviv for years ago. and has near blocks away from bombs and rockets over the

course of the last couple of days. rachel, thank you for joining us. first and foremost, how are you? >> katie, thank you so much for covering this and for inviting me to speak. i think it's incredibly important that the u.s. hears from american citizens on the ground. physically, i am safe. and emotionally, i am traumatized. >> tell me more. why? >> yesterday morning, i am a sabbath observant jew, yesterday morning which was sabbath, and also one of our holidays, i was woken up at 6:30 a.m. to sirens in my building, which was built a long time ago. we don't have a bomb shelter inside of our apartment. so we go to the staircase. so we met with our neighbors in the stairs, children, elderly, we sat on the stairs, we heard the rockets being intercepted by the iron dome above our heads, we did hear some rockets

that did fall in israel, in tel aviv, very close to us. after those rockets, which went up and down the stairs several times, we turned on the news. and that's when we understood that this was unlike anything we've ever seen before. i'm an american citizen, born in new york. i lived in new york until four years ago. i've never seen anything like this. and that is when we understood what was really happening. but to be honest, katie, it took hours to catch up to what we were seeing in the whatsapp groups from people that we know. israel is a very small country, so everybody knows someone who was either called, or killed, or taken hostage, et cetera. we spent many, many a hours sitting in front of the television, which again, i wouldn't do on a regular sabbath, waiting for updates. and waiting to hear from loved ones. >> the numbers that we are getting from israeli media are shocking. 600 israelis dead, more than

100 held hostage, what else are you hearing regarding those that have currently been taken back into gaza. >> it is beyond the numbers, it is really truly be on the numbers, because what's happening here is that hamas is videotaping what they are doing to the bodies of the victims who were killed, and those who are alive. and they are being posted all over social media. with celebrations happening, in many places around the world. and families are recognizing their loved ones who have been taken in, and i personally have friends who have been called up to the reserves, said goodbye to their loved ones, packed their bags, and went to where the army told them, presumably going to try to find our people and bring them back. and, eventually, to put an end to this, please, god. and last night, we continued to have more rockets.

today was so different, today we felt that we needed to do something, and all over israel, the volunteers, all of the civilians who didn't want to sit helplessly in front of their televisions went to the donation centers to give blood, we organized on the spot donations of food, clothing, diapers, et cetera, that are going to the families that have been displaced, the families of terror victims, as well as all of the soldiers who are now being called to the reserves. so it is really beyond the numbers. once you see the videos of what is happening to young teenage girls, young teenagers who were at a music festival that was intercepted. from the bodies that were found that are not keeping only keeping israelis, that is when you understand the tragedy. two but when you understand and see the victims, that is to

what's really -- >> there. i know we are in the fog of the moment, and emotions are running so high. but have you considered what could have possibly lit up to this breakdown? does it make you feel differently about the government? >> i can't presume to know. and i'm sure that there is going to be weeks, if not months of investigating to understand what was behind this, who was behind this. who was helping hamas, and how this came to be. but for the moment, i'm entirely focused on supporting the people around me, and thinking and praying for my friends, and just praying that all the people that were kidnapped, all the innocent people that were murdered, that we bring their bodies back, that we bring them back, and that we can have peace in this region soon. >> are you prepared for this being protracted and violence potentially coming close to you again?

>> yes. because our apartment doesn't have a bomb shelter, and there were direct hits in tel aviv resulting in severe damage to buildings and streets, we are staying at a friends apartment. that apartment is empty because they are in the reserves. they've been called out, so they've gone to army units, and they left us the apartment. so we are staying there with friends. and we have food, and water, and i do anticipate that this is going to be awhile. i also will tell you that i work in a technology start-up that is employees in the u.s. and in israel, and we are feeling the support from all of our u.s. employees. i'm feeling support from the thousands of people that are writing to us, that are posting, that are sharing about this. and i do feel comfort in the sense that there are many organizations on the ground that are providing support to all of the people that need it, no matter what religion, race,

et cetera. >> which will cast, or thank you very much for joining us. i know this is an extremely scary and difficult time. >> thank you so much, katie. the violence in israel is heartbreaking for many americans with family ties to the region. we heard last hour from a jewish community in miami beach. we will hear in just a moment from one palestinian community in illinois. don't go anywhere. don't go anywhere. >> tech: cracked windshield on your new car? you don't have to take it to the dealer. bring it to safelite. we do more replacements and recalibrations than anyone else. >> customer: thank you so much.

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palestinian population is estimated to be around 85,000 people. the response to the war in israel has been overwhelming. the violent developments in israel have sent shockwaves through the little palestine neighborhood. where many residents descended from palestinian immigrants are. the main hope there while watching from afar is peace. joining me now live from the outskirts of chicago is nbc news correspondent maggie vesper. maggie, what is the reaction? >> katie, in a word, pain. pain like we've been hearing on air throughout the morning. it is no different here. just to set the stage a little more, you're right, this is a little palestine neighborhood in bridgefield -- bridgeview, illinois, it's about suburb 30 miles southwest of chicago. and you can see, just like this restaurant behind me. the signage here isn't arabic. this is a vibrant hub for the palestinian community. which, and the estimates are rough, some scholars put, it when you wrap in descendants of

palestinian americans, closer to 200,000 people in the chicago metro area. that is according to some. so numbers have been all over the board. but, suffice it to say, a lot again of peaceful conversations inside this restaurant. we also talked last night to people at a local mosque. among the sort of consensus, sentiments that we heard. a lot of people saying that no one wants to see the brutality and the violence that we are seeing on full display in that part of the world. but people also told us that the actions of the hamas militants did not really surprise them. given the history, the violent history, between these two countries. people also told us that they have loved ones in the so-called open air prison. that is the gaza strip. and some told us they don't know at this point if their loved ones are okay. everyone we talked to say they are very afraid for what could be coming down the road. so again this is the perspective of palestinian

americans here in little palestine, in a chicago area. take a listen for yourself to some of what we heard. but >> the response was not unexpected. because, you know, provocations, day after day, time after time. it was nonstop. it seems like the netanyahu government is not willing to bring any peace to the region. >> for me, it was kind of conflicting because, you know, i'm half palestinian, my mom's half american, so it was like, it's conflicting for me. because you have people in there that are innocent bystanders have been involved in it. but at the same time, it's like, you know, what other choice did they have? but so again, that is the perspective that we are including from this part of our country. it is a vibrant, palestinian community in suburban chicago. i should note that most of people that we met last night did not want to talk to us. that is what we heard from those who are willing to go on camera. and one final note.

one thing that we heard from just a waiter who works inside this restaurant. he told me that he is aware, as are several other people that we talked to, but a lot of other americans are going to be learning a lot about that part of the world, and history there, and this conflict. the history of the conflict in realtime, to the point, that again, here in little palestine, he says, very normal times prior to this weekend, he often talks to his tables as he's waiting on them both evening and says, are you aware of what's going on in that part of the country? >> and i said, how often do people say yes? how often do they know? and his answer katie was almost never. we'll send it back to you. >> maggie vesta, thank you very much. don't go anywhere, we have more on the ongoing conflict between israel and hamas -- excuse, me coughing. next, this is msnbc. but but bu that's why herbal essences is packed with naturally derived plant ingredients you love,

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there should be a bridge back to -- maybe they should stop posting new childcare and parental leave programs, or food stamps for young mothers and young children. it is hard to roll and effectively banned for a children that customers hate.

>> yesterday, from the white house, president biden called hamas a terrorist organization and re-emphasized the united states commitment to the protection of israel. take a listen to what some of what he had to say. >> let me say this is clearly as i can. this is not a moment for any party hostile to israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. the world is watching. >> joining enough now white house is nbc news white house correspondent, gutierrez, gabe, good to see you. tell me more about the white house was saying today. >> hi, they're katie. several things. first of, all the u.n. security council is set to meet to discuss the ongoing situation in gaza but with regards to the white house, a lot of questions surrounding now with the lack of a house speaker and what that could mean for the future of hamas. we did here with a senior u.s.

official yesterday that that is an active questionnaire looking at, but also this morning, we are also learning more from secretary of state anthony blinken. we just heard from me the pressing other interviews is describing more about the information regarding and we are learning from israel in from gaza, looking at each other's reports. that some americans may be among those dead and captured. we are also hearing from secretary blinken that he is not directly answered several questions this morning about whether an intelligence failure, there was an intelligence failure leading up to this attack. secretary of state didn't answer that directly, even though many experts have said that there was a catastrophic intelligence failure here. blinken has also said that he's not yet seen evidence that the attacks were directed by iran. but, he does point out that there has been a long relationship between iran and hamas. so, katie, this is an ongoing situation here at the white house. national security advisers are communicating with their

partners in the middle east and trying to figure out next steps. and we are also expecting to learn more later today about a specific request on additional aid that israel's put forth. again, that coming from the secretary of state in his views this, morning kate. >> gave you tiers, gabe, thank you very much. hamas is unexpected incursion into israel on saturday has shattered the relative common stability in the modern middle east, casting shadow over key u.s. effort to forge diplomatic relations between saudi arabia and israel. the conflict, which is now involved hezbollah, is raising concerns about the potential for a wider regional crisis. it's also unfolding against the backdrop of significant political unrest within israel. the country has been gripped by mass protest for several months. over a series of perceived anti-democratic reforms to the country's judiciary. with more on the broader implications of this conflict, i'm joined by gerald fire

skiing, the former u.s. ambassador to yemen. gerald, it's really good to have you back or good to have you with us. mister ambassador. tell me about what is going to happen next? israel has promised to turn gaza into rubble. that's what benjamin netanyahu said, the prime minister. there are so many civilians there that are caught in this. there's also so many hostages, at least 100 hostages that the israelis have said alvarez really citizens and soldiers. how do you strike at hamas without getting other people in the way? >> the simple answer the question is you don't. and unfortunately we are going to see a massive israeli military response in gaza over the next days and weeks. and certainly they are going to be hundreds, or more innocent palestinians who are going to die or be injured as a result of all of this, so the answer

is, the israelis are going to turn initially to military response. it is not going to succeed in accomplishing and objective anymore than any of the previous military responses have succeeded >> i've heard the said multiple times by multiple experts on our air. there is no military solution to this. do you agree with that? absolutely, if there was a military solution would've been robbed that decades ago. the fact of the matter is the only solution is through political negotiation, and in agreement, and unfortunately, neither side is prepared to make the commitments and concessions that are necessary in order to arrive at that. >> would even be possible to go back to the 1947 lines? i know there's been a lot of talk about this over the years, and if both sides could agree that to divide up the territory is the u.n. tried to do in 1947

with a palestinian state controlled by palestinians, and israeli having all the territory you see there. israel having all the territory you see there in blue. is that ever going to be a possibility again? >> well, i don't think that either side has ever to make the return to 1947, at least not since the oslo agreement was signed in the early 1990s. really, the negotiations such as they've occurred between the two sides had moved well past that kind of an arrangement. there were agreements on adjustments to the border, the establishment of a certain israeli settlement box. along what used to be the green line, in exchange for territorial swaps of israeli territory going to the palestinians. so we've gone well yawned well discussion of 1947 borders. but, unfortunately, what's

happened over these last several decades is increasingly the israelis that have established settlements and take other measures that make it more difficult to make it that way for palestinians. >> what role is saudi arabia going to play in this, what role is either going to play in this, the regional powerhouses. we are seeing that a military conflict is not the solution. how do you find a negotiated peace settlement with hamas, which is deemed a terrorist organization that does not even believe in israel's right to exist. >> well, as you know, and of course the egyptians are already engaged to their context with hamas and trying to find some kind of a way forward, some kind of a solution that means release of the hostages at the hamas that is holding. those kinds of things. and egypt will play that role they have in the past. as you know, saudi arabia was

engaged in a dialogue with u.s. and israel about the potential for normalization. that included, on the saudi part, a prospect for advancing palestinian interest, for doing things that would be helpful for the palestinians. i'm afraid they probably are not gonna be able to move forward on that dialogue, anytime in the near future. although, i'm sure that anthony blinken, who has you know, was about to take off on a trip to the region, is going to be telling the saudis that they need to move ahead in order to show that terrorism does not succeed. i have no doubt. but the saudis are going to hold back now until -- hopefully they can get back to some kind of negotiation that can show us some kind of solution to the palestinians as well.

>> when we're talking about the gaza strip in particular, there are so many civilians, millions at least or more who are caught up in the middle of this who are not necessarily supportive of hamas, but of nowhere to go. that blockade comes from two sides. it comes from israel and comes from egypt. is there any solution we are egypt agrees to take some palestinians in, some members of the gaza strip in order to get them out of what is currently a war zone? >> well, that's a good question. and whether anyone has asked the egyptians in the past, they've been extremely reluctant to allow gazans to enter into egypt, there is a position on hamas, frankly, is not very different from israel's position on hamas. and, therefore, as you said, many hundreds of thousands, if not million gazans are trapped in this open air prison, which is one of your interlocutors, as mentioned.

>> what is a solution for them. are they just stuck, is there no solution? >> unfortunately, i think the solution is for them to take whatever measures that they can take to protect themselves, and their families, and wait hopefully for this thing to be resolved. and then, try to rebuild and reconstruct. but it's going to be, i'm afraid frightful degree of time with palestinians, what's this mean for benjamin netanyahu's leadership? >> there's gonna be hard questions asked, and don't forget, the end of his tenure was the start of the yom kippur war. this is going to be an equally shocking event for the netanyahu government, they're gonna be hard questions asked about why they failed to see this coming and why they did in order, not only to prevent it, but to try to work to advance a

real solution. >> and whether he maintains his alliance with the far-right or if he takes a yearly pete upon forming a unity government, and shaking off the far right, that remains to be seen, although that is not really a lot of hope with israel is among a moment for that happening. general fires, team thank you so much for joining, us we appreciate all of your expertise. for me ambassador dm, and thank you. >> thank you. >> you have been watching our continuing coverage of the war in israel here on msnbc. i am katie turn, thank you very much for watching, please do stay tuned for jen psaki. psaki

>> we'll continue to fall the breaking news out of israel, where the fighting continues. just over 24 hours after millions of israelis woke up to a surprise, an unprecedented assault from the militant group, hamas. as enemy rockets ran down from the sky, hamas fighters infiltrated the southern border of israel on the ground. today, we learned that over 600 israelis have been killed, according to local israeli media. an unknown number of israeli citizens and soldiers have also been taken's hostage, also today secretary of state anthony blinken, said americans could be among the dead, and the