>> 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 hostages.

>> mister secretary, does the administration know at this point if u.s. citizens were among the dead or those taken hostage? >> so, we have reports that several americans may be among the dead. we are very actively looking to verify those reports similarly, we've seen reports about hostages and their again, we are very actively trying to verify them. and we nail that down. >> meaning that there could be some u.s. citizens who have been taken hostage as well, mister secretary. >> that's correct. >> we'll be closely following that over the next two hours, also overnight, israel responded, launching huge retaliatory strikes on cars and cities, flattening residential buildings, and killing over 300 people in gaza so far, according to the palestinian mystery of that. has -- lebanon's hezbollah group fired the flames in solidarity with

hamas at three is really positions. we're witnessing all of this as israel promises an aggressive response. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu vowed, my vengeance, and said we will turn them into trouble. a senior member of hamas said we are prepared for all options, including it all out war, and escalation at the highest levels. this is all without a doubt an intense escalation in the conflict between hamas and israel, but this has been simmering for a long time. in fact, 50 years in one day before this current assault, egypt and syria invaded israel and incited a 19 day war that terrorized the nation. and yet despite decades of conflict this attack caught israel and the world entirely off-guard. a senior u.s. military official told nbc news, quote, we were not tracking this. a former cia official said, this is israel's 9/11. it is almost inconceivable how they missed. this over the course of the next two hours, we are going to unpack this attack. how it was missed, what the motivation might have been, with the role of united states

may be in the coming days. what is happening with those hostages, and of course, what comes next for israel and gaza. joining me now is nbc news correspondent courtney kube, sheena covers national securing the pentagon has been monitoring the situation on the ground right now for. us so you are reporting, you are paired with me, thank you so much for taking the time. i want to start with what's happening on the ground, because it's been just over 24 hours, but it still sounds like all of the borders are not secured for israel, and what exactly is happening based on your reporting? >> that's, right there still israeli and special forces who are still voting, literally house to house in some areas trying to find any additional hamas fighters who may still be in the country. at this point, the israelis are still not saying that they have identified located all of those hamas fighters. and they are not seeing how much longer it still could take. so this is still very much an active battle for the israelis. they have not secured the borders, as you mentioned, and critically, use of the local israeli media are saying that there are 600 dead. well, there's also hundreds

wounded, and i suspect both of those numbers will rise as they continue to clear these areas. >> we also are still learning about these areas. we don't know the number of hostages, how many are american citizens, secretary of state anthony blinken confirmed that could be american citizens this morning. it is also interesting because this is a bit of a tactic of war, what we are seeing here. they took hostages, those hostages could be in the places that prime minister netanyahu in the israelis would strike back. tell me a little bit about that, based on your reporting on them. >> especially the tunnels, which hamas is known to have extensive tunnel networks inside of gaza so the reason, and this may sound somewhat crass. but this is actually a very smart military tactic, what hamas has done here by taking civilians, pulling them as hostages. because the israelis have shown for years a real concern about israeli citizens, israeli troops, even the remains of israeli troops when they are in custody of hamas fighters. they have shown a real difference. they do not strike those areas,

they really prioritize getting people back. now that will likely delay any, what we heard from netanyahu there, any real onslaught on hamas. they will be much more careful about any strikes going forward. but what this also means, and i really cannot stress this enough. the officials i'm speaking with, say look. this is the long haul. this will be a protracted conflict, because there will be a long stretch of time here, after israel's cleared, after the border secure, there will be a stretch here what they will try to identify, find those is really, and potentially american other citizens, find them before they really start what could be some massive onslaught against hamas. >> so could be sometime. hear a lot of us were anticipating this could be immediate, but of course, this tactic delays. that i also wanted to ask you about u.s. military assistance. there have been reports of that is being considered, not a surprise. but what do you think is on the docket there in terms of what kind of additional assistance could be provided?

>> i think where the first things we will see, and when i see we will see we probably won't know much about it, one of the first things i suspect the u.s. is doing in offering his intelligence. we know that the u.s. has already has been under consideration, most likely, they have already stepped up their intelligence sharing with israel, and that goes 12 been hearing about for the last 24 hours of how this could have been missed,, the possibilities there would be potentially more drone coverage, it could be fixing u.s. satellites over israel trying to identify areas where there might be massing of hamas, and it could be also signals intelligence. so intercepts. again, we don't know if any of that is happening, but we do know it's under consideration with. u.s. also, as is common in situations like this, the u.s. military will often move forces to the region. so it can be everything from assets that would be in place in case there's a noncombat evacuation, if they need to try evacuations out, what we see in the past, with sven -- sud analytical months, ago they put military ships off the coast, they put some americans and others onto those, ships

just to get them out of harm's way. that is one of the big questions that we've been asking. is will we see, that and if there is any movement, i suspect would be to be in place for noncombat evacuation, it should not be necessary. >> courtney, i know you're heading upstairs to do more reporting, we'll be here for the next two hours. so please come on down as you learn anything new. lots of developments are constantly coming. thank you so much for joining me. joining me now is white house principal deputy national security adviser, john finer. >> john, i know it's a very, very busy day over the white house. thank you so much for taking the time. bring us a little bit inside the white house from this morning. what is been going on, who was the president talking to, what if you open meeting about discussing behind the scenes. >> thanks, jen. the president huddled earlier today with senior members of his national security team, as we did yesterday, and i suspect will be the case going forward. to make sure that we are doing everything we can to provide support for israel on a number

of fronts at this difficult time. that includes the source of military to military conversations about what assistance what additional assistance might be required. and i think you'll be hearing more about that in the coming hours and days, it also includes all of the efforts we are making diplomatically with other countries in the region, with the goal of having those countries use the influence to prevent anyone from trying to take advantage of the situation by opening any sort of second front. obviously, a significant concern about southern lebanon, and hezbollah. and also includes intelligent support, as you indicated in your previous segment. sharing whatever information we have with our israeli counterparts as we always do. this is a very close relationship with a number of dimensions, and we are really leaning in at the president's direction. >> obviously, there is an ongoing intelligence sharing with israel, there has been long before the conflict yesterday. so it sounds like there is an increase, you are stepping up that intelligence sharing, and the type of information you are providing. is that they're providing

drones or other types of tactics or just information that the united states is gathering? >> i mean, generally, as you know, this is not doing that weekend a talk about in tremendous detail, because of the sensitivity of it, and because, frankly, the more adversaries know about what we do on intelligence the easier it is for them to try to prevent us from gathering that information. but what i can say is that are sharing with israel's probably among the closest intelligence relationships we have with any country in the world. and we are going to look for ways to enhance it. but it is already an extremely high level, it has been for a number of years. >> secretary blinken said that it could be among the dead in hostages, that was a couple of hours ago, i know well that this can take some time that there are constant developments is there anything that we may have been able to confirm before these reports this morning? >> i can say that there is nothing about which president biden has deeper, concern than the predicament of american

citizens who were caught up in this as you know, there are hundreds of thousands of american citizens in israel and a given time including a large number of dual nationals americans who also have israeli citizenship. we are still gathering information about the specifics of if anyone is caught up in this either wounded or god forbid killed or abducted in some ways part of the group that has been brought into gaza, we do not have details on this, yet but we are working to nail it down as quickly as possible. it is going to be very much at the front of our efforts. and just given the sheer numbers that we are talking about, we certainly cannot rule out the possibility that there are americans who have been involved. >> tell you don't know, yet we are working actively, of course it's a huge priority to confirm that. typically, the next of kin would be notified first before the american public or any reporters would be notified, which i would assume would be the process as well. i wanted to also just ask you about additional -- additional aspects of u.s. assistance.

whether or not there are american citizens who are among the hostages, is that an area that the united states could help with, or could provide assistance to the israelis with? >> so, what i can say about the hostage situation is that it is probably one of the most difficult aspects of this entire terrible circumstance. the fact that there have been certainly israelis, and maybe others brought from israel proper back into gaza is going to make things more complicated from an operational perspective, and obviously our hearts go out to the people who've been caught up in that situation. we will be closely coordinating and working with our israeli partners on bringing effort to have those people come back safely. that said, that is a situation that as you've heard the israelis say, it is likely the play out for some time. so i do think that we are going to be wrestling with this for a while, and working very closely with israel, as they plan whatever operations they have underway.

and the tactical decisions will be made by them as the countries actually on the ground dealing with this. >> you mentioned military assistance, which reports adjustments with secretary blinken, also said this morning, is under consideration, we'll learn more. how concerned are you about the lack of a speaker of the house and can funding get through the house without a speaker? >> so, we can take actions in the immediate term. and i think you will see us take actions in the immediate term to provide israel with the type of support that it has indicated to us that it needs. one of the very first conversations we had the situation was unfolding was secretary austin, with his israeli counterpart in the ministry of defense. so that we could best understand in, what ways we could subside -- provide support and prepare their response militarily. going forward, certainly, any sort of additional appropriations would require a functional health of representatives, so we'd like to see that situation resolved as soon as possible. but in the near term, we believe we can provide support in the coming days, and you

will see us do that. >> this attack came as a surprise to the people of israel, to the government of israel, and also to the united states, is that intelligence failure in israel in what the united states? >> i'm not gonna put a label or characterize an intelligence picture in realtime as the situation is continuing to unfold, and as you heard from your own border and from what you see in terms of images from the ground, this is all very much underway in israel, certainly on your way in gaza. so i, think in our, view now is not the time to look back at exactly how this happened, there will come a time in a place for that. for, now we are leaning into making sure that we are providing israel with everything it needs, and the president was crystal clear about that. we stand with, israel he's got a 50-year record of doing just that, showing results in the face of this sort of circumstance. so we are focused on the president, focused on the future. now is not the time to look backwards. >> before i let you go, i want

to ask you just about the role of iran. obviously, u.s. officials said last night that hamas would not exist without iran. but, also, there isn't confirmation as to whether you had knowledge, or any role here, it's anything new we learned, and how concerned are you about the hezbollah attacks that we saw earlier this morning? >> this is something we are going to watch extremely closely. what role iran either has played, or could play, going forward. as the u.s. official said last night, it remains, i think our position, i think it's too early to say whether iran had any role in the attacks that began yesterday, but we have not yet seen a concrete indications to that effect. we are going to keep looking at it. what we are much more concerned about, and it goes to the second part of your question is what role iran, and or its proxies like hezbollah, going to play going forward. and i think you heard in the presidents remarks yesterday a very carefully worded statement that warned against any parties

hostile to israel seeking advantage in the situation. that very much goes towards our concerns about the possibility of a second front. emerging from southern lebanon where as paula forces are located. and, you know, a bulk of our diplomatic efforts in our deterrence efforts are gonna be focused on making sure that this is as contained as possible under these circumstances. so it is something that we are attuned to, we are watching carefully. it is true that iran played a significant role in building up the capabilities of hamas overtime. by the way, that's a big part of the reason why we have sanctions around iran 70 times under counterterrorism, why we consider them a state sponsor of terror. and we're gonna be watching how the way they react towards what happened. >> john finer, thank you so much for taking the time this morning. we'll let you go back to what i know is a very busy weekend at the white house. coming up, israeli airstrikes continue to hit gaza at this hour in retaliation to yesterday's surprise attack by hamas. we'll continue to bring you

updates as we get them during the second day of fighting. former supreme allied commander james stavridis is gonna join me to talk about what's playing out right now. that conversation is coming up right after this quick break. r this quick break

>> today is really forces are continuing to battle hamas fighters on the streets of southern israel. and then north, -- israel exchange or limited rocket fire across the border. there were no casualties reported. and israeli military spokesman said, we recommend hezbollah not come into this. i don't think they well. if they do, we're ready. inside gaza, israel says a significant number of israeli citizens and soldiers are being held hostage by hamas. an israeli military spokesperson says these are numbers that are up until now unimaginable, this will shape the future of this war. joining me now is admiral james defrayed us, the former nato supreme allied commander. thank you for joining me this

afternoon. i wanted to start with reports of this rocket fire from hezbollah. i was discussing this with the deputy national security adviser john finer and the concerns about proxy fighters and the role of iran here. how concerned are you or do you think people should be about iran's role or about the role of proxy fighters expanding what we're seeing on the ground? >> i think we should be quite concerned. overall, jen, i think iran recognizes that for them to lean into this conflict, to try to take advantage of it, it will bring down the wrath, not only of israel, but also the united states. i think the president was crystal clear about that, as john finer said. so, i think they will, the iranians will probably be restrained. here's the number to know, hezbollah, to the north of israel, they have 130,000

rockets. the launches of the past couple of days where about 5000 rockets from the gaza strip. imagine 100 times that coming in, enormous casualties. hezbollah has been building that armory, that inventory for decades, financed by iran. let's all hope iran is smart enough to stay out of this. >> i want to ask you about something that governor nikki haley said this morning. she suggested, we're all watching iran and their potential role here. we know hamas wouldn't exist without them. she suggested that they could be planning something against the united states that the iranians have said the southern border is the easiest way to get into the united states. there is a tricky balance here between tracking and fear. i just wanted to get your reaction to that notion. >> the united states, since 9/11, by the way, this event in

israel, i think tragically is quite comparable to 9/11 in terms of a number of people killed, emotional impact, impact on geopolitics. but since 9/11 in the united states, we have not had a successful terrorist attack from hamas, hezbollah, islamic states, all of these terrorist organizations would love to get in and do that. i'm sure our agencies, homeland security, all on ultra high alert right now. i'm confident we have the intelligence tools to handle this. what we have to focus on right now it is israel and doing all we can to support them. this is an hour of real and critical need for the israelis. >> one of the aspects of this that is so heartbreaking is the number of hostages, we don't even know the number of hostages who are being held right now. that's very tricky for prime minister netanyahu. these hostage could be held in

hostile territory, in an area that he might strike in a retaliatory strike. how do you factor that in? you've been in many war zones, how does the factor that in? what does that mean for what this war is gonna look like over the coming days and weeks? >> let's begin by just putting this in perspective for an american audience. so, israel only has about 7 million israelis citizens who are jewish, about 7 million. therefore, on a population adjusted basis, if there are 40 hostages, jen, that would be like 2000 american hostages. pull up that thought. as you look at this crisis, this is a man or miss weight hanging on the military as they think through how to do this, this being suppressed the hamas military machine. you know those hostages are going to be distributed and

parked in the military capabilities of hamas through the entire gaza strip. of course it's a tiny place. so, the military, on the one hand, every fiber of the military body, and i can say this, speaking for myself, at the end of 9/11, as a one star admiral, every fiber of the military's attack, attack, attack, go after our nations enemies. but picture 9/11, if the taliban were holding 2000 american hostages. that's the situation benjamin netanyahu faces right now. so, what he has to do is calibrate the response and do it using the smart weapons that the israelis have, using special forces who can get in and around gaza, using intelligence, which we can help supply. cannot simply unleash the military to destroy the gaza strip.

although many israelis are feeling like that is what we ought to do. again, this is 9/11 with hostages. it makes it a very different calculus. >> yeah, absolutely. that is a stark explanation you just offered. secretary blinken also confirmed this morning, as possible, and i asked john fighter about this, they don't know yet, but they're obviously looking to see if any americans are among the hostages. if that's the case, even if it's not, are their options? what type of support could the united states provide here that would be useful and bringing these hostages home? >> i would start with -- obviously we share virtually everything with israel. when there is a crisis like this, we can bring that entire unblinking eye of u.s. intelligence, our satellites, our signals intelligence, cell phone coverage, we can bring all of that to focus on this crisis and situation, that is step one. step two, they're very large,

almost two billion dollars worth of u.s. military equipment in israel, specifically for situations like this. the president has the authority to open that up, it's something i controlled as the former commander of u.s. european command centers, military capital stocks that can be provided. thirdly, special forces, ours are very very good, the israelis are very good, not sending our troops in there, that's a conversation to have if we discover there are u.s. citizens. for the moment, providing backup, talking to the israelis, sharing with the more experiences. fourth, finally, jen, cyber. you know there is going to be a cyber offensive activity alongside all of this, both from hamas, but this is where i think iran might try to be involved using cyber, our national security agency, as you know often realtime in the

white house, the best of the best in defense. we can help the israelis in that regard. there is a starting shopping list. >> admiral james stavridis, thank you for helping us try to make sense of what's happening on the ground. i'm afraid to talk to one of the editors of an israeli based newspaper who is attacked. they've been attacked by a cyber attack. it's very topical. thank you again. israel's military says soldiers are still engaged ongoing battles, and at least eight areas of the country as they were to drive a hamas fighters. next, the editor and chief of the jerusalem post joins me live from jerusalem with what he's seeing and hearing right now. we'll be right back. l be right back. (sean) no way i can trade this busted up thing for one. (jason) maybe stealing wishes from the birthday boy is not your best plan -- switch to verizon and trade in any iphone and get the new iphone 15 pro on them. (sean) what!? (jason) yup, and on an amazing network (sean) and i don't have to ruin anymore birthday parties! (jason) yeah, that ship has sailed... let's go get you the iphone. here we go, come on hon.

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continue today in israel, as we digest the fact that more than 600 israelis are now confirmed dead, it can be difficult to properly contextualize what these unprecedented attack firmly in for a region that is already so familiar with terror and violence. an opinion piece post --

this is israel's 9/11. -- five years of the country's existence. the catastrophe that before the people of israel is the realization of one of the country's worst nightmares. untold numbers of israelis, including grandparents, children, and entire families abducted by hamas and spirited across the border, following unprecedented invasions by land, air, and see, in which hundreds of israelis were killed and wounded. joining me now from jerusalem is -- editor and chief of the jerusalem post. thank you so much for joining me, i think it's so important for our viewers to really understand what it's like on the ground. before we get to that, i wanted to ask you, earlier today you posted your publication, the jerusalem post, was under cyberattack. how are those attacks impacting your papers work? what's the status at this point in time? >> look, john, at a moment

where the most important thing is accurate information and truth coming from the ground, we've been under sustained attack since the early hours of yesterday morning. our website has been on and off throughout that period. right now i believe it's on. there have been several periods, including several hours in which was taken completely off line by a coordinated attack. in the past, we found that those attacks have been directed by state actors. you can probably surmise who i'm referring to. that's certainly possible now as well. there is clearly a very concerted effort to ensure the truth is not getting out there, people are not hearing the reporting from the ground. of course, we will not let that deter us. were available on all social media platforms, our website is back up and running at this time. >> that's good news. are you getting the assistance we made from the israeli government and others? >> i mean, or an independent news agency. so, we don't allow any outside actors to ensure where it is getting out there. of course, one touch with all relevant authorities.

our tech team is excellent, we've been working throughout the clock to make sure we're able to get our information out there swiftly and easily as possible. >> great, that's great news. obviously is asking, given as the cyberattack. i want to ask you, i mean, your opinion piece, put in such stark terms with the impacts of the attack from yesterday's. tell us a little bit more about how people are digesting the last 36 hours, the type of people you've been talking to, reporters have been talking to in the streets and how it's really impacting what's very much a small community in many ways? >> i think the admiral had it right, it really does feel like israel's 9/11. i was a high school senior in the d.c. area on 9/11 in 2001. i remember the sense of chaos and confusion, the inability to know what would be hit next, not knowing whether people would come home alive. that's really what it's -- israelis are experiencing today,

but a far larger scale, we're talking double the number, triple the number, six times the number of israelis compared to the number americans killed in 9/11, that's how many have been killed or confirmed killed as of now. 600 israelis. that number is completely unprecedented. these are numbers that israelis are not used to contending with. i don't think any nation has contended with this kind of carnage at the scale after such devastating surprise invasions. we're talking about elderly men and women executed in the street, children, entire families, some of which who were killed and someone abducted and taken to gaza. we've seen horrible images of children being abused by palestinians in the gaza strip have mothers huddled over their children, as crowds around them, during and poking at them. these are horrific, devastating images that have affected the psyche of the nation and will continue to do so for many years to come. >> we've seen some videos, just on social media, of people being objected, being taken

hostage, what more have you learned or your reporters learned about the identities or the numbers of israeli citizens and maybe american citizens have been taken hostage? >> we do know that there are americans among the dead. we suspect that there are also some amongst the abducted. we don't have that confirmed as of yet. the abducted really run the gamut. there are elderly men and women, there were images of elderly women being driven around by hamas. obviously totally confused about what was going on. there are images of young mothers huddled with their young children as hamas activists around them. we know a large number of young people who are at an all night dance party in the desert were taken captive by hamas. we've had images of them being taken on motorcycles into the gaza strip. so, it really does run the gamut. of course, we've also heard reports that there are soldiers amongst those who've been abducted.

the idea has confirmed was the case, we don't know how many or indeed how many in total of ten abducted, but we're likely talking about a very large number indeed. this will complicate the act of rescuing them, which is of course with the israeli defense forces trying to do at this time. >> absolutely, could lead to a prolonged fight. thank you for your reporting, thank you for fighting for the cyberattack, and thank you for everything you're sharing with the world about what's happening in israel at this time. i appreciate you joining me. congressman jason -- is standing by, former armory, rangers sits at the foreign affairs intelligence committees, has some thoughts about attempts by his republican colleagues to politicize the attack by hamas. that's coming up next. that's coming up next.

>> the situation here in washington is complicating any sort of congressional response to what's happening in israel. there are things that the u.s. government can do, the white house can do without congress, but congress is pretty essential. member, the house doesn't have a speaker. that makes new policy and new

funding very very difficult. here's what former house speaker kevin mccarthy had to say about that. >> there is nothing the house can do until they elect a speaker. i don't know if that happens quickly. the speakers part of the gang of eight. that takes action to be able to have briefings and others. think about this, the whole, why would you ever remove a speaker during a term to raised out around the world? >> now, house minority leader, hakeem jeffries, reportedly briefed last night on everything unfolding in israel. he's working on scheduling a briefing for house members this week when they come back to washington. the speaker, of course, usually the one getting, braved part of organizing that, but that's obviously not possible right now. joining me now is democratic congressman jason crow of colorado, serves on both intelligence committee and the foreign affairs committee. congressman, thank you so much for joining me today. i want to ask you first, we've never been in this moment before, what is your view on whether congress has the authority to pass support for israel without a speaker in

place? >> well, first off, jen, this breathtaking in a horrible attack on israel by terrorists, we haven't seen anything like this, it's unprecedented, it's depraved, you know, the images, the stories coming out of israel show you what these terrorists are capable of. the united states stands by the people of israel, full stop, in the days and weeks ahead. there are strongest ally in the region, we will stand by them. it does show the challenge that we face right now. the world is an unstable place, there's a lot of conflicts going on, we have to continue to stand by ukraine, we have to make sure we're responding to these attacks in israel to our partner and our ally. right now, the house of representatives is in recess. we're in recess because the republicans have been on unable to select a speaker, that means we're not getting the briefings, we can have the debates, we can actually start the process, putting together aid packages to ukraine, into israel, and others to respond to these

crises. >> there is this argument that the speaker could approve it or have that authority, what is your view of that? it's never happened before, i guess. >> well, it's pretty clear to me that the constitution and the current house rules show the speaker pro tempeh's -- they have the authority to see this election another speaker, that's it. the speaker pro temp as not been selected by the house of representatives, no vote, has not been empowered by the members of the house to actually conduct that type of role. so, that's why it's really important, why we should be back in d.c., they should call us out of recess, call us back to d.c. today, i will jump on a plane after this interview, we'll go back, we'll have the votes. we will select a leader, and will move forward. we'll have the briefings, will address this crisis, that's what should be happening. >> that probably sounds very santa most people watching right now. i want to ask you what, you hit that pretty hard on a false and

misleading talking point that is conflating the biden administration's decision to free up six billion dollars on iranian oil revenue to free americans imprisoned there with the attack on israel yesterday. we both know none of that money is been transferred, it can only be used for humanitarian reasons and approved by third parties, for a third party organizations. how dangerous, i mean, that's still circulating in being repeated, how dangerous do you think that disinformation is to be pushed out there that's being pushed up there? >> well, jen, it's extremely dangerous. listen, and a time of crisis, people are reacting into different ways. leaders step up and deal with facts, they bring people together, they address the crisis, they look at the facts, they build a coalition and respond to keep people safe and secure and to get the crisis under control. demagogues and charlatans lie and use crisis to advance their own personal agenda. unfortunately, i've seen some people do that.

just tell outright lies, the iran prisoner swap deal with the biden administration struck with iran a few weeks ago, zero of that money, not a penny, has been transferred to iran, number one. number two, the deal says that not a penny of that money will ever go into iran, it will go to third parties to provide humanitarian support directly to the people of iran who otherwise would not get any of that. so, that's the status of that. has nothing to do with this current attack and people that conflate the two to cast blame right now, they're just charlatans for trying to advance their own personal agenda and have no interest in actually addressing the crisis. >> one of the areas of support that is also at risk right now is funding to ukraine. there is obviously gonna be a lot of focus on funding to israel, which is important, and they should get it. how concerned are you about putting that conversation and debate to the backburner? >> i'm getting increasingly

concerned, although i will say this, the overwhelming support within the house for ukraine is still there. if a vote were held today, three quarters of the house of representatives, including the majority of republicans, they would likely vote for ukraine support. the problem is getting to that vote because we don't have a speaker, we can actually hold votes, we can't hold committee business. the extremist within the republican party have a chokehold on that conference right now and are preventing a vote from going forward. let us vote, let us actually take it to the ballot, let's vote and move forward. it's an american self-interest to actually make sure that ukraine can fight when the, sports and our own national security interest. >> congressman jason crow, thank you so much for joining me. everyone should know, he's ready to get on the plane to come back and approve some support for countries who need it. former congressman jane harmon, a longtime member of the house intelligence committee joins me after a quick break to talk about what she believes the level of u.s. involvement should be in the war unfolding

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ongoing conflict in israel's prime minister netanyahu launches what he calls the offensive phase of this war. joining me now is jane harmon, former congressman from california who also served as the ranking member of the house intelligence committee for four years after 9/11. now the chair of the freedom house board of trustees. congresswoman, thank you for taking the time this afternoon. you've watched and ben in congress and biden leadership roles during so many conflicts. you've also watched conflicts flare between israel and hamas before. we're all trying to make sense of whether the last 36 hours is different. what do you think? >> well, it's different scale, but it was another surprise attack, which should not have been a surprise, it was a huge failure of imagination. i'm not going so far as to say again weather is an

intelligence failure, though it seems to be. i just want to amplify jason crow's answer from the last segment, if i could, jim, i think the president has a lot of authority, even in the absence of the speaker of the house. i was a member of the gang of eight and briefed on all of our innermost secrets for four years in the early 2000s. i think the president could convene seven members of congress who, oh, by the way, are part of that gang of eight, brief them tonight, right now, tomorrow morning. he could also invite members of congress or interested to come back for a high security briefing in the executive branch, even if congress cannot convene, that he could. i think it's crucial for him to pitch to members of congress, i just heard mike mccaul, the republican chair the house foreign affairs committee state earlier this morning about how strongly he supports israel. in addition to that, there is the authorization's military force, threadbare authorization we passed and i voted for in

2001 to authorize going after the terrorist who hit us on 9/11. that has been used in 40 military incursions in 19 countries. that could help us provide military aid if we choose to do that. the overseas contingency operation friends, i may be still on this, but i think the president, our president, has a lot of levers, and i applaud him for standing steadfast in defense of israel. one more thing he might do is call the leaders of saudi arabia, qatar, and others, have been critical of israel only, that's very unfortunate and unfair, and see if we can revive not only the abraham accords and the committee establish there, but this new deal we have, this new deal, as part of, a platform for palestinian state, that may sound ridiculous at this point because hamas, which is not far to the palestinian authority

complicit in this, is driving it. but hezbollah, which is iranians support on the lebanon border, it could advances the tax to. i'm just saying, if he calls on these leaders, puts them on the spot and says, look, this is your neighborhood, buddy, and do you want a resurgent iran plotting attacks against you? do you really? this is a chance to come together. u.s. leadership is crucially needed. there are a lot of levers for president biden whose head and heart in the right place to use. >> doesn't sound like you're still at all, congresswoman, to be very clear. it sounds also, from what i was speaking with john finer earlier, they are considering what resources they could provide without congressional support. there's a lot of dynamics right now, including a lack of a speaker. i did want to ask, you just about, you've watched this region for so long. there been attacks from hezbollah, this morning, there is this question about iranian knowledge, we don't know that yet. how concerned are you about the

potential for expansion of this beyond israel at this point in time? >> big time. and i heard, well, in israel and beyond israel, both ways, i did hear jim stavridis talk about advanced cyber, israeli infrastructure could be targeted, by the way, infants structure in the u.s. can be targeted to. we need to shore up our own infrastructure in the commercial sector. remember, israel is a start-up nation, a huge -- technology there. what i was thinking about, i was on the israeli border, 25 trips to the region as a member of congress, i was on the lebanese border in 2006 during the lebanon war. lebanon was lobbying a dump guy, missiles without real guidance, machinery on them, into israel, a lot of them were hitting no targets. now, those missiles have advanced guidance on them. much longer range, is they're capable of hitting jerusalem. think about that, there are thousands of hezbollah

controlled missiles on the lebanese border. hezbollah is part of the lebanese government. think of that, it's breathtaking. iran is involved there. if that attack is launched, seriously launched, and it's such a swarm attack that iron dome is defeated again, that could be a catastrophe. plus, let's think about other things, attack from the south, attack from the east, uprising in the west bank. that can destabilized jordan. i mean, if one of the things that is for sure true, is what just happened, was a failure of imagination. no one thought this attack could come from hamas. what next could happen that would be a failure of imagination, this is the time to think about, that not to blame other people. this is the time for our country, we do have lovers, to lead is clearly as we can a mess that could, as you say, jen, get out of control in the region, and maybe in the world. our leadership is still sorely needed, and i hope, and i think,

president biden is stepping up to provide that. >> congresswoman jane harmon, thank you so much for joining me this afternoon and shedding light on what we're trying to figure out together. we're gonna take a quick break but we have another full hour of breaking news coverage straight ahead, -- andrew mitchell and republican congressman, mike lawler, are all coming up. stay with us, we'll be right back. back ugh. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. and it helps prevent streaks and haze. wetjet is so worth it. love it, or your money back. 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.

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