you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers?

it's true. plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible. >> and the early hours of it's happening.

saturday morning, hamas fighters infiltrated the southern border of israel now ground and gaza based fighters launched a massive barrage of rockets from a sky. since, then over 600 israelis have been killed and we expect those numbers to go up, that's all according to local israeli media. >> and i don't number of israeli citizen soldiers are being held hostage, as well as potentially some american citizens. as we have seen in a number of terrifying videos, that have been released, i should warn you. these are quite disturbing. and this tells us a lot about who is being held. like this, one showing it captive israeli woman being taken away on a motorcycle as she shouts to her boyfriend, who is also being held hostage. the residents a border cities described the terror of hamas militants entering their neighborhoods, coming into their homes, and of bodies lining the streets in their small towns. secretary blinken confirmed this morning that americans could be among the dead, and the hostages as well. >> 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 working to verify those reports. similarly, we've seen reports about hostages, and there again, we are very actively trying to verify them and nail that down. >> meaning that there could be some u.s. citizens who have been taken hostage as well, mister secretary? >> that is correct. >> we will have an update on that yet but if we get that over the next hour, we will certainly bring that to you. in response to what appears to be the worst terrorist attack on israel in decades, prime minister netanyahu vowed vengeance, and clear the energy would pay a price it is never known before. we witnessed his words in action overnight as israel launched attacks in gaza on buildings, killing over three and people in gaza so far. that's according to the

palestinian ministry of health. as fighting continues to raise on several fronts today. prime minister netanyahu confirmed with the offensive phase of the response has begun. and that it will continue with neither limitations, nor respite, until objections are achieved. this morning, reports confirmed that civilian evacuations of cities and towns around here has begun, a clear indication of the anticipated strikes to come. now this is all taking place in the midst of a few significant, complicating factors, the effort to bring israeli soldiers and citizens, and maybe americans insistence from around the world home who are being held hostage is. in all likelihood, in the very cities and towns where the israeli military plans to strike, the threat of expansion into a broader war with the engagement overnight of iran, and iran-backed militant group, at hezbollah. and the open question whether the iranians had prior knowledge or any engagement in the play the tax. we don't have any proof or confirmation of that today, to a u.s. official acknowledge that the hamas would not exist without the support for many

decades from iran. and while the attacks came as a surprise, tensions have been simmering in the region for a very long time. which kind of begs the question, why didn't israel see this coming? sitting aside for a moment, and seen how we got here, the question is how this comes next. if you're sitting inside a white house during weekend like this, and you've not been here for a moment like this, but many similar, you are basically in one roving meeting that moves from a situation room to the oval office, back to agencies to get updates. you are getting a constant stream of updates from key members of the national security team, whether it's the national security adviser, jake sullivan, secretary of state, tony blinken, or cia director bill burns. and in between all of those meetings, those top officials are engaged in conversations with their counterparts. and israel is also in neighboring countries. including countries that may have a direct line two years as well, as we saw with the update around egypt earlier today. we will also be talking to countries the shared concern about the escalation of violence in the region, which is a real concern. the private conversations with

israeli officials likely reflexes much of the language of the president has said publicly. reiterating support, asking what they need, we'll get an update on that, it sounds like later today. we will also encourage them to take into account the number of innocent civilians in gaza. and remember, this president has known prime minister netanyahu for decades, and yes, they've had moments of tension. that is not new but the president has always been pretty pragmatic and consistent about his support for israel, regardless of his personal feelings any moment about netanyahu. the relationship helped bring an end to the conflict in 2021 as well. so there are big immediate questions, including how israel can bring their hostages home, how the united states can secure additional assistance with the speaker of the house, what the white house could do without congress. and longer term, what it does mean for the presidents efforts to bring about an ambitious agreement between israel and saudi arabia. this war also has the potential to escalate, leading to a significant number of civilian casualties in gaza, and also has the potential to expand beyond the border of israel.

joining me now is somebody who has dealt with many conflicts and many challenging circumstances, john brennan, he's the former cia director under president barack obama, and a senior national security analyst for msnbc. director brennan, i think we are all still pretty shaken by the images and what we've seen over the last 36 hours, but i also wanted to start by asking you about prime minister netanyahu's considerations. because hamas has taken hostages. we don't know the total number, presumably in reportedly, they are being spread out across gaza and other areas that prime minister netanyahu may want to retaliate, and launch rotarian attacks on, how does he factor that in, and what could happen in the coming days? >> i think president netanyahu's cabinet of taking to a number of concerns in consideration. one is they have to mitigate any continued or risks that exist where there are still hamas militants that are in israeli territory. what can they do to find them? and make sure that they're not gonna carry out additional attacks. number two, try as much

information as possible about the hostages, the captives, where they might have been taken to, what may in fact be what hamas is planning to do with, them and how he can in fact find them. number three, also, i think is gonna have to demonstrate to the israeli public that he is going to take firm action against hamas. we've already seen the bombings taking place in gaza city, the two largest cities in gaza. but there's gonna be retaliatory aspect to this that netanyahu is getting pressured, mainly from his right wing, to be as aggressive, and is brutal, and even as ruthless as possible. while the same time, making sure that he does not do too much that is going here to put the lives of the hostages at risk. >> when it comes to, this is not necessarily a state, but secretary of state confirmed that there could be americans, of course, who live in israel, who are part of the group of hostages. is there a role, but the former cia and other u.s. agencies could play in helping identify, helping bring back those hostages?

>> i'm sure there's been a surge of u.s. capabilities in terms of on the technical front. trying to get as much intelligence as possible about who is being held captive, where they are, and information about u.s. citizens. but i'm confident the intel community in united states is working closely with their counterparts, in the surge of intelligence, minion technical front, again to try to provide these rallies with whatever insight they need in order to carry out their responsibilities, to try and bring these captives home, but also to prevent any further attacks coming from hamas. >> you have worked in the intelligence committee for decades, including with israel, and with your intelligence security, forces they have a reputation for having a very strong intelligence community. were you surprised that this was a surprise to them? >> i find it incomprehensible that hamas was able to carry out such a well planned, multi dimensional operation against israel. and israeli intelligence seemed

to be caught totally unawares. this had to take months and months of planning. and i think it demonstrates that hamas really has learned how to carry out this type of planning, and not have the israelis become aware of it. so, again, the israeli intelligence is really a part of the domestic intelligence agency as, well as well the military intelligence as well, which has the responsibility for gaza, but it does raise questions about whether not israeli sources, both human and technical sources, have been compromised by hamas, and these rallies are being fed false information and give them a false sense of complacency. because there is just so many hamas militants that were involved in this, again, it took many, many months in order to plan this. >> and when you say compromise, do you mean that some of these intelligence forces for israel could have worked for hamas? >> it could be identified by hamas, and then doubled back against israel and being fed false information into israeli intelligence headquarters. as well as some other technical systems. they might have found out where they were, and then being

intentionally putting intense into that, that again, did not give israel a sense that this planning was taking place. >> some of the military tactics used, here this is advanced military tools that were used here in these attacks. ? how does that tell you about hamas capabilities, or who may or may not even helping them. >> it shows great compartmentalization on the part of hamas, because there are so many elements focused on this, land, sea, air, and hamas has been able to accumulate quite a bit of rockets, in munitions, it has received training from outside, it's been the benefactor of iran and others. provided how moss the wherewithal, the ability, the insights, the training that is necessary to do this. so clearly, this was very well orchestrated. >> it was done with the senior leaders of hamas, and it is something that i know was played for many, many years and they just took advantage of the opportunity, and when i look at some of the footage of this music festival that took place right outside of the gaza strip

and the slaughter of individuals there, this clearly shows the core militants group within hamas, really carried this out with great vengeance, as well as with tremendous execution. >> there's of, course act of conflict on the ground right now. u.s. officials trying to figure out what kind of assistance it can be provided. but there is this risk of escalation beyond the borders. there are a couple of hezbollah attack this morning, there were questions about what iran did or did not know. you've obviously worked in the middle east quite a bit over the years. how concerned are you about that possibility of escalation beyond the borders? >> i'm very concerned. i think a situation is going to get worse before it gets better. i think those attacks across the northern lebanese border by his balance is warning of a symbolic show of support. but as ball i clearly has a lot more capability if they decide to try to use that against israel. and concerns about the west bank, the palestinians there, who are concerned about the fellow palestinians faith in gaza. but we already heard reports about israeli tourists being

killed in cairo. so this has the potential, real, for escalation. and a lot is going to depend on how netanyahu is able to balance the need to be able to mitigate the threat, be able to make sure that his captions and hostages are returned safely. but not to go overboard, and to get rid of these revenge attacks that are about the people, the civilians of gaza. because there are innocence in israel and palestine in the palestinian territories that are really paying the price here. and i think that death toll is going to go up significantly in the days and potentially weeks to come. >> and it sounds like in concern to the white wing government, and response of the people, prime minister netanyahu -- there could be many, many, casualties in gaza as part of this response. >> when i see the buildings exploding in gaza, shows that these attacks by air force and others are really going to lead to a large number of civilian

casualties, which is only going to fuel the fires of militancy among the people of gaza. as they see innocent men, women, and children were going to killed as a result of these strikes. so both sides, there is the right wing. those that are really pushing for a very aggressive, violent, militant posture. unfortunately, i think it's going to rule the day, which is very important because i think this needs to have a very calm yet a very dedicated effort to try to resolve the current situation. but also, address some of these underlying factors and conditions that have led to this situation. >> director brennan, thank you so much for taking the time to join me here this afternoon. i really appreciate it. we're gonna be following the breaking news out of israel all hour long as the fighting continues and new details trickle out about the hostages who have been captured. prime minister netanyahu is warning of a long, and difficult more to come. ben rhodes, who served as national security adviser under president obama, joins me next. we will be right back.

shingles. the rash can feel like an intense burning sensation and last for weeks. it can make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. 50 years or older? ask your doctor about shingles.

♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists. tourists taking photos that are analyzed by ai. >> earlier today, the office of so researchers can help life underwater flourish. ♪

prime minister prime minister benjamin netanyahu said that israel had voted last night to officially put the country at war, allowing it to korea, quote, significant military activities. the cabinet focuses official legal standing to what prime minister netanyahu already said after hamas began its operation that is so far killed 600 israeli people, alluding to the latest on reporting on the ground. my colleague to president obama, also an msnbc contributor, ben. i just wanna start with this question about the relationship between president biden and prime minister netanyahu. because there's a lot of focus, i get asked this a lot on the detentions, and how much that matters, and what it means in this case. so what is your thought on that? >> well, look. they've been each other for a very, very long time. there've been lots of dust ups

over the years. but, frankly, jen, i think in a time like this, that doesn't matter all that much. it is a president of the united states who has been consistently very strongly behind israel, dealing with the prime minister as well. it is incredibly complicated to unprecedented, and exchange gonna be very straightforward. what do you need from the united states in the coming days? and, then it pivots probably in those coming days to trying to prevent further escalation outside of israel, or the kind of civilian casualties in gaza that obviously nobody wants to see. the u.s. house is kind of balancing act i think that often plays in these gaza wars, and this one is obviously much bigger. where you are simultaneously providing support, but also trying to prevent the conflict from escalating to a much greater level. >> prime minister benjamin netanyahu is leading a country that is just faced a devastating attack.

he's also leading a right-wing coalition, who is putting pressure on him to have a very, strong response here. how do you think this is going to impact what we see in the next couple of days or weeks? >> well, look. this has been part of the problem, and in the run up to this. and i think how people look at the intelligence failure, we're talking about john brennan. there's also the question of, this far-right government was focused on its judicial overhaul. essentially rolling with democracy. it was at odds with some of the military establishment in that country, and those tensions, those divisions in term of israeli society, that may have contributed to hamas obviously totally responsible for all of this horrific carnage that we watched. but that may contribute to the decision-making, i think going forward, israelis naturally rally around the flag and circumstances like this. so expect the israeli people to be united. but there is a key political question here. some of the more moderate opposition, people like garrett

lapid, have indicated that they'd be willing to come to a unity government for this war. but only, if i think some of those far-right ministers are not part of that government. meanwhile, these really far-right is going to be demanding, much much more reescalation from netanyahu, flattening gossip, moving in with a major ground operation, maybe instigating it's iran. now the question about whether you choose the unity government, or whether he chooses these kind of far-right ministers, that's gonna be choice, not just about his political orientation for this war, it's going to probably tell us something about how far is going to go. is he going to do the things that the far-right wants you to do, or is he going to follow the centrist military advice that is coming from the israeli system? >> he's historically though been drawn more to the far-right coalitions, and the factions of the israeli government who want to use more military force. wouldn't you be surprised if he decided to go the other way?

>> what's interesting about netanyahu, jen, is that he is always sided with the far-right politically. when he has a political citizens -- decision to make, he always breaks to the right. however, in military operations, he's been a little bit more cautious citizen rhetoric that suggests that there were four awards in gaza after 2007. netanyahu often resisted major ground incursions that could've occurred a more major loss of right for more keeping for palestinians. he's been open to u.s. support a negotiated cease-fire into those. now he's trying to balance his political indication with the right, with i think a carefulness about this exclamation. and i think here we are going to learn, this is the biggest crisis he has ever faced. he upsets the whole notion that he brought security this instant tape with this blockade of gaza. we are about to find out what he is going to do when his back against the wall, in the

biggest crisis he's facing. is he going to pivot again to the right, and do something that could escalate in further than what we've seen, with tragic consequences for omen or people, including civilians in gaza. or can he find a way to accomplish military objectives without raising goes up to the ground, and keep the focus on getting those abductees back home. >> ben, rhodes thank you so much. always learning something from you, always. really appreciate you joining me today. before we go to a break, we have an update on senator cory booker of new jersey, who was in israel on a coat l1 hostilities broke out. he and his staff sheltered in place in jerusalem when hamas launched their attack. but they have now safely departed. and up next, our reporters on the ground say there is every indication that israel is planning for what could be a large-scale ground offensive into gaza to rescue the hostages taken by hamas. it could be one of the most extensive and complex hostage rescue operations the world has seen. my next two guests have a wealth of knowledge from their

extensive backgrounds reporting on the middle east, andrea mitchell and peter baker join me next. ant to feel protected! especially for those sudden gush moments. when your keys are in the door and your body's like, “it's happening”! if you're worried about your protection, it's not the right protection. always discreet protects like no other. with double leak guards that help prevent gushes escaping from the sides. and a rapid dry core that locks in your heaviest gush quickly for up to zero leaks. and it contours, to everybody. now this, is protection! always discreet- the protection we deserve!

the power goes out and we still have wifi noto do our homework.on! and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network.

after advil: let's dive in! but...what about your back? it's fineeeeeeee! [splash] before advil: advil dual action fights pain two ways. advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action. the new subway mvp rewards earns you points when you order. -superbowl mvps really do get all the perks? i'm talking about subway mvp. it's a way bigger deal. do you get a trophy for that? i wish. get rewarded like an mvp. join now and get 50% any footlong. >> welcome, back we're

following breaking news amid israel's war with hamas amid the surprise attack yesterday. we are joined now with what is being learned. courtney, we talked about this about an hour and a half ago, what if you learned since then? >> it's what we've been waiting to hear. and that is, according to two u.s. officials who are familiar with the plan, the u.s. military is planning to send the -- we are not talking of the u.s. military getting involved in this conflict, things like u.s. navy ships into the mid, maybe some aircraft moving closer. they can show support for israel. but in addition to that, there is still this question of whether not the u.s. will have to make it four out of israel. these navy ships, these assets being closer to israel, will

make that planning a little bit easier, and then if there is some sort of an order to carter, some sort of evacuation ordered, then they will have more assets there in the ready. now i have to stress, as you know jen, you know this probably a lot better than i do. no evacuation has been ordered. but they are trying to get some of their assets in place, should the u.s. government need to try to get americans out of. there >> it is significant, they are always planning in the federal governments, that is certainly a sign of that. and it sounds like pretty quick to me, to move 24 hours after these attacks to show a sign of support, to make sure that they are ready in the event they need these ships there. it sounds like they are also preparing to maybe ask congress for more assistance as well. so that's another piece that we will all be watching for. courtney, thank you so much for providing us with your update, and i'm joined now by two people have been covering the region for decades. andrea mitchell, foreign affairs correspondent for nbc news, and peter baker, clues chief white house correspondent for the new york times.

so i want us to start with this broad question, because i think we've all been trying to make sense of what is different here. we've seen conflicts for decades, we've seen escalating conflicts over the last couple of years. andrea, i want to start with you. i want to understand what is different about the last 24 hours. >> what's different is that this is first of all a ground invasion, air, sea, and land. never before have they gotten beyond the tunnels. they got through the border of the most tightly controlled border anywhere in the region is that border between gaza and southern israel. they got through that. they were re-supplied from the sea, as they have been in the past. but they landed, the paragliders. this was organized, and it is organized without any intelligence being picked up by either israel, or the u.s.. so, arguably, both countries distracted by domestic concerns, political concerns, and morale in the idf, the israeli army, and in the israeli intelligence,

were weekend perhaps, arguably, by so many of the veterans there. joining the protest movement against what is mostly called reform, which is basically an undoing of separation of powers and democracy in israel. >> there's so many, as images touched, on political dynamics on the ground right now, obviously this is an act of conflict, this is not the current focus. we spent a period of time on the ground, and also you covered conflicts there for years. help us understand kind of the politics on the ground, how that could be impacting prime minister netanyahu. he's leading the most right wing coalition in recent memory. how could that impact his response? >> for the moment, of course, nothing unifies a country more than an external threat. when an invasion by a hostile force comes. and the talk has been said earlier, unity government with the island peed and others who were his opponents. but he's going to feel pressure to respond, and we had in a powerful important moment.

when they go into gaza again by land, it is not just air strikes, but they send in ground forces. if it weren't for the hostages, if you work for the fact that they were held captive, maybe he could resist. but the fact there are people to be rescued, and we don't know yet how many, as you said earlier in the program, that is going to press netanyahu's hand. and the idea of re-entering after leaving in 2005 is something the military is prepared for, but nobody really wants to do. because they see that as a very dangerous and combustible possibility. and they don't want to stay there longer than they have to. >> a lot to watch, it is an extended word. andrew, we've been talking a lot this morning about the hostages. you've covered so many hostage situations around the world over the years. a couple things i think people should understand, the united states has to contact the families, identify who is an american citizen. there are so many american dual citizens living in israel. tell us a little bit about -- there's also been prisoner swaps in israel that netanyahu was overseen. what are you watching for here, as you are waiting for news

about the hostages, and how netanyahu in the israelis will handle this? >> rachel, it's important to understand that for israel, it is an article of faith, that no one is left behind. we talk about no soldier being left behind, no israeli citizen or soldier, and it is all the same. because, all israeli citizens other than the very conservative orthodox serve in the military, and can be called up and are being called up now, being brought back from newspapers in these other businesses, from homes across israel. so this is a moment. no one can be left behind, treated more than 1000 palestinians back just to get one israeli soldier who had been held for several years in gaza. so they will not rest until they get them back. but then the question is, how do they have the overwhelming response that they are being pressured to have? as john brennan pointed out to you, you can't bomb these buildings. you know, and take out whole

partner buildings, without knowing where are the human shields. where are the american because secretary blinken confirmed this today. they're like the americans involved as both victims dead among the casualties, and also, those taken hostage. and al>> so how do you bomb thoe buildings without taking out, not only some innocent people here in gaza, but also the israelis moving up hostages. it is a terrible, terrible challenge. >> and american citizens from around the world -- there has, been outside of this there has been this effort, ambitious i would say, of the biden administration, to kind and approach this, we will talk about this about israel and saudi arabia. where do you think, i'm a star with, you peter, where you think that sits right now? >> president biden wanted to invent a new middle east. one that scrambles the new order, and brings a new alignment between israel and saudi arabia against iran. that all now looks a little

problematic at the moment. the old middle east has kind of rooted's head and, said wait a minute. you are not done with us yet. and it's going to get harder for the saudis, and the israelis to come together on the deal that doesn't address the palestinians, and both sides are gonna find it harder to make a deal given what happened. it doesn't mean it can't happened, we always see how this plays out, but for the moment, anyway, this is more complicated. >> peter baker, andrea mitchell, i could talk to all afternoon, but i'll be watching all of your reporting over the course of the next coming days. thank you so much for being with me today. >> thanks for having us. republican congressman mike well or sitting by ask you a speaker list house, canada should do to help israel right now. that conversation is coming up after this quick break. after this quick break after this quick break cyberattacks. but the same ai-powered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. ♪ >> as the fighting continues

today in israel, we are keeping a close eye on capitol hill, where the u.s. house of representatives is currently without a speaker. the speaker would normally get briefed on a situation like this, but last night, minority leader hakeem jeffries was the

one getting briefed. as jake sherman points out, a speaker this house will be very limited in what it can do to help our strongest ally in the middle east. republican congressman mike waller of new york had some choice words in his response to that, quote, this is why you don't remove a speaker midterm without cost. what an odd mitigated, dot dot dot. you can see where the huge key words there. i'm not going to say today this morning program. joining me now is republican congressman, mike waller, of new york he's. member of the house foreign affairs committee. congressman, we knew is gonna be a vote for speaker this week. and i want to get to that, but first i want to start with the attack in israel yesterday, and something you tweeted. you tweeted, quote, these terrorists have been involved and by the biden administration's failed policies of impeachment towards iran with a six billion dollar cash giveaway. now this is a talking point, we are hearing a lot right now. but i think we all believe in facts. so i just want to give a few of those. the six billion dollars as part of a deal to bring five prisoners home. it is not u.s. taxpayer money.

it is still being helped in a secure bank account in doha, a transaction will be monitored by the u.s. treasury department and not a sense of it has been spent. we dispute and the fact that you just laid out? >> no, not at all. but it goes to my point that i raised two weeks ago with the administration in a foreign affairs hearing. which, is that we should not be trading sanctioned funds for hostages, obviously, in this instance, we traded those folks that we had been holding. in exchange for hostages. and, in addition to that, the biden administration released six billion dollars in sanctioned iranian funds. the problem is, jim, when you do that, money is fungible. so iran is able to shift other resources that otherwise would not have been able to do. to help fund terrorism. with all due respect --

>> of the stop you right there congressman, because what you just stated is inaccurate, the funding, congressman, the funding does not go to iranian hands. it goes to approved third-party vendors who provide humanitarian support. i did want to ask you though, congressman, because the trump administration also -- >> with all due respect, jen, with all due respect, you are not listening to what i just said. the bottom line is, when you are releasing sanctioned funds, that goes to iran, ultimately, okay, whether you want to say it is to purchase food, and clothing, and other humanitarian relief, the bottom line is, money is fungible. and you are freeing up other resources that would otherwise have needed to spend on such efforts. and they are the greatest state sponsor of terrorism, period. and we just have a difference of opinion on how they should be handled. i believe this administration has been weak when it comes to iran. i think they have tried to

appease iran. they've also tried to force israel, when it comes to saudi arabia, to acquiesce to the palestinians. and i'm sorry, the palestinians are still engaged in padus lay. we just held a hearing on this two weeks ago. and the, administration has been very, weak on enforcing the taylor force act. and this is a real challenge in the region. so to act as though that isn't a problem, i'm sorry, i disagree with. you >> congressman, known as acting like it's not a problem, however, and i think the administration has been clear about, their concerns about iranian's actions as well, but it is not money that goes to the iranian government which i think is important to understand. i did want to ask you though that the trump administration did strike a similar deal. where they allowed the government to draw on third-party groups to draw on humanitarian funds, that was verified by the u.s. treasury, in exchange for bringing prisoners home. did you disapprove of that deal as well?

>> well, the bottom line at all times in our government is that we should not be sanctioning funds and then releasing those sanctioned funds. so, any administration, that does that, it is wrong i just fundamentally opposed that concept. if we are engaged in sanctions, and i've introduced legislation, for instance, the ship backed, which would further sanction iranian petroleum, if we're going to implement sanctions, we should adhere to those. obviously, we want to bring hostages home, and oftentimes, what we can done with the trump administration did do was exchange hostages that iran was holding, in exchange for terrorists that we had. but to trade funds to me as part of any such agreement is wrong. i proposed it, then i oppose it now, and i just think that the idea that you are saying, well, the trump administration did as

well. look. this is foolish. >> i wasn't validating, it congressman, i was asking -- we >> need to be strong, we need to be strong in opposition. >> i was asking for your view. i think everyone agrees on that. but i think in the oval office -- >> i think it's wrong anytime. >> let me finish, congressman. we are sitting in the oval office, and you're making a decision about how to bring hostages home, there is a question if it's between unfreezing this, money that could be used for humanitarian aid. it doesn't go to the government are no deal at all, would you choose no deal? that is what it sounds like to me. >> but you have the iranian regime saying that they are not going to use it the way that the united states prescribes, okay? and so you can sit here and say, oh, it's going through qatar. will qatar also has a relationship with hamas. so there are real challenges here right now. and what we saw yesterday was a

terrorist attack by hamas, and they are sponsored by, and backed by iran. and so the challenge to me on the question to me as we move forward is how do we handle the challenges we are facing in the middle east? appeasement is not a solution. >> and freeing up six billion dollars in sanction foxes wrong. i oppose it, and i just think, fundamentally, that may be a difference of opinion by me and the administration. but i think, when you are freeing up funds that have been sanctioned, in money is fungible. you are freeing up other funds that iran would otherwise have to use on humanitarian efforts among its country. and that to me is wrong. >> but you did knowledge that not a single scent of this has been spent nor has it been obviously used by the iranian government, given its still here? >> i didn't say that it was.

what i said was, and i said this two weeks, ago when we had a hearing, that this was wrong. and it is a shortsighted policy, that this administration has engaged in. and as i also said, they were pushing for for funds to get back to the palestinian authority. and i'm sorry. but the taylor force act was put in place specifically because the palestinian authority was paying people to go kill israelis. and we put that law in place under the trump administration to prevent american aid and our allies from giving aid to the palestinian authority. when they are using funds to kill israelis. and that, to me, is unassailable. it is me that this administration need to take accountability for, that they have not enforced detail or force act in the way that it was intended to be. >> congressman mike lawler, i appreciate you joining me today,

there are tough choices that always need to be made in the oval office. a man's young wife and daughters are missing after hamas instructors invaded the gaza border, stay with me. instructors invaded th gaza border, stay with me. ok, i lied. noooo! aaaah! >> right now, israel still (i'm ok.)

trying to count how many innocent civilians have been captured by hamas militants. caught on social, media terrifying images and videos have surfaced, appear initial militants indiscriminately taking hostages, including

women, and small children, and bringing them to gaza against their will. family members have had to rely on social media to help identify or track down their loved ones. one of them is the only ash, or a father desperately searching for his wife and two young daughters. just four into years old. and his mother-in-law, who was taken with them. his wife and daughters travel to an area near the gaza border to was his wife's family when they were abducted. before their abduction, asher's wife called him to tell him that militants were inside the house they were in, but they lost contact. he was able to track her cell phone to gaza. he was not sure his family had been kidnapped until he saw this video of them taken by hamas on social media. donie asher joins me now. first, i can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. so how are you doing. tell us a little bit more about how you are doing over the last 36 hours? >> hello, the last 36 hours, i

am in a different world. i am basically not feeling anything but the willing to work hard in order to get my wife and daughters back. and, the feeling is awful. we have a feeling of uncertainty, of frustration we don't have information, since yesterday, i saw this video, i have no new information. and the feeling is horrible. >> i know for people watching who are trying to understand the impact that these attacks yesterday. it is really warren for them to understand stories like yours. tell us. we've seen pictures, we just found a lot of pictures of your wife and daughters. tell them a little bit about them. >> but my two baby girls, which one of them is less than five, and the little one is less than three they are not even girls,

they are babies. and my wife,, they are my only family. we are a regular family. they are lovely girls,, very energetic, very happy girls. and they love to sing, love to dance, love their mother, love to play. they have a lot of friends. and they are like every other ordinary child, and to think that they have been taken by hamas right now for a parent, it is the most horrific thought that someone can have, that someone can think. , i can't imagine anything more horrific, as a parent myself. i wanted to ask you, i know you've spoken over the past day or so, and you said that you weren't able to, speak with government officials yet about the kidnapping. has that changed? have you been able to speak

with anyone in the government? >> yes, can you hear me? >> yes, i can hear you. for today, they contacted me from the police, and some other authorities like the foreign department, but yet, there is no new information since yesterday, since i saw the video. and earlier, i lost contact with my wife during a phone call when she told me the terrorists are in the house. and later on, i locate her mobile phone, and so it is in -- and only later on, i saw the video, which confirmed that she is on this card, or a vehicle. and i saw my two daughters as well, and my mother in law. also, my mother-in-law's spouse was taken. and not documented on this

video. but we believe that he is also taken. >> your wife also is a german citizenship, if i understand correctly, and you've appealed to the government of germany for help. have you been in contact with any journey -- german officials? >> that's right, my wife and my mother-in-law have german citizenship, and we did contact the embassy in tel aviv, we tried to contact other officials, but right now, we go amidst, but there are still any new information. we got only a prime answer. the initial answer, sorry. and that was it. we don't have new information, we are very frustrated, i am very frustrated, and i was just

wanting my little baby girls to be back home with my wife, my family, and my mother-in-law, her spouse. that's it. >> we all want them to be home with you. i know that you have said that the call was disconnected with your wife when you were on the phone with her. can you describe the last thing that she said to you? >> the last thing she said to me was that there are terrorists in the house, and she told me that they are making a mess. and he couldn't keep talking. i was afraid that moment that the conversation will be back at her at some point to catch because the composition of the noise. it's very, very terrifying moments. which my girls can also make

noise, and cry. and the worst has happened. because they discovered them. and took them. and so i was praying that it didn't happen. but unfortunately, the video showed otherwise. >> thank you so much for sharing your story with us. our hearts are with you and we want you to be back with your girls. we are back after a quick break, thank you so much for staying with us. we are back after a quick break. after a quic break.

that does it for me today. we'll be back tomorrow night at eight pm eastern. stay right where you are because alex what is speaking up on the breaking news coverage of the war in israel right now. >> a very good day to all of you. from the new center here in los angeles, welcome to alex witt reports. it, right now, it's on