collusion with russia, and that was not accurate. that was a false narrative that was created. and so i would be remiss if i dove in and accepted all those things. i think he has his day in court. i think he's innocent until proven guilty. the reality is we're dealing with this situation and if the elections is a referendum on all the other issues and we're not talking about inflation and interest rates and the border and crime, then that gives the democrats a huge advantage to try to retain power. >> you're saying if the -- if the election is about donald trump instead of joe biden, then that is bad news for republicans? >> i think a referendum on joe biden means we win. if i'm the candidate, i think a referendum on donald trump, if that's it, then i think the democrats would win. joe there are millions of voters out there who don't like what biden is doing, think the country is in the wrong direction, going in the wrong direction. they want to vote for a republican. but once it is donald trump,

that's just a deal breaker for them. they just won't do it. i saw a report, i think on your network, someone said it was a republican, he said it didn't matter, he would do biden. that's just a reality that republicans have to face up to if we want to win and we saw these losses in the most recent elections, let's give them a fresh -- america a chance for a fresh start and i think that the results will be very positive for us. >> all right. 2024 presidential candidate and florida governor ron desantis, thanks so much. hope you'll come back and we can talk about all the other issues we didn't talk about today. >> thanks for coming on. that does it for us. >> will do it yep. >> we appreciate that. >> that does it for us this morning. jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage right now. ahead this hour, our special coverage of israel at war. air strikes is, bombarding gaza with israel's prime minister vowing devastation and destruction on hamas strongholds. the death toll climbing as intense fighting continues.

plus, israel's massive mobilization, hundreds of thousands of reservists called up, raising speculation the country is preparing for a ground invasion. also ahead, the terrifying threat from hamas that they will kill hostages, desperate families begging for help to save their loved ones before it is too late. one man breaking down this morning, talking about his missing mother. >> the optimistic scenario here is that she is held hostage in gaza and not dead on the street. >> and we're showing you images of the white house, where president biden is set to speak in just hours. i want to go right to our live images from gaza city. and as we can see, there is an increase in the bombings. let's look. these are live pictures right

now at gaza city and the gaza strip. you can see the plumes of smoke and, look, right there, a missile going off. two. these are the sights and sounds going on in gaza city. straight to nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel in ashkelon, israel. richard? >> reporter: so, jose, as you can see right now all of these plumes of smoke in the air, this is hamas rocket fire. and it began on schedule. it is now just two minutes after 5:00 in the evening. and hamas, about an hour ago, warned that there would be strikes like this at 5:00 exactly. and just before the top of the hour, the rocket fire began. i think in the last couple of minutes we have seen dozens, maybe more than dozens of rockets fired at this city as hamas said would happen.

now the reason hamas said that it is firing here is in retaliation for israeli air strikes into gaza. if you go up into the sky, you can still see a lot of the smoke trails. and you'll see these little circles. those little circles are where the iron dome interception system has exploded. so the way the iron dome works is as the rockets come in, and i very much suspect there will be more of them soon, the iron dome system deploys, and in midair destroys the rockets. now, this is also part of a psychological campaign by hamas, because in addition to warning that there would be this rocket attack, hamas also was issuing messages, social media messages, text messages, in hebrew, to the people of ashkelon, telling them to evacuate the city, telling them if they stayed and killed it would be their own responsibility. so, this is part of the ongoing campaign by hamas to not just attack israel with its ground forces, the commandos or the

terrorists that breached the perimeter fence and went on a killing and kidnapping spree, but also by firing rockets at civilian cities. since we have been on, there is a little bit of a pause and i think we can come back to you if you stay with us, we'll see if this is over or not. >> and, richard, while i have you, and i very much appreciate you and your extraordinary team, the crew that is with you, you know, obviously doing everything you can to stay safe, just in the time that you were talking, you showed us that the shot of the sky above you, you know, i counted like 26 of those little circles. so, richard, we're talking about massive amounts of missiles in this specific case, where you are, in just a short period of time. >> oh, there was an intense barrage, very quick. and just to reassure viewers we're not insane here, we're filming this from inside a bunker. so we knew that this was coming,

like the people of this country knew it was coming, there was a warning. we wanted to see if it would happen, one, and what result would be with the iron dome stop it, would there be massive damage here? hamas was promising to flatten the city. so we were able to set ourselves up in a position. so, yes, certainly dozens, from what i can see in the initial battle damage assessment, it does not seem there were many, many casualties or much destruction here from what we were able to see. we're not seeing lots of ambulances on the move. one ambulance does seem to be moving, but not lights flashing, not an emergency situation. so, so far it seems that the israeli missile defense systems have been able to contain this attack at least as far as we can report from what we're seeing. >> and, richard, did most of the people actually leave that town? >> no. no. many people have left ashkelon

and gone into the military or taken other precautions. the city is still inhabited, not a mass exodus. we did not see people leaving in panic. the -- one of the aspects of this story and this is a long story, we're talking about the war between hamas and israel as if it has never happened. there have been wars here before, and generally they have been rocket wars. and that is something this country is deeply prepared for. we just saw it ourselves. hamas fired rockets. the rockets generally were stopped. two years ago there was a another exchange like this, and hamas fired thousands of rockets into israel and two years ago, the israeli iron dome system stopped almost all of them. that's why i think hamas changed tactics this time, they trained, they prepared, they put out training videos, and decided that the rockets are not that effective because the israeli missile defense systems are so precise and so plentiful, so

they changed strategies and breached the fence and carried out boots on the ground murderous assaults. >> yeah. >> we're hearing it again. stay with us. there is one. there is a rocket. you can see it streaking in the sky right now. turning. there is another. this is being launched from a different site. so now you'll start to see the iron dome system taking them off. again, many rockets, many interceptions. not much damage. no damage. >> richard, this is, you know, i don't even know how to describe

what we're witnessing in real time and, again, i just keep thinking about you and your crew and, of course, everybody there at ashkelon who is really under a direct mortal threat. >> reporter: they certainly are. and this hospital, we not only, again, to reassure viewers, not only did we set ourselves up in a bunker, we're near the hospital. and this hospital was built for exactly this kind of situation. the emergency rooms and the critical care units are under ground. the hospital itself is a bunker. so this country is very well prepared for rocket fire. they have dealt with this before. they have dealt with this in previous conflicts. but what happened -- what was different this time is the ground assault and all of the hostages that have been taken. we're going to stay where we are because it is unclear how long these barrages last. we have been here now, it is

just nine minutes after the hour. we have seen two barrages. the first one, far more intense. the second one that you just saw relatively small with maybe a dozen or more, maybe 20 rockets, difficult to count when they're in motion. so we will see if there is a third or fourth or a fifth. >> and, richard, if you would, just give us a geographic kind of pinpointing of where you are, vis-a-vis gaza. >> reporter: so, we are in ashkelon, and ashkelon issen israeli city, not very far from gaza, on the mediterranean coast. it is a city that often comes under rocket fire because it is relatively close to gaza. but it is not right on the gaza border. it is not a place where hamas militants could cut a hole in any border fence and come here because there is quite a bit of distance, there are many soldiers, and what happened at the beginning of this conflict, four days ago, on saturday morning, at 6:30, is hamas

caught the israelis flat footed. they weren't prepared for a surprise attack. they weren't prepared for a ground invasion. they weren't prepared for a ground invasion with potentially several thousand hamas militants. we don't know how many militants there were. but they found more than a thousand bodies of hamas fighters, where we were today, on the gaza border, earlier today, we saw hamas bodies on the ground, dressed in battle fatigues with the webbing in order to hold ammunition for submachine guns. so, that area is on the border. that is where they saw the house to house fighting, hamas kidnapping people. we are separated from gaza by enough distance that it would be quite difficult and i would say now basically impossible for hamas to get this far because the israelis are not flat footed anymore by any means, they're

aware, they're mobilizing troops throughout the south. >> i don't think it has been clear yet just the level of cruelty, barbarity and just inhumaneness that was carried out by hamas in this massacre that, you know, is just -- richard, is that you? is that what's -- sorry, just -- what's the situation there right now? >> is there a lull? >> reporter: yes there seems to be a lull and, again, you don't know if it is over or not. but we're going to stay here, obviously. people always say that on air, we'll stay safe, we'll go some place safe, sometimes staying in place, if you're in a good location, is the best idea. so we're going to stay here until it is clear that this

is -- that this is over and there is a lull. but, the larger picture here is that hamas promised that it would fire rockets at ashkelon, at 5:00 local time, on the hour, just a couple of seconds before the top of the hour it did that. but the israeli missile defense systems seem to be very effective and as i said before, from what we can see, appear to have neutralized almost all of them. >> richard engel with such clarity that you always have. thank you so much for being with us. of course, we're going to stay very closely by your side and we will, of course, stay with you and bring you back if there is any developments. i thank you, richard. please stay safe. >> reporter: hold on one second. hold on one second. hold on one second. all right. let's see. all right. these are coming from the same

direction as earlier. and seeing some also from the opposite direction. those explosions are the iron dome system creating those circles in the sky. all right, we did hear what sounded like an impact. so, hard to know, but just from the sound of the explosion it does seem like one did impact the ground or impact some sort of building. i'm not seeing the location where it may have come down. but, again, another barrage and, niko, our cameraman here, if you turn here you can get a sense of where they were coming from, from over these -- behind these

considerable distance behind those apartment buildings, which are inside israel and went up and then were destroyed in midair, though one may have gotten through. but these are not guided rockets. so, if they got through, there is no guarantee that it hit anything of importance. it could have landed in an open area, it could have hit a building. when hamas fires these, it is using math and probability in its favor, just fires enough with the hope that some of them get through the iron dome system and some of them hit targets. and that's what these are designed to do. they're designed to kill people. they're unguided rockets fired at a civilian location with one purpose alone, to terrorize and kill civilians. >> richard engel, thank you. we will, of course, stay with you and, please, stay with us and stay safe. going now to nbc's ellison barber. she is in israel and molly hunter at our london bureau.

so, ellison, how is the situation where you are right now? >> reporter: hey, jose. you heard richard talking about the best situation to stay safe is to stay in place where you are and shelter where we just were, we were coming under rocket fire in that area. we have some of the video of it for you. i think we can play some of the sound for you. we're at a moment where there was a lull, where the safest option was to start evacuating and that's why we're in the car right now. if you can see some of what we saw in serot, a community where civilians have been evacuated. we only saw about three people who were still there. i spoke to one man who had witnessed the moment near that police facility where hamas militants had come into the town. he talked about hiding in his apartment, looking through the window for a span of 30 to 40 minutes on saturday afraid if they saw him, they might fire his direction. but also feeling like he needed to see what was happening. he said he had never heard so much artillery before.

we know, they're saying get on the ground, dropping down there, that area where we were, it is about two and a half miles from gaza and what happens in that area is something that is very different than in places like ukraine when you're in places like kyiv or like here if you're in tel aviv, a bigger city, you have more distance from where the rockets are being fired. that means you usually have more time to get to the shelter in places close to gaza like we just were. you have seconds to take shelter. once you hear a siren go off, it is maybe, if you're lucky, 30 seconds before you start hearing the rocket fire and then there is a ten-minute window where shrapnel, people were telling us, can fall down and you have to stay sheltered in place there. look, the situation right now in terms of the movements we have seen toward gaza, israel, they have two -- over hundreds of thousands of reservists they have called up now. they say they have dozens, over two dozen brigades that have now stationed around the gaza

border. they say they have a blockade there, a full blockade and they say they have control of that border. they have told civilians inside of gaza to leave. but the crossing that they told them to leave from, that crossing and idf has confirmed this, is not open to them. you have a number of civilians in this area as hamas is firing rockets at civilian areas in israel, places like where we are and also israeli forces firing into areas where civilians, because they cannot leave, are also inevitably nearby in areas. overnight, israeli forces, they say they hit 200 plus targets within gaza. they say they hit a mosque and acknowledged hitting homes. they claim that is because hamas had weapons storaged in that area and also command centers. the u.n., though, they say right now there are close to 200,000 civilians displaced within gaza, staying in u.n.-run shelters.

the death toll, jose, it is staggering. you went through some of those numbers, over 900 people killed from the israeli side, over 700 palestinians, that includes over 140 children. we know there have been civilian casualties, hostage situations here on the israeli side as well. i'm speaking with a medic, jose, and he was talking about the youngest person that he had seen killed and injured since this began on saturday, and he talked about kids under the age of 8, a family going into a home that had been hit by rocket fire, he said the parents were dead, a sibling was dead, the only survivor was an 8-year-old little girl. when they found her, she was huddled in a closet. i asked him what was first thing you did when you went in there, he said all of them just grabbed her and hugged her. he himself is a parent of four and talked about how in these moments all he can do is just try to block everything out and just act because if he thinks too long about the devastation that is happening, the defer station that will likely come in

the days and weeks for israelis as well as palestinians, it is just too much to bear. jose? >> and ellison, i want you to stand by if you would. and molly also stand by. right to these pictures that we have been showing you. these are live pictures. this is gaza city, as you can see. we're also just as ellison was speaking and you can hear some of the sounds of what is going on there. but i want to also, i don't know if we still have that other camera angle of what is a dock or a port of some kind where at least two small boats have been hit. and as ellison was speaking with us, there was another hit right in that area there. i don't know if we have that camera angle or not. but these are -- we don't. well, that was -- as ellison was speaking. i want to go back now, keep -- if we could, let's keep these

pictures live on as we speak. i want to go to molly. molly, this situation that we're seeing in real time, and there you see another plume of smoke right in the middle of your screens, there has been another hit and this is inside gaza city. this is the one, the area that -- this is probably one of most densely populated areas on earth. more than 2 million people make gaza city their home. and it is currently under attack. molly, the hostage crisis continues to grip israel. there is -- there are very real fears that dozens of innocent men, women and children were taken from israel and are now being held there in gaza city. we heard from families of missing americans this morning, molly. what is their message?

>> reporter: that's exactly right. i want to pick up because i know our audience is watching these pictures very closely, just to give them more context. there is the picture we were looking at before. that is the main port in gaza city. you see those kind of fishing boats on fire right at the port. lots of fishermen, lots of fishing boats in gaza city. to give our audience real context, more than 2 million people live in gaza, extremely tightly packed and as the israeli military, as the idf puts out statements talking about the targeted attacks and precision attacks when they're hitting hamas leadership, when they're hitting weapons depots, it is so unbelievably tightly packed that you cannot avoid civilians. 50% of those 2.2 million people who live in this 140 square miles, 50% are children. 90% are without access to drinking water and it is something you're hearing from ngos, from the u.n. about the worry about what will happen to these people in the coming days. the reaction, the response, the

counteroffensive that we're seeing from israel and no one believes is the full kind of -- the full response we may see talking to context, listening to local gaza journalists, there are journalists reporting from gaza, palestinian, very brave palestinian journalists, they say even with all of the wars they have seen between hamas and israel, this barrage, what they have seen in the last 72 hours, is worse and they know it is going to get even worse. i'll just skip ahead to the hostages. i know that was your question and listening to richard talk about the chaos, listening to ellison talk about the chaos and the lack of control in southern israel, that is making kind of the obtaining of numbers even harder. raf sanchez and richard engel have been in kibbutz on the gaza border talking to the military who are still clearing the area still trying to ascertain how many people have actually died, how many people then have actually gone missing. we know the israeli government

has identified and contacted 50 israeli families. we believe the number of israeli hostages and foreign nationals held hostage in gaza is closer to 150. i'm just listening to this have video we're seeing there, some explosion there in the port. you see all the fishing boats in the center of gaza. what we're watching right now, jose. >> there is a hit there on the -- in the water. at least two of those large boats are on fire. and when we saw that wider shot of the port, there are so many smaller boats. but these two that have been directly hit are on fire. >> reporter: and i do just go back to the hostages as you mentioned the families of americans being held hostage did hold a press conference. i don't know if you want to break away from the live pictures, we have a very emotional sound bite from a son

whose mother is currently missing. and we can play that for you if you want to break away. >> yes, let's do that. let's listen to voices of people who are current living through most difficult as we see another hit there right on the other side of the port, let's listen, molly. and -- >> the most optimistic scenario here is she is held hostage in gaza and not dead on the street of the kibbutz where we grew up. my mom is 66 year old lady. proud mother of me and my three other siblings who are in the room with me. >> jose that is the anguish you can hear in his voice. he does not know whether his mother is dead or held hostage. and we heard, of course, raf

sanchez and richard engel interviewed and lester holt have interviewed families who do not know where their loved ones are, and it is this unknowing that they say the israeli government and the state department no one can really offer certain clarity right now on exactly where a lot of these people are. it is why we don't have kind of firm numbers on either the rising death toll or the number of hostages inside gaza. >> molly hunter, thank you so much. and just stay with us if you would, just be by our side because there is so much that you -- so much perspective and knowledge and wisdom that you have. i want to continue our conversation going forward. so, molly if you would, stay with me. i want to talk to someone who is believed to have been -- he's a family -- a family member has been taken hostage by hamas. and just i don't even know how one can deal and cope with this new video captures the aftermath

of that brutal attack on the young people that were in that concert. hamas descended on the desert site, killing at least 260 people before kidnapping others. joining me is ahula mazel. her daughter is missing. she last heard from her by phone where shots could be heard in the background. she is with us. i'm just so sorry for what you and your family are going through. i know you last talked to your daughter on saturday morning. has there been any contact, any information about her since? >> nothing. nothing until now. we don't know anything about my daughter, if she's alive, if she's dead, if she's hurt, we don't if she's in israel, if

she's in gaza. there is nothing we can know because israel is a war zone currently and it is very difficult to understand what is going on. we know that there are still bodies in the field, and the most challenging thing to do this day is to -- to realize that you don't have the right to know where is your daughter and how -- what status is she, why she was having fun in a nature party in israel, her own country, not an enemy country,

not anywhere abroad in our own country, and me as a mother, maybe 80, 70 kilometers away from her, and i don't know anything about what happened to her or what happen is happening to her or where she is or how is she treated. and the thing that we see on the net are so horrifying that i think no human heart or brain can contain this actions and the lack of respect to human life. >> yeah. yeah. >> it is really bring out many profound insights and not only for me, because like me, there are at least i think 100

families just like me and no matter what you -- even if i know she is in israel, she's probably dead, and if she's in gaza, well, i've seen what they can do, which is making me so -- i cannot describe you how i feel. i just can't describe in words. i said in previous interview that i'm almost ashamed to be called a human being, if other human beings can do such things to their own kind. i'm sorry. i always believe in peace, you know. i believe that there is no really evil person that cannot be something that you born with or in your genes or i don't know. but we share the same genes, us and them, you know?

so, how is it, you know, i don't know how to say, but how is it possible that they do such things to people who are so helpless, they can't do this party and they knew there are thousands of young people who came to a party to dance and to have fun and they don't carry weapon, they didn't have any way to defend themselves, and those people from hamas who sit in interviews and say that they don't know anything about hurting civilians, and all of their innocent charades, you know, it is about time the world will know and i tell you something, jose this is the first time that i realized this too. i was really hoping, i always talked about this, that they want -- they just want peace.

but i don't know if it's possible to make peace with this, these animals. i just don't know. because my daughter did nothing to them. you know? >> nothing, nothing, nothing. >> she was a wonderful, beautiful girl and also a friend and all of these people that, you know, they came to this party and those terrorists, they came there and they knew these really defendless people, they knew it. so, really, it brings up bad, bad memories of young -- of humanity. i don't want to say this word, but it is sounds very, very difficult, you know. when you see these people in cages, what makes you think that your life worth more than ours? which god has told you have to

do this crimes against human kind to gain something for your own good? tell me who is it? who is this god? which religion is telling you to do those amazing, you know, this is violation of basic human right. it is -- i don't know. if anyone can hear me, if my daughter hears me, i am begging you, please, be strong and know that we are looking and we will not stop until we find you, no matter what. how, no matter how. just i want my daughter back. that's all. no matter in what shape. >> i don't know how one can say or express anything that could

be of any comfort to you. but know that many of us identify, feel, support and there is always, always hope. and when you see the horrible ways as you're talking about this about how humans treat other humans, there is no explanation on this earth or anywhere. >> there isn't. there isn't. >> how people can be -- >> maybe. >> maybe. and let's keep in touch and if there is anything you think that we can do to support, to help, through prayers, through action, through support, please know that your pain is a pain that is

infinite but it is shared by many. and there is hope. and -- >> if i might add another sentence please. >> please. >> i want to say my people, the israeli people, you know, it is so beautiful and so helpful and he feels my pain and all. i think, you know what, i think all mother around the world should feel the same as me. not exactly like me, but every mother should feel empathy. and i don't believe that any mom, any mother in the world, no matter where, will tell you that she will sacrifice their own son, their own daughter on the belief or for any cause from her own free will. and i'm -- i want to know. if there is one mother like

this, who will tell me that she is giving her son or daughter and sacrifice them for any external and material cause, i want you to bring her to me. i want to sit and look her in the eye. i want to hear this. what are we becoming? please, everybody, this is a wake-up call, maybe this is a wake-up call, maybe we have to remove. thmuch, jose. >> ahuva, there is nothing in

the world that is worth losing one's child or even -- >> in this way, i'm vain. for nothing. really. this is not a reality necessity. it is not. our children should not die for this causes. and thank you. >> ahuva, yes, let's keep the faith. >> thank you very much. bye-bye. >> keep the hope. >> i thank you. let's stay in touch, okay? ahuva. >> okay, bye-bye. >> i want to go back to richard engel in ashkelon, israel. richard? >> reporter: so, you just heard the story of one family devastated and here in ashkelon, since we spoke about 15 minutes ago there have been two more rocket barrages and israeli media reporting that there are casualties from these attacks. most of the rockets including in

the latest barrages do seem to have been intercepted by the iron dome system, but a few of them got through. it only takes a few. it only takes one to cause a tragedy. so, we're still monitoring the situation here. we're still watching these -- these plumes watching for plumes and i can say here at the hospital, there has not been a tremendous amount of activity but we did see one car arrive and some medics come out and bring in someone who looked like they were injured. so we know there are at least some casualties, we don't know how severe. it does not seem like it was a mass casualty incident, but israeli media reporting that there are casualties and we saw what looked like one person brought in the hospital and we're still waiting if there are going to be more attacks. they sometimes go like this. sometimes they're in massive barrages and other times dolled out in batches. i would say now just as a rough

estimate, we have probably see seen about 150, 200 maximum rockets fired at the city since we have been on air with you in the last half hour. >> richard engel, stay with, we'll continue to monitor that situation. thank you, richard. joining us now is retired admiral james stavridis, msnbc chief international analyst. also with us, clint watts, former fbi special agent and msnbc national security analyst. admiral, just your thoughts as we look at these different live pictures that are right there on our screen we're seeing gaza city, the port there, large plumes of smoke, there has been a concerted bombing attack on those ships. i think it is two relatively large boats as we see others there in the -- in the port.

what are you seeing here? >> first i want to say something to you, jose diaz-balart, i thought you handled that interview with that tragically afflicted mother with such sensitivity and such beauty. and you conveyed her message so powerfully. and i was moved watching it. having spent a lot of time in these kind of situations. it was an unbelievably moving conversation. well done, my friend. >> it is the voice and the soul of a mother, you know? it is the voice and the soul of a mother. >> yeah. >> i thank you for that, admiral. >> let's go back to -- >> what do you think we're seeing here? >> this is interesting tactically. you may say, wait a minute, the israelis, why would they blow up what looked like a couple of fishing boats. the answer is these were probably targeted because they

were part of a hamas plan to move outside gaza, and come around israeli security. very similar to the use of paragliders, hang gliders, what we're seeing out of hamas is a very clever detailed battle plan that is not only these horrific terrorists on the ground, but also their version of aviation, where rockets and missiles and hang gliders and paragliders. we need to remember they also have a 25 miles of sea coast that they can use those boats to swing around. secondly, they could use those boats, jose, in attacks against israeli shipping, against commercial shipping coming. think about the attacks on the russian black sea fleet over the last several months by ukrainian

small boats, packed with explosives, set with pretty primitive steering controls, unmanned, and they can be used as lethal weapons at sea. and i'll close by saying operating in the area right now is a u.s. aircraft carrier gerald r. ford and half a dozen of our warships, destroyers and cruisers could be vulnerable to something like this. so, israel is making a smart military decision to take out these vessels while they're still in port. >> and, admiral, you know, now that you mention this, and the shot that we're seeing right here, there are so many other smaller midsized, even larger boats inside that port area that have not been touched and it was, well, just in the time that we have been on the air, i was counting maybe four, five direct strikes right there where that plume of smoke is coming from.

apparently looks like two boats. so it is very tactical what we're seeing admiral. >> it is entirely. and, number one, creating that kind of debris field there makes it more difficult for other ships to operate to get in and out of the port. secondly, it sends a signal to the owners of those boats, you don't want to be involved in these kind of terrorist activities. and, thirdly, it demonstrates to hamas that they can pack explosives in these boats, but evidently israeli intelligence is ahead of the game on this one. hopefully recovering from the overall failure to detect the overall attack, but i think now you're seeing israeli intelligence start to click into place. you'll see more of this, i think, in the time ahead, shutting down options, air, land, and sea for the terrorists. >> and, admiral, if you would, talk to us a little bit about that carrier group and the

gerald ford. i'll tell you, years and years ago i had the privilege of spending three, four days on the george washington aircraft carrier and it was extraordinary to see just how massive they are, but so -- they're stalked with so much, and so many different military options available for those on board the aircraft carrier and the carrier group. talk to us a little bit about the strength and the significance of this gerald ford and the group that is with it. >> yeah, i'm glad you spent time on george washington. i actually commanded uss enterprise as part of a carrier strike group. and that's what we see now in the eastern mediterranean. aircraft carrier, 100,000 tons, three football fields in length, 80 combat aircraft, almost 5,000 sailors and marines, surrounded by half a dozen cruisers and

destroyers, the most advanced air defense, land attack systems. it is a flotilla of well over 10,000 sailors operating just off the coast. how would we use it? number one, symbolically it is a symbol of our support for israel, jose, but also it is a signal to iran. not to take advantage. not to unleash hizbollah with all their missiles to the north of israel. not to try and conduct further strikes against israel while israel is focused on gaza. big signal to the iranians, pretty powerful one. and then number two, the combat capability, if we do get involved, and i don't think we will, nor do i think we should, israel can handle this, they're showing that, but 80 combat aircraft, all those missiles on the destroyers, that can all be

directed against targets like hezbollah in the north if that second front opens. so, this is a very significant move by secretary of defense lloyd austin, it is a smart move. and, by the way, i'm an admiral, so, of course, i'm going to talk about the navy piece, but i have to also say the air force has moved several squadrons of our most advanced tactical fighter and attack aircraft, f-15 strike eagles, joint strike fighters, they're going forward into bases in the gulf. and they would be available also to support israel in this time of need. it is very significant display of american combat power. let's hope we don't have to use it. i think israel can handle what it needs to in the days ahead. good to have us on station. >> and, admiral and clint watts, stand by. i want to bring in matt bradley in lebanon. what are you hearing and what are you seeing there?

>> reporter: yeah, jose, we're actually in the very southern part of lebanon, about as close as we can get to the border with israel without going completely into hezbollah territory, where we wouldn't be allowed. we're hearing and seeing over my left shoulder along the border there, it is a very long distance away what sounds like outgoing rockets and we're seeing sort of smoke trails and we're hearing audible blasts. it is a very long distance away, otherwise, of course, we would be wearing protective gear and our security team have assured us that we're very safe from all of this. but it just goes to show that this is picking up around this border. there is ongoing fighting, tit for tat, between hezbollah here in southern lebanon and the israelis. this is interesting because it really hasn't picked up all that much. we're seeing an escalation and i was just at the funeral for hezbollah fighters, three of them have been killed in the past couple of days. and this just goes to show that while this fight here is becoming hotter and hotter and possibly opening up another

front in this already bruising war, the two sides when it comes to the border between lebanon and israel are showing some level of restraint. we have seen this going for the last several decades this kind of tit for tat fighting. as for now, we haven't seen an all-out war because hezbollah is perfectly capable of firing at israeli positions deep into israel. israel is perfectly capable of reaching their fight well into lebanon. but neither side has done that yet. it looks as though for now that there is some restraint on both sides, but, jose, that could change at any time. >> and hezbollah, if hamas has thousands and thousands of missiles, hezbollah could have hundreds of thousands of missiles or more. it is really a very dangerous situation in a very dangerous part of the world. i want to bring in clint watts, national security analyst. clint, if you would, and we're looking at the pictures of gaza,

5:47, the port we have been kind of focusing on all morning here. there is still, you know, fire on those two looks like mid-sized boats. give us if you would a larger perspective of where it is that this is happening, and what are the areas that we're seeing. >> yeah, jose, so, matt who was just there talking to us, is up here, right along the southern lebanon border, northern israel border. one of the big questions is would israel get into another fight, another front in this war, with hezbollah. hezbollah, a much larger, much stronger actually terrorist group that operates in southern lebanon, backed by the iranians. they have more sophisticated missiles and more of them. as you noted, very different sort of conflict here as opposed to down in gaza. what we have been focused on with richard engel and ashkelon and those images there you're seeing of the ship in gaza city is this area right here.

when you look at what the situation is on the ground in israel, right now, richard in ashkelon you have missile strikes coming from hamas. they're being launched from somewhere inside this territory. also, ellison in sderot, one of the locations where there was massive gunfire, just essentially militants from hamas streamed across the border shooting everything in sight. and reim where the music festival was, 260 bodies recovered there. all of this area here and these cities over the last 24 hours, israeli military says they have taken those areas back, and they're now working to secure this border area here. all the way around such that they're no longer facing off against open border essentially where essentially where infiltrators are coming back into the town. i think the key things to watch

over the next few days really is does the israeli military build up forces along this border, not only just to contain it, but to prepare and stage itself for the ground invasion of gaza? that's the big question, how far will they go in. we were talk about air, land and sea, what it looks like. and the key thing is a massive built-up area, we're talking up, on the ground, subterranean fight. extremely complicated battlefield in gaza, if they were to go across the fences there. so this fight would be very dynamic. it would be very much urban combat and it would be extremely intense in terms of what they're trying to do. also, 50 hostages at least have been pulled back into gaza. the question is how would the israeli intelligence and military be able to handle such a hostage situation, spread out

about ten miles or so in length. what would they do in urban areas to try to secure the hostages or take a very intense, high-intensity fight to the urban areas. >> and, clint, if we could, there are a couple of questions that i have for you. and we're looking on the, i guess, left part of our screen, where we see egypt there, that's the other border that gaza has. because, you know, that long, lengthwise there, is with israel. but it has a little bit of a border there with egypt. that border is an area where humanitarian aid could and should come in and out through. talk to us about that. and then also the issue, on the other side, where matt is, which is on the lebanese area, there's also syria that's right there. hezbollah has been playing such an important role. not only in the politics and reality of lebanon, but also in syria. the russians very closely allied

with a dictator in syria who has been able to survive through all kinds of different attempts to get rid of him. what is the possibility, and where would the areas be, the most vulnerable areas for israel, if hezbollah gets involved? >> yeah. i think there's a lost of dynamics to this. i'll focus kind of on the nation state level right now. here in egypt, over many, many years going back to the late 2000s. tunnels have surfaced. supplying hamas with rockets in different cases. the israelis talk about going in, sealing that off. and it's the humanitarian corridor. that's the way that food, medical supplies, those things get in. or if a civilian evacuation. the question is, i think, will egypt help and support and try and defuse the situation or hold somewhat steadfast against israel? separately the issue that everyone is worried about, hezbollah here, syria which is a longtime opponent and all of

these backed by iran could this turn into a larger conflict in the middle east with israel on three fronts, north to the east and down here in the south to gaza, trying to fight to defend its territory. >> clint watts, i thank you so much i appreciate what you give us on this. rapidly changing situation. we bring in american enterprise institute danielle plotka and david roth, columnist daily beast and deep state podcast. thank you for being with us, danielle, why are we seeing so many strikes this morning. are you concerned this could, in some way, complicate things more in the area? >> if you mean the strikes on gaza? no, absolutely not. first of all, if you watch them, you'll see necessarily with the boat and some of the mosques, you'll see there are secondary

and tertiary explosions those are weapons deposed. they have been very carefully not to hit hamas, even though hamas has always used them as storage places. they're hitting them now. they're trying to eliminate tools that hamas can use for the furtherance of this war before they, i believe, have to go in on the ground. >> yeah, and danielle, i'm so glad you mentioned this, we're actually been speaking a lot about this with the admiral just how specific and tactful the hits that we've been showing on the screen, that we've been showing for the better part of an hour now, it's, you know, specific boats. and in an area that is just filled with smaller, midsize and even large boats. and yet, those are not touched. >> right. so the israelis are being very careful about resupply. they don't want anything coming in from lebanon or anywhere else

that's going to be helping out the hamas fighter in the siege of gaza. they are also -- look, i mean, look, one thing we know is that the israelis have actually historically known a great deal about where hamas keeps their weapons depots. i think a lot of us have lost confidence in the perfection of their intelligence after the shock of saturday. but they have targets aplenty, and they will keep hitting them in there are no more. >> interesting. and, david, current and senior u.s. officials tell nbc news news that fighter jets in the region are intended to send an explicit message to iran to stand down. what do you make of this message to iran? >> well, i think one of the big risks from this conflict is that it escalates in being a regional conflict as several of your experts have said. clearly, hamas is backed by the iranians. should there be more and more evidence that they played an

active role in the planning of this, i think the tension between israel and iran will naturally rise. and the question will be how does exact a toll on iran. and how can that be done in a way that does not escalate into something regionwide. it's the same reason there are concerns about hezbollah, also an iranian proxy, and if there were to be an escalation along the northern border, as clint was just discussing, you can then end up with this risk of further expansion into iran. we don't want to see that. this next few days is a delicate balancing act, wherever israelis should and have every right to go in, after the territories who perpetrated these atrociies but we need to see that done in a

way that doesn't escalate the carnage. or spread this conflict throughout the region. >> but why would that be a requirement, or an necessity, if you are attacked and there is a massacre against your people? is there -- how you respond to it, i'm thinking, david, there's going to be have to be war is never pretty. >> no, that's quite true, jose. but, you know, the purpose here is to re-establish peace and stability of the people of israel. and what we don't want to see is an escalation of the cycle of violence that, at the end of the day, makes more death and destruction, on both sides of the border likely. and so you don't want to see atrocities following other atrocities. you want to see a tactical

targeted response as you have seen thus far from the israelis. you want to see those responsible for these crimes held accountable. and you don't want to spare any effort in doing that. but there are civilians in gaza. and there are civilians throughout the region. and you don't want to bring them into this. you don't want to respond to crimes with further crimes. >> david rothkopf, and danielle pletka, i thank you. we appreciate your time. we're going to stay on top of the missile fire in gaza. our special coverage of the war in israel continues after the short break. stay with us. ort break. stay with us (♪♪) and you realize you're in love... steve? with a laundry detergent. (♪♪) gain flings. seriously good scent.