tv Andrea Mitchell Reports MSNBC October 12, 2023 9:00am-10:01am PDT
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it's so important we stop it at home. >> so important, jake, what you are saying. video can be easily manipulated right now. it's so difficult to be able to determine that. jake, thank you for being with us this morning. it's an important issue. i think we have all been seeing this. >> it's an important reminder not to believe everything you see online, even when stories are so horrific you think anything could be believable. don't do that. obviously, we are very careful here in vetting and making sure that we only pass along information that has been verified and images that have been verified. thank you for joining us this hour. >> thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up our special coverage of the israel-hamas war right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," overnight, relentless israeli bombing of gaza in preparation for an expected ground assault.
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with the death toll mounting on all sides. 25 americans now confirmed dead along with nearly 1,300 israelis and more than 1,400 palestinians. secretary of state antony blinken arriving in tel aviv today, delivering a fervent declaration supporting israel and endorsing its mission to remove hamas from gaza. >> i come before you not only as the united states secretary of state but also as a jew. i understand on a personal level the harrowing echos that hamas' massacres carry for israeli jews, indeed for jews everywhere. hamas has only one agenda, to destroy israel and to murder jews. >> the secretary later comforting survivors of the had a -- hamas attack. >> first priority are our friends and family that are in gaza.
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we are strong here now in tel aviv and everywhere. [ cheers and applause ] thank you very much. >> we are thinking of them and trying to do everything we can. >> in gaza, mounting civilian casualties and a growing humanitarian crisis with scant supplies of water, food, or fuel. a health system near collapse. more than 100 israelis, including some americans, held hostage. house republicans meeting this hour, deeply divided over who will be the next speaker. the nominee, steve scalise, not close to having enough votes. ♪♪ good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. we are about to get underway with a family newser from israel.
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secretary blinken will speak as well. we will bring that to you live. israel's air campaign to destroy hamas leadership and infrastructure intensifying overnight. chilling new video showing a terrorist arriving, flying on a paraglider into the music festival where 260 people were murdered. antony blinken comforting survivors in israel, including a woman who was at that festival. >> we managed to escape. but there were a lot of friends that didn't. there were a lot of friends captive now in gaza. we were saved by a miracle. but there are friends that we love that weren't. >> we want to bring you to the news conference of american families. let's listen to what they have to say. >> a terrorist organization that is backed by turkey, iran and
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qatar. as jews, anti-semitism has been our history for thousands of years. it's the dna of the jewish and israeli people. as president biden said in his speech, if israel doesn't exist, the jews are not safe. what happened saturday was the biggest number of jews to be killed in one day ever. the number of jews killed in that day would be nine times the number of jews kills in proportion on 9/11. it would be like losing 30,000 americans on that awful day. hamas is holding hostage babies, elderly, wounded people, people with special needs, and people who need their medicine, including my cousin, who is 80 and has a heart condition. it's against the geneva convention. we are asking the u.s. government for the immediate release of our family from
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terrorists. and we are thankful to secretary of state blinken and to president biden and to everyone who is using their voice to speak out against terror. thank you. >> what did secretary blinken tell you about what the u.s. government is doing right now to free your family members? >> secretary of state came to hear our stories and to provide support. we have received incredible support from the state department, from the fbi, from the president and the secretary of state. hearing our stories makes this human. this is a human issue. these are civilians that are missing and have been captured. >> are you satisfied with what the u.s. government is doing to bring your relatives home? >> absolutely. >> do you have any sense of what the communications have been? >> some people have confirmation that people have been captured. other people don't.
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every one of our families has a different story. thank you all for the time and for the coverage. >> those, of course, families of american hostages. they have been speaking out. they have been meeting with secretary blinken. we will hear from him shortly. joining me, richard haas, a former deputy national security advisor, former state department official as well. longtime diplomat. richard, this is a really thankless situation for the u.s. you heard secretary blinken standing emotionally, strongly endorsing israel's posture here and saying that they also endorse the mission to remove hamas, to finally just do it once and for all. the question that comes to mind is, how do you do that? how do you do that with the tunnels, with the hostages?
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how do you go in on the ground, which they are clearly planning to do? what happens the day after, as tom freedman has been writing and many of our colleagues have been saying? >> look, you hear graphic accounts like that and see these images. the united states' instinct is to stand by israel. we have a strategic interest. we never want terrorists to act with impunity. that's why we did what we did in afghanistan after 9/11. the problem though is that going into gaza is something israel has done several times in the past. gaza, as you know, it's a densely packed piece of real estate. it's not quite clear what would actually be accomplished. a lot of israeli soldiers would lose their lives. several more would be captured. obviously, there would be much suffering and loss on the other side, the palestinian side. then the israelis would want to go.
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what we see now after you go, you create vacuums in which hamas or groups like it pop up again. we want to be supportive of israel. but it's not quite clear that what israel seems to have in mind is strategically the best option. i would recommend something more discreet to go after much more targeted attacks on hamas rather than a large ground invasion. i would also focus, if i were israel, on beefing up external security. that was the failure here. the problem wasn't what happened in gaza, it's what happened from gaza. israel can beef up deterrence by strengthening its positions in israel, in the western side of israel. >> richard, the issue here is also, is there a possibility of replacing the hamas leadership? it was suggested by michael warren, who will be on the program later, a former
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american -- israeli ambassador to the u.s., that there could be a pan-arab governing body, saudis, palestinian leadership, replacing hamas. israel does not want to own it. is that even feasible? >> it sounds farfetched to me. i haven't noticed a lot of appetite in the arab world to do that. they will not have acceptance or legitimacy. one of the things that -- the idea that outsiders will, if you will -- it's regime change and come up with a leadership? almost by definition, that would be rejected. i don't think there's any easy answer to miitarily defeat or destroy or eliminate hamas, much less produce a partner willing to live in peace with israel and
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meet israelis halfway. the history of the middle east suggests that's not in the cards. >> what about secretary blinken's travel, his upcoming travel? he is going to jordan. we understand why king abdullah stands. he will meet with the palestinian authority leader who does not have a considerable amount of power, even over the west bank. then he is going to qatar. what can we expect from qatar? they said they are willing to try to pressure hamas to release the hostages. how much influence can they wield? >> clearly, they are the backer of hamas. i think at some point there could be an exchange of hostages for hamas, individuals in israeli jails. i don't think that's farfetched. i think my guess is hamas may want to hold off for now. they are hoping the hostages deter certain israeli military
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action. i think it's totally legitimate for the united states to have a full, frank and candid conversation with qatar and say you have been supporting these guys and even if the money goes to humanitarian purposes, they are who they are doing what they did. this is unacceptable. you have to pull back. i think that's a legitimate point of view for the united states to take. the only problem is, qatar has a leverage over us. >> in fact, just the other day, john kirby said that that was an option. now we are seeing a report that the treasury deputy secretary will brief. the central bank will not release the $6 billion for humanitarian purposes, which immediately as you know became a lightning rod. it was iranian oil profit money. but the fact it could be used
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for other purposes, which the u.s. denied, was the allegation. they will refreeze it now, not because they believe iran was complicit in this attack, but because iran is the sponsor and supplier and trainer of hamas for decades. >> right. iran is the strategic backer of hamas. whether they were tactically involved or in a meaningful way, i don't believe the intelligence is clear. nobody should have any doubt they are strategically involved. again, what makes this all so complicated, as you know better than anybody else, if we want -- you do not want this border widened. the other group that's backed by iran, hezbollah, has more military capability than hamas. we don't want them to open up a second front. the united states wants to pressure iran, but they don't want iran, through hezbollah, to make a bad situation that much worse. that's why this is so complicated, so difficult for the united states and for that matter for israel. >> richard haas, thank you so
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much. thanks for being with us today. obviously, you know more about this region than almost anything in the u.s. government or outside. joining us now, ali velshi. you are back down there in the south. there's been so much bombing of gaza overnight. what are you hearing now in the region? >> reporter: we are hearing sounds, that's for sure. we are four kilometers from the gaza border. we have been hearing through the morning jets, as we normally do. we were farther north. we were in tel aviv. now we are back down here. a few minutes ago we saw iron dome activity above us and saw interceptions. you were listening to the hostage families talking. one of them made an interesting point. they said, we have not been informed but everybody here is in a different situation. families of 150 people who believe that their loved ones are being held by hamas. about 97 as of last count had
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been informed by the israeli government that we believe that your loved ones were taken by hamas. taken doesn't mean they are being held. they don't know what the situation is. the other day you talked to a man about his 74-year-old mother. i just visited with him in tel aviv to get an update on the situation. he was so troubled by what is happening right now. he was trying to channel his mother, who is a peace and reconciliation activist. i asked him what he thought of the moment. >> we need to stop the violence now. vengeance is not a strategy. we need to negotiate and we need to get the captives out. that's what i'm saying. i call on everybody, the israeli government, hamas and canada, everybody to put pressure on
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both sides to negotiate and to get the captives out. >> reporter: he referred to canada because his mother is canadian. he said, look at -- what if they negotiate for the hostages and get them out? could that be an underpinning for further discussion with hamas? he is not hopeful it's true. he prays it might be. he is very worried about what is to come. >> understandably. coming up, on the move, israeli tanks this morning, roughly two miles from the border with gaza. what the massive military buildup means for the days ahead. jason crow will join us next. we will be right back. be right .
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hamas is i.s.i.s., and just as i.s.i.s. was crushed, so, too, will hamas be crushed. >> israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu speaking in tel aviv earlier today alongside secretary of state blinken. this as israeli troops with heavy weapons are heading south ahead of a ground offensive in gaza that could happen at any time. joining us now is former fbi special agent clint watts from the big board. it's helpful to see the map, show people what these locations are and just how close they are. >> yeah. >> how little boundary there is between any of these opposing sides. >> i can't stress that enough, what a small physical geographic area this is that we are looking at. already, israel moved this military zone. they have closed it. when you look at what's going on
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in terms of the security zone here, reminder to everybody, there's only three gates that you see. those gates -- there's a border wall that links them. there's turf here that has to be crossed. there's a gap of 1,000 meters on the gaza side that's only used for farming. separately, you have 100 meters of what is known as the high risk zone on each side. then when you pull back, if you look at that area that the militants of hamas crossed during their terrorist attacks over the weekend, how would israel go about this? it would look like they would have to do what is known as a routine operation. another critical point is each of the areas here are different sectors. these border walls essentially break the sectors up. when you think about what might happen with the israeli defense forces, if they were to go in, it would not be hard to believe they would use the walls to
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break off different parts of gaza. >> thank you very much. joining us now, jason crow of california, former army ranger who served in iraq and afghanistan. knows the geography very well. "the washington post" is reporting that the deputy treasury secretary and the qatari government have agreed and that you have been informed -- the democratic caucus has been informed iran will not be allowed access to the $6 billion fund of iranian oil profits in qatar in the central bank that was supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes. because of this and hamas' support -- rather, iran's support of hamas over the decades, that they are not allowed to use it. is that correct? >> that's my understanding, andrea. that notice was just sent out a little while ago. i will be very clear. not a penny of that money was
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sent to iran. under that prisoner swap deal, not a penny of the money was going to be sent to iran. it was to be sent to third party vendors for humanitarian purposes. that has nothing to do with the attacks over the weekend. i suspect what this is is the administration looking for points of leverage to prevent iran from entering into the fray. we don't know whether iran was involved in this attack. early public reports indicate that iran was taken by surprise and was not involved directly in the attacks over the weekend. certainly, one of the biggest challenges that israel and the united states face right now is, how do we keep hezbollah and iran from joining this fight? points of leverage become very important. >> that was nbc's reporting as well, that there was very good intelligence that iranian officials were taken by surprise. speaking of money and iran and hamas, most particularly i saw
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in "the wall street journal" yesterday something i had not seen before, that there was $41 million in cryptocurrency that went to hamas in the last couple of months. we don't know what source. are they operating in crypto? is that one of the reasons it's so hard to trace their money? >> that is likely one of the reasons why it's very hard to trace the money. although, we don't know what we don't know. cryptocurrencies pose a threat to our national security. we do know terrorist networks around the world, narco traffickers, insurgent groups use these currencies. it's a challenge to our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to track that money and figure out what types of activities they are funding. hamas is no exception to that. >> the national security advisor told "morning joe" that there
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will not be boots on the ground. let me play that for you. >> what i can say is at this point, we are not contemplating u.s. boots on the ground. what we have done is sent experts from across our government to the region to consult and advise with their israeli counterparts to make sure they fine the best way to go about trying to get these people home. >> that was in regard to a hostage rescue. the president hinted very broadly about the fact that the u.s. is doing something, but he didn't want to tell the jewish leaders who are visiting, exactly what it was. he said it wouldn't happen then. you have to imagine there's some intelligence and some operations going on with the israelis to see about a rescue. how difficult would it be in that urban environment with all the tunnels? >> i'm certainly not going to speak as to particular operations or intelligence. i want to paint the picture how difficult urban environments like this are. i fought in heavily populated,
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very dense urban environments in the middle east. these are the toughest environments to fight in. under the best of circumstances. the houses, the buildings are layered upon each other. there are tunnels. there are overlapping complexes. these types of environments absorb combat power, they absorb forces like no other environment. this is even the worst of circumstances, because gaza has been built to be a death trap for invading forces. there are tunnel systems. this is extremely tough stuff to fight in. the idea of sending u.s. forces to help actually poses exceptional challenges. there will be air strikes, artillery strikes, hamas forces infiltrating. this is very, very difficult stuff. we have to work closely with the israelis here. >> thank you so much, congressman. we will go to secretary blinken right now in israel. >> we discussed in detail what
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israel needs to defend itself, its people, and how the united states can help to meet those needs. we are delivering on those needs as we speak. and we will work closely and swiftly with congress to meet them as they evolve. this afternoon i met with families of american citizens that hamas has killed or taken hostage. the enormity of their anguish, their loss is immeasurable. for the families of the missing, there's an unrelenting agony of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. something that i don't think most of us can truly understand, truly contemplate if you are not in their shoes. no one should have to endure what they're going through. there's so many families like them. the united states is one of more than 30 countries where family members, friends, entire communities are being forced to
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go through this experience because of hamas' disdain for human life and basic human dignity. we are doing everything we can to secure the release of the hostages, working closely with our israeli partners. i brought with me to israel our deputy special representative for hostage affairs, who joined my meeting with the families and will stay on the ground to support the efforts to free their loved ones. i had a chance to see up close the genuinely inspiring solidarity of the israeli people in the wake of hamas' attacks. when i visited one of the many sites where citizens organized efforts to collect, and sort and distribute things in need. i met with several volunteers. several of them dual u.s./israeli citizens. one young couple told me how they narrowly escaped with their
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own lives when hamas attacked the music festival. they told me about their friends who were not fortunate. who were killed at that festival. others taken hostage or still missing. in our time here in israel, everywhere we have gone, we met people who have been touched in one way or another by hamas's bloody hand. a loved one, a friend, a classmate, a neighbor, a colleague killed, maimed, missing. we encountered a nation knit together by grief but also a nation united in resolve. the united states shares that resolve. we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of israel. from here, i will go on to jordan where i will meet with king abdullah and with palestinian authority president abbas.
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i will visit with leaders in saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, egypt and qatar. across each of these engagements, we will continue pressing countries to help prevent the conflict from spreading and to use their leverage with hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages. we will discuss how we can continue to make real our affirmative issue for a region that's more peaceful, more prosperous, more secure, more integrated. in fact, that is the choice. the choice in some ways has been made even more stark by the actions of hamas on saturday. one path forward is a region that comes together, integrated, normalized relations among its countries, people working in common purpose, common benefit. more peaceful, more stable. then there's the path that hamas
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has shown in its stark, clear light. terror, destruction, anilism. the choice could not be more clear. we know the choice that we are making, our partners are making. we have work to do to carry it through. in all i did today, i was supported by an exceptional team in israel. they have been doing crucial work in difficult situations, led by stephanie hallot. she's doing an extraordinary job. we look forward to welcoming our future ambassador to israel. as many here know, hamas launched this attack on the day that jews celebrate finishing the reading of the torah.
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they will read in the beginning there was darkness. and then there was light. the first person was alone until a partner joined them. i'm standing here today alongside our israeli friends and all those who reject terror to help find the glimmers of light, even in this moment of deep darkness, and to make clear that as long as there's the united states, israel will never be alone. with that, i will be happy to take some questions. >> first question goes to shaun tanden with afp. >> thank you, mr. secretary. good evening. can i ask you to begin with, prime minister netanyahu shared what are very gruesome photos. he said he shared them with you. >> yeah. >> i know they are disturbing to look at. i wanted to see what your reaction was to those.
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if i may, while understanding and acknowledging the great suffering that's been experienced by israelis, there's a lot of concern in some quarters about the situation in gaza as well, people looking for food in light of the cutoff. was that discussed the humanitarian situation in gaza? was there any call for easing some of the conditions or for restraint as we expect a ground offensive? one thing that's been reported just recently, there's a report in the "washington post" that the united states and qatar have decided to slow down or suspend the access iran has to the $6 million in the special account. could you say if this is accurate? if it is, could you explain whether this is a slowdown or something more formal? thank you very much. >> thanks. we did see photographs, videos that the israeli government shared with us. some, i think, is actually
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already been seen in public media. others were new to me and i think new to our team. it's hard to find the right words. it's beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less actually see and god forbid experience. a baby, an infant, riddled with bullets. soldiers beheaded. young people burned alive in their cars or in their hideaway rooms. i could go on, but it's simply depravity in the worst imaginable way. it almost defies comprehension.
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to me, in the most immediate future, harkens back to i.s.i.s. and some of the very things we saw when it was on its rampage that thankfully was stopped. so i think for any human being to see this, it's really beyond almost anything that we can comprehend, digest. and i just add that when you see this, you try to imagine -- maybe not try, you can't help but imagine yourself, your family, your loved ones, your friends in that situation, in that predicament.
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maybe the best word for it for me is overwhelming. i think what it has done is, as i said, united a country in profound grief but also united a country in resolve. it's imperative that the rest of us share that resolve. i said this earlier. this is a moment for moral clarity. this is a moment where everyone needs to make clear that there is revulsion, disgust, and a determination -- a determination not to allow this to go forward.
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images are worth a thousand words. these images may be worth a million. on the humanitarian situation in gaza, i think it's first important to remember a fundamental issue that makes this complicated. hamas continues to use civilians as human shields. something that's not new. something that they have always done. intentionally putting civilians in harm's way to protect -- to try to protect themselves or protect their infrastructure or protect their weapons. so that's one of the basic facts that israel has to deal with. of course, civilians should not be used in any way as the targets of military operations. they are not the target of israel's operations.
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we did discuss ways to address the humanitarian needs of people living in gaza, to protect them from harm while israel conducts its legitimate military operations. we also talked about possibilities for safe passage for civilians who want to leave or get out of the way in gaza. that's a conversation, a discussion that we will pursue in the coming days, including with some of the countries we will be visiting. this is important. this is an area for folk us. with regard to the $6 million, first, it's worth repeating the facts. unfortunately, the facts get lost along the way. the money that iran accrued in bank accounts, in this case in south korea, are for the sale of its oil, was done pursuant to an
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arrangement established by the previous administration, the trump administration. none of the funds that have gone to qatar have been spent or accessed in any way by iran. indeed, funds from that account are overseen by the treasury department. can only be dispensed for humanitarian goods, food, medicine, medical equipment, and never touch iranian hands. we have strict oversight of the funds, and we retain the right to freeze them. >> next question goes to gil cammery with channel 13. >> the president compared rightfully hamas horrendous massacre to i.s.i.s. can you provide assurance to israel that biden administration will not attempt to halt israel
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effort until the goal of eliminating hamas from gaza is completely achieved regardless of how long it may take? with your permission, second question, if hezbollah opens a second front in the north, can we expect if needed the u.s.mil the region to fight against hezbollah? >> thank you. with regard to the first question, the president has been very clear, i have been very clear, we stand with israel. we stand with israel in its determination to defend its people, defend its country. we stand with israel and its determination to do everything possible to ensure that what happened on saturday never happens again. in that determination, we, of course, as you know, are
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providing assistance as requested by israel for its efforts. that will continue. we are working closely with congress to make sure that israel has what it needs to do what it must. with regard to the second front, as i mentioned earlier, it's our determination and that of israel as well that there not be a second front or a third front. we are working as hard as we can, working with other partners in the region, to try to ensure that that's the case. the president has been very clear, president biden. he has been very clear that no one, state or non-state actor, should try to take advantage of this moment. he is -- he backed up that with
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the deployment of our largest carrier group "gerald r. ford," as well as making sure that israel has what it needs and that we also have appropriate assets in place. beyond that, i'm not going to speculate on future events. >> for the next question, ed wong with "the new york times." >> thank you, secretary blinken. many people have likened the horrendous violence by hamas to the attacks of 9/11 in the u.s. as you know, the u.s. earned lots of good will after those attacks, and there was -- were many expressions of solidarity. soon after, the u.s. began its invasion of iraq. now decades on in retrospect, many people think the most lasting consequences of 9/11 were the two wars that many americans deem were disasters in
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hindsight. i wonder what lessons might you have for israel as a friend of israel looking back at the aftermath of 9/11. second, i wonder whether your team has an assessment of what hamas' goals were in carrying out the attacks and whether it has gotten to those goals with these attacks. >> thanks, ed. first let me say this with regard to 9/11. if you look at this in proportion to the size of israel's population, this is the equivalent of ten 9/11s. that's how big and how devastating this attack has been. of course, each of these situations is very different. it's important to keep that in
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mind. of course, we are always trying to draw lessons from past experience as they may or may not be applicable to what we or our partners are doing now. of course, we are in very close conversation with israel about the work it is undertaking, as i said, to make sure it can defend itself, defend its citizens, and to the best of its ability ensure that this doesn't happen again. those are the objectives. again, i will leave the operational details to israel and simply say again that as we have these discussions, we are looking at past experiences, including many past experiences more immediate to this challenge, including in gaza and including in the region. with regard to the goals of hamas, i think that is a
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question mostly on which i could speculate but not give you any kind of clear or definitive answer. there are a number of possible explanations. we have not heard from them what their goals are. i have to tell you that in many ways, the simplest explanation may be the most compelling. this is pure evil. there may be second or third order interests. for example, i have noted this before, we have been engaged, as you know, in trying to support and advance the possibility of normalization between israel and saudi arabia and other countries that do not yet have normalized relations with israel. something that is very challenging, very difficult, but also very possible and something that would have a profound affect on the region, on the countries in question, and on
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the region, a region in turmoil for so many decades that through greater integration, normalization, then has a path to much greater stability, much greater peace, much greater opportunity for everyone in the region. now, who opposes normalization? hamas, hezbollah, iran. i think that speaks volumes as well. >> the final question from christine arabi. >> thank you. mr. secretary, did you discuss with netanyahu the need to commit to the war on gaza? any more details about the humanitarian corridors in gaza? following on my colleague
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question, the spoken person of the white house retracted president biden's claim of seeing pictures of beheaded children. today, you mentioned in your press conference about the babies slaughtered and the woman raped. did you see evidence of that? thank you. >> thank you. to the first part of your question, i think you have heard the president address this. i have addressed it in different ways. to say this, for democracies like the united states, like israel, it's vitally important that we respect and follow international law, humanitarian law, the law of war as applicable. it's a standard that we hold ourselves to, and it's a standard that we look to, including if and when we fall
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short of it. so this is something that motivates both of us. of course, it's what distinguishes us and other democracies around the world from terrorist organizations like hamas which have absolutely no regard for the rule of law, for humanitarian rules and rights, for any basic standards of human decency. as we were discussing a few minutes ago, they literally and deliberately target civilians. not just target civilians, target them in the most inhumane ways possible. at the same time, use them as human shields. so that's a profound distinction between our countries and a group like hamas.
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when it comes to the photographs, the videos, i described what i saw today. that doesn't mean it's the entire universe. we had an opportunity to see some of the photographs and videos. unfortunately, there are many, many, many others. every day the world is seeing new evidence of the depravity and inhumanity of hamas, directed at babies, at small children, at young adults, at elderly people, at people with disabilities. the list goes on. on a basic human level, how anyone cannot be revolted and cannot reject what they have seen and what the world has seen, it's beyond me. thank you. >> thank you all.
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>> secretary blinken describing as well the horrifying pictures that israeli prime minister netanyahu showed him that he said were horrifying beyond anything you would want to imagine or comprehend. joining us now, former israeli ambassador to the united states michael orrin. it's very good to see you. thank you for joining us today and during this disastrous time for israel and the region and the people of gaza, not hamas. let's talk about this. your reaction. what can be accomplished with a ground invasion of a place as dense as gaza with tunnels, with hostages? can israel accomplish its mission of decapitating hamas, destroying its infrastructure, without all that loss of life?
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>> good to be with you, as always. let me first off say that i'm not in any official position. i speak for the people of israel in saying how deeply moved we are, impressed and strengthened by president biden, by secretary of state blinken and now both of these people spoke with courage and strength and passion and understanding and moral clarity. i can't stress that more. we are deeply, deeply appreciative. i understood immediately when the president started talking about the need for the israeli army, like the u.s. military, to act it accordance with law, in distinction to the way hamas acts, in violation of the law. we understood it. we will do our utmost, even now as our air force is operating in
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neighborhoods, which for -- don't think of a leafy suburban neighborhood. they are kill zones, they are mined. they have offensive tunnels under them. they are kill zones. we are dropping leaflets messages, the knock-knock missiles that hit the top of buildings, they are not explosive and they inform the inhabitants that the building is liable to be hit. that's precursors to a ground incursion which we assume is going to occur in the not too distant future. it will be immensely complex because of the environment, this war and this labyrinth of alleys, all of which are heavily mined and wired. we have encountered this. the same situation, this time it's going to be greater, because the israeli army will go deeper and will uproot hamas. can this be done military? it can.
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israel can't destroy the idea of hamas, which is the same idea of i.s.i.s., same idea of al qaeda. i think that's a task for all of our civilization, and it's a long-term task, one which we can't forgo. we can't lose hope of defeating these vicious ideas. for the civilian population of gaza, nobody wants to hurt civilians. there will be efforts to try to minimize, in an active, densely populated war zone, to minimize to the greatest degree possible civilian casualties, whether it's providing food and corrido it's food and water relief, we will do that. this is a war that was tlurs upon us, that we have to fight. we have to defend. we can do our best to rescue those hostages, our hostages, your hostages, and we so again, we appreciate the understanding and commitment of the president,
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of the secretary of state and the entire administration, and we will be in very, very close touch with them as this conflict continues until we achieve our goals. >> what about rescuing the hostages? is there a way to rescue them in this urban context? this you know, obviously booby trapped, iuds, snipers. >> there's a way of course, it's not an easy way, and it's sort of not a foolproof way. we have units, the u.s. military have units where this is their specialty. a great number of hostages were ordered released because of these units, and we suffered casualties among these units rescuing hostages but a great many were released. the great challenge there is locating them. you remember the israeli soldier taken about 12, 13 years ago is and held for five years in hamas captivity, and israel ended up
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exchanging a great number of jailed terrorists to secure his release. the big problem was locating gilad shalif. there was actually an underground country, not a city, country under the gaza strip and hamas has excavated hundreds of kilometers of tunnels and underground headquarters, caverns, and arsenals to find an individual there. it may be a little bit easier to find larger groups. we don't know. one thing is certain, as secretary blinken said, hamas is a terrorist organization that uses its own civilian population as human shields. i guarantee they'll be using the hostages as human shields as well. >> thank you very much, thanks for your experience. and joining us now is colorado republican congressman ken buck who's a member of the foreign affairs committee, among other things.
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first of all, let's talk about israel s and whether you agree with the decision to refreeze the $6 billion, which has been a big republican talking point among other things, although no money has been spent. is that a good move now, and do you agree with what the administration is doing so far? >> i think it is a great move, and i think it is also very important what the administration is doing identifying iran as the actor behind the scene. whether they instigated this immediately or whether they were just arming over years, iran has to be held responsible. iran is supplying russia with drones and other equipment that's being used in ukraine, and i think it's very clear that america needs to tell actors who are supporting evil that they're going to be held accountable. >> and let me switch gears and ask you about another big dispute, which is potentially -- well, it is holding up any action on aid to israel or ukraine or anything else, which is the speaker fight on the hill right now.
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it was a stalemate yesterday because there were 99 votes against scalise and so nobody was even close to getting the 117 that they need. first of all, how do you see this getting resolved? anytime soon? >> well, i hope so. obviously we want to get back to business and start passing not just aid packages but appropriation bills to fund government. steve scalise is now working through those. i had a nice conversation with him. i know that we keep getting texts that one person or another is coming off the board and supporting him. i wish him the very best of luck in getting that done. if he doesn't get that done, i think by the end of today or sometime tomorrow, he will announce that he is withdrawing his name and it will go to the next person. i don't expect this to last past the weekend, but. >> you voted present yesterday, so you're holding your cards. would jim jordan be the next person?
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>> i don't think so. not necessarily. jim is not enthusiastically supporting steve. he said if steve got to 217, he would support him, so i think it would just be opened up again, and we'll see who the top candidate is. >> who is among those that might be considered? would you go back to kevin mccarthy? >> i think that tom emmer will be considered, i think that kevin hur will be considered. i think steve was the number two, and out of respect a lot of people didn't run. if he takes his name out of consideration, those people will -- the field will open up. >> what did you think of some of the criticism of steve scalise? one member saying that he was too -- potentially too absorbed with his cancer fight, and others saying that they thought he was too connected. i think nancy mace said too connected in his past at least to david duke and other white separatists. >> i think the statement about his health is cynical and
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really, i think, unfortunate that someone would raise that. i met with steve. he was energized, he was very much with it. gave a great speech in conference. i don't think the fact that someone's going through cancer treatments disqualifies them in any way. in his past, you know, the past was -- i think he was on a radio show or something that at another time had a white nationalist on it, but clearly there are a number of african american leaders and others who have stood up for steve and talked about his fairness. >> ken buck, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> obviously no decision yet. good to see you, sir. and up next, distraught families speaking out, the families of hostages in tel aviv. plus a 22-year-old student joining me from gaza city to explain what she and her family are experiencing amid the bombings. you're watching "andrea mitchell
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. thank you for staying with our special coverage of the israel hamas war. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. the death toll is rising on all sides at this hour as israel prepares to launch a ground offensive in gaza at any moment. 25 americans are now confirmed dead along with nearly 1,300 israelis and more than 1,400 palestinians. in gaza, the horrors of war are on display. one very disturbing video showing a baby pulled out of the rubble appearing motionless. and civilians including american doctor barbara zind in gaza on a humanitarian mission unable to get out. >> there's no passage out right now, so we're hoping that a humanitarian corridor will be made so that aid can come in to the gazans, and people who want to leave can go
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