with great legs, but now we can look like we were. >> reporter: through the years, she lived the live life to the fullest mentality. >> it's how you respond to the problems in your life that define how you were as a person. >> very sad passing, dead from cancer at the age of 77, and one of the nicest things i read about her is that she was overall so incredibly nice to everybody. i remember her from "three's company" because i'm that old. her husband wrote her a love letter right before she died. their relationship spanned many decades. beautiful. that does it for us. ana cabrera and jose diaz-balart pick up the coverage right now. ahead this hour on special coverage of the israel-hamas war. half a million civilians fleeing

northern gaza as israel players for a ground assault. a desperate crisis turning more dire with thousands waiting at this critical border crossing attempting to escape in into egypt. america es -- >> also ahead, a new interview with president biden e pressing solidarity with israel but also giving this warning. >> would you support israeli occupation of gaza at this point? >> i think it would be a big mistake. good morning and thank you for joining us. it is 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting alongside my colleague jose diaz-balart. half a million palestinians are trying to flee northern gaza. israeli forces vowing an

expanded assault by air, sea and land as it continues to pummel gaza with air strikes. >> huge crowds are gathering at the rafah border crossing. international negotiations are under way to get this crossing open to allow refugees and other americans and other nationals in and out along with critical aid. let's get the latest on the ground. nbc news foreign correspondent kelly cobiella is in tel aviv. let's start with what is happening at the border crossing there. is anyone or anything getting in or out of gaza at this hour? >> reporter: still no progress on that front, ana. as you said, there are intensive diplomatic efforts under way between the u.s., egypt, israel and the united nations to get that border open even for a short amount of time. the w.h.o. said there is lifesaving aid on one side of the border, on the egyptian side

of the border. you may have seen the long lines of transport trucks waiting at the border. on the other side, hundreds of people waiting to get through. foreign nationals including americans. we don't have an idea of how many americans have made it down to that border. the state department saying over the weekend that -- telling american citizens inside gaza, if you can, if you believe it is safe and you want to get out, you should make your way toward that border, that there may be a limited amount of time when the border is open, when you may be able to get through. we've been hearing that same message now for almost 48 hours. there's really been so sign of progress on the ground. there are, like i said, talks ongoing. at one point even there was words the two sides, hamas and israel agreed to a cease-fire so that border crossing could be open, and that turned out to be

not the case. both sides then said absolutely not, no cease-fire is in place. antony blinken, the secretary of state, did say yesterday that rafah will reopen. the embassy warning that they don't know when or for how long. so still waiting on that front, ana. >> kelly, the idf says it's been targeting ham masses' operational command centers, military compounds, dozens of launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts. do we know what they've accomplished so far? >> reporter: they said that they've continued to strike hamas targets inside gaza as they've done every single day for the past seven days now. they do say they're making progress in terms of targeting top commanders within hamas. they targeted a number of sites in hundred eunice in the south.

there were civilians killed in the strikes as well. they said they managed to target several places across the region as well as hamas fighters at one site that was set up as a hamas headquarters. they do say they're making progress on that front. we've also heard from the israeli air force saying they will be targeting aggressively, in their words, in order to eradicate as much of hamas leadership and infrastructure by air before they go in on the ground to minimize any sort of impact to soldiers to make it easier, quite frankly, for soldiers to go in on the ground. as i said, that continues even today. it hasn't been so effective as to stop hamas from firing rockets from their side. they are still managing to fire rockets from gaza. jose, ana. >> kelly, we also have an update

on the hostage situation with the idf telling us today the families of 199 people have now been told that their loved ones are believed to be hostages of hamas. almost 200 hostages. why is that number going up, do we know? is it impacting the decision on this expected ground incursion? >> reporter: yeah, it's a really large jump. the other thing to understand about what's happening here is there's a very large number of people who have yet to be identified. there are families who say their loved ones are missing, families who say they believe they've been kidnapped, that they have some reason to believe -- perhaps last messages that their loved ones were kidnapped. it's a matter of actually pasting that information from any sort of evidence or intelligence on the ground. quite frankly, we're not hearing very much from the idf on how they're identifying these people. they've been very tight-lipped and reticent give us information

on that. we know there were cross-border raids over the weekend where the idf said they collected some evidence about hostages. they said they also collected some information about hostages and knew where some of them are. but again, for safety and operational reasons, didn't give us much more detail on that end. just to give you some perspective on the numbers here, 1,400 people killed in this attack now. those are the israeli government numbers. there's a huge number of people who have yesterday to be identified. we were at the national forensic center earlier today where they're dealing with the hardest-to-identify victims. they say there are just under 200 of them right now, people -- their bodies quite frankly with unrecognizable. they don't know who they are.

it's a matter of identifying people as well. it's an extremely difficult task, ana, jose. >> sounds like a heart-wrenching task as well. kelly cobiella, thank you for your reporting. we're joined by nbc's hala gorani who has covered the middle east extensively. hala, why has it been so challenging to open this border crossing with egypt? >> there are so many competing interests here. you have on the one hand the egyptians who traditionally have not been very flexible when it comes to opening that border crossing. they have concerns of their own. they potentially don't want hundreds of thousands of palestinian refugees to pour across their border. there are also issues on the hamas side. there are also issues when it comes to agreeing with all the different actors in that part of

the world to open that border crossing. what's interesting is that we heard from egyptian sources that were quoted today that there was some sort of cease-fire agreed to, to allow humanitarian aid in, and some of the palestinians were leaving the gaza strip out. that was firmly denied by the office of the prime minister benjamin netanyahu, very sure there is no cease-fire, quote, unquote. a hamas spokesperson also quoted today in the british media, saying there is no such deal. there are so many issues here that need to be resolved. for anyone who is on the other side, for anyone who has family in the gaza strip, maddening. can you imagine you have rows and rows of trucks with desperately needed humanitarian aid literally hundreds of yards away from where it's needed most, and they're stuck right now. you do, though, get the sense there's intense diplomatic effort to make something happen

and to ease the humanitarian pressure on palestinian civilians. >> we are told the secretary of state, antony blinken, has been working on those types of negotiations for the last few days as he's been meeting with different counterparts in the region and surrounding countries as well. they've been telling all those innocent civilians to move south ahead of this expected incursion. that would include evacuating the hospitals. we know there are thousands of people in those hospitals in really bad shape. the world health organization has called this idea of evacuating hospitals a, quote, death sentence for the sick and the injured. is that how you see it, hala? >> well, the doctors who are interviewed and who are able to get the message out of the gaza strip still, even though there's no electricity and no water in some cases available are saying that those patients that are

connected to life support or, for instance, children who are -- you know, have developmental disabilities or unable to move, babies in ink baiters, that that would mean a death sentence for them. a note on the water situation. as many of your viewers may know, there was a report that water had been resupplied to the southern part of the gaza strip, not the northern part which is really interesting, because the israeli military and the israeli authorities are telling gazans in the north to go to the south, as you just mentioned, ana. those on the ground who have been quoted about the availability of water are saying you need electricity to get water going. you don't just turn on a tap. you need the pumps to work, the infrastructure to be functioning. this announcement didn't necessarily pan out on the ground in gaza, and that the humanitarian situation that is worsened by this lack of clean

drinking water has certainly not gone away in that part of the gaza strip. >> hala, it's so important that the infrastructure needs to be working in order for things to function, but it also has to be there. it seems as though for years -- especially in these last days of this intense bombing, that infrastructure has been severely degraded. >> it certainly has been. it requires maintenance. it requires investment. it requires supplies. all of those things have been very difficult to get into the gaza strip. now, obviously it's about allowing supplies in. but it's also about good management at the gaza strip which has not at all been managed in any way that's been in the best interest of the residents of that very small piece of land. i keep mentioning this just to give an idea to viewers. this is twice the size of washington, d.c. 2 million people. you have to think about it more

like a city, a very densely populated city than anything that would be the size of a country. so, yes, the infrastructure is very much lacking in terms of maintenance and supply. i have to say that today -- and you mentioned it at the top of your show, ana and jose -- really you get the sense that diplomacy to try to avert a ground invasion. this is something that really you get the sense is happening. where this will go in my estimation now depends really on benjamin netanyahu. he has announced land, sea and hair. we're going to go in, change the middle east. even if there was a desire to walk this back, the question is how will all the drip moment see

and effort to contain this invasion. i think really rests in the hands of one man and his government, and that's benjamin netanyahu. >> hala gorani, thank you for being with us this morning. >> hala, so nice to see you, thank you. back here in the u.s., president biden is postponing a planned trip to colorado today as he weighs a potential visit to israel. and in a new interview on "60 minutes" the president cautioned restraint as the world awaits israel's ground incursion. >> what happened in gaza in my view is hamas and the extreme elements of hamas don't represent all the palestinian people. i think that it would be a mistake for israel to occupy gaza again. >> do you believe hamas must be eliminated entirely?

>> yes, i do, but there needs to be a palestinian authority. there needs to be a path to a palestinian state. >> joining us is nbc news white house correspondent monica alba. monica, good morning. monica, do we know anymore about the potential of the president visiting israel? >> reporter: we know, jose, the white house has received that invitation from prime minister benjamin netanyahu, and we know they're considering it. there may be conversations going on about what could be feasible here. of course, with any presidential travel, no matter the destination, there's so many logistical and security considerations that go into that planning, add to that potentially going into a war zone and you can understand the total challenge here for the house as they are continuing to talk about this merely as a possibility. they're not saying anything beyond that right now except that the administration is

trying to do everything else in this near term to show its solidarity for israel and that the president will continue to stay at the white house today to participate in national security meetings with his team, and it is significant that that planned trip to pueblo, colorado, that was going to focus on wind manufacturing and his so-called bide nomics operation, was postponed at the last minute so he could deal with some of these very pressing issues. >> monica, we know the president has spoken with prime minister netanyahu at least five times as of last night about this developing situation, since this attack by hamas on israel. the secretary of state blinken is also in the region. he is back in israel today. what do we know about his schedule and what he's been able to accomplish since he arrived in the region? >> reporter: when you look at secretary blinken's travel in the last couple days, he's been

to israel, to the west bank, to jordan, bahrain, qatar, united arab emirates, back to jordan, to saudi arabia, back to saudi arabia again, to egypt, and now he's in israel today. that shows you the real definition of shuttle diplomacy taking place behind the scenes. the secretary is meeting with prime minister netanyahu today. he also met with israeli president herzog, the defense minister and opposition leader scheduled to continue these conversations on how the u.s. stands with israel. we've seen the military assistance, we've seen the promises of more aid on the way if capitol hill can get that order and sent. that's a high priority for the administration. the other major topic of conversation in all these meetings, the continued effort to get americans in gaza out through that border crossing and to do everything possible on hostage recovery.

>> monica alba reporting at the white house, thank you that update. we'll continue our coverage of the israel-hamas war when we continue in 60 seconds, including more on the humanitarian crisis in gaza, one town now using ice cream trucks to store the dead because the morgue in full. we'll get an inside view of gaza from one journalist and speak with a palestinian american doctor who has lost 49 members of his extended family in air strikes. we're back in one minute. we're back in one minute

♪ ♪ ♪ cargurus. shop.buy.sell.online. [sneeze] dude you coming? ♪ alka-seltzer plus powermax gels cold & flu relief with more concentrated power because the only thing dripping should be your style. plop plop fizz fizz winter warriors with alka-seltzer plus. welcome back. we are looking at some video right now out of gaza. come take a look at this. this is just sheer devastation from many of the air strikes we now know israel has been launching into gaza trying to attack what they call hamas targets and their specific infrastructure that's allowing them to have command and

control. we're just looking at these images of sheer destruction, jose. >> it's unbelievable to see these images. the united nations relief and works agency this morning issuing a stark assessment of the situation in gaza z as the death toll continues to climb. quote, there are not enough body bags. >> the u.n. also says there are more than a million internally displaced people in gaza. after ram as tarry filed this report from outside a hospital in south gaza. >> reporter: on my way to this area i have just spoken to the head of the hospital who is also a mem brer of the senior team. he informed me and in his words the situation is more than catastrophe. the supplies are depleting and on the verge of collapse. they are struggling with the minimum they have to save the

lives of the people who are injured and struggling for their lives. because of the ongoing gave station, the medical teams at the hospital and in different areas of the gaza strip have been not going back home for such while. i saw at least two of them, they were seeing their friends and relatives. one of them saw his son killed. he didn't talk about that. because of the destruction of the communication throughout the gaza strip, he didn't know his family was injured and he was saddened and shocked to see his son killed and to see the remaining family members injured. another one also saw his father and his son killed in another place in the gaza north. they were targeted, they were killed, and the doctor was just assuming his job and doing his duties, saving the other people and he was shocked and surprised to see his family there. >> our thanks to gaza journalist

asatari. >>oining us now is a palestinian american doctor who lives in texas, and 49 members of his extended family have been killed in the strikes in gaza. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> i'm very sorry for the losses, what you've experienced. 49 members of your family. can you till us about who you lost? >> well, a few days ago it was seven -- distant cousins, the next day it was my cousin's in-laws, her husband's family, 17 of them were annihilated in one strike. two days ago, 22 members of the

joudah family in one of the small suburbs or refugee camps essentially, towns around gaza were killed. last night my father sent me a note that three beautiful little girls also from second cousins were killed last night, two of them are sisters. so that's 49 i think, if the math is correct. you know, i am both heartened and disheartened to watch the first few minutes of your show because the focus on the collective death of palestinians and the collective carnage visited upon them is -- somehow

puts a face -- gives the palestinians a face, a face they've always had, and always have. but, of course, i'm disheartened because yet again we get to this moment where we're looking at photographs or videos for a people who are awaiting a life worse than death. you mentioned the morgues, the ice cream vendor morgues which can only fit the bodies of children. this happened in 2014 when israel visited the same brutality on the gaza strip. i was thinking of this morning and it's terrifying for me to think that this is happening again, and some people didn't know it happened before. i have even written about it in some of my work, though not as

directly as i am speaking of it noud. i've been asked on several shows if i have photos of any of the dead, of my family, and i don't. and the reasons are many. i am not permitted to go back to gaza to even have photographs with them. i have no access to ask them to send me photographs. and on the occasion that i might, i have to ask them ethically, at least for me, permission to use their photographs of the dead. i know that i would also feel conflicted to ask because they would feel -- i know they would feel terrible about having their photos on u.s. tvs, no matter

the good intention from the same system that has sanctioned their killing and has sanctioned it before. but we as human beings understand that every human has a face, and the proof of relatability does not have to be burden of proof on the dead. >> doctor, absolutely every human has a face, every human has a soul, every human has worth. in this so conflicted time, you whose profession and vocation is to help heal as a doctor, how do

you process and help us understand how difficult it is for this to finally be focused on people and innocent people who a week ago were massacred in their homes, in a concert and who now in your case 49 family members have been lost? >> yeah, my case is irrelevant -- less relevant to me because it is a collective case at this point. i hold on to what i say. if we truly believe that people are equal, the palestinian question will be solved a lot sooner. this is difficult for people to hear in english, in american english, but we do not view palestinians as equal. i know in our hearts when the

situation is presented to us linguistically as a rational thing to hear, every one of us will say, but of course i see you as my equal or my brother, my fellow human, fellow citizen. in reality, this is not afforded to the palestinians. if it is afforded to the palestinians, we would all pause and say, well, what does it -- what would that entail? what would it entail for palestinians to have equal rights to the majority of civilians in israel who have always water, electricity and often a greater, greater, by folds, degree of security than most palestinians have. freedom of movement and even freedom to books, reading, travel, et cetera, et cetera. the language we have constructed i think over the last few

decades that prevent us from seeing this simply is what we have to come to terms with in america so that we can open our hearts truly to what we all believe in, that we are all truly equal. >> i think you heard in the interview last night from president biden that he believes longer-term solution to this conflict in the middle east specifically in israel and palestinian territories and trying to determine where this all heads, he sees as a two-state solution. of course, this is something that has been a complicated negotiation and, unfortunately, led to a lot of violence over decades and decades and decades. this is a new flashpoint. we're also in a situation where it was a historical attack that happened against the israeli people by hamas, and that

complicates it even more. thank you for sharing your thoughts and perspective, and our heart is with you. >> it's complication because we do not sees the palestinians equally. what about the catastrophes and the unheralded attacks on palestinians, also? they're also historic. israeli lives are equal to palestinian lives. let's start there. there's no need to diminish the israeli losses and their suffering. but let's not always emphasize them in a way that they're more porn than palestinian suffering. guy back to my point. >> thank you. thank you for sharing that. i do want to make the point, too, that we've been very careful definitely on this show to really distinguish the difference between hamas, the terrorists and the people who are in gaza city who are innocent civilians who are suffering right now. that i think is important. thank you again for joining us.

>> jose. >> doctor, thank you. next, new warnings of a bloodbath in gaza if israel launches a ground invasion. plus, how the underground tunnels hamas uses could complicate an assault. also ahead, what we know about the leader of hamas called a dead man walking by israel and the group's fighting capability. you're watching special coverage of the israel-hamas war. srael-h. eggland's best. the only eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. plus, superior nutrition. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. ♪♪ power e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. the power goes out and we still have wifi

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unlike chrome, the duckduckgo browser has privacy built-in. it comes with a private alternative to google search, which doesn■t spy on your searches, and it blocks cookies and creepy ads. and there's no catch. it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you around. join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today. military analysts are warning this morning what a ground invasion of gaza could turn into a, quote, bloodbath. the israeli tan bs remain amassed along the border with gaza. if they advance they'll have to navigate the city of gaza densely populated with buildings and tunnels, not to mention the arsenal hamas could already have. nbc's raf sanchez got a look at

weapons israel has already seized from hamas. >> reporter: these are a fraction of the weapons israeli military has recovered from hamas fighters in the field. i want to walk you through some of the items here. this is a thermobaric bomb, 3,000 degrees instantaneously. israeli military says hamas terrorists use these to insin rate whole families inside their houses. the bulk of these weapons down here are rocket-propelled grenades. the israeli military said it found around a thousand of them in the field. this is a level of fire power designed not just for killing civilians but holding off strait of hormuz reenforcements for hours. these are kel lash kof assault rifles, standard issue of hamas forces. you can see an absolute arsenal of weapons. if my camera operator points over here, these black charges

are claymore explosives, planted at the gates of israeli communities, designed as booby traps to stop israeli troops coming in. critically the israeli military says nothing they see here suggests the direct involvement of iran. these are the standard weapons you would expect from hamas. many of them are home made inside gaza. it gives you a sense of the fire power israel's military power will be facing inside the gaza strip when the ground invasion begins. >> raf sanchez, thank you. joining us retired four star general barry mccaffrey. let's talk about what we just heard from raf, what he just showed us, bombs, rpgs, launchers. it's just the tip of the iceberg. this is what israel has confiscated from hamas in the area around gaza as they have been continuing to go through the carnage and as they fought against these attackers.

what does it tell you about hamas' sophistication and capabilities? >> well, hamas clearly brought upon itself, brought the palestinian people into and unfolding tragedy of epic proportions. this is going to get immensely worse before it gets better. in my judgment the idf must get into gaza, an your want built-up area, three-dimensional battle, above ground, below ground, surface streets. they've got to take out the structure, the root of the hamas military and political leadership, and it's going to be a very intense battle. they're trying to minimize the terrible impact on the palestinians by having them move out of the main zone of combat. this is going to be an atrocious battle. the idf has no option. it cannot survive when hamas can

conduct attacks and brutally murder hundreds and hundreds of innocent civilians. so this attack is imminent now. it will not be resolved in a few days. president biden correctly said they don't want to occupy gaza, but this is not going to be over until the idf is convinced that they will not be vulnerable to another attack of this nature. >> general, when we hear so many times that gaza is isolated, nothing comes in, nothing comes out. they're able -- hamas is able to get quite an arsenal of weapons, we're talking rpgs, surface-to-air missiles, claymore mines. where are they getting this amount of arms from? how? i'm just wondering, general, when you're talking about how israel has to take out hamas by its roots, how do you think that is going to be accomplished in

this particular scene? >> well, of course, the isolation of the gaza strip and it's a couple million people, thousands and thousands of palestinians work in israel on a daily basis. there's still a fishing fleet occasionally used to smuggle things into gaza. there are tunnels underground that go from gaza into egypt. egypt has very poor control over the eastern sinai. there's a jihadist insurrection targeted on egypt, also. but behind all of it is iran, principally supplying weapons and training but also direction and moral backing, political backing to these hate-filled groups that threaten the very existence of israel.

no question that hamas fighters, maybe 30,000 of them will put up a stiff fight, many until death. again, i see no option for the idf but to go in, spend the weeks necessary to attempt to find hostages, some of whom undoubtedly will be rescued, but principally to find, locate and destroy the hamas military and political leadership. >> general barry mccaffrey, thank you for being with us this morning. up next, a view from lebanon where israeli forces have been fighting a different group, hezbollah. could this war now be spilling out of israel and into the wider region? plus iran threatening heavy losses for the u.s. if the scope of the war expands. what does that mean? you're watching special coverage of the israel-hamas war on msnbc. hamas war on msnbc. he used to do side jobs installing windows, charging something like a hundred bucks a window

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41 past the hour. this morning the threat of an abyss? the middle east, that's the new warning from the united nations as tensions escalate. the israeli offensive into gaza seems imminent. these are live pictures, as you see, from gaza city at 5:41 in the afternoon. meantime, up on the northern border of israel, the idf says shots were fired at idf forces on the lebanese border. let's bring in nbc's foreign correspondent matt bradley who is in tyre let me none. what new developments are you seeing on that border? >> reporter: we're hearing reports from both hezbollah and the idf saying there's been these tit-for-tat attacks. there was one fatality and before that two killed on the

lebanese side. clearly what we've been seeing is a simmering of the situation on the border. any wrong move could turn it into a full-on boil and it could boil over. in 20 '06 this whole thing went from totally quiet to a full-blown war in just a matter of hours. now we have all this diplomacy swirling around the region with different actors trying to both tamp down the threat of an internationalization of this conflict while at the same time stoking and goading each other into further war. i'm speaking about the united states and iran whose foreign ministers have been making tours around the region. >> matt, you spoke with a hezbollah member of parliament in lebanon. what did he have to say about all of this? >> i spoke with this hezbollah member. remember, hezbollah like amass is backed by iran. he basically made a somewhat sinister reference to american ships parked off my left shoulder in the eastern

mediterranean, meant to act as a deterrence. here is what he told me. >> reporter: so, as you heard, he laughed openly at my question about america projecting its power into lebanon and trying to use its military assets, naval assets as a deterrence. he was referencing something very sinister. he actually mentioned the 1983 attack widely blamed on hezbollah, though not proven necessarily, on a u.s. marine

barracks in beirut that killed more than 250 u.s. service members. that was a sinister threat and the kind of thing that really brings the past right into the present. you could dismiss this as bluster or bravado. but the fact is he es right that hezbollah is maybe more powerful 40 years ago because it's taken position in the lebanese government, more advanced weapons. unlike hamas it has directed missile, and it has freedom of movement. it has a lot of strength that would dwarf even that of hamas. >> matt bradley, keep us posted. appreciate your reporting. we want to bring in former state department senior adviser najera hawk. i was fascinated by matt bradley's conversation with that member of parliament because, as he was saying, hezbollah is very much a part of lebanon, and they

have such influence and impact in syria. this is a group that is different from -- in many ways from what we're seeing in gaza. they are much more powerful. what do you make of those comments? >> here is what they have in common. hezbollah and hamas both backed by iran, and iran never really getting into that direct warfare itself. it spreads its tentacles through organizations like hamas and hezbollah along lines of common issues such as chanting "death to israel." they're relying around what they consider a common en meechlt that's constantly going to be a challenge for israel as it notes its way through the war and the middle east is that it is working with and surrounded by entities that simply do not want it to exist. hezbollah has been around for much longer, but they don't

really control a state in any meaningful way because lebanon has been in civil war. even with cease-fires people are suffering. that's where hamas and hezbollah start to lose ground. they have never proven to be effective governing bodies and the people they claim to represent also end up suffering. >> i also want to ask you because hezbollah is backed by iran, more collectly even than hamas is my understanding. we're hearing that heavy losses could be inflicted on the united states, quoting what he said yesterday. what do you think iran is prepared to do in all of this? >> as part of their asymmetric warfare, the way that they operate, they will be keeping an eye out on american torths, mostly hard targets such as military installations because they do know that when civilians -- american civilians are under attack, the united

states comes in full force. they'll be looking to avoid u.s. direct engagement while still sucking in others, other democratic states into this conflict and making it just a tension situation that the world has captured and keeps focusing on. one of the things that may or may not be a good thing is saudi arabia now talking to iran, something they have not done directly for decades. china is the one that opened up that channel between iran and saudi arabia. saudi arabia has one of the largest military installations of the united states. it is our other ally in the region. it remains to be scene if saudi arabia is going to be a force for good or a force for self-interest. >> najera haq, thank you for being with us. more coverage of the war in just a moment. also following breaking news out of washington. judge tanya chut kin is hearing arguments over whether to impose

a gag order on donald trump that would keep the former president from are commenting on his federal election interference case. nbc justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian is outside the courthouse for us. what are we hearing so far, ken? >> reporter: this is the most consequential pretrial hearing in the case because it could affect how donald trump can campaign for president. we heard a forceful argument from prosecutors that there needs to be restrictions on what p is say to disparage the prosecutors, witnesses, the judge. he's called jack smith a deranged luna accused judge tanya chutkan of being an baem hack. his lawyers are arguing this would impede his first amendment rights. what judge chutkan has said as a baseline is, look, he is a criminal defendant and can't just say and do what he pleases. she raised the question of, if i

do impose a gag order, how do i enforce it? the prosecution said you could fine him, bring him to court. the ultimate sanction is jailing a defendant, revoking his n conditions of release. that would pose huge complications when you have a former president with secret service protection who is running for president. the stakes are high here. whatever happens, guys, how ever this judge rules, donald trump's attorneys say they will immediately appeal and this may end up in the supreme court. back to you. >> ken dilanian, thank you. keep us posted. meanwhile, on the hill, ohio republican jim jordan is working to shore up support for his bid to be the next house speaker. the full house votes on his nomination tomorrow, but it's still nomination tomorrow, but it's not clear if fi has the votes from his own water to win. the house has been essentially paralyzed for two weeks. jose? next, the cruise ship chartered by the u.s. government

to bring americans to safety. you're watching special coverage of the israel-hamas war on msnbc. this is american infrastructure, a prime target for cyberattacks. but the same ai-powered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. ♪ [sneeze] dude you coming? because the only thing dripping should be your style. plop plop fizz fizz with alka-seltzer plus cold & flu relief. also try for fizzy fast cough relief.

welcome back, right now, americans are on their way home on a cruise ship that just left israel this morning. >> some of the first to leave the country since most international flights were grounded, nbc's josh lederman is in haifa, israel where the boat left. >> as americans are leaving israel on this cruise ship in gaza, foreigners are amassing on the egypt border, hoping for a cease-fire that would allow the border crossing into egypt to reopen. but this morning, hamas and israel both denied there was any such deal while here in northern israel authorities are evacuating towns on the lebanon border. this morning israel is bracing for battle on the brink of a likely ground invasion of gaza.

after the hamas terror attack inside israel that killed at least 1,300 people, including 30 americans, with gaza reeling from hundreds of israeli air strikes u.s. secretary of state antony blinken back in israel this morning in search of diplomatic solutions trying to get americans trapped in gaza out through egypt, while in israel some americans are now fleeing by sea. pording a cruise ship chartered by the u.s. government to ferry them to safety in cypress, dragging suitcases and carrying children through a country at war to haifa on the mediterranean sea. >> reporter: families shorted showing up early this morning hoping to get a spot on that ship. officials tell me it can fit about 2,500 people, but it's unclear in everyone here can make it on. >> will you feel safer when you're back in america? >> for sure. >> i cannot wait. >> for sure. >> reporter: the americans here are among thousands who couldn't find flights home, the big u.s. airlines have all topped flying

leaving this ship and government chartered flights to europe many of the the only ways out. >> we didn't think the trip would go this way, to put it mildly. >> reporter: christine and her friends were on a wherein pilgrimage to israel now cut short. >> it was impossible to get a flight home. we had a flight on delta. it got cancelled. >> reporter: are you hearing from friends and family worried about your safety? >> absolutely, yeah, they're scared to death. >> reporter: with war looming this morning an urgent journey out of a country they love. >> shocked and outraged. >> it is hard to hear their stories, some people are pregnant, and some people have children. >> reminds me of old news footage that you see of world war ii refugees. i can't believe this is happening again. >> reporter: with this ship now on its way it's about a nine-hour journey to cypress where buses are waiting to bring those americans to one of two international airports, it's then up to each person to book their own flight home. josh lederman, nbc news, haifa. >> thanks to josh for his reporting. more special coverage of the

israel-hamas war in our next hour. we'll talk with a woman whose grandmother was kidnapped by hamas, the fight to bring her home more than a week since that attack on israel. plus, amid all the darkness a rabbi shines a hopeful light on forging unity here at home. we're back after a short break. clark. if you have both medicare and medicaid, i have some really encouraging news that you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. all of these plans include a healthy options allowance, a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and over-the-counter items. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month. and whatever you don't spend, carries over from each month. other benefits on these plans include free rides to and from your medical appointments.

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good morning, it's 11:00 a.m. eastern, i'm jose diaz-balart, this is a second hour of the special coverage of the israel-hamas war. right now it is 6:00 p.m. in the gaza strip. the humanitarian crisis there is only growing more urgent by the hour. >> israel says 600,000 people have now followed israeli orders to evacuate the northern part of gaza. many of them now congregating at the rafah crossing, that's on the egyptian border in the