let's bring in avi mayer, editor-in-chief at the jerusalem post. great to have you back on the show. i just want to start there your reaction to what president biden had to say. >> i think i'd sign on to everything the president said. i think that hamas does need to be eliminated. i think the massacre last weekend demonstrated that. if ever we thought that it was a pragmatic rational organization that can be reasoned with. we now know it's an isis-like organization that needs to be destroyed. so, i think that's absolutely true. i don't think there's any israelis like the president said on the other hand wants to be pats of the gaza strip. no one wants to administer that territory. no won wants to run the lives of 2 million palestinians. i think he's right on that. and the two-state solution, palestine and israel living side by side, that's not what hamas is about. hamas exists solely to destroy israel and murder as many jews as it possibly can. that's not a factor. but it's how to get to a point where the peace process is possible. >> avi, can i ask

joining us now is avi mayer of the jerusalem post. i want to set the scene for our viewers because behind you, honestly, i didn't quite realize we were going to see so much of what is unfolding. but you are at a funeral for one of the soldiers who was killed in this hamas attack. tell us about where you are, why and who is the man that they are burying today. >> sure. i'm here at the military cemetery in jerusalem to pay respect to a 23-year-old soldier originally from france who was in the line of fire, he was actually at the frontlines at one of the kibbutz most affected by the massacre. as i understand if, he manage todd maintain fire for about eight hours saving untold number of lives before he was killed in battle. and so he is actually the cousin of a friend of mine. i came to pay my respects. i don't know if you can see, but behind me there are three other fresh graves of other young people killed on saturday. this is a country in shock and mourning. 1 103,000 people skonconfirmed. funerals are taking place every day. and they

avi mayer joins us now. thank you so much for being us. you know this region well. you were a former idf spokesperson years ago. talk us through how you are covering this and what you think happens now in terms of the international response and the effect of that on what happens in the days ahead. >> well, anderson, this has been the most devastating experience of my life and i know that's certainly true of many israelis. we're a country in shock, a country in trauma. i would say a country in mourning, in many respects. you know you're here, you're seeing it yourself. and that, i think, permeates every aspect of society. it and permeates our newsroom, as well. there's not a single person in israel who doesn't know a family or know someone personally who has been affected by this, who's lost a loved one, a parent, a child, a grandparent, or whose loved ones have gone missing and are pursued kidnapped in gaza and that's true in our newsroom as well. it's been an extremely difficult weekend. and i wrote that piece just before this shabbat, this past weekend. and you kn

richard engel, and with us now to continue our conversation from israel is avi mayer, the editor in chiefthe jerusalem posts. you were just visiting one of the communities hardest hit by the october 7th attacks, i understand. what did you see? >> reporter: i'm actually here on a roadside stop, i spent the day at kibbutz be'eri one of the civilian communities targeted in the massacre just last weekend and the sights that are extremely harrowing. this is an environment that's generally were idyllic, very quiet, lots of greenery and lawns. there are homes that have been completely shattered, that are -- have been blackened by hamas terrorists who set them on fire in order to murder the families inside. we saw one home in which the terrorists barricaded themselves. and so the idf had to come in and demolish the structure and when they pulled the rubble apart they found the bodies of eight small children who had been tied to one another and shot. they also found the bodies of a couple who were embracing when they died. it was an extremely difficult thing. i've never seen anything like this bef

inquiry, but the notion that that's somehow connected to the west bank is completely preposterous. >> avi mayerappreciate your time, thank you, sir. >>> it's unclear if duel israeli citizens, the country is home to multiple nationalities with 10% of the nation holding two passports. duel citizens from england, france, russia, mexico, australia and more. joining me now is eli benjamin, deputy chief of mission at the ambassador of israel in washington, d.c. there's so many nations that are affected by what's happening now in israel. what is your expectation? what is your hope for the international response? >> hello, katy, and thank you for this. indeed, israel is first and foremost known for the gathering of people from all over the world, especially jews who have come to the jewish homeland in israel. the only jewish homeland for jews around the world, and yes, we have nations from all over the world, living in israel. some of them with duel citizenships, some of them without. we're in close contact with the international community with countries like the united states first and foremost. our s

i want to bring back avi mayer, the editor in chief of "the jerusalem post." tieing into what the secretary was talking about as far as what the military reaction should be in this case. and how do you deal with a group that its existence is to deny the existence of israel but that is in a place filled with civilians? >> well, i think it is right -- quite appropriate that the secretary tied israel and ukraine together in his remarks. i think it is notable that the ukrainian president and the ukrainian people, zelenskyy, had been tremendously supportive of israel during this time. they view israel as being in the same boat they are. on the receiving end of murderous acts of terror and violence. and so, look, how do you respond to that? you respond with full force and determination. that is what israel must do, that's what any country in its situation would do under the circumstances. and, yes, certainly care must be taken to spare innocent civilians in gaza of whom there are many. they have received warnings from israeli military leadership and from prime minis

s avi mayer, thank you for being with us. >>> coming up here for us, mike pence drops out of the 2024dential race. how that reshapes or didn't reshape the field. >>> and remembering matthew perry. >> how would you like to be remembered? >> i'd like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well. was a seeker. and his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. that's what i want. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. >>> earlier today, mike pence officially ended his presidential campaign. he made the decision after he consulted with god and god said, dude, you're embarrassing both of us. [ laughter ] >>> that was "saturday night live," poking a little fun at the former vice president after he announced he is dropping out of the 2024 race. he suspen

we're joined now as part of our coverage by avi mayer, editor-in-chief of "the jerusalem post", and marking a msnbc analyst. avi, what is the state of the conditions right now, and what is the reaction as the scale, which we still are struggling to make sense of or bring words to, the scale of some of the atrocities we just heard about? >> as i was watching your coverage just now i received a message from a friend that said she hopes i'm taking time to process what's going on and of course i couldn't text her back because i was watching your show, but of course i don't want to process it, because i think i might break down. the events of the past few days are nothing short of horrifying. israel never encounters anything like this before. i'm not sure any country has. to have a thousand civilians murdered in cold blood, slaughters in their homes, burnt to death, elderly people shot in the street, these are scenes we have never seen before. this is a country in shock and it's a country in mourning. so that's the state of affairs here. at the moment people are walking around in a bit of a daze

avi mayer, thank you so much. we appreciate you. gop candidates have some unique perspectives on the war in israel. you're going to hear what they are saying and why it might not be received so well. that is next. might no be received so well. that is next that is next this is spring semester at over 13,000 us school districts, which have become top targets for ransomware attacks. but there's never been a reported ransomware attack on a chromebook. which is why thousands of schools like the fairfield-suisun unified school district switched to google tools for education. so they can focus on teaching and 22,000 students can focus on learning, knowing that their data is secure. ( ♪♪ ) flu shots at cvs are pretty... flex. schedule one for you... or the whole crew. plus, they're free. really? healthier is getting a flu shot on your schedule. cvs. healthier happens together. >> breaking news from israel at this hour, fighting escalates in some areas. new word from several gop 2024 presidential candidates on the campaign trail about this

. >> raf sanchez, avi mayer, thank you both. >>> preparing for the threat posed by iran-backed hezbollah know about that threat? could that be next? you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. atching "andrl reports" on msnbc. i made that. with your very own online store. i sold that. and you can manage it all in one place. i built this. and it was easy, with a partner that puts you first. godaddy. as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com i was stuck. unresolved depression symptoms were in my way. i needed more from my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an ant

. >> avi mayer, our best to you, thank you for taking the moment to be with us.how challenging your work is. i can't even imagine. but thank you. >> thank you, andrea. >> and coming up, congressional urgency? the war in israel ratcheting up pressure on republicans, house republicans in washington to select a speaker. what can we expect in the coming days? you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. to finally lose 80 pounds and keep it off with golo is amazing. i've been maintaining. the w

. >> all right, nbc's kelly cobiella, avi mayer, like you so much.oining us right now, former united states ambassador to syria, iraq, afghanistan, lebanon, kuwait, and pakistan. mister ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. one of the most pressing concerns right now from an american standpoint is getting u.s. citizens out of the region, especially those that are stuck in gaza, numbering a couple of hundred as part of the estimates. the united states, israel, egypt, they appear to reach an impasse in terms of getting americans outside of gaza via the rafah border crossing. but what do you think the united states can do to help actually get them out? or is it just a waiting game at this point? i mean, we've been talking about the logistics of it. how do even manage that? the logistics of it. how do even >> it is going to b, really big challenge, alex. there is no doubt about it. in part not just the logistics at the border, but conversations with egypt, which of course blinken has been having. they're gonna have to navigate through gaza and th