. >> nick kristof, always a pleasure. to mention nick's efforts every year that he identifies the best non-profits during the holiday season. go to nickkristof.org and on the new york times as well. an important neighbor in this confli conflict, egypt, when we come back. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ >>> there's currently only one viable way out of gaza, the rafah border crossing controlled by egypt. it opens on to the sinai peninsula for the first three weeks of israel's siege, israel's government kept the crossing closed and now it is intermittently opened to let a trickle of aid into gaza and a few foreigners and injured palestinians out into

what nick kristof said is, i want to talk about pepfar.the most successful government program in my lifetime. 25 million lives saved. can you talk about how extraordinary this program is and how you all achieved that success? >> yes. well, i'm grateful to the american people who have supported this program for 20 years. we have to remember that president bush made an appeal to the american people, and i'll never forget that night, when he said, to whom much is given, much is expected. and so i think what we have to focus on here is the united states of america is at its best when it leads from power, which we have plenty of, but also principle and compassion. the 25 million lives that were saved, and we have to realize, it's not just the 25 million lives that were saved, think of all the orphans that were not created because their parents were saved. think about the mother-to-child transmission that was a part of this, that saved the lives of pregnant women who were giving birth to children. we have to realize what a terrible situation thi

. >>> plus, nick kristof of "the new york times" will join us with his reporting from the west bank.'s remarkable. >> extraordinary story. i can't wait to talk to him about him meeting up with friends from the west bank that he'd not spoken with in 41 years. >> you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. 'll be righ. s nation should extend to all from new york to new mexico, from alaska to alabama. but right now, people like you are losing their freedoms. some in power are suppressing voting rights. banning our kids books from libraries and attacking our right to make private health care decisions. we must act now to defend these freedoms and protect our democracy. and we can't do it without you. we are the american civil liberties union, and we're asking you to join us in protecting our democracy at the national level and in communities like yours. call or go online to myaclu.org to become a guardian of liberty today. your gift of just $19 a month. only $0.63 a day will help ensure that together we can continue to fight for the freedoms of all americans, no matter your zip c

. >> all right, "new york times" columnist nick kristof, thank you very much. he holiday impact buys or if you google my name and giving guide, you'll see it. >> holiday impact prize. thank you very much, nick. >>> also, this just in, two israeli hostages have been released by hamas and handed over to the red cross just moments ago. israeli defense forces say the two people are now on their way back to israeli territory, and more hostages are expected to be released in the coming hours, so we will be following that here. you can catch all the latest live here on msnbc. final thoughts on all of this, jen. >> i mean, it will be very interesting to watch what's happening next with the hostage situation. it becomes harder, as you've been talking about this morning, especially with the israeli forces that are being held. >> symone. >> absolutely. i think that folks will be watching, especially over the next week or so, how the conversations evolve. is there more public pressure on prime minister netanyahu from the u.s. government, or does it stay private? >> and ther

kristof, pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author. new york times columnist, his latest times column is titled what we get wrong about israel and gaza. in and of itself, nicke importance of talking to you is there is valid criticism i see out there which say fare are all sorts of people suffering all over the world, how pumped the world so interested in this one and not the others. my only answer is nick kristoff. because you sadly have gone and chronicled most if not all of the people around the world who are defeated, beleaguered, punished, under civil war or in humanitarian crisis. >> ali, i've covered a lot of international crises and their oldest broken in their own way. i would say covering this one has been particularly disconcerting. partly because, frankly, i think it's going to get worse before it maybe gets even worse. and you just have the sense that, you know, israel has already been shattered and it is a torment to continue the war in gaza. i think that's likely to continue to unfold. and i'm told there is just -- it's horrifying. i've been in touch with a man in gaza who describes how he and his children are eating leaves now. defecating in