richard engel is in beirut. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc news tonight that israeli troops appear to have crossed the border into lebanon to attack hezbollah. israeli officials say the goal is to deliver a knockout blow to what has long been considered the most fearsome, best-armed militia in the middle east. asked if he was aware -- >> i'm more aware than you might know, and i'm comfortable with them stopping. we should have a cease-fire now. >> reporter: a u.s. official tells nbc news israel informed the united states ahead of time, describing the operations as brief, days not weeks, with a limited geographic reach. the official said israel had planned a broader campaign but the u.s. pushed to scale it back. tonight, american officials worry that over time the mission could expand. hezbollah claims to have 100,000 fighters. independent analysts, however, estimate the real number is about half of that. still, a sizable dedicated force fighting on its home turf. this is the dead center of beirut. it's called martyrs' squar

. >>> and chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in southern lebanon right across the border from israel. richard, you've covered this conflict for a very long time. does it feel certain that israel will retaliate here? >> oh, israel will absolutely retaliate. and prime minister netanyahu is already giving some hint at what israel intends to do. tonight he listed off the names of several militant leaders who have attacked israel in the past. nearly all of them subsequently assassinated by israel. so israel could carry out targeted attacks against iranian officials believed to be associated with this missile barrage. there could be attacks on nuclear sites, military facilities. how far israel goes will determine the course of this war in the middle east. lester? >> all right, richard engel, thanks. as you heard, the u.s. actively participated in defending against the iranian strike as the president and vice president kept a close watch on the situation. here is peter alexander. >> reporter: president biden tonight declaring iran's major assault on israel a failure. >> the attack ap

lester. >> richard engel, thank you. >>> in 60 seconds, why an infamous murder case from long ago, thez brothers, is getting new attention from kim kardashian and prosecutors. vere eczema. and they can show off clearer skin and less itch with dupixent, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, that helps heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your child's eczema . can you do this? as early as your 40s you may lose muscle and strength. protein supports muscle health. ensure max protein has a 30 gram blend of high quality protein to feed muscles for up to seven hours. so take the challenge. ensure, nutrition for strength and energy. >>> back now with the >>> back now with the infamous menendez brothers case, the two convicted of slaying their parents back in the headlines thanks to ne

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richard engel with late details. >>> president biden and vice president harris in the storm zone. the president ordering a thousand active duty troops to the region facing growing desperation. we're in communities cut off from vital supplies. >>> the key takeaways and fallout from the vice presidential debate as the candidates tackle mounting crises. election workers under threat. the extraordinary measures being taken to protect them including panic buttons and bulletproof glass. >>> priced out, skyrocketing home prices forcing many to put their dreams on hold. the solutions trump and harris propose. >>> and the good news from high above. how to see the so-called mini moon. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, and welcome. seeking to keep the federal election interference case against donald trump alive, special counsel jack smith has laid out a 165-page legal argument that mr. trump's actions to overturn the 2020 election results were those of a private candidate for president and unrelated to his job. smith in a court filing unsealed toda

the move comes days after israel killed the longtime leader, richard engel is in beirut with more. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc news tonight that israeli troops appear to have crossed the border into lebanon to attack hezbollah. israeli officials say the goal is to deliver a knockout blow to what has long been considered the most fearsome, best armed militia in the middle east. asked if he was aware. >> i am more aware than you might know and uncomfortable of them stopping it. >> reporter: a u.s. official tells nbc news, israel inform the united states ahead of time, describing the operations is brief, days, not weeks, with a limited geographic reach. the official said israel had planned a broader campaign. the us pushed to scale it back. tonight, american officials were that over time the mission could expand. hezbollah claims to have 100,000 fighters, independent analysts estimate the real number is about half of that. still, a sizable, dedicated force fighting on its home turf. this is the dead center beirut called martyrs square and its filling up with displeased people. p

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us with the latest. itants, thousands of them, broke out of the gaza strip and entered israel, attacking more than 30 different communities, killing at least 1,200 people and taking hostages, more than 100 hostages are still believed to be captive. but since then, now the war has spread all across the middle east. the war in gaza is escalating, israel over the weekend launched a new offensive, this time aimed at the northern part of the gaza strip. and hamas has not been defeated in gaza. earlier this morning, hamas launched rockets at tel aviv, perhaps in a sign to show that a year later it is still standing. and here in lebanon, war is also expanding on the ground and in the air. there have been air strikes in southern lebanon where i am this morning, and, of course, the world is waiting to see how israel responds to iran's missile barrage, hoda. back to you. >> richard engel on the story, thank you. >>> just a reminder, nbc news and sky news have joined forces to launch a global affairs podcast called

richard engel is in lebanon. richard, i cut you off many, many minutes ago to go to matt miller at the state department take me back to lebanon and what israel is doing right now. >> reporter: are we back? you kept me waiting so long, the audio went down but now we're back. so i was saying to your question, you said what is israel doing in lebanon. what we saw just a short while ago with the ballistic missile assault, much of that counter strike, the air defense systems took place over our heads. took place in lebanese air space because it seems the ballistic missiles were traveling from iran. that would put them through syria through lebanon on their way to israel. our colleague raf was catching them as they were crossing on to the israeli side of the border. the two of us are worlds apart politically in terms of political space. the area we're in control right now is controlled more or less by hezbollah. he's in northern israel, an area that is attacking hezbollah at the moment but we were both able to witness t

joining me now from lebanon is richard engel. iran's mission to the u.n.today that any country that provides assistance to israel -- that's obviously, the u.s. -- will be a legitimate target. what could iran do against u.s. targets in your region, u.s. forces in iraq and elsewhere? >> reporter: so, this is a move or seems to be a move by iran to show strength to signal to the united states that it's not backing down, it's a warning delivered by diplomatic representatives. i believe it was the swiss that conveyed it to the u.s. that iran does not want israel to be assisted. if any country, primarily the u.s., does provide israel with assistance it will be considered a legitimate target and an aggressor and accomplice was the word they used. iran could launch ballistic missiles at u.s. bases in the region. there are several. iran has done that once before after the death of soleimani. i visited that base that was hit. it was in northern iraq. many u.s. military personnel at the time -- there were no fatalities but they described it as a very near miss. a few

joining us now, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel who's in tire, lebanon for us, andlaughlin in tel aviv. erin, i'll start with you and the remembrances, what's it like there today? >> reporter: i was just at what's called hostage square here in tel aviv where thousands of israelis had gathered to remember what happened on october 7th. many of them were in tears. it was an emotional ceremony. one of many ceremonies to take place today across israel. today earlier in the morning, at exactly 6:29 a.m., israelis gathered at the site of the nova music festival to remember the exact minute hamas militants crossed the border, storming the festival and the kibbutz scene killing innocent israelis. and that emotion, that sadness is also compounded by anger. i have been speaking to many israelis here, and they continue to be angry. they feel that this government is not prioritizing the release of the hostages in this war. and to that end, there were hundreds of israelis marching through the streets of jerusalem today, not far from the israeli prime minister's home, demanding ju

thanks to richard engel as well.p with a sky news anchor for a podcast launching tomorrow. listen where you get your podcasts. he has the most interesting and the latest information from the front lines. >>> an explosive new book from bob woodward shining new light on the relationship between netanyahu and joe biden and also between russian leader vladimir putin and former president trump. vaughn hillyard joining us with more on that. vaughn, an unnamed trump aide indicates the former president may have spoken to putin as many as seven times since donald trump left the white house in 2021. there's a denial from trump on truth social about that. what more are you learning? >> let's look at the broad blink -- blanket denial. a spokesman says the stories in this book are made up and they are not true. going on the attack against bob woodward specifically noting that he still has a lawsuit, donald trump does, against bob woodward for releasing the audiotapes of the interviews in 2019 and 2020. you see there, none of thes

we begin with nbc's richard engel on the ground in lebanon.know eight israeli soldiers in clashes with hezbollah forces. what more can you tell us? >> so hezbollah has claimed that it has carried out numerous attacks against israeli troops, and this is just the beginning of a ground campaign, a ground campaign that is escalating. the first 24 hours to 48 hours after israel announced that a limited number of troops crossed into lebanon, a few hundred at first in walking distance of the border. in the first 48 hours, let's say, hezbollah was hanging back. there were not any direct confrontations. it seems that hezbollah was assessing the israeli strength, trying to do some reconnaissance. now that has changed. that change today, hezbollah says that it is directly encountering, confronting israeli troops in close quarter combat. it does seem that this has entered a new phase of the war. hezbollah says it is using weapons as booby traps, it has been firing at israeli helicopters, and then israel today confirmed the death of so far eight israeli so

joining us now, nbc news correspondent, erin mclaughlin in tel aviv, and chief correspondent richard engel is on the phone, chris o'leary, senior vice president for global operations and former director of hostage recovery for the u.s. government. what do we know out of israel at this hour? >> reporter: well, jose, the israeli military has long referred to yahya sinwar as a dead man walking, and now this hour an israeli official tells nbc news it was very likely that he was killed according to a source, it happened in an operation that took place yesterday. there was heavy gunfire exchanged, serious gunfire in the words of this source. today, they discovered the body, that body has now been sent for dna tests. we are waiting for final confirmation. but, again, this israeli official is saying that it was, quote, very likely that it was him. as i said, this has been long sought after by israeli military and political leaders, the death of yahya sinwar, and we have heard from the israeli defense minister in a rather cryptic tweet on x, saying, quote, chase the enemy and they will fall upon yo

richard engel is nbc chief correspondent. hala gorani reporting from tel aviv. david ignatius is washington post columnist as well as msn contributor and i'm fortunate to have john brennan, former cia director and msnbc senior national security and intelience analyst. i appreciate all of you being here. richard, we just saw a tweet from the idf. it was short. it was pointed. it said eliminated: yahya sinwar. what do we know about how this came to be? >> so apparently, this was a very routine operation. it was not like the killing of osama bin laden. as far as we know at this stage i'm sure we'll hear more details about how it happened when prime minister netanyahu makes a public announcement, and i have no doubt that he will and probably will do tonight, but from what we understand, it was a fairly routine military operation. the military was sweeping the area. they didn't believe there were any hostages there. it was an area in rafah which was in the southern gaza strip where sinwar had been not spotted, but signs of him had been found in the past. it's an area

why don't you -- richard engel is joining us now. peter, let me bring richard engel in.hard, that confirmation -- you reported officials were telling us for several hours that they believed it was sinwar based on visual evidence, based on what the troops there were telling them. they didn't have dna. i'm not sure they do yet. this is the foreign minister saying so. >> reporter: the foreign minister has been just said that. i have a senior u.s. military official saying to me, quote, it's definitely him. this official did not specify how the united states knew that, didn't mention if it was facial recognition or dna. expressed as clear as could be said that yahya sinwar, the mastermind of the october 7th attacks, is dead. the way he was killed i think is very interesting. for months, u.s. and israeli officials believed that sinwar had been hiding in caves -- excuse me, hiding in tunnels underneath the cities and villages of the gaza strip. that he had at times gone off the grid. the only communications with him were through a handful of aides who had direct contact. he did

nbc's richard engel, live from lebanon.> and coming up, senior adviser for the harris/walz campaign, ian sams joins us next with where the campaign goes from here following last night's vice presidential debate. "morning joe" will be right back. ntial debate "morning joe" will be right back ♪ i have type 2 diabetes, but i manage it well ♪ ♪ it's a little pill with a big story to tell ♪ ♪ i take once-daily jardiance ♪ ♪ at each day's staaart ♪ ♪ as time went on, it was easy to seeee ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c ♪ jardiance works 24/7 in your body to flush out some sugar. and for adults with type two diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. serious side effects may include ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and genital, yeast, or urinary tract infections. a rare, life threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop jardiance and call your doctor right away. if you have symptoms of this in

. >> richard engel, thanks. this concludes this nbc special report. more ahead, and we will have a lot more when i see you tonight for "nbc nightly news." i'm lester holt in new york. thank you for watching and good day. thanks for joining us for our midday newscast. i'm ginger conejero saab, and i'm laura garcia. you've been watching a special report as iran launches a missile attack against israel. we have a live look over the country now where the skies much calmer after a barrage of missiles flew into the country. israel's military says there have been no fatalities from the assault, with its iron dome missile defense intercepting many of those missiles from mid-air. you just saw that defense system in action during nbc's special report. just minutes ago. we are seeing the streaking lights of what we do believe to be these iranian ballistic missiles, potentially fired just ten minutes ago from iran, crossing a distance of thousands of miles. and now illuminating the skies of northern israel. the attack ended about 30 minutes ago. the idf says they

richard engel with late details. >>> president biden and vice president harris in the storm zone. the president ordering a thousand active duty troops to the region facing growing desperation. we're in communities

nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in beirut for us. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. israel's enemies are under attack, but also firing intensely in the last 24 hours, hezbollah here in lebanon, hamas in gaza and the houthis in yemen together fired around 200 missiles, rockets and drones at israel, mostly to little effect. e [ sirens ] israel's enemies opened fire overnight in what seemed to be a coordinated barrage to show israel they're still standing. israel fired into beirut and across southern lebanon in what the israeli military described as extensive strikes. on hezbollah terror targets. israel has been carrying out air strikes on the city of tyre. we counted ten just in that area. after a day of memorials for the 1,200 israelis killed on october 7th, a year ago, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said israel is at a war to change the middle east, with america at its side. >> it is the worst attack on jewish people since the holocaust. but unlike the holocaust, we fight back. we're fighting like lions with

let's bring in richard engel. what does it look like there? not to come below the letani river. a lot of streets are starting to look like this. there are very few people out. people are nervous. there is an ominous feeling now that this war could escalate really at any moment. israel's ground incursion into lebanon is under way, a cross-border drive to attack hezbollah on its own terrain. u.s. officials saying israel informed the biden administration ahead of time, describing the operation as short, days, not weeks, and limited in its geographic reach. >> our war is is with hezbollah, not with the people of lebanon. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc fluz the administration is concerned israel's operation could expand. this morning the israeli military issued an ominous ruling telling lebanese not to travel in vehicles south of the letani river, suggesting a large part of southern lebanon could become an open war zone. israel says its goal is to create a buffer zone to prevent hezbollah from using the area to launch attacks against israel.

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us now from lebanon. hey, richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. that new israeli strike was right in the center of beirut, but remarkably, the airport in beirut is still operating, flights are still coming in and out. but very few carriers are going to beirut. tickets are almost impossible to find. the u.s. government has been chartering planes and another charter leaves today, carrying more than 100 u.s. citizens, as this entire region now, hoda, is bracing for further escalation. israel says iran's barrage of ballistic missiles, nearly all shot down by israeli and american air defenses, will not go unanswered. as u.s. and israeli officials tell nbc news, israel is preparing a swift response. at the united nations, israel's ambassador outlined what may be coming. >> the consequences that iran will face for their actions will be far greater than they could ever have imagined. >> reporter: president biden said he would not support an attack on iran's nuclear sites. >> they have a right to

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let's bring in richard engel. our chief international correspondent whose in lebanon. richard, where does hezbollah stand now without nasrallah, without so many of their leaders below him. so many mid level players. a number of the ever day soldiers injured. where does hezbollah stand? >> reporter: well, hezbollah has been weakened significantly over the last two weeks. in a way that many in the region find shocking. even within hezbollah. i'm in southern lebanon right now, an area considered a hezbollah stronghold. you can just see by what happened today that hezbollah is not the same organization that it was a few weeks ago. a few months ago. its leadership is in a state of disarray. israel crossed the border and israel and hezbollah didn't engage in the fight. it held back. a few hundred israeli troops crossed into lebanon. they stayed close to the israeli border and it seemed like a come on. the israelis were talking about crossing in yesterday. they were making it quite obviously they intended to cross the border. they did in fact cross the border and hezbollah hun

my colleague richard engel spoke to a leader of hezbollah about what comes next. >> reporter: if the israelis want to retaliate on iran, the iranians will know how to handle it. we in the resistance here do our duty, others do theirs. >> that comes after offhand comments from president biden yesterday. >> would you support israel striking iran's oil facilities, sir? >> i think that would be a little -- anyway. >> what are the plans to allow israel to strike back against iran? >> first of all, we don't allow israel. we advise israel, and there's nothing going to happen today. we'll talk about that later. >> so the decision of what's next is ultimately in the hands of israel and prime minister benjamin netanyahu has blindsided the biden administration before. i want to bring in ross sanchez on the ground in israel as well as peter baker. so raf, what do we know is on the table? what is israel considering right now? >> reporter: israel has a number of options in terms of striking iran, all at different rungs on the escalation ladder. the very top of that ladder would be a strike against

joining us now, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel and with me is international correspondentaf sanchez in the northern most israeli city near the border with lebanon. what is the latest? >> reporter: so we can start with those attacks in beirut, and they are not limited. there are now frequent israeli air strikes in beirut. there are drones flying over the city. there are drones flying over this city. we were listening to them not long ago. there is outgoing hezbollah fire from here. there is a ground war between israeli troops and hezbollah fighters in southern lebanon. and so there is now an open ground war, an open air war that seems to be intensifying by the day. you talked about those strikes in beirut. there were ten separate air strikes at least in beirut, very close to the beirut international airport. they targeted, according to an israeli official, the presumed successor, to the hezbollah leader, who was assassinated a week ago. no clarity, that i have at this point, if he, in fact, was killed or survived. but apparently it was an underground bunker facility, and it

richard engel, our colleague is apparently reporting that so far at least, we see some more antiaircraft fire over tel aviv, that the defenses have so far worked very well. there have been no mass casualty s according to engle. is it does look like another wave is starting right now, david. let's just talk about the military matchup here. obviously iran has an enormous military force. they have been moderating in what they did in april, that was pointed out that there were cruise missiles. not the fast flying ballistic missiles that are so much more devastating and harder to defend against, but u.s. has a lot of firepower and defensive weapons in the region. >> it does. it was the u.s. -- the u.s. played a major role in april when the iranian attack essentially failed. it is a tremendously positive sign for the idf, for the israeli military, that there have been no mass casualty events. my colleague is texting me saying this will continue in waves, this isn't over yet. the iranians have learned from april. i would say there has been a lot of criticism of the idf's performance in terms of

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel in lebanon, and also with us is nbc news senior national security correspondent courtney kube. raf, i will begin with you, what is the outlook from the israelis right now about retaliation? >> reporter: it is determination to retaliate, katy. prime minister benjamin netanyahu met at the defense ministry here in tel aviv earlier today with israel's top military and intelligence officials, and the topic of discussion, how, when, at what scale to retaliate for iran's ballistic missile attack last night. an israeli official tells me israel is determined to respond swiftly. they feel that they need to show not just iran, but those other enemies you mentioned across the region that an attack like this will not go unanswered. there are a couple of complicating factors here, though, as israel waves its retaliation. one, is the biden administration, you have mentioned the president and the administration sending these lightly mixed signals. on the one hand, israel has the chance to respond to this iranian missile strike, and calling for a cease fire

northern most israeli city near the border with lebanon, and nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engeltire, lebanon. i'll start with you, what's happening there? >> reporter: you talk about these evacuation orders, and they have been coming every day. more than 20 villages were told to evacuate today, not just tiny villages, but large population centers. every day, more and more. it is trying to clear out the whole area in southern lebanon because it says it wants to go to war with hezbollah, it is already at war with hezbollah, and it wants to have a war that dislodges hezbollah from all of southern lebanon, and in the process, many people have left. hezbollah has not left, however, hezbollah is still here, remains in force. it still has an army. every day, even just a few minutes ago, we heard outgoing fire, headed toward where rafah is in northern israel. even though the leader has been killed, the command and control structure, the communications have been badly damaged. it's capable with tens of thousands of fighters, still able daily to launch rocket attacks into israel. still ab

we have a new report from richard engel. >>> also, a new book tells the stories of those impacted by"morning joe" comes right back unitedhealthcare knows you've got your whole life ahead of you. ♪♪ ♪♪ it's nice to know you're free to focus on what matters, with reliable medicare coverage from unitedhealthcare. >>> welcome back. we turn now to news from overseas. israel is signaling it could widen its ground offensive in lebanon as it continues to strike hezbollah targets in the southern part of that country. and that includes fresh air strikes in beirut overnight. nbc news correspondent richard engel has the latest from lebanon. >> reporter: no one in beirut had a quiet night. buildings shook across the city as israeli war planes carried out at least ten strikes on what an israeli official tells nbc news was a meeting of hezbollah leaders in an underground bunker, including the group's likely successor. witnesses describe the air strikes near the beirut airport as the biggest since israel killed the secretary general hassan nasrallah a week ago. you can see how powerful this blast mu

richard engel has the very latest. hey, richard. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. iran's supreme leader spoke this morning for the first time since iran's missile barrage saying that the real cause of instability in the region is the united states and some european countries, as this region is nos bracing for israel's response. as israel assesses the damage this morning from iran's biggest attack ever against the country, one thing is clear. it could have been so much worse. iran launched around 200 bus-sized missiles at israel. most shot down by israeli and american air missile defenses. a few slipped through the net. but despite all the iranian fire power, only one person was killed, a palestinian man, a victim of falling debris near the jordanian border. as israelis add to the chaos of the moment, two gunmen open fire in an apparent unrelated attack. we saw it unfold as missiles flew over lebanon toward israel. well, there was a lot of activity in the sky here as well. i think you can see some of these flashes of light. so this is a massive campaign, a massive a

richard engel joins us now with the latest here. hey, richard.good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. iran's foreign minister arrived in beirut shortly after those very intense air strikes in the city by israel, as the evacuation of foreign nationals from beirut is continuing, as israel is intensifying both its air and ground wars here in lebanon. no one in beirut had a quiet night. buildings shook across the city as israeli war planes carried out at least ten strikes on what an israeli official tells nbc news was a meeting of hezbollah leaders in an underground bunker including the group's likely successor. witnesses describe the air strikes near the beirut airport as the biggest since israel killed their secretary general a week ago. israel is also pummelling south lebanon. >> you get a sense of how powerful this blast might have been just by how much debris there is. >> reporter: the israeli military says its goal is to create a buffer zone across the south, free of hezbollah. >> reporter: this building here took a district hit by what

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in lebanon for us. hey, richard.d morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. for now, it appears that israeli troops are operating very close to the israel-lebanon border. but that could change quickly. just this morning, the israeli army ordered the evacuation of dozens, more than two dozen lebanese villages, claiming that hezbollah is using them as bases and telling residents to leave immediately to safe their lives. israel's ground incursion into lebanon is underway, a cross border drive to attack hezbollah on its own terrain. u.s. officials tell nbc news israel informed the biden administration ahead of time, describing the operation as short, days not weeks, and limited in its geographic reach. >> i want to make it clear, a war with hezbollah, not with the people of lebanon. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc news the administration is concerned israel's operation could expand. and this morning the israeli military issued an ominous warning, telling lebanese not to travel in vehicles south of the river, suggest