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tonight we're live from Tel Aviv as Israel gives Palestinians another window to escape Northern Gaza and now the US
0:08 0:14 has a plan to get Americans out Israel striking targets inside Gaza today as
0:14 0:22 thousands of Palestinians try to flee the US state department working to evacuate Americans out through Egypt but
0:22 0:27 so far Egypt hasn't let them through and for Americans trying to flee Israel the
0:27 0:32 first US Charter flight today to bring them home horrific scenes inside of Gossip a
0:32 0:38 caravan trying to escape hit children reportedly among those killed throughout
0:38 0:46 the territory emergency rooms overwhelmed One hospital Alone says it is Sheltering 35,000 people and now the
0:46 0:53 UN says they're running out of Clean Water what about the hostages President Biden vows to do everything in his power
0:53 1:00 to free Americans held by Hamas I'm not going to go into the detail of that but there's a we're
1:00 1:06 working like himan but what are his options protest
1:06 1:13 across the US and the world massive demonstrations in Chicago and San Francisco dozens arrested in New York
1:13 1:20 and the knife attack in France that has the whole country on edge Americans coming to Israel to fight why this
1:20 1:28 Soldier told me he needed to be here and on this holy day for Jews one week since the attack by Hamas powerful moments of
1:28 1:35 reflection and remance this is a special hourong edition of NBC
1:35 1:42 Nightly News reporting tonight live from Tel Aviv Tom
1:42 1:49 yamas and good evening from here in Tel Aviv it was one week ago that this country woke up to the horrific attacks
1:49 1:55 by Hamas that killed more than a thousand Israelis tonight the country is on the verge of a fullscale war with
1:55 2:02 ground troops poised to invade Gaza at any moment Israel announced another window today for those in Northern Gaza
2:02 2:10 to flee to the South tens of thousands are trying to get out fleeing any way possible this Caravan trying to escape
2:10 2:17 was hit Hamas says it was Israel and children were killed but we have no independent verication of who struck it
2:17 2:23 the us today announced that for Americans trapped in Gaza there is now a way out though it's through the southern
2:23 2:29 border with Egypt and so far they have not been let through and the first Charter flight for US citizens trying to
2:29 2:35 F Israel took off today while non-essential Personnel working at the embassy here have been told they too can
2:35 2:43 leave we learned today that 29 Americans have now been confirmed killed by hamas's attack last week President Biden
2:43 2:49 late today speaking to the leaders of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority as the crisis here grows the
2:49 2:54 region and the world on edge waiting for what happens
2:54 3:02 next tonight all eyes on Gaza as Israel prepared for an allout assault on Hamas
3:02 3:10 as the Israeli military announces there will be an integrated and coordinated attack from the air sea and land but
3:10 3:18 still waiting to launch this as more than a million Palestinians in Northern Gaza try to make their way south on foot
3:18 3:23 even by carts pulled by donkeys the escape from Gaza dangerous and deadly
3:23 3:29 graphic video showing the aftermath convoys a total of 70 people including
3:29 3:36 children killed in missile strikes Palestinians saying these were innocent lives killed by Israeli
3:36 3:42 bombs American citizens are among those in Gaza trying to get to safety and
3:42 3:47 tonight the United States is working to secure a safe exit for them in the south
3:47 3:53 at the Rafa border crossing in Egypt the kud family is desperate for help 12
3:53 3:58 family members one as young as four allamerican citizens trying to get out
3:58 4:05 we are constantly worried um I I don't think I've ever been this worried in my life tonight the efforts to evacuate
4:05 4:13 Americans inside Israel are also underway including non-essential Embassy workers from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as
4:13 4:18 Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza Hamas officials claim more than 20
4:18 4:24 hostages have been killed in those same strikes this as President Biden is
4:24 4:30 vowing to the families of Americans being held hostage in Gaza I assured my
4:30 4:36 personal commitment to do everything possible everything possible to return every missing American to their families
4:36 4:42 bring them home bring them home in Israel we were there as hundreds
4:42 4:48 gathered demanding that the hostages be brought home we're in the center of Tel Aviv right now just outside the Israeli
4:48 4:54 military headquarters where hundreds of Israelis have gathered demanding that they release the hostages inside of God
4:54 5:01 and you can read some of their signs here they say it very clearly bring them home While others are holding photos of
5:01 5:07 the people that have been kidnapped and disappear people
5:07 5:13 like Abigail hayut is among those searching for loved ones her daughter's
5:13 5:18 best friend Mia is still missing how hard is it to just not know for seven
5:18 5:25 days it's like hell and back every day every day every day she didn't do
5:25 5:33 nothing all along the border the signs are clear Israel is getting ready to go in tonight Israeli tanks and soldiers
5:33 5:38 prepared for battle Shai doesn't want us to use his last name he's an Israeli
5:38 5:45 American called up to fight last week he went to his synagogue in New York with his young children today he's on the
5:45 5:51 front lines in Israel a captain in the military how did you explain that to them and and how difficult was it to
5:51 5:58 leave to be honest I didn't explain to them too much you can't really explain to an 8-year-old in fact I hope to God
5:58 6:05 that he doesn't see any of the footage because it's um it's absolutely horrific
6:05 6:12 Shai is ready to do his duty but knows that innocent civilians will likely pay the price I know war is not fair and it
6:12 6:18 doesn't really make sense how do you explain that cuz there're Palestinian Americans here too yeah yeah so to be
6:18 6:25 honest um I feel really bad for the Palestinians because there are many
6:25 6:30 Palestinians in Gaza that are innocent we always try to minimize civilian casualties but at the same time we have
6:30 6:36 to understand that they're not giving us another choice this war touching so many
6:36 6:43 countries including our own back here the situation inside Gaza is growing even more desperate food water and
6:43 6:50 Medicine are almost out and for some the journey to the South where Israel says they must evacuate to is just as
6:50 6:56 dangerous as stain put Richard angle is near the Gaza border covering that for us tonight and Richard there are very
6:56 7:04 few safe places to go right now absolutely and even though this deadline
7:04 7:09 that Israel set has now passed Israeli officials are still urging the people in
7:09 7:16 Gaza City the blackedout city uh that you could see behind me to leave to leave now that they should do this for
7:16 7:21 their own safety the Israeli military also specifically ordered the evacuation
7:21 7:26 of three hospitals in Gaza City the medical staff there are refusing saying
7:26 7:33 patients Can't Be Moved shouldn't be moved and 35,000 people are now huddled at the
7:33 7:39 shifa hospital which is the main hospital in Gaza City the men sleeping in the parking lot women and children
7:39 7:46 inside hoping that there's safety in numbers Israel has told Palestinians to
7:46 7:51 evacuate Gaza City and head further south in the Gaza Strip to save their
7:51 7:56 lives many are trying to leave now but that's not safe
7:56 8:04 either this is what it looked like as people were were driving on a road they told was cleared for
8:04 8:11 travel an ambulance was also hit hea alatar and her family are
8:11 8:19 heading out of Gaza City nonetheless but she doesn't know exactly where they're going or how they'll get
8:19 8:24 there we're dying and everyone is watching shame on you all the Arab
8:24 8:29 countries we were told to leave but where where to go she asks
8:29 8:37 they're shelling people on the roads too where are we to go hea is leaving a un operated School
8:37 8:43 in theory a safe place but the UN has also been told to
8:43 8:49 evacuate and did Southern Gaza where Israel is telling Palestinians to go is
8:49 8:54 hardly a safe haven Han Yunis the main city in southern Gaza bore the brunt of
8:54 8:59 Israeli air strikes today perhaps because Hamas launched an
8:59 9:05 attack from there the militants say they broke through the Border fence near Han Yunis and attacked Israeli
9:05 9:12 troops Israel says it has no choice but to go into Gaza to disarm and Destroy
9:12 9:19 Hamas the group today released propaganda videos to show its
9:19 9:25 preparation it's gunmen attacking with skill and precision and Manufacturing their own
9:25 9:30 weapons including shoulder carried anti-tank Rockets Hamas says this is
9:30 9:35 what's awaiting Israeli troops the video ends with Hamas Fighters going down into
9:35 9:41 their tunnels getting ready for what's coming Richard we just saw there in your
9:41 9:47 report both sides ready for battle give us a sense of the scene there
9:47 9:52 tonight well in in Gaza the the city is blacked out there are still people who
9:52 9:57 are hunker down in the city but there is a great deal of of anger there's a great
9:57 10:04 deal of nervousness many people say that they have no reason left to to to live
10:04 10:11 they think that this is it I've spoken with Palestinians who fear uh that they're going to die tonight tomorrow uh
10:11 10:17 there's a real sense of chaos uh when you're in a city it's it's almost hard to imagine unless you've you've been there and i' I've been inside Gaza
10:17 10:25 before as it's been attacked you can't leave you're under attack you're ruled by Hamas you feel you have nowhere to go
10:25 10:32 you don't feel like you have a future so there is a sense of of ABS solute hopelessness and it's not just that it's
10:32 10:39 some abstract feeling of hopelessness you're worried that at any moment now perhaps tonight perhaps tomorrow Israeli
10:39 10:45 troops are going to be rolling down the streets in in heavy armored vehicles there's going to be gunfights Hamas
10:45 10:51 fighter is going to be popping out of titels and you're stuck in the middle of it and you've been told leave go to the
10:51 10:58 South you don't know how to get there you don't know where to go once you're there and you're still stuck in Gaza
10:58 11:03 still stuck with Hamas Fighters and still potentially in attack because there were many air strikes in in
11:03 11:10 southern Gaza tonight so I think the overwhelming uh feeling is fear and
11:10 11:15 hopelessness you know with that sentiment and looking at the video that we just saw in your report of Hamas
11:15 11:22 preparing to repel an Israeli Invasion you've covered Wars all around the world for us this is going to shape up to be a
11:22 11:29 brutal and very long bloody engagement it could be very long the the
11:29 11:35 last time that uh Israel went into Gaz Gaza like this and fought it was it was
11:35 11:42 just in in Gaza City I was there at the time in 2014 uh it lasted over a month and what
11:42 11:48 the Israeli forces did is they they went in and then they focused on one particular neighborhood uh and they they
11:48 11:54 they flattened that particular neighborhood and they were able to to occupy it hold it for for a period of
11:54 12:00 time but it didn't accomplish very much they they did set back hamas's uh
12:00 12:08 military capacity uh they killed a lot of Hamas Fighters many civilians were killed but then Hamas came back a few
12:08 12:13 years later and was able to rearm what Israel says this time it's going to do
12:13 12:20 is going to be different it's not going to allow Hamas to just take a blow deplete some of its uh Fighters deplete
12:20 12:25 some of its weapons and then regain uh its strength Israel says this time it
12:25 12:32 wants it to be a definitive operation that it's going to go in and that at the end of this operation Hamas will no
12:32 12:37 longer be governing the Gaza Strip if that is the goal uh it could be a very
12:37 12:44 long operation because going in fighting with Hamas looking for hostages potentially rescuing some is one thing
12:44 12:49 going in to topple Hamas and and make it so that Hamas doesn't ever control h uh
12:49 12:56 the Gaza Strip again is a completely different objective Richard Engle just outside of
12:56 13:02 Gaza Richard you and your team please stay safe tonight President Biden had conversations today with both the leader
13:02 13:08 of the Palestinian Authority Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin net Yahoo where he reiterated
13:08 13:15 America's support for Israel I want to bring in NBC White House correspondent Monica Alba now Monica let's talk about
13:15 13:20 those Americans who are still in Gaza trying to evacuate what are your sources at the White House telling you about
13:20 13:26 that well Tom the state department is actively working tonight with other governments in the region to try and get
13:26 13:32 those estimated 500 to 600 Americans out of Gaza safely they've directed US
13:32 13:38 citizens on the ground to move South toward the Rafa border crossing in Egypt but there is no guarantee at this hour
13:38 13:44 that it will open up and the challenge is because of that possibility they are still urging Americans to be nearby if
13:44 13:51 they feel it safe to do so since there may be very little warning about when it may open and how long that may last and
13:51 13:57 US officials are telling me it could also be for a pretty limited time now President Biden in phone calls tonight
13:57 14:04 with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president abas stressed the need to protect civilians
14:04 14:09 in Gaza and to ensure they have access to water food and medical care and of
14:09 14:15 course among those innocent civilians could be those hostages believed to be held by Hamas that the US government is
14:15 14:22 working so hard tonight to find Tom and Monica I want to ask you about
14:22 14:28 that because we cannot forget that there are 15 Americans who are possibly being held hostage by Hamas right now what is
14:28 14:34 President Biden saying about getting them out he says that that is his top priority right now to get those
14:34 14:40 Americans back home with their loved ones but he's also acknowledging just how difficult that will be and stressed
14:40 14:46 that he couldn't share much more Beyond this message for the Hamas militants holding them
14:46 14:54 hostage to those holding American hostages in Gaza you say what I say
14:54 15:02 we're going to do everything in our power to find them everything in our power and uh I'm not going to go into
15:02 15:07 the detail of that but there's a we're working like hell on it the president
15:07 15:13 spoke with the families of those who are still accounted for on Friday talking to them for more than an hour and calling
15:13 15:19 the agony that they are experiencing right now absolutely gut-wrenching
15:19 15:25 Tom and Monica obviously the situation is different for Americans trying to leave Where We Are Tonight Israel what
15:25 15:32 can you tell us about those efforts and the first Charter that was organized by the US government a flight left Israel
15:32 15:38 yesterday on Friday Landing in Athens and more are expected today while the state department is also exploring
15:38 15:45 potentially other options for getting Americans who want to leave Israel out including by SE that's one option on the
15:45 15:53 table and they're asking anybody who needs more information to sign up for their alerts in the coming days
15:53 15:59 Tom Monica Alba with a lot of new reporting for us tonight Monica we appreciate it we're also also learning
15:59 16:05 more tonight about how terrorists from Gaza carried out that attack against Israel the elaborate plan that was
16:05 16:12 hatched by Hamas and who's now the most wanted person by Israel the Hamas Mastermind rap Sanchez is live for us
16:12 16:18 tonight Raph what can you tell us Tom Israel's military says it has
16:18 16:23 launched an allout hunt for Yahya sinir the Hamas leader responsible for
16:23 16:28 Saturday's attack they say he is their Osama Bin Laden and they are determined
16:28 16:34 defines him no matter how long it
16:34 16:40 takes tonight Israel vowing to track down and kill the man it holds responsible for the worst terror attack
16:40 16:48 in the country's history Yahya sinir is the leader of Hamas in Gaza and Israel says The
16:48 16:54 Mastermind of Saturday's carefully orchestrated Slaughter he chose to send
16:54 17:01 the butchers into our bedrooms to kill our baby babies and when they chose to
17:01 17:07 go full front against Israel they signed their own death
17:07 17:14 warrants senoir knows better than most the value of hostages as human bargaining
17:14 17:21 chips the son of Palestinian refugees he was supposed to spend the rest of his life in an Israeli jail after being
17:21 17:27 convicted of terrorism but in 2011 he was freed in a
17:27 17:34 prisoner swap is releasing him and a thousand other Palestinians to secure the freedom of gillad shal an Israeli
17:34 17:39 soldier held captive by Hamas in Gaza for 5 years today senoir controls the
17:39 17:45 fate of the hostages including Yoni Asher's wife
17:45 17:52 donon and their two little daughters Raz and aiv donon seen here being blindfolded one hand around her
17:52 17:57 daughter's shoulder her mother next to her when I saw this video I uh couldn't
17:57 18:03 believe what I'm saying this was the beginning of the rotth using a Tracker app he followed the movements of his
18:03 18:08 wife's cell phone and I see the streets I see the streets name and I recognize this is
18:08 18:13 Gaza it was hard to believe if you could speak to the people who are holding your
18:13 18:19 family what would you tell them show some decency show some
18:19 18:24 respect if you are real soldiers you will let them go you will
18:24 18:31 do no harm Israel says the attack was spearheaded by members of an elite Hamas Commando unit and that it's already
18:31 18:39 begun targeting them from the air inside Gaza new documents tonight obtained by NBC News show Hamas Fighters carry
18:39 18:46 detailed diagrams highlighting the weak points of Israeli tanks Israel has bitter experience in
18:46 18:52 settling the score after 11 of its Olympic athletes and coaches were murdered by Palestinian terrorists at
18:52 18:58 the 1972 Munich games the Jewish state began a yearslong worldwide hunt for
18:58 19:04 those
19:04 19:13 responsible now it's vowing to do the same to the man who committed a far greater Massacre we are going to destroy
19:13 19:18 Hamas so that they can never ever wield the sword of death over our heads again
19:18 19:25 but killing hamas's leader may be the easy part securing a long-term peace in Gaza
19:25 19:31 will be far harder Ral I want to go back to that Hamas
19:31 19:36 Mastermind I know you've met him before what can you tell our viewers about
19:36 19:43 him yeah Tom that's right five years ago senoir was involved in this two-prong effort to try to get Israel to loosen
19:43 19:50 its blockade on Gaza one prong was he was organizing or helping to organize these very large scale protests
19:50 19:57 sometimes riots on the Israeli Gaza border but the other prong was this sort of public diplomacy campaign and as part
19:57 20:03 of that he invited a group of international journalists of which I was one to meet with him I can tell you he
20:03 20:10 was very intense meeting the Press is not his comfort zone he is a fighter more than a politician and Tom he has
20:10 20:17 not been heard from or seen since Saturday's attack Israeli officials tell me they believe he is underground in
20:17 20:22 this network of tunnels that Hamas runs underneath Gaza
20:22 20:28 Tom and Raph as we await this potential invasion of Gaza if Israel does over
20:28 20:34 overthrow Hamas what comes next well Tom that is a question to
20:34 20:41 which we have not heard an answer from either Israeli political leaders or Israel's military leadership Israel
20:41 20:48 certainly has the Firepower to overthrow Hamas but then who governs the Gaza Strip which is home to 2 million people
20:48 20:53 there are two obvious possibilities one Israel re occupies Gaza it controlled
20:53 21:00 Gaza from 1967 until 2005 when it left and then after 2005 there was this brief
21:00 21:06 experiment where Gaza was run by the Palestinian Authority the internationally recognized Palestinian
21:06 21:12 government which is in charge of parts of the West Bank but the Palestinian Authority is weak it has very little
21:12 21:19 credibility with the Palestinian public and Tom it was ultimately overthrown by Hamas within just two years so the
21:19 21:27 question is if Israel tries to reinstall the Palestinian Authority in Gaza will they last any longer this time
21:27 21:33 Tom Raph Sanchez for us tonight Raph thank you with so many complex operations in
21:33 21:40 play from invasions to extractions I want to bring in NBC News military analyst retired fourstar US Army General
21:40 21:47 Barry mcaffrey General thank you so much for joining us the deadline as you know has come and gone now for people of
21:47 21:53 Northern Gaza to get out talk to us about the challenge of getting Americans out of Gaza especially with the looming
21:53 21:59 threat of an attack yeah well it's a terrible situation obviously to the masses the
21:59 22:05 hundreds of thousands of godz and civilians who are now moving to get out of the combat zone to try and extract
22:05 22:12 the Americans from amongst that population will be extremely difficult it's unlikely that US forces would take
22:12 22:18 part in a direct operation it's more likely that after the ground invasion of
22:18 22:24 Gaza when the Israelis get decent intelligence that then we'll see
22:24 22:30 hostages rescued some of them and Americans
22:30 22:36 extracted and general I want to talk about that potential Invasion that's going to happen into Gaza the IDF has
22:36 22:41 announced as you know an imminent attack by air Land and Sea what can we expect
22:41 22:46 in the first phase of this ground Invasion well I think the IDF has no
22:46 22:52 option but to respond Hamas clearly achiev strategic surprise they viewed
22:52 23:00 themselves as having a tactical Victory and now the IDF is going to have to go in on on the ground dominate the street
23:00 23:07 level uh try and use rewards hostages uh tunnel rats and try and identify
23:07 23:13 hostages but principally they after the extermination of the structure of the
23:13 23:21 Hamas terrorist group uh very very tough situation the idea
23:21 23:26 casualties I want to talk about that system of tunnels you mentioned it's underneath Gaza City it's reminiscent of
23:26 23:33 what the Viet Kong had in Vietnam but in an urban environment how do those tunnels complicate the IDF
23:33 23:40 operation well they're impenetrable by and large to overflying sensors aircraft
23:40 23:46 drones uh Satellite Systems uh they're deep they're longstanding they're
23:46 23:55 connected uh the IDF will have to control the surface of the streets meaning eliminate 30,000 potential Hamas
23:55 24:01 Fighters and then go underground and try and uh find these hostages it can be
24:01 24:07 done but it'll be a bloody mess General I think we all know the
24:07 24:14 reality of the answer to this question but with Israel planning to wage war by air land and sea is there any way to
24:14 24:19 minimize civilian casualties given that so much of Gaza City didn't
24:19 24:25 evacuate well I think that the quick answer is of course the IDF will make
24:25 24:30 every effort to not Target cilian many will undoubtedly be caught up in the
24:30 24:36 fighting Hamas has refused to allow many of these innocent civilians to flee the
24:36 24:42 combat zone they're using them to protect their own fighters uh but the
24:42 24:50 the IDF will use Precision Munitions will'll try and deal with with armed hostile elements and we'll try and get
24:50 24:58 humanitarian Aid in as the fighting diminishes but Tom there's no two ways about it uh this is an horrible
24:58 25:03 situation brought on entirely by hamas's criminal attack and
25:03 25:09 the slaughter of hundreds of Israeli
25:09 25:15 innocence retired fourstar General Barry mcaffrey for us tonight General we thank you for your time still ahead the deadly
25:15 25:21 midi violence giving way to Global protest today the world now taking sides
25:21 25:26 also the Americans ready to fight for Israel why US citizens are now rushing
25:26 25:34 into Danger
25:34 25:40 we're back now live from Tel Aviv where the divisions in this region are now playing out across the globe with
25:40 25:47 protests growing increasingly violent police and major cities now on high alert and George siss is with us tonight
25:47 25:53 from New York City which has seen huge protests over the past day that's right Tom the conflict may be
25:53 26:00 thousands of miles away but this Fallout isn't just being felt here in the US it is also Global with thousands of
26:00 26:05 protesters Gathering almost dailye
26:05 26:13 Palestine from coast to coast large protests erupting in cities across the
26:13 26:19 country tensions Rising one week after Hamas terrorists stag the deadliest attack on Israel in a generation what is
26:19 26:26 the message to the Jewish Community not just here in New York but nationally globally that's listening and wants to
26:26 26:32 know what what guys what what what to do next the message to the Jewish community and all who are
26:32 26:40 friends of the Jewish community and supporters of Israel is the need for solidarity nothing would make us happier
26:40 26:47 than if Hamas laid down their weapons and marched out of Gaza with their hands in the air but in all likelihood that's
26:47 26:53 not going to happen 1 2 3 4 OCC no more
26:53 26:59 thousands of people in the streets of cities like Chicago Houston and Los Angeles where NBC David noro reports
26:59 27:05 here in La there are hundreds out marching in support of the Palestinian people many of them are Palestinians themselves with a personal sake in this
27:05 27:11 conflict including those who are struggling to stay in touch with their loved ones in Gaza Mas Mia says her
27:11 27:17 fiance is in Gaza have you been able to communicate with them yes uh I spoke with him last about 8 to 10 hours ago
27:17 27:24 but it's very difficult to get through because there's no internet as you may know and no electricity overseas massive protests in
27:24 27:31 Germany Pakistan and India we want boyc we want boy we want sanction we want
27:31 27:37 sanction today in London Police deploying hundreds of officers on this Pro Palestinian demonstration with a
27:37 27:43 warning anyone showing support for Hamas would be arrested law enforcement around the
27:43 27:49 globe on high alert France mobilizing 7,000 soldiers
27:49 27:55 after a man fatally stabbed a teacher and injured three others the attack being investigated by anti-terrorism
27:55 28:03 prosecutors president em mcon saying the country had been a victim of Islamic terrorism the US emotions still high
28:03 28:09 after days of rallies in New York demonstrators vowing
28:09 28:15 to stay in the streets how many more days or how long will these protests continue to think we're going to be out
28:15 28:22 in the streets every day as long as it takes late Friday more than 60 people were arrested at a rally the
28:22 28:27 demonstrators making their way outside Senator Chuck Schumer's home some residents here remaining vigilant saying
28:27 28:33 safety is still a concern I'm um Jewish I live in New York and I'm afraid of
28:33 28:39 walking around in New York Tom there's ramped up security at synagogues like the one behind me as
28:39 28:46 well as other Jewish schools and businesses now here at Temple Emanuel senior leadership telling me that for
28:46 28:52 the first time in a long time they actually opened their doors to journalists for services on Friday to
28:52 28:59 show the world that they feel safe and they are united through this tumultuous time Tom
28:59 29:04 and George have officials said anything more about the threats to the
29:04 29:12 US senior leadership officials Tom keep telling NBC news that they continue to monitor online chatter about threats to
29:12 29:18 Israel but it's strictly just that at this point there have been nothing specific or credible still the NYPD has
29:18 29:24 been out in full force with uniform officers they're also utilizing many tools at their disposal including drones
29:24 29:30 and Chopper at some of these large demonstrations we have seen in the past days still law enforcement from around
29:30 29:38 the world is asking the public to do their part and to stay vigilant and to report anything that appears suspicious
29:38 29:45 Tom George sise for us George we appreciate that report the war clearly devisive across the globe and proving to
29:45 29:50 be a major challenge for President Biden I want to bring in Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker tonight so
29:50 29:56 Kristen the US has been extremely supportive of Israel's Counterattack on Hamas but there's new reporting that the
29:56 30:03 US is privately warning Israel to show restraint what more do we know about this well Tom that's right the Biden
30:03 30:09 Administration is walking a fine line publicly President Biden other top officials have vocally supported
30:09 30:16 Israel's right to defend itself with the president strongly condemning the quote evil perpetrated by Hamas at the same
30:16 30:22 time the president and his team are privately urging restrain and conversations with their Israeli counterparts the secretaries of state
30:22 30:29 and defense visited the region this week making that case with key Leaders with two official was telling NBC secretary
30:29 30:35 Austin advised Israel to operate on a higher moral plane than Hamas and to be careful to avoid deaths of innocent
30:35 30:41 civilians bottom line here the Biden Administration wants to limit civilian deaths and does not want this turning
30:41 30:47 into a broader conflict in the region Tom yeah and Kristen as you know the
30:47 30:53 conflict has also brought on new criticisms of the Biden Administration by his GOP Rivals they're challenging
30:53 30:59 him on his recent deal with Iran to release billions of dollars and block funds in exchange for detained Americans
30:59 31:05 and now linking that move to the Hamas attack how is President Biden staying ahead of
31:05 31:10 this well it's complicated republicans in Congress and those running for president have repeatedly criticized the
31:10 31:17 administration for its deal with Iran as you say to unfree $6 billion for humanitarian Aid in exchange for the
31:17 31:23 release of those five American detainees with some alleging without evidence that Iran used that money to fund the Hamas
31:23 31:29 attacks against Israel the Biden Administration has repeatedly said Iran has not spent a penny of that money yet
31:29 31:35 with a top treasury official telling members of Congress this week the US and qar have now agreed to block Iran from
31:35 31:42 accessing the funds as the United States continues to investigate whether Iran had any direct involvement in the Hamas
31:42 31:48 attack now all of this comes as the GOP front runner former president Trump is also facing backlash Tom after he called
31:48 31:55 Hezbollah very smart and accused prime minister Netanyahu of not being prepared for the attack Mr Trump's GOP Rivals are
31:55 32:02 blasting him including Florida Governor Ronda Santos who said quote it's absurd that anyone much less someone running
32:02 32:07 for president would choose now to attack our friend and Ally Israel and the bottom line here it all underscores the
32:07 32:14 war in the Middle East will be front and center on the campaign Trail Tom there is no doubt and Kristen while
32:14 32:20 we have you here all of this underscoring that right now we still have no speaker of the house what's the
32:20 32:26 latest reporting we have on that well I've been speaking with multiple Republican sources from Capitol Hill and
32:26 32:33 there's just a growing frustration because they still don't know who their next speaker will be and of course an issue they can't hold votes they can't
32:33 32:39 provide Aid to Israel until they have a speaker in place so here's what we know conservative Firebrand Congressman Jim
32:39 32:46 Jordan was elected as the nominee on Friday but so far it's not clear he has enough votes to win the gavl NBC News is
32:46 32:52 reporting the Biden Administration is preparing to send a funding request to Congress that would link money for
32:52 32:58 Israel to more aid for Ukraine and Taiwan and border security but again none of that can happen until a speaker
32:58 33:06 is actually in place and adding urgency to all of this a government shutdown is just less than 40 days away
33:06 33:13 Tom oh my gosh it's all happening so fast Christian we know tomorrow Meet the Press you're going to be talking to minority leader Hakeem Jeff what can we
33:13 33:18 expect from that conversation well the big question is what role do Democrats have here that's
33:18 33:24 what I'll be asking leader Jeffy there's a scenario where a handful of Democrats could join with Republicans to form a
33:24 33:31 governing Coalition and that would be no because it would essentially weaken the power of Hardline Republicans who
33:31 33:37 stripped speaker McCarthy of his gavl in the first place still in this divided climate that's really an uphill battle
33:37 33:42 and it's hard to see that happening Tom all right Christian welcome for us
33:42 33:47 tonight right here on Nightly News Kristen we appreciate it and tomorrow morning be sure to catch Kristen on Meet
33:47 33:53 the Press we will definitely be tuning in okay and we are going to be back from Tel Aviv where the divisions in this
33:53 33:58 region are now playing out across the globe with protests growing increas increasingly violent police and major
33:58 34:09 cities now on high alert stay with
34:09 34:15 us and we're back from Tel Aviv as troops here are preparing for what may be an allout ground invasion of Gaza
34:15 34:21 from Southern Israel they're amassing troops and tanks there but they're also building up forces to the north where
34:21 34:27 another of israeli's enemies Hezbollah is threatening its own action we have reporters near both reporters tonight
34:27 34:32 we're going to begin with Ellison barber in southern Israel Ellison we know you've seen a buildup of tanks and
34:32 34:39 troops over the last few days what are you seeing there right now yeah Tom we've continued to see just
34:39 34:46 a large amount of Israeli tanks headed in the direction of Gaza in the last 20
34:46 34:52 minutes or so we've heard at least nine artillery booms this area back here this
34:52 34:58 is Israel we have seen missiles at least one wave of them coming from this
34:58 35:03 direction headed towards Gaza if you walk a little around with me here I can show you uh the direction of where we're
35:03 35:10 hearing those artillery booms and where we then see the orange glow in Gaza so through this area in this direction this
35:10 35:16 is where we are hearing those booms at one point we heard what we would describe as an artillery bombardment
35:16 35:22 just Rapid Fire for a brief period And then after that and after we have also heard booms of rockets other things
35:22 35:28 being launched occasionally through the trees this way you can see the area that
35:28 35:35 is Gaza just light up with orange flashes at times it sounds like a thunderstorm is rolling through Gaza but
35:35 35:42 it's not at all that it is the sounds of war look we have seen hundreds of Tanks
35:42 35:49 military vehicles uh over the last couple of days as our team has been in this area reporting we've seen a number
35:49 35:54 of flatbeds again moving in the direction of Gaza full of artillery as
35:54 36:01 well as heavy moving Mach Machinery Machinery that we saw Israeli forces use
36:01 36:07 similar to what we saw them use when they went in to get Hamas militants out of a police station that they were
36:07 36:13 occupying in the southern city of Sarat that stuff has been moving into the
36:13 36:19 direction of Gaza we know that the IDF has said that they are preparing for a
36:19 36:27 more expansive combat the only question is exactly when it will happen they have said they plan to do this by air by sea
36:27 36:32 and by land this area here it has been evacuated from civilians uh all of the
36:32 36:40 homes and we've been in neighborhoods nearby it is relatively quiet because all that is here are members of IDF they
36:40 36:45 are again moving a lot of equipment through here headed towards the Border we hear that constant little bit of a
36:45 36:51 roll of artillery throughout the evening but on the whole it's been a bit quiet
36:51 36:56 here in the last couple of hours the IDF has been clear that they think 1.1
36:56 37:03 million gazans who are in the north part of Gaza that they need to evacuate they have said to move South past the Gaza
37:03 37:10 River the UN other organizations have called that a mistake saying that it is very difficult for people to do that
37:10 37:15 remember Tom the situation in Gaza is this their only power plant is out of
37:15 37:20 fuel if people want to move South that's incredibly difficult we know that there have been convoys that have been struck
37:20 37:26 by air strikes the Palestinian Health Ministry says those were air strikes from Israel that killed at least 70
37:26 37:33 people also we know that the only land border that is possible to cross outside of Israeli territory the Rafa border
37:33 37:38 into Egypt Tom that has been closed since Tuesday
37:38 37:45 Tom all right Ellison Barber for us Ellison you and your team stay safe out there even though it has been quiet as
37:45 37:51 Southern Israel braces for battle in Gaza many in Northern Israel are preparing for interference from
37:51 37:57 Hezbollah out of Lebanon mbc's Josh Letterman Is On The Border there in Northern Israel tonight and Josh as we
37:57 38:02 talk to you about where you are what kind of preparations have you seen
38:02 38:08 there well Tom the isra military is sending reinforcements to the area that's near the border and in fact today
38:08 38:14 I saw a column of marata battle tanks and armored personnel carriers just a couple miles from Lebanon and the troops
38:14 38:20 there told me they don't know whether Hezbollah is actually going to go all in on this but they insisted they will be
38:20 38:25 ready no matter what happens and as those troops were doing maintenance on their tanks you could actually hear
38:25 38:32 small AR St fire ringing out in the distance and you could see smoke rising from the hills where mortars were fired
38:32 38:38 today into Israel from Lebanon the military saying they shelled SES and it Lebanon in response Israel also said
38:38 38:44 that a terrorist cell tried to infiltrate from Lebanon and the military saying an Israeli drone struck members
38:44 38:51 of that cell and killed them now this is all very worrying to Israel because as bad as Hamas has been as bad as that
38:51 38:56 terror attack has been has hisb is actually seen as a much stronger military force they're believed to have
38:56 39:03 tens of thousands of advanced missiles that can literally Target anywhere in Israel
39:03 39:09 Tom all right Josh Letterman for us Josh thank you for that as so many scramble to leave this region amidst the growing
39:09 39:15 violence others are running towards the danger they Americans Bound by a commitment to community country and
39:15 39:23 Faith Megan Fitzgerald shares just a few of their
39:23 39:31 stories as Israel ramps up its effect ensive against
39:31 39:37 tamas calling up thousands of reservists to fight 3 2 1 scenes like this are
39:37 39:42 playing out in airports across the US people answering the call leaving the
39:42 39:47 us to fight in Israel and an emotional moment at LAX I just dropped my little
39:47 39:55 brother off to go back to the Army in Israel I'm heartbroken and I'm so scared for him no La is already back in Israel
39:55 40:03 so today is the day uh on the way to base documenting his trip on social media uh made my way up North to say bye
40:03 40:10 to my grandpa and my parents leaving his job and life in New York he didn't even wait for the call I actually booked my
40:10 40:17 flight to Israel before I got called back because I knew what was going to happen there's no way that I was going to sit at home Andrew Silberman was
40:17 40:24 visiting his family in Chicago last weekend then he heard what was happening in Israel and got a call that his close
40:24 40:30 friend had been killed we spoke to him earlier this week and from there the rest of the day it became about me
40:30 40:36 trying to get on a flight back to Tel Aviv it didn't matter to Andrew that he had not been called up he was determined
40:36 40:43 to go it was important to me to come back as soon as possible just to see what I could do his plans to return to
40:43 40:49 college in Israel now on hold I think people are really using this as an opportunity to come together and help
40:49 40:55 each other Ruben baden's son Zev leaving behind his one-year-old son and pregnant
40:55 41:01 wife in Texas he called me to tell me um
41:01 41:06 I decide I'm going to Israel to rejoin my army unit Zev quickly arriving in
41:06 41:13 Israel and meeting up with his unit it's really he's doing his duty and uh I am
41:13 41:21 extremely proud of him this sense of Duty is at the heart of the Israeli Army and its mandatory service technically
41:21 41:26 it's actually national service not necessarily military service the overwhelming majority do go into Israel
41:26 41:33 military most Israelis enter the military at 18 and serve for 2 to 3 years typically after that they are
41:33 41:41 automatically put into the reserves which can continue into their 40s and beyond ready to answer the call if an
41:41 41:47 Israeli is Living in America and she hears that her unit was called up she might decide to drop everything go and
41:47 41:53 join naturally if you're living overseas uh you're not required to come
41:53 41:59 back um but certainly the IDF uh appears is very uh ready to take on everyone
41:59 42:06 who's willing to come back and then there are people like Josh Jacobson out of the reserves and wanting to help he
42:06 42:11 left the US to see if he could join up again and fight it just felt like so
42:11 42:19 weird to be uh in Boston when when there's so much going on here I just felt like you know it's kind of my my
42:19 42:27 duty as part of the collective um nation of Israel to to come back and just help
42:27 42:34 Israelis coming together leaving their homes around the world to answer the
42:34 42:40 call Megan Fitzgerald NBC News
42:40 42:46 London we thank Megan for that still to come we're turning to the day's other big story the rare Ring of Fire solar
42:46 42:55 eclipse and the sky Watchers who spent the day celebrating stay with
42:55 43:02 us we're going to turn now to some lighter news across the us Americans looked up
43:02 43:10 to the skies to see something spectacular a rare solar eclipse called the ring of fire Dana Griffin has this
43:10 43:17 story across the US look it's a stunning image that North America has witnessed
43:17 43:22 only five times this Millennium I mean it doesn't look real I didn't think I
43:22 43:27 would cry the annular solar eclipse or ring of fire happens when the moon
43:27 43:34 passes between the Sun and Earth creating a fiery orange ring around the Moon Shadow it's literally just this
43:34 43:42 perfect ring and it's glowing it's radiant I feel like I'll be dreaming about this for weeks to come thinking of
43:42 43:48 the song Ring of Fire depending on clear skies and location wow this is a perfect
43:48 43:54 ring of fire it's just so crisp you likely got to see images like these from
43:54 44:01 Cloudy Skies in Idaho to Valley of the Gods Utah and the state aquarium in Corpus Christie Texas in one particular
44:01 44:07 location on Earth it's normally 375 years between eclipses so it's rare that
44:07 44:13 a person gets to experience it in their lifetime in their specific location nowhere else in the solar system do you
44:13 44:21 get these types of eclipses people driving hundreds of miles to get the best view we drove like N9 hours and we
44:21 44:27 had to take a day off of work but we decided that it was worth it in Los Angeles oh wow even a partial eclipse
44:27 44:34 Drew in a crowd many arriving hours early to get the best seats in town at the Griffith Observatory it's a mob a
44:34 44:39 happy mob that's actually engaged with the cosmos no matter the age it's a
44:39 44:45 really cool site to see viewers were over the Moon looks amazing it's 9:24
44:45 44:52 a.m. in Los Angeles maximum Eclipse making the sky just slightly darker if you've got the right equipment or
44:52 44:58 glasses the view is pretty spectacular yeah because the sun is never fully
44:58 45:04 covered observers must wear proper eye protection what did you think this was phenomenal uh we were in the total
45:04 45:09 eclipse in 2017 in Wyoming and it was one of the best things we've ever done and so the partial eclipse was something
45:09 45:16 we're not going to miss if you miss this Eclipse no worries that total eclipse which will create complete darkness like
45:16 45:23 we last saw in 2017 will occur again in just 6 months in the US ideal viewing
45:23 45:30 locations will span from Texas to Maine this is just a precursor to the big one coming in April I think so a little
45:30 45:36 training for her excitement already building for an experience out of this
45:36 45:41 world Dana Griffin NBC News Los
45:41 45:47 Angeles and when we come back from here in Tel Aviv the power of Faith tonight the moments that brought people together
45:47 45:54 today here and across the world stay with
45:54 46:01 us finally tonight from here in Tel Aviv
46:01 46:07 today was the first Jewish sabbath since the attacks last week it's a day of remembrance and of reflection at
46:07 46:16 synagogues here and around the
46:16 46:22 world tonight Jews across Israel and around the world are finding solace in
46:22 46:28 the Sabbath prot
46:28 46:34 a day of rest and reflection now a time to grieve to lean on faith and search
46:34 46:41 for courage in community is a lot of comfort being with friends trying to
46:41 46:47 find Hope in our souls trying to pray with deep
46:47 46:55 belief to find comfort in Tel Aviv the B Daniel
46:55 47:00 synagogue opening today a handful of congregants like Edna
47:00 47:07 bomi Pearlman finding strength in song I feel that we're sort of like embracing each other with the Liturgy and the
47:07 47:14 music and it's like therapeutic for me totally therapeutic her Rabbi mayor aari's
47:14 47:20 mission is to give support during these unimaginable times we're grieving uh in
47:20 47:25 this point we lost people we lost people in our community but in this point we
47:25 47:33 have to he the the hope hope for victory and at the same time to rebuild the Israeli Society the peace process we
47:33 47:39 need the and near Lebanon today signs of faith in the field a soldier clutching
47:39 47:45 the Torah amid uncertain days
47:45 47:51 ahead across the globe this Shabbat
47:51 47:59 HS we have survived unspeakable trauma and we will survive this too in
47:59 48:05 Washington DC prayers for peace in a moment where I have this week felt
48:05 48:13 raw um and Fragile with
48:13 48:23 emotion this is who I wanted to be surrounded by and who I felt could give me strength and the hugs that I
48:23 48:30 needed to New York City with one of the largest synagogues in the world I think there's something about
48:30 48:37 coming together and feeling that you know there's solidarity and strength and unity it's very important as an American
48:37 48:44 and as a Jew this is an important time for all of us as human beings this is not just about Jewish
48:44 48:49 people back here in Israel these candles are reminder that even in the darkest of
48:49 48:57 times the light of faith can never be put out
48:57 49:03 that'll do it for this special edition of NBC Nightly News live from Israel I'm Tom yamas I'll be back for a special
49:03 49:08 Prime Time special on the war tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC news
49:08 49:14 now but for now good night thanks for watching stay updated
49:14 49:20 about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social
49:20 49:20 media
0:08 0:14 has a plan to get Americans out Israel striking targets inside Gaza today as
0:14 0:22 thousands of Palestinians try to flee the US state department working to evacuate Americans out through Egypt but
0:22 0:27 so far Egypt hasn't let them through and for Americans trying to flee Israel the
0:27 0:32 first US Charter flight today to bring them home horrific scenes inside of Gossip a
0:32 0:38 caravan trying to escape hit children reportedly among those killed throughout
0:38 0:46 the territory emergency rooms overwhelmed One hospital Alone says it is Sheltering 35,000 people and now the
0:46 0:53 UN says they're running out of Clean Water what about the hostages President Biden vows to do everything in his power
0:53 1:00 to free Americans held by Hamas I'm not going to go into the detail of that but there's a we're
1:00 1:06 working like himan but what are his options protest
1:06 1:13 across the US and the world massive demonstrations in Chicago and San Francisco dozens arrested in New York
1:13 1:20 and the knife attack in France that has the whole country on edge Americans coming to Israel to fight why this
1:20 1:28 Soldier told me he needed to be here and on this holy day for Jews one week since the attack by Hamas powerful moments of
1:28 1:35 reflection and remance this is a special hourong edition of NBC
1:35 1:42 Nightly News reporting tonight live from Tel Aviv Tom
1:42 1:49 yamas and good evening from here in Tel Aviv it was one week ago that this country woke up to the horrific attacks
1:49 1:55 by Hamas that killed more than a thousand Israelis tonight the country is on the verge of a fullscale war with
1:55 2:02 ground troops poised to invade Gaza at any moment Israel announced another window today for those in Northern Gaza
2:02 2:10 to flee to the South tens of thousands are trying to get out fleeing any way possible this Caravan trying to escape
2:10 2:17 was hit Hamas says it was Israel and children were killed but we have no independent verication of who struck it
2:17 2:23 the us today announced that for Americans trapped in Gaza there is now a way out though it's through the southern
2:23 2:29 border with Egypt and so far they have not been let through and the first Charter flight for US citizens trying to
2:29 2:35 F Israel took off today while non-essential Personnel working at the embassy here have been told they too can
2:35 2:43 leave we learned today that 29 Americans have now been confirmed killed by hamas's attack last week President Biden
2:43 2:49 late today speaking to the leaders of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority as the crisis here grows the
2:49 2:54 region and the world on edge waiting for what happens
2:54 3:02 next tonight all eyes on Gaza as Israel prepared for an allout assault on Hamas
3:02 3:10 as the Israeli military announces there will be an integrated and coordinated attack from the air sea and land but
3:10 3:18 still waiting to launch this as more than a million Palestinians in Northern Gaza try to make their way south on foot
3:18 3:23 even by carts pulled by donkeys the escape from Gaza dangerous and deadly
3:23 3:29 graphic video showing the aftermath convoys a total of 70 people including
3:29 3:36 children killed in missile strikes Palestinians saying these were innocent lives killed by Israeli
3:36 3:42 bombs American citizens are among those in Gaza trying to get to safety and
3:42 3:47 tonight the United States is working to secure a safe exit for them in the south
3:47 3:53 at the Rafa border crossing in Egypt the kud family is desperate for help 12
3:53 3:58 family members one as young as four allamerican citizens trying to get out
3:58 4:05 we are constantly worried um I I don't think I've ever been this worried in my life tonight the efforts to evacuate
4:05 4:13 Americans inside Israel are also underway including non-essential Embassy workers from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as
4:13 4:18 Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza Hamas officials claim more than 20
4:18 4:24 hostages have been killed in those same strikes this as President Biden is
4:24 4:30 vowing to the families of Americans being held hostage in Gaza I assured my
4:30 4:36 personal commitment to do everything possible everything possible to return every missing American to their families
4:36 4:42 bring them home bring them home in Israel we were there as hundreds
4:42 4:48 gathered demanding that the hostages be brought home we're in the center of Tel Aviv right now just outside the Israeli
4:48 4:54 military headquarters where hundreds of Israelis have gathered demanding that they release the hostages inside of God
4:54 5:01 and you can read some of their signs here they say it very clearly bring them home While others are holding photos of
5:01 5:07 the people that have been kidnapped and disappear people
5:07 5:13 like Abigail hayut is among those searching for loved ones her daughter's
5:13 5:18 best friend Mia is still missing how hard is it to just not know for seven
5:18 5:25 days it's like hell and back every day every day every day she didn't do
5:25 5:33 nothing all along the border the signs are clear Israel is getting ready to go in tonight Israeli tanks and soldiers
5:33 5:38 prepared for battle Shai doesn't want us to use his last name he's an Israeli
5:38 5:45 American called up to fight last week he went to his synagogue in New York with his young children today he's on the
5:45 5:51 front lines in Israel a captain in the military how did you explain that to them and and how difficult was it to
5:51 5:58 leave to be honest I didn't explain to them too much you can't really explain to an 8-year-old in fact I hope to God
5:58 6:05 that he doesn't see any of the footage because it's um it's absolutely horrific
6:05 6:12 Shai is ready to do his duty but knows that innocent civilians will likely pay the price I know war is not fair and it
6:12 6:18 doesn't really make sense how do you explain that cuz there're Palestinian Americans here too yeah yeah so to be
6:18 6:25 honest um I feel really bad for the Palestinians because there are many
6:25 6:30 Palestinians in Gaza that are innocent we always try to minimize civilian casualties but at the same time we have
6:30 6:36 to understand that they're not giving us another choice this war touching so many
6:36 6:43 countries including our own back here the situation inside Gaza is growing even more desperate food water and
6:43 6:50 Medicine are almost out and for some the journey to the South where Israel says they must evacuate to is just as
6:50 6:56 dangerous as stain put Richard angle is near the Gaza border covering that for us tonight and Richard there are very
6:56 7:04 few safe places to go right now absolutely and even though this deadline
7:04 7:09 that Israel set has now passed Israeli officials are still urging the people in
7:09 7:16 Gaza City the blackedout city uh that you could see behind me to leave to leave now that they should do this for
7:16 7:21 their own safety the Israeli military also specifically ordered the evacuation
7:21 7:26 of three hospitals in Gaza City the medical staff there are refusing saying
7:26 7:33 patients Can't Be Moved shouldn't be moved and 35,000 people are now huddled at the
7:33 7:39 shifa hospital which is the main hospital in Gaza City the men sleeping in the parking lot women and children
7:39 7:46 inside hoping that there's safety in numbers Israel has told Palestinians to
7:46 7:51 evacuate Gaza City and head further south in the Gaza Strip to save their
7:51 7:56 lives many are trying to leave now but that's not safe
7:56 8:04 either this is what it looked like as people were were driving on a road they told was cleared for
8:04 8:11 travel an ambulance was also hit hea alatar and her family are
8:11 8:19 heading out of Gaza City nonetheless but she doesn't know exactly where they're going or how they'll get
8:19 8:24 there we're dying and everyone is watching shame on you all the Arab
8:24 8:29 countries we were told to leave but where where to go she asks
8:29 8:37 they're shelling people on the roads too where are we to go hea is leaving a un operated School
8:37 8:43 in theory a safe place but the UN has also been told to
8:43 8:49 evacuate and did Southern Gaza where Israel is telling Palestinians to go is
8:49 8:54 hardly a safe haven Han Yunis the main city in southern Gaza bore the brunt of
8:54 8:59 Israeli air strikes today perhaps because Hamas launched an
8:59 9:05 attack from there the militants say they broke through the Border fence near Han Yunis and attacked Israeli
9:05 9:12 troops Israel says it has no choice but to go into Gaza to disarm and Destroy
9:12 9:19 Hamas the group today released propaganda videos to show its
9:19 9:25 preparation it's gunmen attacking with skill and precision and Manufacturing their own
9:25 9:30 weapons including shoulder carried anti-tank Rockets Hamas says this is
9:30 9:35 what's awaiting Israeli troops the video ends with Hamas Fighters going down into
9:35 9:41 their tunnels getting ready for what's coming Richard we just saw there in your
9:41 9:47 report both sides ready for battle give us a sense of the scene there
9:47 9:52 tonight well in in Gaza the the city is blacked out there are still people who
9:52 9:57 are hunker down in the city but there is a great deal of of anger there's a great
9:57 10:04 deal of nervousness many people say that they have no reason left to to to live
10:04 10:11 they think that this is it I've spoken with Palestinians who fear uh that they're going to die tonight tomorrow uh
10:11 10:17 there's a real sense of chaos uh when you're in a city it's it's almost hard to imagine unless you've you've been there and i' I've been inside Gaza
10:17 10:25 before as it's been attacked you can't leave you're under attack you're ruled by Hamas you feel you have nowhere to go
10:25 10:32 you don't feel like you have a future so there is a sense of of ABS solute hopelessness and it's not just that it's
10:32 10:39 some abstract feeling of hopelessness you're worried that at any moment now perhaps tonight perhaps tomorrow Israeli
10:39 10:45 troops are going to be rolling down the streets in in heavy armored vehicles there's going to be gunfights Hamas
10:45 10:51 fighter is going to be popping out of titels and you're stuck in the middle of it and you've been told leave go to the
10:51 10:58 South you don't know how to get there you don't know where to go once you're there and you're still stuck in Gaza
10:58 11:03 still stuck with Hamas Fighters and still potentially in attack because there were many air strikes in in
11:03 11:10 southern Gaza tonight so I think the overwhelming uh feeling is fear and
11:10 11:15 hopelessness you know with that sentiment and looking at the video that we just saw in your report of Hamas
11:15 11:22 preparing to repel an Israeli Invasion you've covered Wars all around the world for us this is going to shape up to be a
11:22 11:29 brutal and very long bloody engagement it could be very long the the
11:29 11:35 last time that uh Israel went into Gaz Gaza like this and fought it was it was
11:35 11:42 just in in Gaza City I was there at the time in 2014 uh it lasted over a month and what
11:42 11:48 the Israeli forces did is they they went in and then they focused on one particular neighborhood uh and they they
11:48 11:54 they flattened that particular neighborhood and they were able to to occupy it hold it for for a period of
11:54 12:00 time but it didn't accomplish very much they they did set back hamas's uh
12:00 12:08 military capacity uh they killed a lot of Hamas Fighters many civilians were killed but then Hamas came back a few
12:08 12:13 years later and was able to rearm what Israel says this time it's going to do
12:13 12:20 is going to be different it's not going to allow Hamas to just take a blow deplete some of its uh Fighters deplete
12:20 12:25 some of its weapons and then regain uh its strength Israel says this time it
12:25 12:32 wants it to be a definitive operation that it's going to go in and that at the end of this operation Hamas will no
12:32 12:37 longer be governing the Gaza Strip if that is the goal uh it could be a very
12:37 12:44 long operation because going in fighting with Hamas looking for hostages potentially rescuing some is one thing
12:44 12:49 going in to topple Hamas and and make it so that Hamas doesn't ever control h uh
12:49 12:56 the Gaza Strip again is a completely different objective Richard Engle just outside of
12:56 13:02 Gaza Richard you and your team please stay safe tonight President Biden had conversations today with both the leader
13:02 13:08 of the Palestinian Authority Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin net Yahoo where he reiterated
13:08 13:15 America's support for Israel I want to bring in NBC White House correspondent Monica Alba now Monica let's talk about
13:15 13:20 those Americans who are still in Gaza trying to evacuate what are your sources at the White House telling you about
13:20 13:26 that well Tom the state department is actively working tonight with other governments in the region to try and get
13:26 13:32 those estimated 500 to 600 Americans out of Gaza safely they've directed US
13:32 13:38 citizens on the ground to move South toward the Rafa border crossing in Egypt but there is no guarantee at this hour
13:38 13:44 that it will open up and the challenge is because of that possibility they are still urging Americans to be nearby if
13:44 13:51 they feel it safe to do so since there may be very little warning about when it may open and how long that may last and
13:51 13:57 US officials are telling me it could also be for a pretty limited time now President Biden in phone calls tonight
13:57 14:04 with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president abas stressed the need to protect civilians
14:04 14:09 in Gaza and to ensure they have access to water food and medical care and of
14:09 14:15 course among those innocent civilians could be those hostages believed to be held by Hamas that the US government is
14:15 14:22 working so hard tonight to find Tom and Monica I want to ask you about
14:22 14:28 that because we cannot forget that there are 15 Americans who are possibly being held hostage by Hamas right now what is
14:28 14:34 President Biden saying about getting them out he says that that is his top priority right now to get those
14:34 14:40 Americans back home with their loved ones but he's also acknowledging just how difficult that will be and stressed
14:40 14:46 that he couldn't share much more Beyond this message for the Hamas militants holding them
14:46 14:54 hostage to those holding American hostages in Gaza you say what I say
14:54 15:02 we're going to do everything in our power to find them everything in our power and uh I'm not going to go into
15:02 15:07 the detail of that but there's a we're working like hell on it the president
15:07 15:13 spoke with the families of those who are still accounted for on Friday talking to them for more than an hour and calling
15:13 15:19 the agony that they are experiencing right now absolutely gut-wrenching
15:19 15:25 Tom and Monica obviously the situation is different for Americans trying to leave Where We Are Tonight Israel what
15:25 15:32 can you tell us about those efforts and the first Charter that was organized by the US government a flight left Israel
15:32 15:38 yesterday on Friday Landing in Athens and more are expected today while the state department is also exploring
15:38 15:45 potentially other options for getting Americans who want to leave Israel out including by SE that's one option on the
15:45 15:53 table and they're asking anybody who needs more information to sign up for their alerts in the coming days
15:53 15:59 Tom Monica Alba with a lot of new reporting for us tonight Monica we appreciate it we're also also learning
15:59 16:05 more tonight about how terrorists from Gaza carried out that attack against Israel the elaborate plan that was
16:05 16:12 hatched by Hamas and who's now the most wanted person by Israel the Hamas Mastermind rap Sanchez is live for us
16:12 16:18 tonight Raph what can you tell us Tom Israel's military says it has
16:18 16:23 launched an allout hunt for Yahya sinir the Hamas leader responsible for
16:23 16:28 Saturday's attack they say he is their Osama Bin Laden and they are determined
16:28 16:34 defines him no matter how long it
16:34 16:40 takes tonight Israel vowing to track down and kill the man it holds responsible for the worst terror attack
16:40 16:48 in the country's history Yahya sinir is the leader of Hamas in Gaza and Israel says The
16:48 16:54 Mastermind of Saturday's carefully orchestrated Slaughter he chose to send
16:54 17:01 the butchers into our bedrooms to kill our baby babies and when they chose to
17:01 17:07 go full front against Israel they signed their own death
17:07 17:14 warrants senoir knows better than most the value of hostages as human bargaining
17:14 17:21 chips the son of Palestinian refugees he was supposed to spend the rest of his life in an Israeli jail after being
17:21 17:27 convicted of terrorism but in 2011 he was freed in a
17:27 17:34 prisoner swap is releasing him and a thousand other Palestinians to secure the freedom of gillad shal an Israeli
17:34 17:39 soldier held captive by Hamas in Gaza for 5 years today senoir controls the
17:39 17:45 fate of the hostages including Yoni Asher's wife
17:45 17:52 donon and their two little daughters Raz and aiv donon seen here being blindfolded one hand around her
17:52 17:57 daughter's shoulder her mother next to her when I saw this video I uh couldn't
17:57 18:03 believe what I'm saying this was the beginning of the rotth using a Tracker app he followed the movements of his
18:03 18:08 wife's cell phone and I see the streets I see the streets name and I recognize this is
18:08 18:13 Gaza it was hard to believe if you could speak to the people who are holding your
18:13 18:19 family what would you tell them show some decency show some
18:19 18:24 respect if you are real soldiers you will let them go you will
18:24 18:31 do no harm Israel says the attack was spearheaded by members of an elite Hamas Commando unit and that it's already
18:31 18:39 begun targeting them from the air inside Gaza new documents tonight obtained by NBC News show Hamas Fighters carry
18:39 18:46 detailed diagrams highlighting the weak points of Israeli tanks Israel has bitter experience in
18:46 18:52 settling the score after 11 of its Olympic athletes and coaches were murdered by Palestinian terrorists at
18:52 18:58 the 1972 Munich games the Jewish state began a yearslong worldwide hunt for
18:58 19:04 those
19:04 19:13 responsible now it's vowing to do the same to the man who committed a far greater Massacre we are going to destroy
19:13 19:18 Hamas so that they can never ever wield the sword of death over our heads again
19:18 19:25 but killing hamas's leader may be the easy part securing a long-term peace in Gaza
19:25 19:31 will be far harder Ral I want to go back to that Hamas
19:31 19:36 Mastermind I know you've met him before what can you tell our viewers about
19:36 19:43 him yeah Tom that's right five years ago senoir was involved in this two-prong effort to try to get Israel to loosen
19:43 19:50 its blockade on Gaza one prong was he was organizing or helping to organize these very large scale protests
19:50 19:57 sometimes riots on the Israeli Gaza border but the other prong was this sort of public diplomacy campaign and as part
19:57 20:03 of that he invited a group of international journalists of which I was one to meet with him I can tell you he
20:03 20:10 was very intense meeting the Press is not his comfort zone he is a fighter more than a politician and Tom he has
20:10 20:17 not been heard from or seen since Saturday's attack Israeli officials tell me they believe he is underground in
20:17 20:22 this network of tunnels that Hamas runs underneath Gaza
20:22 20:28 Tom and Raph as we await this potential invasion of Gaza if Israel does over
20:28 20:34 overthrow Hamas what comes next well Tom that is a question to
20:34 20:41 which we have not heard an answer from either Israeli political leaders or Israel's military leadership Israel
20:41 20:48 certainly has the Firepower to overthrow Hamas but then who governs the Gaza Strip which is home to 2 million people
20:48 20:53 there are two obvious possibilities one Israel re occupies Gaza it controlled
20:53 21:00 Gaza from 1967 until 2005 when it left and then after 2005 there was this brief
21:00 21:06 experiment where Gaza was run by the Palestinian Authority the internationally recognized Palestinian
21:06 21:12 government which is in charge of parts of the West Bank but the Palestinian Authority is weak it has very little
21:12 21:19 credibility with the Palestinian public and Tom it was ultimately overthrown by Hamas within just two years so the
21:19 21:27 question is if Israel tries to reinstall the Palestinian Authority in Gaza will they last any longer this time
21:27 21:33 Tom Raph Sanchez for us tonight Raph thank you with so many complex operations in
21:33 21:40 play from invasions to extractions I want to bring in NBC News military analyst retired fourstar US Army General
21:40 21:47 Barry mcaffrey General thank you so much for joining us the deadline as you know has come and gone now for people of
21:47 21:53 Northern Gaza to get out talk to us about the challenge of getting Americans out of Gaza especially with the looming
21:53 21:59 threat of an attack yeah well it's a terrible situation obviously to the masses the
21:59 22:05 hundreds of thousands of godz and civilians who are now moving to get out of the combat zone to try and extract
22:05 22:12 the Americans from amongst that population will be extremely difficult it's unlikely that US forces would take
22:12 22:18 part in a direct operation it's more likely that after the ground invasion of
22:18 22:24 Gaza when the Israelis get decent intelligence that then we'll see
22:24 22:30 hostages rescued some of them and Americans
22:30 22:36 extracted and general I want to talk about that potential Invasion that's going to happen into Gaza the IDF has
22:36 22:41 announced as you know an imminent attack by air Land and Sea what can we expect
22:41 22:46 in the first phase of this ground Invasion well I think the IDF has no
22:46 22:52 option but to respond Hamas clearly achiev strategic surprise they viewed
22:52 23:00 themselves as having a tactical Victory and now the IDF is going to have to go in on on the ground dominate the street
23:00 23:07 level uh try and use rewards hostages uh tunnel rats and try and identify
23:07 23:13 hostages but principally they after the extermination of the structure of the
23:13 23:21 Hamas terrorist group uh very very tough situation the idea
23:21 23:26 casualties I want to talk about that system of tunnels you mentioned it's underneath Gaza City it's reminiscent of
23:26 23:33 what the Viet Kong had in Vietnam but in an urban environment how do those tunnels complicate the IDF
23:33 23:40 operation well they're impenetrable by and large to overflying sensors aircraft
23:40 23:46 drones uh Satellite Systems uh they're deep they're longstanding they're
23:46 23:55 connected uh the IDF will have to control the surface of the streets meaning eliminate 30,000 potential Hamas
23:55 24:01 Fighters and then go underground and try and uh find these hostages it can be
24:01 24:07 done but it'll be a bloody mess General I think we all know the
24:07 24:14 reality of the answer to this question but with Israel planning to wage war by air land and sea is there any way to
24:14 24:19 minimize civilian casualties given that so much of Gaza City didn't
24:19 24:25 evacuate well I think that the quick answer is of course the IDF will make
24:25 24:30 every effort to not Target cilian many will undoubtedly be caught up in the
24:30 24:36 fighting Hamas has refused to allow many of these innocent civilians to flee the
24:36 24:42 combat zone they're using them to protect their own fighters uh but the
24:42 24:50 the IDF will use Precision Munitions will'll try and deal with with armed hostile elements and we'll try and get
24:50 24:58 humanitarian Aid in as the fighting diminishes but Tom there's no two ways about it uh this is an horrible
24:58 25:03 situation brought on entirely by hamas's criminal attack and
25:03 25:09 the slaughter of hundreds of Israeli
25:09 25:15 innocence retired fourstar General Barry mcaffrey for us tonight General we thank you for your time still ahead the deadly
25:15 25:21 midi violence giving way to Global protest today the world now taking sides
25:21 25:26 also the Americans ready to fight for Israel why US citizens are now rushing
25:26 25:34 into Danger
25:34 25:40 we're back now live from Tel Aviv where the divisions in this region are now playing out across the globe with
25:40 25:47 protests growing increasingly violent police and major cities now on high alert and George siss is with us tonight
25:47 25:53 from New York City which has seen huge protests over the past day that's right Tom the conflict may be
25:53 26:00 thousands of miles away but this Fallout isn't just being felt here in the US it is also Global with thousands of
26:00 26:05 protesters Gathering almost dailye
26:05 26:13 Palestine from coast to coast large protests erupting in cities across the
26:13 26:19 country tensions Rising one week after Hamas terrorists stag the deadliest attack on Israel in a generation what is
26:19 26:26 the message to the Jewish Community not just here in New York but nationally globally that's listening and wants to
26:26 26:32 know what what guys what what what to do next the message to the Jewish community and all who are
26:32 26:40 friends of the Jewish community and supporters of Israel is the need for solidarity nothing would make us happier
26:40 26:47 than if Hamas laid down their weapons and marched out of Gaza with their hands in the air but in all likelihood that's
26:47 26:53 not going to happen 1 2 3 4 OCC no more
26:53 26:59 thousands of people in the streets of cities like Chicago Houston and Los Angeles where NBC David noro reports
26:59 27:05 here in La there are hundreds out marching in support of the Palestinian people many of them are Palestinians themselves with a personal sake in this
27:05 27:11 conflict including those who are struggling to stay in touch with their loved ones in Gaza Mas Mia says her
27:11 27:17 fiance is in Gaza have you been able to communicate with them yes uh I spoke with him last about 8 to 10 hours ago
27:17 27:24 but it's very difficult to get through because there's no internet as you may know and no electricity overseas massive protests in
27:24 27:31 Germany Pakistan and India we want boyc we want boy we want sanction we want
27:31 27:37 sanction today in London Police deploying hundreds of officers on this Pro Palestinian demonstration with a
27:37 27:43 warning anyone showing support for Hamas would be arrested law enforcement around the
27:43 27:49 globe on high alert France mobilizing 7,000 soldiers
27:49 27:55 after a man fatally stabbed a teacher and injured three others the attack being investigated by anti-terrorism
27:55 28:03 prosecutors president em mcon saying the country had been a victim of Islamic terrorism the US emotions still high
28:03 28:09 after days of rallies in New York demonstrators vowing
28:09 28:15 to stay in the streets how many more days or how long will these protests continue to think we're going to be out
28:15 28:22 in the streets every day as long as it takes late Friday more than 60 people were arrested at a rally the
28:22 28:27 demonstrators making their way outside Senator Chuck Schumer's home some residents here remaining vigilant saying
28:27 28:33 safety is still a concern I'm um Jewish I live in New York and I'm afraid of
28:33 28:39 walking around in New York Tom there's ramped up security at synagogues like the one behind me as
28:39 28:46 well as other Jewish schools and businesses now here at Temple Emanuel senior leadership telling me that for
28:46 28:52 the first time in a long time they actually opened their doors to journalists for services on Friday to
28:52 28:59 show the world that they feel safe and they are united through this tumultuous time Tom
28:59 29:04 and George have officials said anything more about the threats to the
29:04 29:12 US senior leadership officials Tom keep telling NBC news that they continue to monitor online chatter about threats to
29:12 29:18 Israel but it's strictly just that at this point there have been nothing specific or credible still the NYPD has
29:18 29:24 been out in full force with uniform officers they're also utilizing many tools at their disposal including drones
29:24 29:30 and Chopper at some of these large demonstrations we have seen in the past days still law enforcement from around
29:30 29:38 the world is asking the public to do their part and to stay vigilant and to report anything that appears suspicious
29:38 29:45 Tom George sise for us George we appreciate that report the war clearly devisive across the globe and proving to
29:45 29:50 be a major challenge for President Biden I want to bring in Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker tonight so
29:50 29:56 Kristen the US has been extremely supportive of Israel's Counterattack on Hamas but there's new reporting that the
29:56 30:03 US is privately warning Israel to show restraint what more do we know about this well Tom that's right the Biden
30:03 30:09 Administration is walking a fine line publicly President Biden other top officials have vocally supported
30:09 30:16 Israel's right to defend itself with the president strongly condemning the quote evil perpetrated by Hamas at the same
30:16 30:22 time the president and his team are privately urging restrain and conversations with their Israeli counterparts the secretaries of state
30:22 30:29 and defense visited the region this week making that case with key Leaders with two official was telling NBC secretary
30:29 30:35 Austin advised Israel to operate on a higher moral plane than Hamas and to be careful to avoid deaths of innocent
30:35 30:41 civilians bottom line here the Biden Administration wants to limit civilian deaths and does not want this turning
30:41 30:47 into a broader conflict in the region Tom yeah and Kristen as you know the
30:47 30:53 conflict has also brought on new criticisms of the Biden Administration by his GOP Rivals they're challenging
30:53 30:59 him on his recent deal with Iran to release billions of dollars and block funds in exchange for detained Americans
30:59 31:05 and now linking that move to the Hamas attack how is President Biden staying ahead of
31:05 31:10 this well it's complicated republicans in Congress and those running for president have repeatedly criticized the
31:10 31:17 administration for its deal with Iran as you say to unfree $6 billion for humanitarian Aid in exchange for the
31:17 31:23 release of those five American detainees with some alleging without evidence that Iran used that money to fund the Hamas
31:23 31:29 attacks against Israel the Biden Administration has repeatedly said Iran has not spent a penny of that money yet
31:29 31:35 with a top treasury official telling members of Congress this week the US and qar have now agreed to block Iran from
31:35 31:42 accessing the funds as the United States continues to investigate whether Iran had any direct involvement in the Hamas
31:42 31:48 attack now all of this comes as the GOP front runner former president Trump is also facing backlash Tom after he called
31:48 31:55 Hezbollah very smart and accused prime minister Netanyahu of not being prepared for the attack Mr Trump's GOP Rivals are
31:55 32:02 blasting him including Florida Governor Ronda Santos who said quote it's absurd that anyone much less someone running
32:02 32:07 for president would choose now to attack our friend and Ally Israel and the bottom line here it all underscores the
32:07 32:14 war in the Middle East will be front and center on the campaign Trail Tom there is no doubt and Kristen while
32:14 32:20 we have you here all of this underscoring that right now we still have no speaker of the house what's the
32:20 32:26 latest reporting we have on that well I've been speaking with multiple Republican sources from Capitol Hill and
32:26 32:33 there's just a growing frustration because they still don't know who their next speaker will be and of course an issue they can't hold votes they can't
32:33 32:39 provide Aid to Israel until they have a speaker in place so here's what we know conservative Firebrand Congressman Jim
32:39 32:46 Jordan was elected as the nominee on Friday but so far it's not clear he has enough votes to win the gavl NBC News is
32:46 32:52 reporting the Biden Administration is preparing to send a funding request to Congress that would link money for
32:52 32:58 Israel to more aid for Ukraine and Taiwan and border security but again none of that can happen until a speaker
32:58 33:06 is actually in place and adding urgency to all of this a government shutdown is just less than 40 days away
33:06 33:13 Tom oh my gosh it's all happening so fast Christian we know tomorrow Meet the Press you're going to be talking to minority leader Hakeem Jeff what can we
33:13 33:18 expect from that conversation well the big question is what role do Democrats have here that's
33:18 33:24 what I'll be asking leader Jeffy there's a scenario where a handful of Democrats could join with Republicans to form a
33:24 33:31 governing Coalition and that would be no because it would essentially weaken the power of Hardline Republicans who
33:31 33:37 stripped speaker McCarthy of his gavl in the first place still in this divided climate that's really an uphill battle
33:37 33:42 and it's hard to see that happening Tom all right Christian welcome for us
33:42 33:47 tonight right here on Nightly News Kristen we appreciate it and tomorrow morning be sure to catch Kristen on Meet
33:47 33:53 the Press we will definitely be tuning in okay and we are going to be back from Tel Aviv where the divisions in this
33:53 33:58 region are now playing out across the globe with protests growing increas increasingly violent police and major
33:58 34:09 cities now on high alert stay with
34:09 34:15 us and we're back from Tel Aviv as troops here are preparing for what may be an allout ground invasion of Gaza
34:15 34:21 from Southern Israel they're amassing troops and tanks there but they're also building up forces to the north where
34:21 34:27 another of israeli's enemies Hezbollah is threatening its own action we have reporters near both reporters tonight
34:27 34:32 we're going to begin with Ellison barber in southern Israel Ellison we know you've seen a buildup of tanks and
34:32 34:39 troops over the last few days what are you seeing there right now yeah Tom we've continued to see just
34:39 34:46 a large amount of Israeli tanks headed in the direction of Gaza in the last 20
34:46 34:52 minutes or so we've heard at least nine artillery booms this area back here this
34:52 34:58 is Israel we have seen missiles at least one wave of them coming from this
34:58 35:03 direction headed towards Gaza if you walk a little around with me here I can show you uh the direction of where we're
35:03 35:10 hearing those artillery booms and where we then see the orange glow in Gaza so through this area in this direction this
35:10 35:16 is where we are hearing those booms at one point we heard what we would describe as an artillery bombardment
35:16 35:22 just Rapid Fire for a brief period And then after that and after we have also heard booms of rockets other things
35:22 35:28 being launched occasionally through the trees this way you can see the area that
35:28 35:35 is Gaza just light up with orange flashes at times it sounds like a thunderstorm is rolling through Gaza but
35:35 35:42 it's not at all that it is the sounds of war look we have seen hundreds of Tanks
35:42 35:49 military vehicles uh over the last couple of days as our team has been in this area reporting we've seen a number
35:49 35:54 of flatbeds again moving in the direction of Gaza full of artillery as
35:54 36:01 well as heavy moving Mach Machinery Machinery that we saw Israeli forces use
36:01 36:07 similar to what we saw them use when they went in to get Hamas militants out of a police station that they were
36:07 36:13 occupying in the southern city of Sarat that stuff has been moving into the
36:13 36:19 direction of Gaza we know that the IDF has said that they are preparing for a
36:19 36:27 more expansive combat the only question is exactly when it will happen they have said they plan to do this by air by sea
36:27 36:32 and by land this area here it has been evacuated from civilians uh all of the
36:32 36:40 homes and we've been in neighborhoods nearby it is relatively quiet because all that is here are members of IDF they
36:40 36:45 are again moving a lot of equipment through here headed towards the Border we hear that constant little bit of a
36:45 36:51 roll of artillery throughout the evening but on the whole it's been a bit quiet
36:51 36:56 here in the last couple of hours the IDF has been clear that they think 1.1
36:56 37:03 million gazans who are in the north part of Gaza that they need to evacuate they have said to move South past the Gaza
37:03 37:10 River the UN other organizations have called that a mistake saying that it is very difficult for people to do that
37:10 37:15 remember Tom the situation in Gaza is this their only power plant is out of
37:15 37:20 fuel if people want to move South that's incredibly difficult we know that there have been convoys that have been struck
37:20 37:26 by air strikes the Palestinian Health Ministry says those were air strikes from Israel that killed at least 70
37:26 37:33 people also we know that the only land border that is possible to cross outside of Israeli territory the Rafa border
37:33 37:38 into Egypt Tom that has been closed since Tuesday
37:38 37:45 Tom all right Ellison Barber for us Ellison you and your team stay safe out there even though it has been quiet as
37:45 37:51 Southern Israel braces for battle in Gaza many in Northern Israel are preparing for interference from
37:51 37:57 Hezbollah out of Lebanon mbc's Josh Letterman Is On The Border there in Northern Israel tonight and Josh as we
37:57 38:02 talk to you about where you are what kind of preparations have you seen
38:02 38:08 there well Tom the isra military is sending reinforcements to the area that's near the border and in fact today
38:08 38:14 I saw a column of marata battle tanks and armored personnel carriers just a couple miles from Lebanon and the troops
38:14 38:20 there told me they don't know whether Hezbollah is actually going to go all in on this but they insisted they will be
38:20 38:25 ready no matter what happens and as those troops were doing maintenance on their tanks you could actually hear
38:25 38:32 small AR St fire ringing out in the distance and you could see smoke rising from the hills where mortars were fired
38:32 38:38 today into Israel from Lebanon the military saying they shelled SES and it Lebanon in response Israel also said
38:38 38:44 that a terrorist cell tried to infiltrate from Lebanon and the military saying an Israeli drone struck members
38:44 38:51 of that cell and killed them now this is all very worrying to Israel because as bad as Hamas has been as bad as that
38:51 38:56 terror attack has been has hisb is actually seen as a much stronger military force they're believed to have
38:56 39:03 tens of thousands of advanced missiles that can literally Target anywhere in Israel
39:03 39:09 Tom all right Josh Letterman for us Josh thank you for that as so many scramble to leave this region amidst the growing
39:09 39:15 violence others are running towards the danger they Americans Bound by a commitment to community country and
39:15 39:23 Faith Megan Fitzgerald shares just a few of their
39:23 39:31 stories as Israel ramps up its effect ensive against
39:31 39:37 tamas calling up thousands of reservists to fight 3 2 1 scenes like this are
39:37 39:42 playing out in airports across the US people answering the call leaving the
39:42 39:47 us to fight in Israel and an emotional moment at LAX I just dropped my little
39:47 39:55 brother off to go back to the Army in Israel I'm heartbroken and I'm so scared for him no La is already back in Israel
39:55 40:03 so today is the day uh on the way to base documenting his trip on social media uh made my way up North to say bye
40:03 40:10 to my grandpa and my parents leaving his job and life in New York he didn't even wait for the call I actually booked my
40:10 40:17 flight to Israel before I got called back because I knew what was going to happen there's no way that I was going to sit at home Andrew Silberman was
40:17 40:24 visiting his family in Chicago last weekend then he heard what was happening in Israel and got a call that his close
40:24 40:30 friend had been killed we spoke to him earlier this week and from there the rest of the day it became about me
40:30 40:36 trying to get on a flight back to Tel Aviv it didn't matter to Andrew that he had not been called up he was determined
40:36 40:43 to go it was important to me to come back as soon as possible just to see what I could do his plans to return to
40:43 40:49 college in Israel now on hold I think people are really using this as an opportunity to come together and help
40:49 40:55 each other Ruben baden's son Zev leaving behind his one-year-old son and pregnant
40:55 41:01 wife in Texas he called me to tell me um
41:01 41:06 I decide I'm going to Israel to rejoin my army unit Zev quickly arriving in
41:06 41:13 Israel and meeting up with his unit it's really he's doing his duty and uh I am
41:13 41:21 extremely proud of him this sense of Duty is at the heart of the Israeli Army and its mandatory service technically
41:21 41:26 it's actually national service not necessarily military service the overwhelming majority do go into Israel
41:26 41:33 military most Israelis enter the military at 18 and serve for 2 to 3 years typically after that they are
41:33 41:41 automatically put into the reserves which can continue into their 40s and beyond ready to answer the call if an
41:41 41:47 Israeli is Living in America and she hears that her unit was called up she might decide to drop everything go and
41:47 41:53 join naturally if you're living overseas uh you're not required to come
41:53 41:59 back um but certainly the IDF uh appears is very uh ready to take on everyone
41:59 42:06 who's willing to come back and then there are people like Josh Jacobson out of the reserves and wanting to help he
42:06 42:11 left the US to see if he could join up again and fight it just felt like so
42:11 42:19 weird to be uh in Boston when when there's so much going on here I just felt like you know it's kind of my my
42:19 42:27 duty as part of the collective um nation of Israel to to come back and just help
42:27 42:34 Israelis coming together leaving their homes around the world to answer the
42:34 42:40 call Megan Fitzgerald NBC News
42:40 42:46 London we thank Megan for that still to come we're turning to the day's other big story the rare Ring of Fire solar
42:46 42:55 eclipse and the sky Watchers who spent the day celebrating stay with
42:55 43:02 us we're going to turn now to some lighter news across the us Americans looked up
43:02 43:10 to the skies to see something spectacular a rare solar eclipse called the ring of fire Dana Griffin has this
43:10 43:17 story across the US look it's a stunning image that North America has witnessed
43:17 43:22 only five times this Millennium I mean it doesn't look real I didn't think I
43:22 43:27 would cry the annular solar eclipse or ring of fire happens when the moon
43:27 43:34 passes between the Sun and Earth creating a fiery orange ring around the Moon Shadow it's literally just this
43:34 43:42 perfect ring and it's glowing it's radiant I feel like I'll be dreaming about this for weeks to come thinking of
43:42 43:48 the song Ring of Fire depending on clear skies and location wow this is a perfect
43:48 43:54 ring of fire it's just so crisp you likely got to see images like these from
43:54 44:01 Cloudy Skies in Idaho to Valley of the Gods Utah and the state aquarium in Corpus Christie Texas in one particular
44:01 44:07 location on Earth it's normally 375 years between eclipses so it's rare that
44:07 44:13 a person gets to experience it in their lifetime in their specific location nowhere else in the solar system do you
44:13 44:21 get these types of eclipses people driving hundreds of miles to get the best view we drove like N9 hours and we
44:21 44:27 had to take a day off of work but we decided that it was worth it in Los Angeles oh wow even a partial eclipse
44:27 44:34 Drew in a crowd many arriving hours early to get the best seats in town at the Griffith Observatory it's a mob a
44:34 44:39 happy mob that's actually engaged with the cosmos no matter the age it's a
44:39 44:45 really cool site to see viewers were over the Moon looks amazing it's 9:24
44:45 44:52 a.m. in Los Angeles maximum Eclipse making the sky just slightly darker if you've got the right equipment or
44:52 44:58 glasses the view is pretty spectacular yeah because the sun is never fully
44:58 45:04 covered observers must wear proper eye protection what did you think this was phenomenal uh we were in the total
45:04 45:09 eclipse in 2017 in Wyoming and it was one of the best things we've ever done and so the partial eclipse was something
45:09 45:16 we're not going to miss if you miss this Eclipse no worries that total eclipse which will create complete darkness like
45:16 45:23 we last saw in 2017 will occur again in just 6 months in the US ideal viewing
45:23 45:30 locations will span from Texas to Maine this is just a precursor to the big one coming in April I think so a little
45:30 45:36 training for her excitement already building for an experience out of this
45:36 45:41 world Dana Griffin NBC News Los
45:41 45:47 Angeles and when we come back from here in Tel Aviv the power of Faith tonight the moments that brought people together
45:47 45:54 today here and across the world stay with
45:54 46:01 us finally tonight from here in Tel Aviv
46:01 46:07 today was the first Jewish sabbath since the attacks last week it's a day of remembrance and of reflection at
46:07 46:16 synagogues here and around the
46:16 46:22 world tonight Jews across Israel and around the world are finding solace in
46:22 46:28 the Sabbath prot
46:28 46:34 a day of rest and reflection now a time to grieve to lean on faith and search
46:34 46:41 for courage in community is a lot of comfort being with friends trying to
46:41 46:47 find Hope in our souls trying to pray with deep
46:47 46:55 belief to find comfort in Tel Aviv the B Daniel
46:55 47:00 synagogue opening today a handful of congregants like Edna
47:00 47:07 bomi Pearlman finding strength in song I feel that we're sort of like embracing each other with the Liturgy and the
47:07 47:14 music and it's like therapeutic for me totally therapeutic her Rabbi mayor aari's
47:14 47:20 mission is to give support during these unimaginable times we're grieving uh in
47:20 47:25 this point we lost people we lost people in our community but in this point we
47:25 47:33 have to he the the hope hope for victory and at the same time to rebuild the Israeli Society the peace process we
47:33 47:39 need the and near Lebanon today signs of faith in the field a soldier clutching
47:39 47:45 the Torah amid uncertain days
47:45 47:51 ahead across the globe this Shabbat
47:51 47:59 HS we have survived unspeakable trauma and we will survive this too in
47:59 48:05 Washington DC prayers for peace in a moment where I have this week felt
48:05 48:13 raw um and Fragile with
48:13 48:23 emotion this is who I wanted to be surrounded by and who I felt could give me strength and the hugs that I
48:23 48:30 needed to New York City with one of the largest synagogues in the world I think there's something about
48:30 48:37 coming together and feeling that you know there's solidarity and strength and unity it's very important as an American
48:37 48:44 and as a Jew this is an important time for all of us as human beings this is not just about Jewish
48:44 48:49 people back here in Israel these candles are reminder that even in the darkest of
48:49 48:57 times the light of faith can never be put out
48:57 49:03 that'll do it for this special edition of NBC Nightly News live from Israel I'm Tom yamas I'll be back for a special
49:03 49:08 Prime Time special on the war tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC news
49:08 49:14 now but for now good night thanks for watching stay updated
49:14 49:20 about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social
49:20 49:20 media
