Next stages of war. Nine days after the brutal Terrorist Attack by hamas, israel ramps up for a ground war in gaza. Its only the beginning. But how will civilians including americans avoid the violence . U. S. National security adviser Jake Sullivan joins me live, next. Plus, on edge, as President Biden strongly backs israel we will make sure israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack. A divide over the war is splintering the republican field. Israel was not ready. We need to have israels back. How would a republican Commander In Chief approach the middle east. Former u. N. Ambassador and former president ial candidate nikki haley is here exclusively ahead. And how was cards. House republicans are still at odds over their choice for speaker, with congress paralyzed, will they be able to deliver aid . Republican congressman dan crenshaw is coming up. Hello, im jake tapper in washington, where the state of our union is frankly heartsick, upset about the innocence taken from us starting eight days ago with that horrific hamas Terrorist Attack, as well as the civilians killed since in israel and gaza. And concerned about what this next phase of the war in the middle east will look like. And whether there is any real thought as to what is coming next. The Israeli Government says after eight days of a brutal air campaign in gaza, it is now preparing, quote, significant Ground Operations in response to the devastating terror attacks, in which 1,000 israelis were slaughtered. The deadliest day for the jewish people since the holocaust, which was accompanied by the kidnapping of more than 100 innocents. Just look at these israeli babies, reportedly hostages of hamas, on the front page of the israeli newspaper this morning. Meanwhile, Tens Of Thousands of innocent civilians in gaza, population 2. 3 million, are desperately trying to flee. There are reports from inside that country that hamas, which uses palestinians as human shields, has Set Up Polblockadeo stop its own people from fleeing, while the israelis and Egyptians Prevent Access Out of gaza, all of it leading to a disastrous humanitarian crisis. From a top u. N. Official, quote, hospitals overwhelmed with patients are running out of medicine. Morgues are overflowing. Homes, schools, shelters, Health Centers and places of worship are under intense bombardment. This morning, International Officials say the only reliable exit from gaza remains closed. Cnns sara sidner joins me now from televiv, israel. Sara, what is the mood on the ground there as israel prepares for the next stage of this war . Reporter its tense. Its Anxiety Feeling for the residents here, and as they prepare with more than 300,000 reservist who have gone to the border with gaza. It seems pretty imminent that a ground war is about to get underway. The Israeli Military has said that it is preparing for what it calls the next stages of the war. Well, we know that some of the early stages were a response from the sky. We have seen a lot of that overnight, where air strikes have been hitting in gaza. But you have this humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in gaza now, partly because of the israeli blockade, partly because hamas is not aiding or letting people leave, according to reports inside of gaza. And so you have this crisis that is unfolding. You do not have fuel, you do not have potable water, you dmo not have food coming into gaza. Things are getting very, very desperate, never mind the number of people who have been injured and hospitals are at their absolute breaking point. The world will be watching this. I just spoke to peter lerner with the Israeli Defense forces. And he said, time is of the essence, essentially. They are planning to go to their next phase very, very soon. Why is that, i asked him . He said, because they need to rid gaza of hamas. And that is the ultimate plan. Now, the difficulty is how they do that. Because there are Aid Organizations that are trying to get supplies, trying to get anything to those who are in desperate need to have the basics of life. And there are civilians in one of the most densely populated places on earth, trying to figure out where in gods name they can go to be safe. Just, you know, to get out of the way of harm. This is a really, really difficult situation that gaza finds itself in, and frankly, that israel finds itself in, as it prepares for a ground defensive. Thank you so much, sara sidner. Joining us now, jikake sullivan. When do you expect an Israeli Ground invasion to start and what might that look like . Jake, ill have to leave that to the Israeli Defense forces, to the idf to answer. They will determine their timetable, and they will determine the scope and nature of that operation. Its not for me to say. I will say, were in Constant Contact with them, so we can best understand what they are planning, but i cant sit here and give you any timetable or details on that operation. Thats for them. Whats the ultimate goal of this incursion . Is it to invade, to kick out all of hamas, to Reoccupy Gaza . Whos going to take over afterwards . Will refugees who escape gaza be allowed to come back . Well, at the broadest level, the goal is to ensure the safety and security of the jewish people. At the next level down, its to eliminate the hamas Terrorist Infrastructure, the hamas terrorist threat so that hamas cannot pose a threat to israeli citizens, to the state of israel, going forward. Youve raised a number of questions there that i think are really important. They are questions we are grappling with in talking of israelis about even now. What is the longterm look like . Even as you work on the immediate term. Im not in a position to give you definitive answers to that. But, of course, we are talking to the israelis about the full set of questions, looking out into the future, to ensure that israel is safe and secure, and also that innocent palestinians living in gaza can have a life of dignity, security, and peace in the future, as well. Is rescuing the hostages a priority at all . Israeli news media say they seem it doesnt seem like it at all. And if my kids were being held hostage in gaza, and as you know, there are americans being held hostage in gaza right now, i would want you to send in the navy s. E. A. L. S. Whats the conversation like in the white house about the u. S. Conducting any sort of operations in order to save americans being held hostage in gaza . Well, the president has been very clear that he has no higher priority than getting americans back safe, americans who are being held hostage by hamas the israelis are bombing the crap out of gaza, i mean, it doesnt seem like saving the hostages are a priority at all right now. Well, for President Biden, they are a priority. Theyre the highest possible priority. And he has sent Hostage Experts to coordinate and consult with the Israeli Government on hostage recovery efforts. Hes also made sure that our diplomats are in touch with third countries in the region to explore avenues for their safe release. I have to be cautious about how much i can say about certain efforts hes undertaking, because we want to protect those efforts to give us the best possible chance of getting our people home. Now, jake, one important point when it comes to the issue of the navy s. E. A. L. S is we do not at this point have. It Location Information for where the american hostages are. So we have to continue to refine our understanding of where they are, and who they are. Because we know there are 15 unaccounted for americans, but we cannot confirm the precise number of american hostages being held by hamas at this time. All we can do is to continue to work closely with the Israeli Government on hostage recovery operations, which we are doing, and then work through third countries to see if there are avenues for release. Those efforts are underway. Our hope is that they can produce results. We will continue to stay focused on this. Its as high a priority as the president has. One senior political operative with hamas floated the possibility a few days ago of a potential Prisoner Swap with the u. S. , for the release of hostages. Would the u. S. Entertain that . We have not looked at that we have not heard from them, Something Like that. Thats not something that is currently under active discussion, and it has not been proposed. What we are focused on instead, as i have said before, are pursuing avenues with third countries for release. Im not going to get into the details of what that might look like, again, to protect those channels in hopes that they can bear some fruit. But, i will say that President Biden has shown over the course of the past few years, that he will make hard decisions to get american hostages home. In this case, our focus is on working through those third country channels and ill leave it at that for now. So i think there are serious reasons to question how good any intelligence about what is in gaza is. I mean, obviously, hamas was able to carry out this horrific attack eight days ago, catching everybody completely offguard. You just said that we dont know where the hostages are in gaza. And yet the israelis claim, the idf claims that it is bombing places that it knows are hamas targets. How can we be sure that thats true . I mean, i hamas is a terrorist group, dont get me wrong, but how do we know anything about what theyre hitting, given the fact that it doesnt sound like any of the intelligence inside gaza is particularly good. Well, jake, israel has known where particularly parts of hamas Terrorist Infrastructure have been located. They know, for example, where rockets are fired from. And they can go back to those locations to take out the rocket placements. They know from various forms of Intelligence Collection where certain individuals are located, who are senior commanders in hamas, who are part of the bloody and barbaric attacks that took place against israel last saturday. So, they do have information to be able to go after specific targets, actionable targets, similar to the way that the United States has been able to do that in other places in other contexts. The United States has taken a very clear stand. It is a stand that we dont just take in this situation, but weve taken all along, which is that we stand for the rule of law, we stand for the law of war, we stand for the protectio innocent palestinians who have nothing to do with hamas can get to safe areas where they will be safe from bombardment and will have access to necessary tis like food, water, shelter, and medicine. I mean, you say you stand for the rule of law, again, hamas is vile. What they did eight days ago, theyre targeting civilians, its horrific. But whats going on right now is not just a pulmoof hamas. More than 700 children have been reportedly killed in gaza and obviously, electricity, food, water, supplies have been cut off by israel to the totality of gaza. Obviously, the blockade is not just by israel, its by egypt, too. Take a listen to what Secretary Blinken said last year when putin was targeting ukrainian infrastructure. Heat, water, electricity for children, for the elderly, for the sick. These are president putins new targets. Hes hitting them hard. This brutalization of ukraines people is barbaric. Look, israel is not russia, gaza is not ukraine. Its a different situation, but cutting off supplies, cutting off heat, cutting off water to civilians, whats the difference . Well, first, thank you for saying that israel is not russia, because israel is not russia. But civilians are civilians, jake. Civilians are civilians. Yes, absolutely, they are. And they deserve, as i said before, access to water and medicine and food. And we are working actively to ensure that that happens. And i can tell you this morning, jake, i have been in touch with my israeli counterparts just within the last hour who report to me that they have, in fact, turned the water pipe back on in southern gaza. That has been the subject of discussion over the course of the past few days. The United States is going to continue working with israel, with the u. N. , with egypt, with jordan, and with a lot of the groups on the ground to make sure that innocent palestinians get access to those basic necessities and are protected from bombardment. Because they deserve that right, the right to those necessities. And the right to safety and security, every bit as much of ukrainian civilians or civilians anywhere do. And the United States hasnt made any bones about that. Were working hard on that and to make sure that this is the case, and thats something that has been a high priority for President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and myself. But youre not telling the israelis to let the palestinian hospitals have power. Our position is that hospitals should be able to function, hospitals should not be targeted. People should be able to get access to lifesaving medical care. We dont qualify these statements, we dont say that theres some kind of caveat to them. These are simple, clear, declarative statements. It is our position, thats consistent with the law of armed conflict, the law of war. Its consistent with our view as we have prevented it. And i would just say, jake, that theres a lot of reports in the fog of war about things that happen. Were not going to respond to every one of those, because we will seek clarity in the appropriate way, but we will never back off our basic principles and our basic proposition, which we have made both publicly and privately about our view, about how civilians have to be protected. I havent asked you any of the fog of war stories. Ive seen stories that blame israel for things that later on it turns out hamas did them. I get it. I understand. But we have reports and im sure you have them too that hundreds of the individuals stalk in gaza are American Citizens. You know that, too. There are also hundreds of thousands of americans in israel that are trying to get out also, and the Biden Administration is doing a lot to get those individuals out. 29 of the individuals killed by hamas were american. And there are, i think, what is it, Something Like 40 americans that are unaccounted for, who were maybe taken prisoner by hamas. But i want to talk to you about one palestinian American Woman we talked to whos from new jersey. Shes got three kids. 8, 2, and 2 months. I sent you the interview we did with her earlier in the week. She got to the border, the rafa crossing, she cant get out because the egyptians wont open the crossing. Listen to what she told me earlier this week. We tried to contact the u. S. Embassy so many times. Unfortunately, they couldnt help us at all. I contacted them through the phone, the email, i texted, and i called different numbers, but nobody i couldnt hear that from any. We are all here feeling abandon and were feeling that were left alone. I dont know how many billions of dollars we give the egyptians every year, why cant you tell president cici to order the border to let americans out . We have told president cici to open the border to let americans out. The situation there at the crossing is actually more complicated. The egyptians have, in fact, agreed to allow americans to depart to get safe passage through the rafa crossing. The israelis agreed to ensure that the area around there would be safe at least as far as they were able to do so. The question when we tried to move a group yesterday was actually hamas taking steps to try to stop that from happening. But we are continuing to work this around the clock, and we are doing all that we can to make sure that American Citizens who are in gaza can get through that border cross. Secretary blinken in fact is in egypt today meeting with the president of egypt. This is at the top of his list to help get those American Citizens out of gaza. Anyone who is a u. S. Citizen should have the right to free passage through there, and then have the u. S. Government facilitate their travel home. Yeah, i dont i dont do it that the biggest problem in all of this is hamas. Jake sullivan, thank you so much, appreciate it. She was u. N. Ambassador, now she wants to be president. So what does she make of the u. N. Warnings about israels war on gaza . Nikki haley joins me live, next. And then are republicans on track for another embarrassing speaker vote this week . Another one. A congressman who is quite furious at what is going on with the gop will be here. Stay with us. Welcome back to State Of The Union. Im jake tapper. As the Israeli Government warns of a new phase in its fight against hamas, brandnew polling just into cnn shows how americans are feeling about this war. The u. S. Public broadly feels israels military response to the hamas Terrorist Attack is fully justified, but the difference by age is quite stark. 81 of americans over the age of 65 feel the response by the Israeli Government is fully justified. But just 27 of americans 18 to 34 years old feel that way. The humanitarian crisis is also top of mind for many americ