exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. right now on "early start," escape from gaza. foreign nationals gather at the gate this hopes that they too will be able to cross into egypt today. plus no accounting, donald trump jr. back on the stand after telling the court he did not handle his father's financial statements. and going nowhere at least for now. george santos no plans to quit after he survived a vote to excel him from the house. good morning, i'm kasie hunt. it is thursday, november 2, 5:00 a.m. in new york, 11:00 a.m. in hamas where officials say there were more heavy israeli airstrikes overnight and into this morning. this time in the vicinity of the hospital and civilians in the jabalia refugee camp are digging out from an airstrike wednesday by israeli airplanes, send in o -- second in as many days. 80 were killed and dozens injured. several hundred have crossed into egypt. at least two americans. >> this is the result of intense and urgent american diplomacy with our partners in the region. i personally spent a lot of time speaking with benjamin netanyahu and president assisi of egypt and others to make sure that we could open this access for people to get out. >> rafael romo is live for us in tel aviv. and what are we expecting to see at the crossing today? >> reporter: the expectation is that more people will be able to pass through a u.s. state department spokesman confirmed wednesday that an initial group of foreign nationals including u.s. citizens had departed gaza and had made it into egypt, although he declined to give specifics on the numbering of u.s. citizens who were able to leave gaza citing operational security concerns. he did say though that more americans would be able to leave today and in the next days. and that the state department had communicated directly with american citizens in gaza so that they would be ready to go. there was also confirmation from president biden himself that he wrote wednesday on x that the u.s. had secured safe passage for wounded palestinians and for foreign nationals to exit gaza and we're expecting some american citizens to exit right away with more departing over the coming days. and the question is how many americans were stuck in gaza in the first place. at a senate appropriations committee hearing, secretary of state antony blinken said that there were approximately 400 plus their families about 1,000 people in total, he also said that there are about 5,000 other third country nationals who want to get out as well. >> rafael, have we learned anything more about the israeli airstrikes on the jabalia refugee camp? they are obviously under an incredible amount of scrutiny. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. there has been widespread condemnation since the first attack. jordan recalled its ambassador to israel along with chile oig and colombia. bolivia went as far arcutting o diplomatic ties. and they say that they could amount to war crimes. it is hard for us to determine a specific number of casualties, but director of a local hospital say at least 80 people died in the send explosion and that there could be more victims under the rubble adding that most of the people who died were women and children. a spokesman with the israeli military told skrn that they don't intend to kill civilians but he added that the sad reallre reality is that civilians are paying the price for the atrocities of hamas. and reiterated that the israeli government has said before that they are fighting a battle to defend themselves and that after the october 7 attacks, they must eradicate hamas wherever they are. he said even if they are hiding in tunnels underneath populated areas. >> of course u.s. secretary of state antony blinken on his way soon to the region for a friday visit with expectations that he will be talking to the israelis about issues of proportionality nonk among other things. rafael, thank you for being there. and donald trump jr. returned to the witness stand as his father's civil fraud trial in new york with brother eric waiting in the wings. plus congressman george santos defiant after surviving a vote that his colleagues took to try to get rid of him. heavy airstrikes again hitting gaza last night. officials in the territory say missiles are landing in the area of the hospital. wednesday there were more airstrikes in the jabalia refugee camp. kim dozier is joining us. thank you so much for being here. i know you've had a lot of experiences over the course of the past week with the israeli embassy and others that give you insight into what the challenges are in terms of the israelis trying to maintain world suit as they mount this campaign against hamas terrorists. secretary of state obviously expected to be in israel on friday as he tries to maintain the connections with the israelis and try to urge them in the direction that the u.s. wants them to go. can you help us understand what are the conversations like, what is the push and pull? >> from the white house perspective, they know every single strike near or on civilian areas blows back not just on israel, but on the u.s. and you can see it in the u.n. vote that went against israel and that it declared the need for a ceasefire, but it didn't condemn hamas and demand the release of the hostages. so the white house needs israel to ratchet back, to be more careful about civilian casualties, but i have to tell you, talking to senior israeli military official and some of the former national security folks who were briefed on some of the decisions, they feel like this is an existential threat and they are going to keep moving forward. i think even if the white house starts asking them publicly to move back, they will just accomplish what they see as their mission which is dismantling hamas. >> you spent time based in gaza which is a pretty rare thing for an american foreign correspondent. can you help us understand -- i know you also saw video that the israelis showed of the horrific attacks. it kind of gives you a sense of the supporters of hamas talk about it, they use pretty horrific language and i think it might help people understand why it is that the israelis feel the way they do. can you take us inside the experience you had, what you saw when you lived there and what you have seen in the wake of this attack? >> yeah, people walked down memory lane. i was a part of the cadre of journalists that covered the peace process before the oslo accords and covered the first uprising that led to that peace process and then the second uprising years later. what i saw was after the initial hope for peace, each side getting so alienated from each other, hope being lost time and time again, each one disappointing each other and especially inside gaza, once hamas used to be an entity that took care of its people better than the palestinian authority which was seen as widely corrupt, i'd interview a family with ten children and they said, you know, we can't get help from the p.a., but hamas comes by every week with aid. so that is how they got into power. but once they got into power, they literally threw p.a. officials off rooftops expelling them from gaza. and instituted education where the anti-defamation league can give you chapter and verse of the kind of textbooks that are taught in gazan schools that say horrific things about jews that basically make them seem like not people. and that is the only way that i can explain the kind of brutal attacks that we saw in that raw video that israel has shown to groups of journalists. pen and pad only. they are not releasing this to the world. so, yes, these videos aren't independently verified. but kind of things said in the videos like a young fighter calling his parents back in gaza and bragging about how he killed israelis with his bare hands, i did see that kind of sentiment when i would go into gaza to report on incidents there during the second uprising. >> and of course that clip you mentioned they did play at the u.n., the audio of that person who had called his parents. and it is really tough to listen to. kim, briefly long term, what does it looks like when israel says that they want to, you know, end hamas? that is stroo is strategically talked to former military officials say that is not possible. what is your take on that? >> yeah, they say that they will end hamas like the u.s. and world ended isis. isis hasn't ended. we still have u.s. troops in syria, iraqi forces are still battling them. isis still demands -- shakes down local leaders in iraqi towns and villages. so hamas unfortunately is likely to arise after this incident as seen as a hero across the arab world. and even though they might smash all the current leadership and dismantle the current military structure, it will rebuild in the years and decades afterwards. so i don't understand exactly how they think that there will work. they have tried to root out extremism in the west bank the same way. when people have no hope, when they have no hope for a separate state, two state solution, that frustration breeds really horrible violence. >> yeah, we've talked about how it is a dehumanizing aspect and also the circumstances under which these people are living generate a situation where there is nowhere to go and as you point out, no hope so an impossible situation. kim dozier, thank you very much for your time. >> thanks. and just ahead here, remembering basketball legend bobby knight known for his talent and his tellinmper. is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. welcome back. quick hits across america. the president and first lady are set to visit grieving family members and first responders in lewiston, maine tomorrow following last week's deadly mass shooting. biden has completely urged congress to address gun violence. tennessee families with transgender kids are calling on the supreme court to review the state's ban on gender affirming care for minors which they say is unconstitutional. an appeals court reinstated the ban over the summer. republican senators are taking aim at tommy tuberville who they say is holding unefforts to fortify the u.s. military. >> we do not want to be responsible for a senate inflicted hallowing out of our most experienced military officers especially given how dangerous the world is right now. >> another 61 top nominees were blocked by the alabama republican last night. tuberville objects to the pentagon service member abortion policies. and an early seasonal chill gripping much of the country bringing record low temperatures from texas to maine. let's get straight to the weatherman derek van dam. i have to say, i was freezing coming in here this morning as my phone told me it was 35 years outside. sounds like i'm not alone. >> no, you are not. and my home station says 30, so we officially dropped below freezing and i'm so glad that i'm a meteorologist and i'm able to tell you that this has effectively ended the growing season. i got the last of my tomatoes and peppers because i knew that this was the end. it is cold. and that is why we have the frost and freeze warnings blanketing much of the southeastern u.s. because the cold air has advanced just as we've warned you the past few days, alerts from texas to the mid-atlantic and even portions of the northeast as well. so freeze warnings, temperatures have dropped below freezing. feels like lower 30s, upper 20s. it is chilly. so grab a coat. significantly colder than what we started the week as. good news is that we'll see a warming trend. these are morning lows for some larger cities. chicago to atlanta, you can see the mercury starting to climb slowly back. so we'll replace the blues with the oranges and above average temperatures are welcomed again and we'll hold on to it as long as we can. it is the sunshine giving a deceiving warmth to the air outside along the east coast. let's enjoy it while it lasts because no real active weather for the eastern two thirds of the country but the pacific northeast is ale whole other story. you have an atmospheric river. that is literally a river in the sky that is pointed directly into the pacific northwest with this significant amount of moisture. so 2 to 4 inches of rainfall expected across the region. highest elevations getting the snowfall mount baker into the olympic range. and then we get a break with more rain for the weekend. so autumn settling in oregon to washington and even northern sections of california, much needed rainfall for these parts of america. >> all right. derek, thank you very much. president biden telling a closed door fundraiser last night that there should be a pause in gaza. what does that mean? and donald trump jr.r. testififying and h his youngere brotheher about toto do the sas. welcome back. thank you for being up early with a with us. president biden is calling for a pause. he was enteinterrupted shoutinga rabbi, i need you to call for a ceasefire right now. mr. biden replied "i think that we need a pause, a pause means give time to get the prisoners out." what is not clear is whether the president was actually endorsing a ceasefire which his administration has not backed so far and the precise language around a pause is very distinct from calls for a ceasefire. so a bit of a disagreement with that protestor there. in southern gaza this morning more foreign nationals are injured and palestinians are expected to pass through the rafah crossing. those who came through wednesday were the first nonhostages to exits gaza since the war began. >> american citizens exited today as part of the first group of probably over 1,000. we'll see more of this process going on in the coming days. working nonstop to get americans out of gaza as soon as as safely as possible. >> joining us now is clare sebastian live in london. good morning. what is the latest in the region with the rafah crossing especially ahead of secretary of state antony blinken visiting on industry? >> reporter: yeah, on top of the 361 people of those foreign passport holders that were able to leave gaza on wednesday, we expect to see more coming through today just sort of figuring out exactly how it will work. this is a very fluid situation. things have not proceeded exactly as expected. for example on wednesday they were not expecting any americans to be able to leave, but a couple were able to. and the u.s. has said that it ask expect to see more leaving in the coming days. egyptian foreign ministry says it is working to get 7,000 from more than 60 countries out of gaza. so i think that we've just seen the very early stages of what is a very big operation and very tightly controlled one. egypt is vetting everyone who comes through. there are concerns obviously hamas originally demanded that its own fighters be included in the injured palestinians that were coming out, that demand was rejected and backdrop to all of this is egypt concerned about a potential influx of refugees. but i will say that although this is a major diplomatic breakthrough and we haven't seen anyone apart from a handful of hostages exit the gaza strip? the 3 1/2 weeks since the conflict started, it does not really do anything to alleviate the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding in gaza. aid trucks are coming in, but it is such a slow rate that aid agencies are warning that the situation continues to spiral. palestinians say 55 trucks came in on wednesday, but just 270 so far, which is less than gaza used to get before the conflict in a single day. >> honestly the humanitarian situation helps explain why the president here in the u.s. was confronted by a rabbi protesting at what was going on. clare sebastian, thank you very much for the report. and here at home, donald trump jr. will be back in a new york courtroom today for a second day of testimony in the civil fraud trial against the family and trump organization. the lawsuit accuses trump jr. and his brother eric of a scheme to inflate their father's net worth to get benefits like better loan and insurance terms. eric trump set to take the stand today. let's bring in former manhattan prosecutor. jeremy, thank you very much for being here. what did we hear from donald trump jr.? apparently he told the court he was never involved in the preparation of the financial statements even after he became a trustee of business affairs for the trump organization. he said the accountants worked on it, that is what we pay them for. does this defense seem like it might work? >> well, i expect them all to sort of have the same theme which i've said repeatedly and i'll say it again here, donald trump jr. is basically admitting what he can't deny and denying what he can't admit. he has to say that i signed off on these documents. i attested to the financial conditions of the company. but at the same time, what i have to say or deny is that i am responsible and i was knowledgeable. i was relying on weisselberg, i was relying on the accountant. so i expect this line of testimony. whether ultimately the judge finds it credible -- this is not a jury that will be easily bamboozled. i'm not saying that that is what is going on. the judge will decide that, but certainly there will be creditability a issues that the judge will make a decision about. >> let's talk about ivanka for a se second. clearly her father does not want her to have to testify here and appealing the judge's ruling that she has to. she's not a defendant anymore. the claims were apparently too old, she hasn't lived in new york since 2017. do you think she has any hope of staying off the witness stand? >> i think she's a material witness and she's someone that the court will want to hear from and rightfully should hear from. you know, donald trump is concerned the more of his children or anyone testifies, there is a isk are of in-consis. and so there is a risk of something being exposed. so i would expect that like her siblings she will ultimately testify. >> certainly going to be an interesting couple days. and let's go out west. the other thing that has been unfolding on a legal front -- the trump legal front is that 14th amendment case in colorado to try to keep trump off the ballot because of the constitutional ban on insurrectionists holding office. an expert testified basically saying that this is a very broad claim in the 14th amendment and that it should be enough to keep trump off the ballot. trump's lawyers though say that this is all just ordinary political speech. take a look at what they had to say. >> there is no call to violence. and everything that trump says is a common, common political metaphor meaning a political fight. >> so who has the winning argument here in your view? >> well, there is a kcase where if there is an imminent threat or likelihood that what in this case the former president said that would incite the insurrection and violence, that is the real threshold question. you heard from experts who said it doesn't have to be actual physical violence that occurs. there is history of $100 gift if you will to a child during the civil war in the south. there is a letter to the editor, granted these are more than 100 years ago, reflecting this incitement. so i think that it is a hard thing to get to. i think that it is likely not going to happen, be kept off the ballot, but it is obviously sort of a test for t