for those who fought in this war unlike any war the world had ever seen before, it was a symbol, a reminder that as long as those who stand for freedom, light will always triumph over darkness. my fellow americans, jill, vice president harris, secretary mcdonough, secretary buttigieg, secretary mayorkas, director haines, deputy secretary hicks and most importantly our veterans and service members and equally as important their families. we come together today to once again honor the generations of americans who stood on the front lines of freedom to once again bear witness to the great deeds of a noble few who risked everything to give us a better future. those who have always kept the light of liberty shining bright across the world, our veterans. that's not hyperbole. our veterans. every year on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we gather in this sanctuary of sacrifice to pause, to pay tribute to these patriots of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. as commander in chief, i have no higher honor, as a father of a son who served, i have no greater privilege. as for so many of you, veterans day is personal to jill and me. on this day, i can still see my son, the attorney general of delaware, standing ramrod straight as i pinned his bars on him the day he joined the army national guard in delaware. i can still feel the overwhelming pride in major beau biden receiving theing the bron and the service cross. we miss him. i can still hear my wife jill every morning she got up to go to school to teach praying over a cup of coffee during the year he was deployed to iraq and six months before that he was a civilian overseas. like it was yesterday, i can still hear what he told me when he signed up to serve. i said, beau, why? this is god's truth. he said, dad, it's my duty. duty. that was the code my son lived by and the creed that millions of veterans have followed. from baghdad to gettysburg to korea to kandahar and beyond, each one linked in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days. each one bound by a sacred oath to support and defend not a place, not a person, not a president, but an idea, to defend an idea unlike any other in human history. that idea is the united states of america. we're the only nation in the world that's built on an idea. every other nation is based on things like geography, ethnicity, religion. we're the only nation built on the idea that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. because of you, we've never walked away from it. throughout the annals of history, whenever and wherever the forces of darkness sought to extinguish the light of liberty, american veterans have been holding the lantern as high as they can for all of us. they were there when a determined band of patriots sparked a revolution, delivering a nation where everyone is endowed with certain inalienable rights. they were there when less than a century later they gave our nation a new berth of freedom. they were there when the forces of fascism brought the fight to the trenches of europe and the bloody pebeaches of normandy. they were there in korea and the sweltering jungles of vietnam. and they were there when darkness came to our shores, signing up for tour after tour after tour to keep our democracy safe and secure these last two decades. folks, as a nation, we owe them. we owe you not just for keeping the flame of freedom burning during the darkest of moments, but for serving our communities even after they hang up their uniforms, for inspiring the next generation to serve. we see this at bases all across america where young women and men continue to risk their own safety for the safety of their fellow americans. we see it around the world in all the countries i've been in when our troops continue to stand with our allies against the forces of tyranny and terrorism. to this day, wherever the forces of darkness have sought to extinguish the light of liberty, americans troops are there. and right by their side are their families. as english poet john milton serve, they also serve who only stand and wait. they also serve who only stand and wait. our veterans are the steel spine of this nation, and their families, like so many of you, are the courageous heart. most americans never see the sacrifices that you as family members also make. they'll never see those holidays, those birthdays made special even with the empty seat at the dinner table. they'll never see all the packing and unpacking, readying the family to make another move, needing to move to a new school, a new job for the spouse. they'll never see all those nights spent waiting for word from a loved one deployed overseas because you're not sure. too often your sacrifices go without thanks or without acknowledgment. we must remember only 1% of our society today protects 99% of us. 1%. we owe them, we owe you. so to all the families across our nation, to all those who are grieving the loss of a loved one who wore the uniform, two all those with loved ones still missing or unaccounted for, i want to say to you we see you, we stand with you and we will not forget. you've kept the ultimate faith to our country. we will keep the faith with you. as a nation, i've said many times we have many obligations, but we only have one truly sacred obligation, to prepare those we send into harm's way and to care for them and their families when they return home. it's not an obligation based on party or politics, but on a promise that unites us all. together over the last three years we've worked to make good on that promise, passing more than 30 bipartisan laws to support our veterans and their families, caregivers and survivors. that includes the pact act, one of the most significant laws ever to help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins in burn pits during their military service, pits the size of football fields incinerated with the wastes of war, tires, chemicals, jet fuel and so much more. too many of our nation's warriors have served, only to return home to suffer from permanent effects of this poisonous smoke. too many have died. in the 15 months since we wrote and signed the pact act, a half a million veterans and their surviving family members have already started receiving benefits. but far, far too many are still not getting what they need, the care they deserve. that's why i'm proud to announce that any toxin exposed veteran who signed in the pact act will be able to enroll in va health care starting next year. we're not stopping there. the act has processed more claims than ever before in va history. we expanded resources to end veterans' homelessness, poverty, end the silent scourge of suicide, which is taking more veterans than war is. we're launching a new initiative to protect veterans from scam iscams, because no one should be defrauded by those they defended, for god's sake. [ applause ] >> through jill's work and others in joining forces, we've also announced the most comprehensive set of actions to strengthen economic opportunity for military and veterans spouses, caregivers and survivors. this year as we marked 75 years of a desegregated military, 75 years of women's integration in the military, we've doubled down on our efforts to ensure all troops, all veterans get the services they need and that no veteran is denied the honor they earn because there is this char -- discharged for being lgbtq plus. it matters. it matters to the vet from the state of delaware, who after years of being homeless, after years of living in a tent made of his own uniforms finally got a roof over his head. it matters to the vet in arkansas, who after answering duty's call on 9/11, after dealing with debilitating post-traumatic stress for years, finally is able to receive tailored mental health care that's changed his life. it matters to the vet from utah, after flying mission after mission over burn pits in iraq, after danger diagnosed with cancer at just 23 years of age, he's finally receiving full coverage for his treatment. it matters. [ applause ] >> it matters to the vet from florida who was being exposed to agent orange in vietnam who after applying for benefits and being rejected four times, is finally able to get by a little easier now. today we not only honor these stories, but the story of all veterans, for it's a story of our nation at its best, a nation that stands as one to forge a better future for all, a nation that faces down fear generation after generation, a nation that meets darkness with light again and again and again. no matter how high the cost, no matter how heavy the burden, ladies and gentlemen, for nearly 250 years the sacrifice of many of you sitting in front of me and behind me and those who served have kept our country free and our democracy strong. as that young soldier wrote more than a century ago after world war i ended, if you could only see lanterns shine in every window and door, today we not only see that light of liberty, we live by it. just like our fore bbearers, it on all of us together to ask ourselves what can we do, what must we do to keep that light burning, to keep it shining in every window and door for generations to come? i know we can. i know we will. because as our veterans know best, we are the united states of america, and there's nothing beyond our capacity. [ applause ] nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. god bless you all. god bless our veterans. and may god protect our troops today and always. thank you and thank you for your service. [ applause ] >> president biden speaking at the arlington national cemetery in observance of today's veterans day. he said the country has one duty, to prepare those we send into harm's way and to care for them and their families when they come home, very much stayed on the topic of veterans, did not stray into any conflicts going on in the country right now. that said, moments ago president biden before he began to speak, he and vice president kamala harris marked veterans day at arlington national cemetery in virginia. there, the president laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. joining me now is cat the white house. he had been touting achievements he made legislatively in this category over the week. what policies has he been working on here? and any reaction to what we just heard? >> reporter: president biden stood there at arlington national cemetery, a site he described as a sanctuary of sacrifice, honoring the veterans that have served the country. he said he was there to honor the generations of american who is stood on the front lines of freedom. he talked about the battle between darkness and light, and that generation after generation, american troops and veterans have shown up to fight that battle against darkness. the president talked about this in very personal terms, saying it's a privilege as the father of a son of a veteran, referencing his late son beau biden who served in the delaware army national guard in iraq. this comes on veterans day, but the president's administration just yesterday had rolled out a series of actions that they are trying to take to help veterans. that includes trying to make some health care and nursing home services free of cost for world war ii veterans. they're also establishing these programs to help protect veterans and their families from fraud and scams. then there is also the speeding up of eligibility for those veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits. that piece of legislation, the pact act, is really one of the marquee pieces of legislation the president has gotten across the finish line when it pertains to the issue of veterans. president biden today taking a moment to honor and celebrate those veterans who have given their time, their service, also the families who have supported them all in defense of this country and that idea of democracy. >> thank you so much. we started the show in virginia in the washington, d.c. area, but we're going to go overseas next. gaza's health care system has passed the point of no return. that's the warning from the internatioional commitittee of red crcross. now to the critical situation unfolding in gaza. aust israeli troops are fighting near a hospital. the idf has declined the claim that al shifa hospital is under complete siege with staff and patients unable to leave. the red cross says gaza's health care similar has passed the point of no return. meanwhile, israel's defense forces say they have captured 11 hamas military posts. thousands of gazans fled south. with the world watching, the humanitarian crisis unfolding, today leaders from arab and islamic nations have been meeting in saudi arabia reiterating calls for a ceasefire between israel and hamas. we're also seeing major protests around the globe, including a large pro-palestinian demonstration today in london. police there say they had to arrest more than 80 counter protesters for what they call a breach of the peace. ben wedeman is in southern lebanon. but let's start with ed lavandera in tel aviv for the latest on the ground in gaza. ed. >> reporter: today has been described as dire and catastrophic as the situation in particular around that al shifa hospital in gaza city has become more desperate by the hour. this is a key hospital, one of the largest in gaza. for years, israeli military officials have said this is the hospital where hamas military fighters hide underneath those bunkers. it's one of the principal areas which they operate from. that's why they consider this such a strategic point in their military operations on the ground. according to the hospital officials and people inside the hospital, it's coming at a dire cost. one hospital official telling cnn there are a hundred bodies simply wrapped, unable to be taken anywhere. as you mentioned, hospital officials there believe the entire complex is under siege with hospital staff and patients unable to leave the area. that as idf will only say they are engaged in intense fighting in that area, but they wouldn't elaborate beyond that as to exactly how things have unfolded there. this is also coming at a time where there are still 240 hostages inside of gaza, and there's growing skepticism about israel's strategy here in terms of carrying out this intense military campaign against hamas fighters and whether or not that could come at the risk of the hostages' lives. some family members of the hostages put out a statement on friday saying that victory in this war should not be measures by whether or not the militant fighters that carried out the october 7th attacks are assassinated in this operation, but victory should be measured by whether or not the hostages are brought home safely and alive. omar. >> of course a lot of factors happening at the same time. ed lavandera, thank you. i want to go to ben wedeman in southern lebanon. what did the hezbollah leader have to say earlier today? >> reporter: one thing he said was that the cross-border exchanges of fire between israel and hezbollah are intensifying and they are going deeper into one another's territory. in fact, today we saw the highest number of exchanges of fire between the two sides, by one count about 40 individual incidents. today the israelis did conduct a drone strike on a truck about 25 miles north of the border, which represents the deepest penetration by israeli drones since the war in 2006. hezbollah is using for the first times attack drones going into israel. he also noted hezbollah is using iranian-designed short-range ballistic missiles that have a more than half-ton explosive payload. in fact, we saw video of that particular strike using that missile, and it was very big. he also went onto say that as far as these attacks on u.s. forces by pro-iranian militias in iraq and syria, he said that if the americans want these attacks on their forces in syria and iraq to stop, they should stop the war in gaza. if you don't want this to be a regional war, you must stop the war in gaza, he said. >> the iranian president meets in saudi arabia, of course iran known to have close ties to the militant group hezbollah. ben wedeman, thank you so much. still to come, mounting pressure domestically and abroad on president biden over his support for israel amid images of destruction in gaza. how the white house is dealing with the fallout. - [young alec] my favorite people in shriners are the doctors and the nurses, because they help people through life. - [adult alec] 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and college campuses. in new york city last night, demonstrators marched through the streets demanding a ceasefire in gaza. in a notable shift, america's top diplomat, secretary blinken said friday that, quote, far too many palestinians are being killed. it comes as cnn has just obtained a cable from the u.s. embassy in oman saying the u.s. is losing badly on the messaging battle space. any moment the president will be on his way to delaware, where he'll be greeted by protests gathered near the street where he lives. what are you learning? >> reporter: i was just over there, omar. it is a sizable protest, a pro-palestinian protest here in wilmington. i've been here a lot over the last three years. i don't remember a protest of this size while the president is in town. certainly it does mirror these events you have been seeing around the country and, in fact, president biden has been seeing as well when he was in illinois earlier this week. there were pro-palestinian protesters on the street. he has been interrupted during a few of his speeches over the last several weeks. it does reflect this anger of american citizens concerned about the american approach to israel. certainly you have also heard that from american diplomats as well, including in that cable from a senior american diplomat at the u.s. embassy in oman, who warned that the american approach to israel could be losing support among arab public for the united states, that it could be lost for a generation. certainly president biden is walking a tightrope here. while he does support israel's right to protect itself, he's also encouraging israel to adhere to international humanitarian law and to protect civilians. we did hear that slight shift in tone from antony blinken earlier this week saying that far too many palestinians have died and more needs to be done to protect civilian lives. we have seen efforts by the administration over the last several weeks to try and implement what they call these humanitarian pauses to allow aid to go in and allow some ci civilians to flee. the white house did say that israel had agreed to daily four-hour pauses that they would implement to allow these humanitarian corridors for aid to flow in. certainly you heard some discontent from president biden as he was asked about this, because this is something he had been pressing the israeli prime