right now, gaza's largest hospital become as warzone as israel launches a, quote, precise and targeted operation against hamas targets with patients still inside. plus the world is watching as president biden and chinese president xi jinping are set to meet just hours from now.averte several lawmakers still spoiling for a fight, literally. >> got elbowed in the back and kind of caught me off guard because it was a clean shot to the kidneys. >> want to do it now? stand your butt up then. >> you stand your butt up. >> stop it. good morning to our viewers around the world. more on those shenanigans later. i'm kasie hunt. israeli troops are ascertaiascersearching al-shifa room by room. israel claims that it sits on an underground hamas command center and hostages were being kept at the facility. but israeli radio reports that they have not yet found any hostages inside the hospital and the search continues. an israeli defense force spokesman says the military is doing whatever it can to protect patients and civilians sheltering at al-shifa. >> when approaching the hospital, we indeed informed the administrators to keep away from the windows, make sure that the patients and insicivilians insi keep away from the windows because we'll conduct our military operation in order to distinguish between the civilians and terrorists. >> we'll have more on that in just a moment. but all of this comes hours ahead of a highly consequential meeting between president biden and chinese president xi jinping. the sitdown comes with u.s./china relations at a low point over taiwan and a host of other issues. tuesday biden painted america's global leadership as resurgent while suggesting china's economic troubles were causing real problems for its people. >> from my perspective, if in fact the chinese people who are in trouble right now economically, if the average homeowner -- not homeowner. if the average citizen in china was able to have a decent paying job, that benefits them and all of us. >> let's bring in robert dal ki china and the united states. good morning. this meeting is obviously generating quite a bit of attention. in your view, what does success look like here for the president of the united states? >> i think that for president biden, if he is able to make his concerns about the relationship known to china, if he is able to have a fairly smooth meeting without some of the snafus that have plagued previous meetings, then that is really enough. it would be good if he could also get an agreement on military to military dialogue and resuming that dialogue, he already has some agreement from the chinese side to be more cooperative in trying to cut the trade of fentanyl precursors. but primarily what he wants to do is signal to the american people and our allies that he is engaged with china in a responsible way and is trying to prevent conflict. he is not looking here for a specific outcome. >> so what do you think might be a surprise or unexpected thing to come out of this meeting? i know these things are very highly choreographed, but obviously there are a lot of high stakes -- the conflict in ukraine, what is going on between hamas and israel, is there anything that you have your eye out for? >> well, you know, president biden will certainly ask xi jinping who has a good relationship with iran to use that relationship to try to reign in iran's proxies, hezbollah and lebanon, but also in syria and elsewhere. xi jinping won't go to bat for the united states, but he also wants to be seen as consequential leader and potentially a peace maker. so i think if xi jinping would at least promise to make an effort along those lines, that would be extremely positive. a positive signal but it wouldn't change anything right away. there are also things that they could do if they wish. they could resume the fulbright exchanges, they could do other things to increase people to people relations, but it will mostly be signaling of a will to try to contain the rivalry between china and the united states. they cannot and will not do anything that changes that basic rivalist nation of our relations. >> president xi also has on his agenda here in the u.s. major meetings with american tech ceos including, reported anyway, elon musk. and also arou parent apparently invited them to dine with him. and so what is the significance of these intelligence abilities and national security questions? >> china has a long history of trying to use american corporations, high tech and manufacturing corporations, essentially as lobbyists to convince washington that stable economically active relationship with china is in the united states' interests. so china is still doing that. it wants the business community to be a stabilizing factor or what xi jinpingcalls balanced within this relationship. the clip from president biden made clear china is in the midst of a domestic economic crisis and she shxi jinping needs inve, he wants to demonstrate that china is investable. that is one of his major goals. >> this obviously comes as we are now less than a year out from the presidential election. and last time president xi was here meeting with a u.s. president it was with former president trump and there was apparently particularly delicious piece of chocolate cake involved. i forget the exact phrase that was used. tone and tenor will be very different, but of course the chinese have to be thinking about the domestic political environment in the united states and how that potentially affects this. what is your sense of how they are thinking about the uncertainty around the electoral politics here in the united states? >> it used to be that china would get very concerned whenever there was a presidential election that there would be a spike in anti-china rhetoric. and that was true for many years. and it will be somewhat true this year except that the anti-china rhetoric from china's point of view has now become a constant factor in the relationship. it doesn't cease. and so the election itself will be a slight blip but only a slight blip when the level of, you know, political invective again from china's point of view is always extremely high. they have also become somewhat inured to that. you know, during the trump administration especially during covid, during the trade war, there were an awful lot of insults and attacks of an unprecedented sort. the secretary of state michael pompeo at the time called on the chinese people to rise up and overthrow their government. so this is a constant barrage and i think that they have become a little less sensitive to that, although they do expect china to be an issue not necessarily on voters' minds but politicians' minds in 2024. >> makes sense. robert daly, thank you very much. grateful for your time, sir. >> thank you. congress now on a path to owe votering the government shutdown after house lawmakers passed a stopgap bill. the measure passed by a vote of 336-95, with 209 of the yes votes coming from democrats. a significant number of the no votes coming from republicans. the two step plan funds some parts of the government until january 19 and the rest of the government until february 2. and it does not include any aid for israel or ukraine. the senate needs to approve the measure and then it needs to be signed by president biden. meanwhile you could cut the tension on capitol hill with a knife, hopefully no one brings one, as fighting among lawmakers hits a new peak or honestly a new low. kevin mccarthy is denying an accusation from congressman tim burchett that the former house speaker elbowed him in the back, really gave him a punch to the kidneys. yes, this seriously happened. watch. >> i was doing an interview with claudia from npr, a lovely lady, and she was asking me a question and at that time, i got elbowed in the back and it kind of caught me off guard because it was a clean shot to the kidneys and i turned back and there was kevin. >> just walking out and i guess the reporter was interviewing burchett or something and our shoulders hit. he came up to me afterwards and i didn't know what he was talking about. i did not run and hit the guy, i did not kidney punch him. >> seriously, boys? then there is this, a republican senator and former mixed martial arts fighter inviting the teamsters president to a fist fight in the middle of a hearing. believe it or not, there is more. which we'll have later in the show. coming up, a dramatic battle unfolding in gaza that could have huge ramifications for the israel-hamas war. plus the man accused of attacking former speaker pelosi's husband takes the stand in his own defense. and parts of iceland evacuated ahead of a potential volcano. stay w with us. we do not support striking the hospital from the air and we don't want to see a firefight in the hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are simply trying to get the medical care that they deserve, not to be caught in a cros crossfire. hospitals and patients must be protected. >> the white house saying it does not want to see a firefight inside a gaza hospital, but at this time israel says their military is conducting a precise and targeted operation. clare sebastian is joining us live. what else do we know about the operation at the moment? >> reporter: yeah, it is ongoing, very dynamic. we understand that we're about ten hours in or at least ten hours since the idf first announced that it was happening and precise and targeted have to be the operative words here because the hospital has not been fully evacuated. in fact we understand from the health ministry that as of tuesday there was some 7,000 displaced people sheltering in the hospital, some 1500 medical staff. monday another official said there were about 700 patients. we don't know how many of them are still there. but certainly this will be and is a very delicate operation for israel. when it started, the idf said they thought there might be hostages also in that sprawling complex of the al-shifa hospital. and we heard via israeli radio that they have not as of yet found any signs of those hostages. but searches were still ongoing. major caveat, doesn't mean that they won't find any evidence of those hostages. finding out mort the searches essentially, there is a palestinian reporter at the hospital who has been sending us updates and he said israeli soldiers were in the buildings and departments of the hospital conducting what he called search and interrogation operations, essentially bringing out young men. he said that they have now gone into the basement of the hospital where many of the evacuees as he put it are sheltering, taking 30 young men, told them to take their clothes off and send them up to the first floor. so the idf has said part of the work here is to try to distinguish essentially hamas operatives from innocent civilians. this seems to be how they are getting that done. but this clearly a pivotal moment in the conflict, one that the idf and israeli forces have been building up to. and it will be a critical test as the pressure mounts on israel to do more to protect civilians as to how they will do that, we're already hearing some concerns, significant concerns from the likes of the u.n. and world health organization this morning. >> all right. clare sebastian, thank you very much for your coverage. just ahead here, a new time line in the georgia election subversion case, what it means for donald trump and his allies. and an update on plans to reopen a los angeles freeway after a mamajor fire. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. welcome back. quick hits across america. fulton county district attorney fani willis saying the election subversion case in georgia against donald trump and others may not wrap until early 2025. that is well past the presidential election. in august she said that she hoped for a trial date in early 2024. california's governor says interstate 10 in los angeles ravaged by a massive fire is expected to be repaired and reopened in the next three to five week. officials believe the fire was intentionally set. the man accused of attacking paul pelosi, husband of nancy pelosi, testified at his own trial tuesday. david depape told jurors about his right wing political views and belief in conspiracy theories and other targets included congressman adam schiff, actor tom hanks and former u.s. attorney general bill barr. now to weather. southwestern iceland declares a state of emergency as 3,000 residents are evacuated over a potential volcanic eruption. in the meantime, rain continues across much of the southeastern u.s. and gulf coast. here to explain it all, our weatherman derek van dam. good morning. these pictures out of iceland, just wow. >> yeah, didn't know thau could add meteorologist. but i can't help myself. >> good luck making that run. but pictures out of southwest iceland are incredibles but terrifying for the 4,000 or so residents that call this home. this is a ground intrusion and that is caused by a series of earthquakes that scientists believe a dtunnel or corridor o magma is traversing under this town. and there have been thousands, literally thousands of earthquakes since late last week. and that is making this area on high alert. in fact the magma corridor roughly about 500 meters below the surface, that is too close for comfort. what they are worried about is the magma coming through the cracks you saw on that video. but that is arrunning through grindavik, that is the location we're so concerned about. and they have put up all kinds of sensors and they have come up with this, the ground has actually separated, moved, ground deformation is what they are calling it, by up to 1 meter, roughly 3 pete. t feet. think about that split right in your hometown. scary stuff. af and now state side, this storm will wreak havoc on particularly miami and ft. lauderdale. there is a moderate risk of excessive rain that could lead to flash flooding. ft. lauderdale has had an incredibly rainy year, they have topped over 100 inches of rain so far. normally they would have about 61 inches. their wettest year ever recorded back in 1947, 102, so we're nearing that. and i have to show you this because they had record rainfall in ft. lauderdale in april that caused flooding at the airport. some of the computer models showing 15 inches in that location here through tomorrow. so something to be concerned about. >> something to keep an eye on. derek, i'll see you tomorrow. just ahead here, presidents biden and xi face-to-face in california today. what is on the table at the high stakes meeting. and gop tensions hit a new low. smackdowns, accusations, threreats, what t a mess. that is nenext. fighting children. >> it is not the size of the opponent, elaine, it is the ferocity. >> so your united states congress is on a path to averting a shutdown. but it does not mean that they have their acts together. they are still spoiling for a smackdown. one of the more bizarre days we have seen on capitol hill in recent memory. it started with tim burchett among the eight house republicans, there he is, who voted to remove kevin mccarthy as speaker, he accused mccarthy of elbowing him in the kidneys. here is the moment. it was caught on tape, audiotape, by national public radio. >> i think that -- sorry, kevin, didn't mean to -- why did you elbow me in the back, kevin? hey kevin, you got any guts? jerk. what kind of chicken move is that? you're pathetic, man. you are so pathetic. >> mccarthy denies the allegation and he told reporters that if he had hit burchett, quote, he'd be on the ground, end quote. >> no, i did not elbow him. i would not elbow, i would not hit him in the kidney. i guess a reporter was interviewing burchett or something, and our shoulders hit. he went up to me afterwards and i didn't know what he was talking about. i did not run and hit the guy, i did not kidney punch him. >> i forgive him. i've said several prayers for him today, something is really inside his heart right now and he's going to -- he's going to continue doing these type of activities and it will continue causing him embarrassment upon his family and his district and frankly the republican caucus. >> the former speaker of the house having to deliver lines such as "i did not kidney punch him." you'd think that might have been the worse thing that had happened. but in a senate hearing yesterday, this happened. this is a republican senator, and we should know he is former mixed martial arts fighter, mark wayne mullins, and the teamsters leader sean o'brien. >> you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults and finish it here. >> that is fine. love do it right now. >> stand your butt up then. >> you stand your butt up. >> hold on, stop it. >> okay. if that wasn't enough, the house oversight chairman james comer also unleashed on freshman congressman jared moskowitz for pressing him about his own financial dealings after comer accused president biden of corruption. >> that is bullshit. >> you look like a smurf just going around in all this stuff. >> okay. let's bring in john bresnahan from punch bowl news. john, what the hell is going on? like what is this? >> you know, just listening to it again, it is impossibly stupid. i think a couple things. one is the house has been in session for ten straight weeks. that is an extremely long period of time. members hate each other after a couple weeks. they are clashing with each other, they are butting heads. because of what happened with mccarthy, because of the time he was forced out and they had to find a new speaker, the house has stayed in six for ten straight weeks. extraordinarily long period of time for them to be here, you know, together. so i think that this is part of it. i also think that there is a deeper malaise in the house. i think a lot of reasons. remember when mccarthy, you know, had to get through the speaker vote in january, you had mike rogers from alabama, he had to be grabbed on the floor because he would go punch matt gaetz or something. i mean, this whole congress we've seen this kind of emotion in the house especially house republicans. it is right there, it is right beneath the surface. and, you know, it just comes out in myriad ways. it is really kind of unbelievable. >> yeah, only that last exchange was a pure republican against a democrat in congress, which is what we are used to seeing. mar markwayne mullin, ultimately bernie sanders had to intervene and say hey, man, let's not do this. but mullin went to the cameras and said he's not done with this. take a look. >> keep in mind this is not anything new. andrew jackson challenged two people, or nine people to a dual when he was president and also knocked one guy out at a white house dinner. maybe we should bring some of that back and it will keep people from thinking that they are so tough and make us sit at a table and we can actually work out our differences without poking at each other and wanting to run to cameras and call people names. >> so apparently he wants to take us back to the era of andrew jackson and also bring back cainings? what is that? >> look, there has been a coarsening of american politics. it is clear, you know, donald trump is responsible for a lot of that. you know, he uses his language, threatens people, you know, deserves -- >> he makes it okay kind of in a way.