have a cease-fire that serves hamas's goals to rearm, and attack us again and perpetrate another massacre. anyone calling for a cease-fire is serving the pro-hamas position. that means that they could get away with what they did and do it again and again. there was a cease-fire on october 6th. hamas broke it on october 7th and will be a cease-fire against once hamas terrorist threat is eliminated and once we get back the hostages. >> dana: one of the things antony blinken was asked about. i don't know details on it. apparently in the meeting earlier blinken brought up some concerns expressed about they said extremists in the west bank attacking palestinians there. and he said that he was reassured that the israeli government is on top of that. is there any more you can say on that? >> i can say that we are on top of that as the secretary said. it is a marginal phenomenon. we will address it. when we do something wrong on the israeli side we conduct inquiries and address the issue. of course we are again -- no daylight between jerusalem and washington. >> bill: on that point are you convinced this administration is or will allow israel to take out hamas to the very end? >> 100%. there is no stop watch here. we are actually following the model of the international coalition to defeat isis here. we are taking advice from international partners and from our best friend the united states. we're thankful for the moral global leadership and material support providing us the tools to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal of eliminating hamas. we can no longer live next to this terrorist enclave. >> bill: some suggesting if it goes on for too long it may lose support. we'll see if that's the case in time. thank you for coming back today. appreciate your time. >> dana: gaza city now nearly surrounded as israeli tanks and troops advance deeper into enemy territory ramping up the war to crush hamas while tensions rise on the northern border with lebanon. we were talking about that a bit. welcome to a new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm dana perino. >> bill: happy friday. i'm bill hemmer. israel's military supporting close quarter combat over the past 24 hours in the northern half of the gaza strip. this as hamas militants stage hit and run attacks using the miles of tunnels underneath the city for staging grounds. meanwhile in the north hezbollah militants in lebanon stepping up rocket attacks overnight against israel. raising the risk now of a wider conflict. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken you watched with us a moment ago after meeting with israeli leaders said this and then took questions. >> we need to continue to prevent escalation of this conflict. its spread to other areas and theaters. the united states has and will continue to respond to attacks by iran's proxies to defend our personnel in the region, personnel here in iraq and syria, to help prevent the resurgence of isis. we will do what is necessary to deter and as i said respond to any attacks. >> bill: team fox coverage begins anew. rich edson state department. trey yengst live in southern israel. almost nightfall on another day of war. trey, hello. >> good morning. we've been watching that speech by the leader of hezbollah. he has been talking for more than an hour now discussing the initial massacre on october 7th in southern israel. not surprisingly praising hamas and islamic jihad for heroic efforts. those efforts were the slaughter of women and children, civilians in their homes. but it cuts to the core of the ideology the leader of hezbollah. i will give you one line that is important to note. many analysts will discuss this. he says some claim we're about to engage in the war. we have been engaged since october 8th. we've seen rocket and mortar fire from southern lebanon to northern israel. hezbollah ramping up attacks against israeli forces responding with air strikes in southern lebanon. a question about how much the lebanese militant group hezbollah instands to get involved in the battle. on the southern front we have seen israeli troops operating behind me inside the gaza strip. i want to step out of the frame and let my cameraman zoom in. tanks and bulldozers operate on the edge of gaza and armored bulldozer destroying a house earlier today. it gives you a sense of how the israelis are operating looking to destroy any of the places that hamas militants could hide and also destroy those tunnel exits where hamas has been ambushing israeli forces. they have killed 24 israeli soldiers we're told since the friday night operation start evidence. israelis pushing deeper in. chief of staff in israel saying israeli forces have surrounded gaza city. street to street battles are expected to continue throughout the day today and weeks to come. we know the destruction will be focused on the northern part of the gaza strip as israeli troops look to continue support from their artillery units in the distance and air force overhead. a challenging battle. israel says it may take months to complete. >> bill: you may have been listening to our question about negotiations for hostages. she wouldn't answer the question understandably. do you have any information where that stands now? >> we do. we've been talking with the negotiators who are trying to cut those deals behind the scenes. remember the israelis say 241 people are currently being held inside gaza. we talked with a number of sources who are familiar with those negotiations. they say they stalled last weekend whenever this initial ground push began. that was friday. remember we reported to you that a high-ranking israeli official traveled to doha and on the ground meeting with qatar negotiators. the conversations then resumed and since then have been productive. so those conversations are ongoing. hamas is delivering messages through the qatar east and israelis are trying to put their terms on the table. according to netanyahu, meeting today with and you can hear the outgoing artillery meeting with antony blinken. no cease-fire or pause in the fighting unless some hostages are released. >> bill: more from southern israel. thank you. >> dana: let's get to the state department where rich edson has the latest for us from there. hi, rich. >> another trip to the region for secretary of state antony blinken meeting with the israeli prime minister netanyahu and meeting earlier today with the president of israel herzog. blinken at the head of the press conference said it is striking and in some ways shocking the brutality and slaughter of october 7th has receded so quickly in the minds of so many. not the case if israel or the case in the united states. blinken stressed on this trip israel has the right and obligation to defend itself to finish hamas. how it does so matters. blinken says he is pushing for israel for a series of brief pauses in military operations in gaza in the hope hamas will release more hostages but he said israel does not need finish hamas. >> there cannot be a return to the pre-october 7th status quo. it is not acceptable or tolerable by anyone else or israel. >> he was asked whether the u.s. would strike hezbollah in lebanon or iranian targets. he refused to address a hypothetical. the u.s. warned about a second front and why the u.s. military has presence in the region. blink en says they are -- he said there are no guarantees on anything but the u.s. is focused on getting the hostages back as more american citizens are scheduled to leave gaza through the rafah gate today. secretary blinken continues the trip through the region. >> dana: rich edson, thank you. >> bill: ambassador david freeman. thank you for your time and good morning. want to bring you the two headlines for the moment. benjamin netanyahu saying no cease-fire until the hostages are released. the hezbollah leader speaking in lebanon seems as if the northern front that everybody has been watching for the past several weeks will serve as more of a distraction for israel than anything else. i read that today in realtime as a good sign. how do you see the state of the war right now, mr. ambassador? >> i think it's a good sign, but i really don't trust the leader of hezbollah at all. they are shooting at israel every day from the north. israel is shooting back. it is incredibly volatile. one misfire and the whole thing blows up. if the leader really wants to stay out of the war it's simple. stop shooting at israel and israel won't be firing back. we've all seen wars spin out of control. that continues to be a huge worrying point. if i can, guys, i think the secretary's comments were helpful and important in terms of supporting israel's effort to eradicate hamas, but i have to tell you this idea that this narrative which i think continues to be advanced in the united states that left to their own devices israel would commit civilian atrocities and america is holding them back is not true. it plays to a political base of the biden administration in the united states of somehow the united states is holding israel back. israel is not targeting civilians. i've been in their war rooms in 2019 there was kinetic activity with hamas. i know what they do. every time they attack, in that attack there is a calibration of what collateral damage will occur. they take that into consideration on every attack. on top of that there are -- they aren't shooting every minute. there are pauses. there were shots fired and then it's quiet. there are pauses constantly. the south is generally quiet. people are leaving. medical supplies are getting in. israel is doing that all by itself and this idea that israel has to be held back from their worst instincts is feeding a narrative in the united states as we are all seeing leading to, i think, a stark increase in anti-semitism. i wish we would get away from that. it is not accurate and it is political. >> dana: david, there is also periodically they will bring up a two-state solution, which seems impossible to talk about right now but from your perspective or the israeli perspective when they are in the middle of trying to respond to october 7th, that conversation seems difficult to have right now. >> it's really tone deaf, i think. the idea that all these bad actors and it is not just hamas, all these bad actors are somehow going to be reward evidence with an independent state based on their conduct over the last four weeks is absurd and adding insult to the massive injury inflicted on israel. the palestinian authority, which is the alternative governing body in the area is an entity that pays terrorists to kill jews. an entity that has voiced its support for hamas. not a single arab leader that borders israel whether egypt, jordan, lebanon or syria. not a single arab leader that has not to a large extent sided with hamas. who will govern this two-state solution? where are the peace-loving leaders coming from? i'm personally against it. i think it will never and shouldn't come to be. for those who want to pursue that path now is certainly not the right time. >> bill: thank you for being here. lower manhattan, eric trump this is what we call the pool spray, p-o-o-l. he have is back for a second day of testimony. his brother, donald trump junior spent a day and a half on the stand on wednesday and thursday. and then on monday we understand that once court comes back to action early next week ivanka trump will be on the stand. they will have all three kids who are involved in the trump business on the stand. there is the attorney general in new york as that trial moves on and just want to -- that's a repeat when the cameras go in and get a look around. >> dana: then they get out of there. >> bill: in and out in a minute. that's what's happening. let you know if there are headlines. >> dana: my grant crisis getting attention as president biden holds a summit of national leaders in the americas. that meeting is now underway. >> bill: there is a long-running battle in the senate or military promotions as one single senator blocks their confirmation. senator dan sullivan will tell us why it's time for his fellow republican to end the blockade coming up. >> my colleague, no readiness from. such baloney. everybody knows it. spend one day in the military and you know it. really makes me frustrated, really frustrated. because i know so many of you have served our country honorably. one of the benefits that we as a country give you as a veteran is the eligibility for a va loan for up to 100% of your home's value. if you need cash for your family, call newday usa. with automatic authority from the va, we can say yes when banks say no. give us a call. ah mornings! cough? congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. i hope you all like potatoes... these are fresh from my garden. what? is your... garden in idaho? no, it's in my backyard. ahhhh! always look for the grown in idaho seal. >> dana: back now at the border crisis front and center at the white house. president biden hosting leaders from central and south america digging deep into the economic reasons that are causing migrants to flee their home countries. the summit coming more than two years after biden tapped vice president kamala harris to do exactly that. edward lawrence on fox business live in d.c. with more. >> i'm really next to the u.s. capitol here. the president is starting to say that congress needs to act on this even though the president changed border policies from the month he got into office here. the touting over at the white house this first inaugural america's partnership for economic prosperity leaders summit. as the supply chains trying to help work that out but also working on the underlying economic drivers of this illegal migration. >> this two-day summit represents a strong demonstration of the united states commitment to work with partners to take advantage of this once in a generation opportunity to recenter critical global supply chains in the americas. continue to address shared migration challenge and build meaningful economic opportunity across the hemisphere. >> the fact is the four of the countries involved in the summit mexico, columbia, ecuador peru accounted for 90,000 people crossing the border. two years as you mentioned since the president tasked the vice president, kamala harris, with going after the root causes of that illegal migration and fiscal year 2023 another record year of people illegally crossing the southern border, 2.4 million people with about 600,000 gotaways. here is republicans on that. >> with the number of people that continue to pour into the u.s. over the southern border and it is like 2 or 3 weeks later before they figure out what the profile of the individual who came across is. so i'm not sure how we are supposed to respond to this. >> republicans worrisome people coming across the southern border want to do people in america harm and they are just waiting for that opportunity. that's the concern up on capitol hill for some folks. >> dana: thank you for that, edward lawrence in washington. thank you. >> no matter whether you believe it or not, this is doing great damage to our military. >> it will be remembered. it's a dark evening. this will be remembered. >> those are republican lawmakers lindsey graham and joni ernst out of iowa confronting a fellow rub can tuberville as he blocks the nomination of hundreds of military officers for -- here is tuber vile's response. >> it was character assassination at times but, you know, remember what i did for a living for a long time. i'm used to that. i told you i hate having to do this but somebody has got to listen to us. >> bill: dan sullivan is one of the senators on the floor on wednesday and the only member of the senate currently serving in the military. good morning and nice to see you in person. he is saying i'm doing it on behalf of taxpayers and they should not pay for abortions. what do you say? >> i'm a pro-life u.s. senator, i'm completely opposed to the biden d.o.d. abortion policy. i agree with senator tuberville on that and working for him with months to get it reversed. but you are reporting all morning is something we're in a dangerous world right now and we need the best, most combat-experienced admirals and generals on the field and bill, dana, they are not on the field. there are 400 being held right now, here is the thing. none of them have anything to do with this policy dispute. even if they get confirmed, none of them will be able to resolve it. we should be putting hold on civilian d.o.d. officials who have a policy approach that can change this. but not the men and women who have been defending our country. >> bill: cut a deal with him. >> we've been working for a long time. senator tuberville, i'm good friends with him. the one thing he said if you bring them up one-by-one to vote on, i'll vote for them. so on wednesday night we brought them up one-by-one. 61 nominees and he objected to every one. here is the thing. there has been this kind of talk some of these admirals and generals are, you know, that's jockeys, not warriors. it's ridiculous. these are the men and women after 9/11 who were the lieutenants and the captains kicking in doors in fallujah. these are our best combat experienced leaders and we need them on the field. again, there is starting to be real morale issues in the military. we've deployed several times. our families have sacrificed and have nothing to do with this dispute. our careers are being punished now. the wrong tactic at the wrong time and the wrong target. >> dana: he is holding firm. d.o.d. is holding firm. can we ask you about this? iran sanctions. we have the hezbollah leader speaking for more than an hour and a half. we know iran calls the shots, right? the "wall street journal" headline was this. the iran/russia military axis, two countries are increasingly working together as u.s. allies and interests. as a u.s. senator, should the united states do more and is it sanctions, is sanctions enough? can they be tough enough to exhibit some change? >> well yes and yes. let me just begin by saying that at the end of the trump administration, we had a really strong iran/middle east policy. massive sanctions. iranians had $4 billion in foreign reserves in their accounts. it was a peace initiative with the abraham occurs, deterrence when we went and killed general soleimani. the biden administration came in and reversed all of that, dana. this morning i actually sent a letter to secretary blinken signaled by several u.s. senators that said let's reimpose the massive sanctions and start with this one. two weeks ago in the u.n. security council, the ballistic missile sanctions of the u.n. against iran expired. they expired. why aren't we bringing those back? why is blinken not bringing those back? that's what my letter says. it is actions speak louder than words particularly with iran. these guys have been appeasing iran and it's been a challenge. >> bill: there is a lot going on today. >> a lot going on. good to sigh. >> dana: secretary blinken is in israel appealing for a humanitarian pause with hundreds of americans stuck in gaza and hundreds of hostages still in hamas control. >> we also want to focus on getting the rest of the americans and foreign nationals out and again praying that we can rescue the hamas hostages. skin-carving next level hydration? new neutrogena hydro boost water cream. a vital boost of nine times more hydration* to boost your skin's barrier for quenched, dewy skin that's full of life. neutrogena. hydro boost. this is american infrastructure, a prime target for cyberattacks. but the same ai-powered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone