and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. >> the fact that there are people advocating for a ceasefire without discussing that the hostages must be returned makes no sense. >> this is a call for action. and this is a wake-up call, not only for israel, not only for the jewish community, this is a wake-up call. >> every second, every minute, every hour, every 24 hours we need just to think about this all the time. they are scared, i can feel their hearts beating. >> john: families of hostages pleading for the world's help exactly one month after the brutal terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in israel. i'm john roberts in washington, as we head into another jam packed hour, sandra. >> sandra: good to be with you. sandra smith in new york. this is "america reports". you are looking live at the white house briefing room there, any moment there, john kirby is expected to take questions from the media. a growing faction of democrats are calling for the president to press the israelis to stop the fighting. but the idf says troops officially pushed into gaza city today and it is encircled, says netanyahu. more on that advance in a moment. also facing the white house, questions over biden's 2024 waem for the presidency as new battleground polling shows he is trailing leading gop contenders. and also the border crisis is front and center. here is karine jean-pierre live at the white house. dip in and get the news right off the top here. >> all right, class, everybody -- ok, all right, everyone. it is a serious day, indeed. so good afternoon. today as part of our ten days of ten drug series we are highlighting genuvia, treats diabetes and that was selected for medicare price negotiation as part of president biden's inflation reduction act. last year around 885,000 seniors were prescribed it, and spent on average up to 500 bucks a month for this lifesaving drug. one of those seniors is steven from north carolina who wrote to the president that he pays over 500 bucks a month for this lifesaving medicine. for years, politician talked about taking on big pharma to lower drug prices for seniors, all the while big pharma continued to rake in record profits and spent $400 million on lobbyists -- >> sandra: karine jean-pierre doing some housekeeping as she does there. obviously really serious news to get to, as soon as that is underway and especially the question and answer portion of the briefing we'll get back to the white house. >> john: senior correspondent mike tobin for the latest on the ground in southern israel. mike. >> the very latest, a fresh round of rocket fire here in sderot, we are getting a unified message out of the israeli leadership, and that is there won't be a humanitarian pause or ceasefire until all the hostages are free. this as the combat intensifies in the gaza strip. the gaza strip is divide in two, israeli forces above watti gaza, and you have as you mentioned, gaza city itself surrounded. the activity that we get out of the israelis is they are taking out a lot of structures. when they take out the structures, sometimes they do it with explosives, sometimes the heavy equipment, like the hydraulic shovels or the d-nine bulldozers, and recovered everything from rockets to guns, and a number of bomb belts. 400 bomb belts and equipment, idf says they have recovered. they also get the entrances to tunnels during this stage of the combat. they find them underneath structures, they found one that was in a children's amusement park right next to the ferris wheel. usually what they do is blow up the entrance to the tunnel. we have the palestinian civilians trying to evacuate south, waving the white flag as they emerge from their houses to go south. 2,000 on sunday, 5,000 yesterday, the humanitarian corridors have will limited success, melt down into gunfire throughout the day. at 11:00 today, according to the idf, the humanitarian corridor failed for a while because of fresh gunfire. when the palestinians make it south the situation does not get better. camps the u.n. has is overwhelmed with more than a half million people seeking refuge, so they are forced to sleep wherever they can. >> john: one topic likely to come up at the briefing, biden administration agreeing to send $320 million worth of precision bomb guiding equipment to the israelis, could spark further uproar among those who have -- mike waltz, we are sending kits, the second big order of these kits to turn a dumb bomb into a smart bomb. at the same time, we have the administration calling for frequent pauses in the fighting. it's sending two very contradictory messages. which do you think is the real message the biden administration is pursuing? >> well, that's a great question, john, and you know, i think the entire world is getting mixed messages. one hand, sending precision guided kits, which everyone should want israel to be as precise as possible. some are called small diameter bombs, can literally take out just a room without any other collateral damage and i will point out, huge tremendous and legal difference between targeting, raping, torturing civilians and collateral damage as part of defending yourself and part of warfare. at the same time as you point out, when you have anthony blinken standing next to foreign ministers around the region talking about a ceasefire, not a pause, as if we don't know the difference, folks at home are getting mixed message, terrorists are getting a mixed message and could believe their propaganda is working. >> john: the state level, issued a dissent memo about this, and apparently they are encouraged for diversity of thought at the state department, but this said we must publicly criticize israel's violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets. when israel supports settler violence and illegal land seizures and excessive use of force against palestinians, we must communicate this goes against our american values so israel does not act without impunity. mike pompeo had to say. >> rashida tlaib, they are taking out a terror threat that killed 1400 citizens. they have not only the right to do it but the obligation do it. >> john: you said a difference between collateral damage, best to be avoided whenever you can, and going out there and actually slaughtering people. so, what do you think about that state department memo? >> a lot of great and patriotic diplomats that i've served with, but there is a core at the headquarters in washington, d.c., i think pompeo is absolutely right, that have bought into this progressive left wing pro hamas propaganda and what they are not calling out to my sadness and shock is what you just reported on, which are tunnels underneath amusement parks, firing from within schools and what we should see right now is the president of the united states, what i would love to see out of this press briefing, speaking in a synagogue and calling out the rampant antisemitism that we are seeing around the country and the threats that are coming across our southern border. that's what we should be seeing from the commander in chief. >> john: congressman michael waltz, good to get your thoughts. thank you, appreciate it. >> thank you. >> sandra: john, the briefing is ongoing at the white house, john kirby has taken to the podium. he said just a few moments ago 100 americans have gotten out of gaza in the last 24 hours, 400 total, marking one month since the hamas attacks. let's go to kirby at the white house. >> overall security responsibility over gaza for indefinite period. the president said it would be a mistake for israel to reoccupy gaza. how much daylight between what israel and the u.s. see as the future of gaza? >> we are having active discussions about our israeli counterparts what post gaza ought to look like. reoccupation by israeli forces is not the right thing to do. let them speak to their intentions but we are definitely having conversations what the post conflict environment ought to look like and governance in gaza ought to look like. hamas cannot be part of that equation, can't go back to october 6th. >> senior u.s. official told us last week that the u.s. expectation is that in the coming days we should see a decrease in israel's air campaign and more of a tactical ground offensive. can you tell us a little bit more about what led to that assessment and have you seen that in the past few days? >> i can't speak to what an anonymous official said about israeli military operations. i'm not going to get into the habit of speaking of a tactical nature of their intentions, plans or activities from the podium. they have obviously gone in on the ground with the intention of putting pressure on hamas leadership and to find, fix and finish some of that leadership, i'll let them speak to those operations. >> and john, you said yesterday you would not want to overstate the efforts that israel is making to limit civilian casualties. that's a change from a week ago when you said it was obvious israel was trying to minimize casualties. can you just help us understand that shift in the language? >> no shift. both can be true. there are -- we have seen indications that in certain operational environments that they are making an effort. for instance, go back to the ground thing and i don't want to be armchair quarterbacking another military but moving on to and into gaza with smaller units than what a lot of people thought they would do. they thought it would be this big massive formation into north gaza and that's not what they have been doing and when you are on the ground, the risk to your troops is higher, you can be more discriminate, you can be more careful in your formations and your targeting and what you are going after than you can be from the air. but it's also true that airstrikes continue and it's also true that civilians keep dying from these airstrikes. >> is there any scenario where future aid to israel would be contingent on how they conduct themselves in terms of minimizing civilian casualties? >> we have been crystal clear since the beginning of the conflict that one of the things that separates us from hamas, actually did try and intend to kill innocent civilians, democracies like the u.s. and israel observe the law of armed conflict, resuspect civilian life and urge them to do that. >> hundreds of usaid employees signed on to a letter disagreeing with israel, dissent tables around the state department. why are so many federal government employees at odds with the policies that you are talking about? >> i think one of the great things about working at the state department and in other agencies is that multiple perspectives and multiple opinions are respected. and there's an avenue, like you said, dissent channel. i cannot speak to what is or is not in the channel, but having worked at the state department, it's a time honored and traditional way for employees to voice their concerns and i think that's a good thing. the president understands that there's strong emotions and feelings here all around, all across the board. and here inside the administration and the federal government, that's the case as well. and he appreciates the fact that people feel strongly and that there are multiple perspectives. and we are going to continue to listen to them, trevor, both inside and outside the government. we have been engaging with partners and organizations and experts and analysts and people with different perspectives to listen to their concerns, make sure we understand them as we develop policy. >> is the president frustrated at all with his inability to prevail upon his israeli counterpart to engage in these humanitarian pauses? >> there have been humanitarian pauses already. there's been some. i mean, one of the ways we are able to get the first few hostages out was a pause in the fighting and prime minister netanyahu, i believe in an interview last night, also talked about the fact he has approved certain pauses throughout the country. so there have been and we are going to continue to work with our israeli counterparts going forward to make sure that we can continue to do them. but the idea here is, you know, they are localized in terms of geography. they are limited in time and duration and they are usually for a specific purpose or purposes, getting stuff in, getting people out, and we have every expectation we will continue to have those conversations. >> just to follow up on what you just said about the prime minister's comment about the little pauses. so, does the u.s. see that as sort of a satisfactory response to the humanitarian responses president biden has been calling for? >> it's in keeping with the conversations we have been having with our israeli counterparts about the need for humanitarian pauses in the fighting. >> i wanted to ask -- in late october you had referred to the fact the administration is not drawing any red lines for israel as the death toll for civilians in the gaza strip has gone up. is that still the case the administration has no red lines? >> that is still the case. >> and loss, you have spoken about a two-state solution, and not so much to the immediate conflict but i wanted to understand coming in, have maintained a policy of recognizing israel's control over the golan heights, your predecessor made reversing u.s. policy for half a century. is that still the biden administration policy that you have -- that you believe israel has -- >> let me get back to you on that specific policy question. i don't want to freelance it from here. you said something at the beginning talking about a two-state solution -- what is going on underscores how important it is that we try to make progress toward a two-state solution. i will get you a better answer on golan heights. i would not just spit ball that. >> i have a lot of questions, so why not embrace the dissent voices call for a balance between private and public message and criticize israel when actually it is in violation of international humanitarian law. with due respect, john, some think people you repeat what the israeli army spokesman say, what you are repeating here. why not dissent the voicing, we are a democracy, what's wrong with them, what's wrong withstanding here and say israel do something wrong because you are the best friend, you have leverage on them, why not criticize them. >> the question presupposes we have made some determination the conflict is violations. >> you disagree with the u.n.? >> i would tell you we are not going to react in near realtime to every event. israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself and we are going to make sure they have the tools and capabilities to do that. again, we are one month after this. and we ought not forget what happened one month ago, 1400 people slaughtered in their homes and at a music festival and when hamas decided to conduct operations it was with the intent of killing people. you know, i heard this word genocide tossed around. hamas would like to see israel wiped off the map, they said so on purpose. that's what's at stake here and make sure israel has the ability to do that. we respect all different voices and perspectives and we know there's a lot of high emotion here when it comes to what's going on. we never shied away from criticizing our friends and partners when we believe it's warranted and we will continue to do that. we also believe the best diplomacy, the best progress and diplomatic pursuits is to do it privately, and outside the public eye and we will continue to do that as well. continue to have the tough conversations with our good friend. >> i don't think anybody forgot what happened on october 7th, but regardless. >> i'm not saying you did forget, i'm saying it's all good for us, we should not -- we should all be reminded and a month ago today. >> the president spoke about, but also violence by the israeli army. many palestinians shot dead in the west bank, 163 since october 7th. also massive arrests, 1,350 been arrested under what the israeli called administrative detention, they can arrest a person without a trial. does this concern you, convey to the israelis in the situation in gaza? >> yes. >> thanks, john. follow up on the question, didn't hear the answer about the potential suspension of aid. i know you have repeatedly said you talked to the israelis, the u.s. talks to them every day about minimizing civilian casualties. but do those talks include laying out any consequences if they do not, including a suspension of aid? >> i'm not going to get into private diplomatic conversations that we are having with our israeli counterparts. i will tell you this. we are going to continue to make sure they have the tools and the capabilities they need to defend themselves against what clearly was an existential threat to their society and their people. we are going to make sure they have what they need. also continue to urge them to be as careful and deliberate and discriminate in targeting as possible. >> jake sullivan, and others have said any time the u.s. transfers weapons to another country it requires assurances those weapons will be used within the in accordance of law. to be very clear, the u.s. -- >> that's different than what you are suggesting in your question, which is we are going to layer on more restrictions on the security assistance that they are getting and not what i'm alluding to or talking about. >> transfer of weapons that have already happened. just to be clear, the u.s. has not determined that israel has violated any of those boundaries. >> no. >> and one more point of clarification on what the prime minister said about playing a security role indefinitely in gaza. does the u.s. see distinction between that and reoccupation or is it one of the same? >> i'll let the prime minister speak to his comments and what he meant by indefinite. president biden has been very clear, we do not support a reoccupation by the israeli defense forces, but what post gaza looks like and governance looks like. what we agree on it can't look like, and can't look like it looked on october 6th. >> john, on the proxy attacks on u.s. troops, if we are now up to 40 since october 17th, with 46 service members being injured or reporting traumatic brain injuries. does the president think that the action that was taken a couple weeks ago to push back on this was enough? >> the president felt like those were two legitimate targets directly tied to the iranian revolutionary guard corps that supports these military groups. and they were ammo weapons facilities, certainly legitimate targets that we believe, not only had a practical effect on limiting some of their capability, but sent a strong signal of how seriously we are going to look after our troops and facilities if and when we decide to respond again in the future we'll do it at a time and a manner of our choosing. we will absolutely take the action we need to take, the president as commander in chief will order that action to protect our troops and facilities as he sees fit. >> has there been any additional warning from the president since the last time we responded that this needs to stop? because clearly the attacks on our troops didn't stop. >> i will not get into the decision-making process or options before the commander in chief. we will take the action we believe is appropriate to protect our troops and facilities. >> on the apparent disagreement between the u.s. and its ally, it is notable that we are seeing the u.s. more readily acknowledge some space between what we are advising and what israel is doing, like israel appears to be resisting the humanitarian pauses still. president, administration have been calling on that for a couple of weeks, saying that we don't support inde