red sea watch they struck multiple commercial vessels earlier today. this comes as yemen's iran-backed houthis had a series of attacks in the weeks. welcome to fox news live. before being shot down. lucas tomlin son is live from the white house with the latest. hello, lucas. >> mike, pentagon officials say this was a complex attack that lasted over eight hours today in the red sea north of the bobble mendeb straight and links the red sea to the gulf of aid and it's in the middle of yemen and somali and we learn that had multiple commercial vessels were struck and we don't know the fag or if anyone was hurt or crew members killed on board. if you'll rale, uss kearney was active in the red sea in the past month and shot down multiple cruise missiles and drones in israel and houthi rebels, iranian-backed group in yemen claimed credit for the attack. last night at reagan national defense form in simi valley, california, our own bill hemmer asked president obama's former ci director and defense secretary if u.s. defense forces were attacked over the past couple months if the response from the biden administration was enough. here was his answer. >> i would be more aggress about going after those that attack our u.s. forces, do you think to date or response was too soft? >> i this is thety been a little too selective. we've hit ammo dumps and other targets. i want to go after those who are firing missiles at our troops. and make sure they understand that when they fire a missile, they're going to die. >> there's been at least 75 attacks on u.s. forces in the middle east since the middle of last month. it's moteable, mike, the pentagon does not account the u.s. attacks on warships at sea in this number. it's where they're firing the missiles and where from and ir satellites in space that detect missile launches and last night before the attacks at reagan national defense form with defense secretary lloyd austin made the following pledge. >> we will not tolerate attacks on american personnel. so these attacks must stop. until they do, we will do what we need to do to protect our troops. and to impose costs on those that attack them. >> it's notable, mike, after that $32 million reaper drone was shot down off the coast of yemen the iranen-backed houthi rebels with no u.s. response to date and no air strikes against the iranian-backed air fighters in yes, ma'am and we received a tweet from congressman mike wall saying if these were confirmed they were the houthi rebels, he's holding the iranian regime responsible if any service members were hurt in the attacks. mike: it's the houthis that are the irritants and what can the commander in chief do in response? >> u.s. s dwight eisenhower in the persian gulf and super horns and get launched from there and f15s and f16s at the air base in united arab emirates and they're carrying out limited number of air strikes in iraq and syria over the past month and just four planned strikes to date and you have that ac130 gun ship that carried out an air strike on november 21st after american forces in iraq came under attack. so far there's been at least 75 attacks against those forces in iraq and syria but as i mentioned earlier, the pentagon doesn't count any attacks on u.s. warships in that number. certainly an escalating situation today and commercial ships hit in the straight -- north of the straight that connects the red sea to the gulf of aiden and u.s. warship and uss kearney forced to respond and pentagon officials say some of the drones, mike, were heading towards that warship and uss kearney shot down those drones in defense. mike. thanks. bring in nathan sails and former ambassador at large and counter terrorism. >> thanks, mike. mike: these drones shot down by the uss kearney, self-defense? your thought s? >> iran is behind everyone we're seeing in terms of attacks directed on u.s. forces and iranian proxies attack american forces in syria and iraq and now in yemen and they'll continue doing it till woe make them stop and heard from the u.s. secretary of defense tough talk and time to see action match the words. there's a couple of things the administration needs to do. one, instead of blowing up empty munitions depots in the desert in the middle of the night, you have to take action and take strikes against the people responsible for these attacks. that doesn't just mean the proxies, butt iranian puppet masters and the ones pulling the strings. the second thing with respect to the houthis in particular, what else do they need to do for us to designate them as a terrorist organization? that's actually something we did during the trump administration but within weeks of taking office, the biden administration took them off the terror list and maybe they need to re-correspondent and put them back on. mike: liz is reporting no injuries on the ship or damage and sound like the kearney did a great job responding to the drones. >> absolutely right. we've been lucky, 75 attacks, plus the ones targeting american warship ntsb past six weeks. but luck is not a strategy. it's only a matter of time before one of these iranian proxies gets lucky and actually causes fatalities, at least 50 american soldiers have been injured during this iranen-backed terror campaign and some with traumatic brain injuries and imagine what happen ifs one of the drones or cruise missiles or rockets gets lucky and hits the target. we could be dealing with dozens of american casualties and that'll force the president's hand to escalate so the time to prevent it kind of attack and de-terns is now when we can gain the upper hand and maintain dominance in terms of escalation ladder. mike: how do you send a strong message to the iranian regime? >> we need to signal that we're going to hold them responsible and the way to do that is not just by tough talk but tough action. forget about the pro pro proxiee mopes in the deserts driving around in toyota high luxes and they're the tip of the iceberg. the people providing the weapons and strategic direction and instruction to hit american to kill them, that's happening in teheran and happening with iranian islamic revolutionary guard core commanders in the field and those are the people that are targeting and only if you put pressure on them you'll see iran backed down. they'll have strength and when they see american weak themselves, and i think they see that now, they see a opportunity to escalate. mike: the president ordered some responses to the attacks, but doesn't appear the iranian regime has gotten the message. >> the message they've gotten is it's open season on americans in the middle east and the white house is not going to take action to protect them. i think since mid october, we've seen maybe four responses by the united states. four versus 75, that's a lopsided balance and no, sir got that instill any fear in the hearts of the iranian commanders that are organizing and implementing this terror campaign. mike: back to the breaking news and seeing these drones attacking commercial ships and having response in the u.s. ship, your thoughts on this. is this a big escalation at this point? >> i think it is, mike. we're not just seeing attacks on american vessels and service members. houthis and other iranian proxies are taking strikes on neutral parties and commercial tankers and commercial vessels trying to bring goods to harbor. that signals that the iranians think they can get away with it. nothing that happens in yemen, nothing that the houthis do is spontaneous. it only happen withs training and money and weapons and instructions from teheran. what that says to me is the iranians think they can get away with targeting americans and commercial shims as well. ships as well. mike: thank you for your analysis today, nathan sales. >> great to be here, thanks. mike: idf forces resuming strikes in gaza after the day's long ceasefire ended and trey yingst is live in israel with the latest on the conflict. hello, trey. reporter: hey, mike, good afternoon. ziti railly forces are operatine operating across the strip in gaza city and the second largest city of hon eunice and southern and central israel. what it was like earlier today in one of the communities. the sight of one district impact in the southern town of sderot and pieces of the rocket are hot and fired from the northern part of the gaza strip 58 days from the conflict and shrapnel marks on the car shows the damage done by the rockets fired by ha has and islamic jihad. israeli forces struck new targets overnight hitting tunnel shafts and weapons storage facilities and they do continue to go after hamas leadership yesterday and killing the commander of hamas' battalion. he was responsible for attack onuses really zollners -- on israeli forces in 2017 and behind the -- october and the death toll is gaza is rising since the renewed fighting started after more than 100 hostages were released during that one week ceasefire and this weekend no prisoner exchange will take place for more hostages with israel till the war in gaza is over and we understand according to the israelis with over 250 rockets fired towards the jewish state friday morning and there were efforts this morning to try and renew the talks and get the ceasefire back on track and we understand those conversations collect and as of now it's all taking place as region watches as the possibility of this expanding to a much broader conflict increases. mike. >> during the past two dais, we operate in areas where we did not operate in the last month and this will increase and this ordinary persons will reach everywhere it needs reached and going for a total elimination of hamas organization and not par and shall not anything less. reporter: you heard from israel defense minister discussing the defense administration? the south and israelis concerned about the situation in the north as well with antitank guided missiles firing into israel today. mike. mike: trey, thanks very much. more on the conflict in israel, we have the deputy head of mission at israeli embassy in washington dc. welcome, sir. >> hi, mike. thank you very having me. mike: what's your concerns when you hear calls of strength from the american president and idf forces prepare going into southern gaza. >> the coordination on the war efforts and the pretty suruation from our end to the -- appreciation from the on going support from day one and the war and hamas started on israel. we are very careful with what we're doing when it comes to trying not to affect those that are noncombat icks and at the end of the day, we need to remember we are after hamas and the terrorists and after taking them out and their ability to ever govern or orchestrate any terrorist attacks on the future. mike: what more can the white house and policymakers here in washington do for israel at this critical time? >> i think continue giving them the backs and continuing to treasure hamas in the best way possible, and they're continuing to give the support on a daily basis. mike: for many israelis, understandably the focus is on getting home for hostages. let's play this clip. >> please, release not only ten each time, please, please include also the males. also the young children. also the other women that were inside, we want them back home. mike: how do you get more hostages home, sir? >> mike, we're seeing the release of 110 hostages and there's still 137 or so who are still in aptivity in gaza held by hamas and other terrorist entity there is and we're continuing to do everything we possibly can to get them released immediately and calling for the bier national community of hamas and we're continuing to press hamas through military means to do so. let us member that the man agrees to the frame work of hostages so far is due to israel's ground operation and air strikes and us crushing hamas that brought them down to their knees and showing violence for some time and regroup while releasing hostages and we're calling for more pressure on them and doing our pressure as well and as best as needed to bring back the release of the hostages. mikes. after seeing the health of the hostages being returned, what's your concern about the hostages being held as this drags on longer? >> yes, we're hearing testimony coming out of those that have been freed and some of them have been harmed physically, all of them have been harmed emotionally. these are scars that will continue for life. we're hearing about children that have been held in captivity forced to watch the atrocities that hamas conducted on october 7, and if they turn their head away, they are held at gunpoint to continue watching this. i mean, who could ever ever accept such behavior and we're calling on the red cross and all the international community to lean on hamas to allow first and foremost short term orientation know about the well being of the hostages and at the same time bring about the immediate release of all of them. mike: eliav benjamin from the israeli embassy here in new york. thank you for your time >> thank you, mike. mike: one person dead and two injured after a knife and hammer attack near the eiffel tower with french president emmanuel macron calling it a terrorist attack. antiterrorism prosecutors opened an investigation. according to police, the suspect was released from prison in 2020 after serving four years for planning a separate attack. rowdy pro palestinian activists stormed an upscale mall yesterday demanding a ceasefire. we're live with the latest. reporter: hi, mike, these happening so frequently here in the city and some small businesses and corporate headquarters trying to close up earlier or giving guidance to employees how to prepare for the marchers but sometimes these rallies can be very spontaneous leading to a scene like this when a security guard was absolutely outnumbered at this upscale shopping here in manhattan, watch. pro palestinian groups guide crowds to retail stores in recent weeks in an effort to disrupt the holiday shopping and organizers feel that as long as the conflict continues in gaza, there should really be no sense of normalcy here in the state. before this the crowd of demonstrators stood outside the american museum of natural history and organizers taking to social media to speak against the museum beforehand accusing it of being complicit of ongoing genocide in gaza and going past the police and barricades to take the proudly protests insidd they were blocked and hundreds leaving and take their chance to the street demanding a permanent ceasefire and calling for a palestinian uprising. reporter: protesters making their way to time area trying to go inside a mcdonalds and appearing to show security at mcdonalds kept the crowd out by using pepper spray and they're happening on a weekly basis, sometimes every single day. especially here in new york city. back to you. mike: cb thanks very much. the reagan national defense form wrapping up last night in simi valley, california, and private and defense forces addressing the domestic and national threats and lloyd austin delivering the keynote address. alexandria hoff is here with more. >> hello, he started off by emphasizing that congress needs to pass a defense budget theying they don't have to operate under a resolution and the reagan defense survey was released and found that most americans favor the u.s. providing security assistance to taiwan, 734 pes and ukraine and those that took the survey were divided when it came to supporting israel or the pal tin januaries. here's secretary austin. >> you'll hear some people try to brand an american retreat responsibility as bold new leadership. so when you hear that, make no mistake. it's not bold, it's not new, and it's not leadership. >> there was no conversation in the forum this year that did not include speeding up the use of new technologies like artificial intelligence, not just to compete with china to deter an invasion of taiwan. >> we want to take a lock at technology we can use and we want to watch out adversaries may use that technology. >> if we lose that competition, the chinese communist party will use artificial intelligence for evil. >> the reagan institute survey found more than half of americans view china as the country that poses the greatest threat to the u.s. that is from 43% last year. the poll listed russia as the second country of greatest concern. mike. mike: alexandria hoff reporting live. thanks a lot. james comer clashing with hunter biden's attorneys ahead of the deposition set for next week. more on that after the break. ♪ like a smart coffee grinder, that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that- i need a breakthrough card. like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more. plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases. and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas- a brilliant reality! the ink business premier card from chase for business. make more of what's yours. but i'm also a mother of four. and as entrepreneurs, we weigh the cost of every decision. medical bills are no longer a worry for our family. so i can focus on my calling and our family. joining christian health care ministries was one of the best decisions we ever made. we're the blair family, and this is our chm story. choose your doctor without network restrictions. all at an affordable price. enroll anytime at chministries.org/enroll. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. a deposition. a deposition is very different than an open hearing for the viewers across america, an open hearing is five minutes on the democrat side and five minutes on the republican side. it becomes a very public press opportunity. >> hunter biden replied and said i'll take whatever format you want and i'll come here and testify in public before the eyes of the world and i won't do it behind closed doors and leak out little snippets and claim i did it. mike: house chair james comer and jim jordan claiming that hunter biden sit for a deposition behind closed doors as the president's son prepares to testify publicly as part of the inquiry into his father. public policy mark smith. mark, great to have you. welcome. >> thanks, mike. mike. mike: let's start with the response from chairman comer and jordan to hunter biden's attorney, abby lo lo lowell,ways a demand he receive special treatment from the committees. how do you address that argument, mark? >> looks the rule of law in the country is sed by wee the people and give a deposition whined closed doors and they conduct that deposition for several reasons and you want ultimately to become public about the efficient and you do the mechanical asks about documents and the committee has a lot of information, some might be relevant and some irrelevant and the way to start sifting through that is by asking witnesses what the documents mean and think about the integrity of the process. one of the other reasons to have close door confidential interrogations and it'll be involving lots of other witness asks you don't want if you're a prosecutor or investigating this case is a situation where someone testifies publicly and let's all the other witnesses that maybe testifying tremendousing thereafter know what the narrative is going to be or story and it's very typical you want these things to be kept confidential and doesn't influence the testimony of other witnesses and see this all all the time and you sequester witnesses and there's that component but the reality is, mike, it's absolutely t