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contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "newshour." for a fifth day, israeli troops pushed into gaza on the ground, and israel's military reported its first soldiers killed in action there. from the skies, a punishing air campaign continues tonight, with a strike that killed many palestinians in the northern part of the gaza strip. hamas militants said they would release foreign hostages in the coming days, and some badly-wounded palestinians may soon be allowed into egypt for treatment. leila molana-allen reports. leila: gaza, cloaked in black smoke for yet another day, as israel's airstrikes and ground invasion show no signs of slowing. tanks line the border and israel said it has infiltrated the network of hamas tunnels below the gaza strip. an israeli strike hit the jabaliya refugee camp, where israel said it targeted hamas infrastructure, killing its leader in northern gaza, but the blast also killed and wounded hundreds of civilians. crowds of men dug through the rubble to reach trapped victims underneath. the pain of the loss is unbearable in gaza, trapped in this war where few are spared. >> here they are, children. we are filling up bags with children, we are placing them in bags. leila: body bags lined up outside a nearby hospital. inside, chaos, as overworked doctors rushed to treat the injured. >> children, women, elderly. we have no idea what to do, there are injured everywhere. leila: gazans are trying desperately to survive the airstrikes. and under siege, a growing humanitarian crisis. most extreme is the water shortage. with an israeli blockade on fuel, water cannot be pumped or desalinized. residents wait in line for hours to fill their jugs with clean water. >> the people are miserable, there are lines everywhere. even if you find a drop of water, you will find a line of thousands. you go out in the morning at 7:00 a.m. and you go home after sundown just so you can get two good gallons of water for your home. leila: in washington, u.s. officials reiterated support for israel and sought to clarify the american role in the conflict. p>> all of us know the imperatie of standing up with our allies and partners. leila: secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin testified before the senate over an aid package that would send more than $105 billion to israel and ukraine. >> i think it's important to remind ourselves that what happens in ukraine and what happens in israel matters not to just ukraine and israel. it matters to us. it affects our national security as well. leila: the hearing was interrupted more than once by protesters, their hands painted blood red. >> ceasefire now. leila: blinken defended u.s. policy, while stressing the need for humanitarian aid. >> in each and every one of these conflicts, people are suffering. and i think it's profoundly who we are to want to do everything we can to assist them. leila: the request has bipartisan support in the senate, but the republican-controlled house wants to carve out funding for israel, leaving ukraine for later. >> this is all one fight and we have to respond in a way that recognizes that. if we start to peel off pieces of this package, they'll see that, they'll understand that we are playing wack-a-mole, while they cooperate increasingly. leila: the war in ukraine has not seen major changes on the battlefield for months, while the war between israel and hamas threatens to explode into the wider region. israeli tanks line the border with lebanon, trading fire with hezbollah and other militant groups. israel shot down drones and missiles launched from yemen by houthi militants. the iranian-backed group said their attacks will continue until israel stands down. >> the yemeni armed forces affirm that this operation is the third in support of our oppressed brothers in palestine. leila: meanwhile in the occupied west bank, tensions threaten to boil over after another raid. a funeral for a 70-year-old man killed by israeli forces. as the violence spreads, palestinians wracked with grief and pulsating with anger filled the streets. for the "pbs newshour," i'm leila molana-allen in the west bank. geoff: for analysis of israel's ground offensive in gaza and concerns about the war potentially spilling over into a broader regional conflict, we turn to former commander of u.s. forces in the middle east, retired general frank mckenzie. he's now executive director of the global and national security institute at the university of south florida. thank you for being with us. gen. mckenzie: glad to be with you. geoff: israeli troops have fought on the streets of gaza before during the first and second intifadas. what makes this current ground operation different? gen. mckenzie: this is a far more comprehensive operation. they are proceeding methodically. i think with four objectives. they want to minimize casualties, idf casualties, israeli army casualties. they want to minimize casualties among the population of gaza. they want to get after the command-and-control structure of hamas. and i think they want to recover their hostages. these are difficult objectives and it will be slow going for them. geoff: what risks and challenges does hamas' extensive labyrinth of tunnels pose? gen. mckenzie: you are fighting in multiple dimensions. you are fighting on the surface of the earth, tanks moving, soldiers. underneath, there is a sewer system. underneath that, there is a comprehensive tunnel system that hamas has put in over many years. then, you are fighting at very low altitudes where israel has robots and drones, but hamas will fly some of those too. it is a multidimensional struggle. ultimately, the technical advantages of a force like the idf will be challenged in these close fightings road becomes infantry combat. there will be tanks and fire support involved, but it will be a very methodical approach and they have to be careful of the tunnels. i know they have given the tunnels a lot of thought. i know they will use robots and other sophisticated measures to get down there. geoff: how long might this last? what is your assessment of israel's ability to sustain ground combat over the long-term potentially? gen. mckenzie: they've had a while to get themselves set. they have mobilized a significant portion of the military. i think we need to consider this in terms of months. i don't believe it will be days, weeks i believe it will take some time because they will be methodical. i realize there is frustration over there of innocent people dying in gaza. but, i actually believe the idf is doing the best they can to try to minimize the civilian casualties. even at the same time while hamas is doing their level best to maximize civilian casualties. we think of the hostages as shields, but it is far more than that. a population of gaza is a shield for hamas, and they will wield it to the maximum extent they can to protect themselves and enforce the israelis to make tough decisions on what they target and don't because they will play this out in the information space as we have just seen in the reporting. geoff: as we saw in the report, there was an airstrike today that israel said was aimed at hamas militants. it had a densely populated neighborhood in northern gaza, left a massive crater, left extensive damage and death. are there tactics, weapons, munitions the israelis could do to go after hamas without destroying entire neighborhoods and killing so many civilians? gen. mckenzie: it is hard to do because hamas has chosen as a matter of policy to embed their organization into hos mosques, schools, and high density population areas. that is a fundamental tactic of hamas. i believe israel is doing the best they can to deal with it, to minimize the human cost on the ground to innocents. unfortunately, it will not be a perfect campaign. it will be a very bloody, harsh campaign and hamas has designed it that way. geoff: i want to ask you about the effort to rescue hostages. the pentagon's top policy official said american commandos on the ground in israel of helping locate the more than 200 hostages seized by hamas. help us understand the nature of that relationship, that partnership given that u.s. special operation forces are not assigned any combat roles in israel. gen. mckenzie: we should begin by noting that is really special operation forces are amongst some of the best in the world -- israeli special operation forces are amongst some of the best in the world. geoff: are you back with us, sir? gen. mckenzie: i believe i am. geoff: pick up where you left off. gen. mckenzie: i think we should begin by recognizing israeli special operation forces are very capable and battle tested. our forces are also very unique and capable and battle tested. they can share techniques and procedures. they can talk about best practices. there are a lot of things we can do that don't involve putting u.s. soldiers into combat. geoff: on the potential for escalation, what is the decision matrix for hezbollah and getting involved? gen. mckenzie: it is my personal judgment that has below does not really care about the suffering that is going on in gaza and that will not prompt them to enter. they will enter if they see a strategic opportunity and that would be israel gets avidly -- heavily bogged down in gaza. if they sent the national political mood is such they can gain a strategic objective. they will make a very strategic calculation on that. the iranians may or may not press, it is what is best for the organization in lebanon. he's had better days in lebanon than now given the battering the economy has taken. he's in a very different position in lebanon than 10 years ago when they last fought a significant fight with israel. he will have to balance that. i think it is far from certain that has below will come in. there's always the danger of error on either side that can spark something to get them into the fight. i think they will be very cold-eyed. the same thing for the iranians. their continued attack against u.s. forces in iraq and syria is very concerning and that might have the possibility of escalation. i hope we are sending all the signals we can, diplomatic and terms of force deployment to convince them this is not the time to come into this fight. this is not the time to escalate. geoff: retired general frank mckenzie, thank you for your insight. gen. mckenzie: thank you. ♪ geoff: in the day's other headlines, capitol hill is grappling with new domestic threats in the wake of the israel-hamas war. at a senate hearing today, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas confirmed a rise in hate towards arab-americans, muslims, and jews. and fbi director christopher wray acknowledged that jewish communities have been uniquely targeted. >> when you look at a group that makes up 2.4% roughly of the american population, it should be jarring to everyone that that same population accounts for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes. and so, they need our help. geoff: wray also warned that hamas' actions in the middle east could inspire other terrorist attacks, including by violent extremists in the u.s. the senate also confirmed jack lew to be the next u.s. ambassador to israel at a critical moment in the country's war with hamas. lew previously served as treasury secretary under president obama. the u.s. hasn't had a senate-confirmed ambassador to israel since july. michigan's attorney general has ended prosecutions over flint's tainted water without making any criminal convictions. the decision comes after the state's supreme court rejected an effort to revive charges against former governor rick snyder and others accused of wrongdoing. in 2014, the city switched its water supply to the flint river, but didn't properly treat the water for lead. tens of thousands of flint residents were exposed to dangerous levels of lead. at least 12 people died from legionnaires' disease. and some residents of the majority-black city say they're still grappling with long-term health issues. the biden administration is deepening its crackdown on so-called junk fees, this time by proposing new rules on retirement advisers. the guidelines would require advisers to recommend plans that are in the customer's best interest, instead of trying to boost their own bottom lines. president biden made the announcement today at the white house and said the move was necessary to protect retirement security. >> if this rule is finalized as proposed, it's going to protect workers that are saving through their retirements. it'll protect seniors who are being exploited. it'll protect many trustworthy financial advisers out there who are doing the right thing from unfair competition. geoff: the president has also tried to eliminate hidden junk fees in other areas, like concert tickets, hotel reservations, and airfare. in pakistan, afghan refugees are fleeing the country in droves ahead of the government's fast-approaching crackdown on migrants living in the country illegally. a wall of trucks formed along border areas as families crammed the cargo beds with their belongings. they have until tomorrow to leave or face deportation. afghans say they were given just one month's notice. >> we lived nearly 40 years in pakistan, but they did not accept us, nor give us any documents so we can stay. but, the disappointing thing for us is that the government should have given us at least one year to leave. now, we are on our way to afghanistan and winter is coming and there will be no work for us there. geoff: u.n. agencies say afghans make up the bulk of pakistan's migrant population at more than two million. some 600,000 afghans fled to pakistan after the taliban takeover more than two years ago. a record 6.9 million people have been uprooted by the decades-long conflict in congo. that's according to new data from the u.n.'s migration agency. it says it's one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. most of those who've been displaced come from congo's eastern provinces, taken over by armed groups seeking natural resources. and, stocks closed higher on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average gained 124 points to close at 33,053. the nasdaq rose 62 points. the s&p 500 added 27. still to come on the "newshour," maine law enforcement faces scrutiny after revelations that a mass shooter's family flagged his concerning behavior. alabama jail officials are accused of putting pregnant detainees at risk in the name of protecting unborn children. and a pulitzer prize winner reflects on his family's experience of war and exile in a new memoir. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: the u.s. supreme court heard arguments in two key cases today about how public officials use social media. the cases explore whether two school board members in california and a city manager in michigan violated the first amendment by blocking constituents posting criticism on their personal social media pages. the constituents in the cases believe these social media pages were actually operating as an extension of government work. to help us understand the stakes here, i'm joined by our supreme court analyst, marcia coyle. it is always good to see you. marcia: good to see you. geoff: you are in the courtroom for the three hours of proceedings. what is the question that the justices were considering today in both arguments? marcia: the challenge for the justices is to determine how can you know when a public official is speaking in his or her official capacity or personal capacity on their personal webpages? the distinction is important because if it is in the official capacity, what we call a state actor, the first kicks in. that public official couldr vioe rights of someone who may have been blocked. geoff: in the one case, there is james fried, the city manager in michigan. he has a personal facebook page where he mostly posted about his family, but he also posted about covid and other city related matters. and he blocked from his facebook page a man named kevin linky after he posted criticism of the ways in which fried was handling the pandemic. so our team spoke with both men about how they see the case. here is what they have to say. >> schoolteachers, police officers, firefighters, school custodians like my grandfather was, can't go home and talk about what happened at work? just think the chilling effect that would have on those people. i have a right to free speech. in the middle of a covid pandemic, i have a right to communicate with my friends and family and what's going on in our lives, what's going on with our community. >> he can say that this was his personal page. i don't necessarily disagree with that. the issue is that when he started blurring the lines and started putting out policy directives that couldn't be found anywhere else. he then created a public forum, and therefore, the protection of the first amendment kicked in. and by blocking stuff he didn't like or stuff that was critical of him, you know, we felt that he was trying to silence us. geoff: tell us more about how the justices interpreted those arguments? marcia: during the three hours, there were lots of hypotheticals about what kind of posts on a social media page could constitute either private speech or official speech. there was even mention of donald trump and even taylor swift entered the conversation. geoff: because donald trump when he was president, he blocked people. marcia: on twitter which is now known as x. his case was out because he's no longer president. what's happening in the arguments is that the lawyers were trying to offer the justices a variety of tests for how to make this distinction between the two. the public officials really want a clearly defined, kind of rigid test that says basically, if you are fulfilling a duty on your personal webpage or you are demonstrating authority, then you are state action. and the first amendment will apply. and the individuals were blocked, their lawyers were telling the court that is too narrow of a test and we think you need a broader test. one lawyer described it as are you doing your job test, which looks at the content of the page, the appearance of the page, and the function that the public official serves. the justices had some qualms about both tests. one was considered a little too narrow and would chill speech. the other was considered too broad. i think ultimately, justi ce kagan hit the nail on the head. she said what makes these cases hard is there are first amendment interests on both sides. public officials have every right to engage in the kind of speech you and i do to talk about their jobs, to talk about someone in the grocery store, talk about family, friends, pets. an individ
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