Speak at 2 30 this afternoon. Just about 30 minutes from now. His first comments that the hamas Surprise Attack on israel and israels response. We will have a live report from the white house in just a moment. We will bring you the president s remarks when they happen. First, the latest. At least 70 people are dead, hundreds more are wounded in israel after hamas forces launched an unprecedented attack by air, land, and see. President biden set to deliver remarks on the situation, which will bring to you live. Prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the country isnt a state of war. The Israeli Military saying an unknown number of soldiers and civilians have been taking hostage. Meanwhile, Gazas Health Ministry reports 198 people are dead and more than 1600 injured after israeli airstrikes in the region in retaliation. This comes 50 years and one day after the start of the october war, also known as the yom kippur war, who killed thousands on each side after egypt and syria launched Surprise Attacks on israel. Rat sounded on the ground just north of the gaza strip in israel. Raw, flood is the latest . Lindsey, we are now more than 13 hours into the Surprise Attack. This is feeling like a nightmare that Israelis Cannot wake up from. This is, not only, a large scale attack from the air with rockets on the ground with squads of highly trained Palestinian Militants that has resulted in this normative toll inside of israel. At least 70 israelis are confirmed dead. I can tell you that people here suspect the actual toll will end up being much, much, higher than that. Lindsey, this is also an unfolding Hostage Crisis on an absolutely massive scale. I want to be really specific about what we are talking about here. The Israeli Military just briefed the press. They say that there are two Hostage Situations still underway in israeli communities near the gaza border, on the side of the gaza border, where we are. They say that these are situations where palestinian gunmen who crossed over early this morning still have israeli hostages held at gunpoint. They are, at this point, it appears, largely surrounded by the Israeli Forces who have just been surging to the south all day. Lindsey, that is just one half of this Hostage Crisis. The other half is there are Israeli Soldiers and israeli civilians who are now on the other side of the border. Being held by hamas and by Islamic Jihad inside of gaza city in other locations inside of the strip. Lindsey, when it comes to trying to figure out where this is going next, this is the key dynamic. There are Israeli Citizens in captivity inside gaza right now. Israel, the government, and the military is making very clear, all options are on the table to get those people back. Including, potentially, a large scale Ground Offensive into gaza. We have talked about the death toll here on the israeli side. Lindsey all day we have seen israeli jets overhead. Striking targets inside of gaza. The palestinian Health Ministry said that in the last several hours to hundred and 30 palestinians have been killed in the course of these airstrikes. I can tell you that if is sources surge into gaza, one of the most largely Populated Areas in nowhere to run, nowhere to hide for the 2 million palestinians ruins in their. What is already a devastating death toll is going to hire. Lindsey, the socalled armed wing of hamas said that this attack today is justified by israels ongoing occupation of the west bank. Israels treatment of the palestinian people. I can tell you that israelis, from Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu on down, as well as ukrainian government, is very clear in their own mind that what is happening right now it is terrorism on an absolutely massive scale. Lindsey . I dont know if you can hear the noises behind you, could you give us more context on those blast . We know anything more about the israeli civilians being held hostage right now . Age or anything or any more information . Just starting with the geography, we are about six miles from the gaza border right now. You can see Israeli Security forces setting up the checkpoint here. On the other side of the checkpoint into israeli city of sderot. Last time we checked in with Israeli Security officials out an hour and a half ago, there was still ongoing palestinian gunmen who have been taking plays, holding buildings all day, despite the power of the Israeli Military, the fighting there continues. In terms of the israelis being held inside of gaza, we do not know how many, we do not know what the breakdown is between civilians and soldiers. I can tell you, lindsey, there is not a single more sensitive piece of data inside of the Israeli Government right now than how many people are being held. What condition are they in . Is it possible to rescue them . Those questions will determine where Israel Government goes next. If they feel that the best chance to get these people back alive is to stand largescale Ground Forces into gaza, i expect the that is what we will see in the coming hours and days. We may see enormous loss of life on both sides at the happens. Lindsey . Raf sanchez, tireless reporting all day. Raf, we appreciate you and your crew. As we mentioned, President Biden is set to make remarks at 2 30 pm eastern today on israel. It comes after he released a statement earlier saying he spoke with israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and express unwavering support for israels right to defend itself. Netanyahus Office Posted on the social media platform, acts, formerly known as twitter, and he thanked President Biden for the support and made it clear that a forceful prolonged campaign, which he said israel will win, is necessary. Joining us now is nbcs allie raffa. Eileen, but also hearing from the president . Lindsey, i mentioned that we expect the president to speak in less than 30 minutes now. These remarks are going to be coming after we know the president has been working from the west wing this morning, in communication with his National Security team, his senior advisers, being read in and updated on the very latest on this precedent id in israel. As we saw, raf explaining, it is still unfolding. This is really an all hands on deck situation. We know that Secretary Of StateAnthony Blinken has been working from here at the white house according to a States Department spokesperson. We have seen a flood of reaction from Administration Officials, members of the biden cabinet. All reiterating their continued support for israel. Saying that israel continues to have the right to defend itself. One of the statements from secretary of defense, lloyd austin, he says in part, quote, over the coming days the Department Of Defense will work to continue that israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism. Notably, lindsey, up until this point where we expected the president to give us an update on the situation as to what he knows and what the u. S. May be planning to do. We have seen the white house take a very cautious posture. Now trying to get, prematurely, ahead of any developments. Making sure that all of the communication and the calls that need to be had our had upfront so that they can get accurate Intelligence Analysis and assessment of what is going on on the ground there. They are trying to really get a sense of how this was even able to happen. How hamas militants were able to penetrate israels iron dome and its border to the extent that it has been able to. This is an unprecedented step. We have seen the Strong Partnership this alliance between the United States in israel that goes back for decades now. Not having been tested to this point in its history. It is going to be very interesting to see how the president reacts to this, how he responds to this. What the next steps are as far as the u. S. s intervention, hope it may be able to provide, to israel. One thing i do want to also mention is, recently, the white house has also been pushing back on claims from republicans, republican candidates, for 2024, credential president ial candidates, republican lawmakers, claiming the the Six Billion Dollars, the unfrozen assets for iran that were given in exchange for the Prisoner Swap of five americans. They are linking that to this attack on israel by hamas militants. The white house fiercely pushing back on that. Assuring americans today that none of that money have been spent. They are reminding americans of the conditions of that deal. That money was only to be used for humanitarian purposes by iran, lindsey. Certainly, we will hear more from you this hour when the president speaks. To talk more about this right now im joined by Retired Army General, steph twitty. Military analysts, bobby, gauche and columnist. General 20, are you there . I am here. Can you hear me, lindsey . I can. Thank you for being with us, both of you. First, your reaction, general twitty, to the fact that the Israeli Military is reporting that there are hostages in gaza, including civilians and soldiers. That we could see a robust Ground Offensive. What are you watching for, general twitty . I am watching for a couple of things. If i could just back up a little bit and really talk about how this unfolded, in my view. You have a couple of things going on here. First of all, you have a breached border between israel and gaza. That border must be sealed quickly or you are going to get other hostages flowing back over that border. Hostages into hamas and militants coming in. To also feed into the villages that are already, pretty much, seized. You can see the fighting down in the south in israel. Then, the israelis have to worry about the west bank. Whether or not hamas will join in from the west bank. Dont forget about hezbollah to the north. The Golan Heights area there. They have got to be concerned about that. On top of this they have to be concerned about the hostages that you referred to. But i think will happen is, obviously, the israelis are trying to gain human and intelligence to gain the location of these hostages. What youll see is special Operation Forces that will try to infiltrate and learn more about where theyre located. Followed by around cordons or a all out offensive supported by air attack. I think that is a few hours away. They have to get their arms around where the hostages are located. That is going to be the primary focus at this point. In terms of hamas, they are gonna spread these hostages out. They know that the theories have pretty good intelligence. Although it was lost in this attack. At the end of the day, they do have pretty good intelligence. Theyre gonna move these positive about. They are probably gonna try to segregate them and centralized and to keep the israelis on their toes. We will talk a little bit more about the lack of intelligence in predicting this attack. Before we do that with the general only get your reaction to what we are seeing. General only geti think the geny right. The big question, the two Big Questions is, is there a second wave to come from the palestinian fighters . If it does, whats directional come from . Will it come from the west bank . Will it come from hezbollah in the north . Maybe a second wave from hamas. I would say the third option is at least likely. With the hostages it all comes down to the numbers. Are we talking Single Digits . Probably not. Maybe double digit, triple digit . How many hostages . The israeli responsible depend on that. Again hamas is in complete control. They have the ability to spread these hostages all around. It is just a matter of time, maybe days, israel will have to bring in other players including the passage of chinas play that role. The turkish president erdogan, the egyptian president sissi, i think it will begin in a few days to play an increasingly Important Role in the conflict. The ability to do what to more generally try to get the hostages back. Oh, i appreciate that context there, and that perspective bobby. General twitty, when we talk about what appears to be a lack of intelligence here at, do you fear that that could happen again, with Body Predicting what happens next . Is it another way, do you feel that the Israeli Defenses will be able to handle that, as opposed to the 2200 rockets that the iron dome wasnt able to fend off . Yeah so just, let me just say that it is hard for any air Defense System to fend off 22 that are coming in at one time. And so, we say that the iron dome was a complete failure, i dont think thats the case. It is one of the worlds most advanced air Defense Systems, it just got overwhelmed. Now, in terms of the intelligence , this surprises me. The israelis are known for their intelligence, pretty impressive intelligence apparatuses. So, it surprises me. Could they be surprised again . Yes, but i dont think so, because i think this is a huge wake up call, and they are going to have a full court press on their intelligence now, not just with hamas, but on the west bank, and looking at hezbollah, to see if theyre going to try and join in as. Well bobby, you also said this about hamas on social media, they dont expect to win, but if they inflict substantial damage, in the world interference to prevent israel from a full bore retaliation, that could be spun as a win, can you elaborate . Well, i was making reference to what happened 50 years ago, the yom kippur war, when along with syria, who was president of egypt at the time, knew going in that there was no way that egypt could inflict a complete defeat on the israelis. Israel had the American Fighting quality, and the support of the western world. But what was counting on, was that he could inflate just enough damage, that the rest the real will quickly intervene, and tried to put reinforcement, too and that allowed in the end, to emerge it doesnt matter whether the rest of the world, has a signal or lot. In his own people, and in the larger world the arab community, but that. I think what hamas is calculating, and something quite similar here. They know that when it comes to a real fight, the israelis will win. But if hamas can hold out long enough for the rest of the world to intervene, and restrain israel, then hamas can declare victory. But mind you, the israelis also know this, and they will try to extract a maximum amount of damage possible, before the rest of the world can successfully intervene. Such a complex issue. Bobby gauche, and Retired Army General tweety, we will be right back with more of our Breaking News coverage. In just 60 seconds, how leaders around the world are reacting to the attacks. Eactin to the attacks to the attacks sh or weighed down . It could be a sign that your digestive system isnt at its best. Metamucil gummies make it easy to get the fiber you need. Promoting your Digestive Health for a better you. Metamucil gummies. The easy way to get your daily fiber. The new Subway Mvp Rewards earns you points when you order. Superbowl mvps really do get all the perks . Im talking about subway mvp. Its a way bigger deal. Do you get a trophy for that . I wish. Get rewarded like an mvp. Join now and get 50 any footlong. U. S. Secretary of state Anthony Blinken is weighing in, as well, on the palestinian strikes in israel, as we see a live look here at the white house. And just reminder to everybody that the president will be speaking at 2 30 eastern, and we will bring you that. But Secretary Of State blinken reacting here. We have course have seen reportedly, 70 People Killed in israel, more than 100 in gods, according to local reports. Saying in a statement, we unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks by Hamas Terrorists against israel. We stand in solidarity with the government, and people of israel, and extend our condolences for the israeli lives lost in the attacks. Joining us now, with global reaction, is nbcs matt bradley. Matt, u. S. Support of israel has been swift, and constant throughout the day. What reaction are we hear from other countries around the world . Yeah, well its really interesting, lindsey. Because weve been hearing from governments, and International S