Its true. Plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. There are no Term Contracts or line activation fees. And you can bring your own device. Oh, and all on the most reliable 5g Mobile Network nationwide. Wireless that works for you. Its not just possible. And the early hours of its happening. Saturday morning, hamas fighters infiltrated the southern border of israel now ground and gaza based fighters launched a massive barrage of rockets from a sky. Since, then over 600 israelis have been killed and we expect those numbers to go up, thats all according to local israeli media. And i dont number of israeli citizen soldiers are being held hostage, as well as potentially some american citizens. As we have seen in a number of terrifying videos, that have been released, i should warn you. These are quite disturbing. And this tells us a lot about who is being held. Like this, one showing it captive israeli woman being taken away on a motorcycle as she shouts to her boyfriend, who is also being held hostage. The residents a Border Cities described the terror of hamas militants entering their neighborhoods, coming into their homes, and of bodies lining the streets in their small towns. Secretary blinken confirmed this morning that americans could be among the dead, and the hostages as well. Mister secretary, does the administration know at this point if u. S. Citizens were among the dead or those taken hostage . So we have reports that several americans may be among the dead. We are very actively working to verify those reports. Similarly, weve seen reports about hostages, and there again, we are very actively trying to verify them and nail that down. Meaning that there could be some u. S. Citizens who have been taken hostage as well, Mister Secretary . That is correct. We will have an update on that yet but if we get that over the next hour, we will certainly bring that to you. In response to what appears to be the worst Terrorist Attack on israel in decades, Prime Minister netanyahu vowed vengeance, and clear the energy would pay a price it is never known before. We witnessed his words in action overnight as israel launched attacks in gaza on buildings, killing over three and people in gaza so far. Thats according to the Palestinian Ministry of health. As fighting continues to raise on several fronts today. Prime minister netanyahu confirmed with the offensive phase of the response has begun. And that it will continue with neither limitations, nor respite, until objections are achieved. This morning, reports confirmed that civilian evacuations of cities and towns around here has begun, a clear indication of the anticipated strikes to come. Now this is all taking place in the midst of a few significant, complicating factors, the effort to bring Israeli Soldiers and citizens, and maybe americans insistence from Around The World home who are being held hostage is. In all likelihood, in the very cities and towns where the Israeli Military plans to strike, the threat of expansion into a broader war with the engagement overnight of iran, and iranbacked militant group, at hezbollah. And the open question whether the iranians had prior knowledge or any engagement in the play the tax. We dont have any proof or confirmation of that today, to a u. S. Official acknowledge that the hamas would not exist without the support for many decades from iran. And while the attacks came as a surprise, tensions have been simmering in the region for a very long time. Which kind of begs the question, why didnt israel see this coming . Sitting aside for a moment, and seen how we got here, the question is how this comes next. If youre sitting inside a white house during weekend like this, and youve not been here for a moment like this, but many similar, you are basically in one roving meeting that moves from a Situation Room to the oval office, back to agencies to get updates. You are getting a constant stream of updates from key members of the National Security team, whether its the National Security adviser, jake sullivan, Secretary Of State, tony blinken, or cia director bill burns. And in between all of those meetings, those top officials are engaged in conversations with their counterparts. And israel is also in neighboring countries. Including countries that may have a direct line two years as well, as we saw with the update around egypt earlier today. We will also be talking to countries the shared concern about the escalation of violence in the region, which is a real concern. The private conversations with israeli officials likely reflexes much of the language of the president has said publicly. Reiterating support, asking what they need, well get an update on that, it sounds like later today. We will also encourage them to take into account the number of innocent civilians in gaza. And remember, this president has known Prime Minister netanyahu for decades, and yes, theyve had moments of tension. That is not new but the president has always been pretty pragmatic and consistent about his support for israel, regardless of his personal feelings any moment about netanyahu. The relationship helped bring an end to the conflict in 2021 as well. So there are big immediate questions, including how israel can bring their hostages home, how the United States can secure additional assistance with the speaker of the house, what the white house could do without congress. And longer term, what it does mean for the president s efforts to bring about an ambitious agreement between israel and saudi arabia. This war also has the potential to escalate, leading to a significant number of civilian casualties in gaza, and also has the potential to expand beyond the border of israel. Joining me now is somebody who has dealt with many conflicts and many challenging circumstances, john brennan, hes the former cia director under president barack obama, and a senior National Security analyst for msnbc. Director brennan, i think we are all still pretty shaken by the images and what weve seen over the last 36 hours, but i also wanted to start by asking you about Prime Minister netanyahus considerations. Because hamas has taken hostages. We dont know the total number, presumably in reportedly, they are being spread out across gaza and other areas that Prime Minister netanyahu may want to retaliate, and launch rotarian attacks on, how does he factor that in, and what could happen in the coming days . I think president netanyahus cabinet of taking to a number of concerns in consideration. One is they have to mitigate any continued or risks that exist where there are still hamas militants that are in israeli territory. What can they do to find them . And make sure that theyre not gonna carry out additional attacks. Number two, try as much information as possible about the hostages, the captives, where they might have been taken to, what may in fact be what hamas is planning to do with, them and how he can in fact find them. Number three, also, i think is gonna have to demonstrate to the israeli public that he is going to take firm action against hamas. Weve already seen the bombings taking place in gaza city, the two largest cities in gaza. But theres gonna be retaliatory aspect to this that netanyahu is getting pressured, mainly from his right wing, to be as aggressive, and is brutal, and even as ruthless as possible. While the same time, making sure that he does not do too much that is going here to put the lives of the hostages at risk. When it comes to, this is not necessarily a state, but Secretary Of State confirmed that there could be americans, of course, who live in israel, who are part of the group of hostages. Is there a role, but the former cia and other u. S. Agencies could play in helping identify, helping bring back those hostages . Im sure theres been a surge of u. S. Capabilities in terms of on the technical front. Trying to get as much intelligence as possible about who is being held captive, where they are, and information about u. S. Citizens. But im confident the Intel Community in United States is working closely with their counterparts, in the surge of intelligence, minion technical front, again to try to provide these rallies with whatever insight they need in order to carry out their responsibilities, to try and bring these captives home, but also to prevent any further attacks coming from hamas. You have worked in the Intelligence Committee for decades, including with israel, and with your intelligence security, forces they have a reputation for having a very strong intelligence community. Were you surprised that this was a surprise to them . I find It Incomprehensible that hamas was able to carry out such a well planned, Multi Dimensional Operation against israel. And Israeli Intelligence seemed to be caught totally unawares. This had to take months and months of planning. And i think it demonstrates that hamas really has learned how to carry out this type of planning, and not have the israelis become aware of it. So, again, the Israeli Intelligence is really a part of the Domestic Intelligence agency as, well as well the Military Intelligence as well, which has the responsibility for gaza, but it does raise questions about whether not israeli sources, both human and technical sources, have been compromised by hamas, and these rallies are being fed false information and give them a false sense of complacency. Because there is just so many hamas militants that were involved in this, again, it took many, many months in order to plan this. And when you say compromise, do you mean that some of these Intelligence Forces for israel could have worked for hamas . It could be identified by hamas, and then doubled back against israel and being fed false information into Israeli Intelligence headquarters. As well as some other technical systems. They might have found out where they were, and then being intentionally putting intense into that, that again, did not give israel a sense that this planning was taking place. Some of the Military Tactics used, here this is advanced Military Tools that were used here in these attacks. . How does that tell you about hamas capabilities, or who may or may not even helping them. It shows great compartmentalization on the part of hamas, because there are so many elements focused on this, land, sea, air, and hamas has been able to accumulate quite a bit of rockets, in munitions, it has received training from outside, its been the benefactor of iran and others. Provided how moss the wherewithal, the ability, the insights, the training that is necessary to do this. So clearly, this was very well orchestrated. It was done with the Senior Leaders of hamas, and it is something that i know was played for many, many years and they just took advantage of the opportunity, and when i look at some of the footage of this Music Festival that took place right outside of the gaza strip and the slaughter of individuals there, this clearly shows the core Militants Group within hamas, really carried this out with great vengeance, as well as with tremendous execution. Theres of, course act of conflict on the ground right now. U. S. Officials trying to figure out what kind of assistance it can be provided. But there is this risk of escalation beyond the borders. There are a couple of hezbollah attack this morning, there were questions about what iran did or did not know. Youve obviously worked in The Middle East quite a bit over the years. How concerned are you about that possibility of escalation beyond the borders . Im very concerned. I think a situation is going to get worse before it gets better. I think those attacks across the northern lebanese border by his balance is warning of a symbolic show of support. But as ball i clearly has a lot more capability if they decide to try to use that against israel. And concerns about the west bank, the palestinians there, who are concerned about the fellow palestinians faith in gaza. But we already heard reports about israeli tourists being killed in cairo. So this has the potential, real, for escalation. And a lot is going to depend on how netanyahu is able to balance the need to be able to mitigate the threat, be able to make sure that his captions and hostages are returned safely. But not to go overboard, and to get rid of these revenge attacks that are about the people, the civilians of gaza. Because there are innocence in israel and palestine in the palestinian territories that are really paying the price here. And i think that death toll is going to go up significantly in the days and potentially weeks to come. And it sounds like in concern to the white wing government, and response of the people, Prime Minister netanyahu there could be many, many, casualties in gaza as part of this response. When i see the buildings exploding in gaza, shows that these attacks by air force and others are really going to lead to a large number of civilian casualties, which is only going to fuel the fires of militancy among the people of gaza. As they see innocent men, women, and children were going to killed as a result of these strikes. So both sides, there is the right wing. Those that are really pushing for a very aggressive, violent, militant posture. Unfortunately, i think its going to rule the day, which is very important because i think this needs to have a very calm yet a very dedicated effort to try to resolve the current situation. But also, address some of these underlying factors and conditions that have led to this situation. Director brennan, thank you so much for taking the time to join me here this afternoon. I really appreciate it. Were gonna be following the Breaking News out of israel all hour long as the fighting continues and new details trickle out about the hostages who have been captured. Prime minister netanyahu is warning of a long, and difficult more to come. Ben rhodes, who served as National Security adviser under president obama, joins me next. We will be right back. Shingles. The rash can feel like an intense Burning Sensation and last for weeks. It can make your workday feel impossible. The virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. 50 years or older . Ask your doctor about shingles. Tourists tourists that turn into scientists. Tourists taking photos that are analyzed by ai. Earlier today, the office of so researchers can help life underwater flourish. Prime minister Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said that israel had voted last night to officially put the country at war, allowing it to korea, quote, significant military activities. The cabinet focuses official legal standing to what Prime Minister netanyahu already said after hamas began its operation that is so far killed 600 israeli people, alluding to the latest on reporting on the ground. My colleague to president obama, also an msnbc contributor, ben. I just wanna start with this question about the relationship between President Biden and Prime Minister netanyahu. Because theres a lot of focus, i get asked this a lot on the detentions, and how much that matters, and what it means in this case. So what is your thought on that . Well, look. Theyve been each other for a very, very long time. Thereve been lots of dust ups over the years. But, frankly, jen, i think in a time like this, that doesnt matter all that much. It is a president of the United States who has been consistently very strongly behind israel, dealing with the Prime Minister as well. It is incredibly complicated to unprecedented, and Exchange Gonna be very straightforward. What do you need from the United States in the coming days . And, then it pivots probably in those coming days to trying to prevent further escalation outside of israel, or the kind of civilian casualties in gaza that obviously nobody wants to see. The u. S. House is kind of balancing act i think that often plays in these gaza wars, and this one is obviously much bigger. Where you are simultaneously providing support, but also trying to prevent the conflict from escalating to a much greater level. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading a country that is just faced a devastating attack. Hes also leading a rightWing Coalition, who is putting pressure on him to have a very, strong response here. How do you think this is going to impact what we see in the next couple of days or weeks . Well, look. This has been part of the problem, and in the run up to this. And i think how people look at the intelligence failure, were talking about john brennan. Theres also the question of, this farright government was focused on its judicial overhaul. Essentially rolling with democracy. It was at odds with some of the Military Establishment in that country, and those tensions, those divisions in term of israeli society, th