And i would argue its the deadliest day for jews since the holocaust, the deadliest day since the holocaust. One of the worst chapters in Human History that remind us all from that expression i learned from my dad early on, silence is complicity. Thats President Biden with more emotional remarks on the deadly attacks in israel, delivering that speech yesterday while hosting jewish leaders at the white house. Well have the latest on the war and the Biden Administrations efforts to find missing americans in just a moment. Plus, well go through new reporting on the massacre by hamas as it appears that iran, the terror groups main backer may have been left in the dark. And also ahead, an update from capitol hill on the ongoing speakers race. Republicans have a nominee, but its not clear if he has the votes to get the gavel. Good morning and welcome to Way Too Early on this thursday, october 12th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And well begin this morning with the latest on the war between israel and hamas. The death toll continues to rise as more than 1,200 israelis and 1,200 palestinians have been killed in the conflict. A state Department Spokesperson confirmed to nbc news that at least 22 americans have died while 17 are still unaccounted for. On wednesday israels Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu agreed to form an emergency unity government expressly to prosecute the war. Bringing a centrist political rival into his cabinet who previously served as israels Chief Of Staff for the military. Now, this Power Sharing Agreement infuses israels government with Military Experience and ensures that the two sides will govern together at least for now in this moment of the crisis. Meanwhile, yesterday israel continued to launch strikes into gaza in an effort to neutralize hamas targets while israels military prepares for a potential ground operation. War planes have leveled buildings along the gaza strip since israels government voted to declare war back on sunday. After the first meeting of the countrys emergency government, Prime Minister netanyahu said israel is on the offensive and that, quote, every member of hamas is a dead man as he promised to crush and eliminate the group. Joining us now from tel aviv, nbc news correspondent Kelly Cobiella. Kelly, thank you so much for joining us today. What can you tell us about this latest spasm of violence, the air strikes we saw throughout the region overnight . Yeah, good morning, jonathan. 450 air strikes by the Israelis On Northern Gaza overnight. A barrage of air strikes leaving the streets unrecognizable in some places. The idea theyre targeting hamas senior leadership, elite forces they say hitting Operation Command centers used by operatives who actually carried out this attack on israel. They say their aircraft also hit a senior hamas naval operative. The Israeli Defense forces spokesman is warning as well these intensive air strikes will continue, that its going to get worse and that there are going to be difficult scenes coming out of gaza as well. A warning this is this bombardment is going to have a really serious impact on the ground. And so were seeing that already with hospitals overwhelmed, mothers looking for their children, lots of scenes of injured children in these hospitals. You know, half of the populations of gaza is under the age of 19, so not surprising that a lot of the collateral damage, if you want to call it that, a lot of the children are being impacted by this operation on the part of the israelis. Here in israel the number of dead more than 1,200, weve talked about that number. Israeli Defense Forces are still going through some of these neighborhoods still finding out just what happened in some of these homes in southern israel and the alleged atrocities perpetrated when those hamas militants came into israel on saturday and started massacring people on a huge, huge scale. And then there is the issue of the hostages. Of course we know theres some americans being held. We dont have a number. The white house not being specific on that. But President Biden was really pressed on that yesterday and asked what is the u. S. Doing, how is the u. S. Going to help bring them home. He said there are a lot of things that were doing and that he hasnt given up hope, jonathan. Nbc news correspondent Kelly Cobiella reporting live from israel, thank you so much. Well have more reports live from the region throughout the morning. Now, the attack by hamas last weekend wasnt just a surprise to israel and the United States. The iranian leaders who have long backed the terror group were also reportedly in the dark about the strike. This is new reporting from the New York Times. They put it this way. The United States has collected multiple pieces of intelligence that show that key iranian leaders were surprised by the hamas attack in israel. Information that has fueled u. S. Doubts that iran played a direct role in planning the assault, thats according to several american oicials. The United States and key regional allies have not found evidence iran directly helped plan the attack according to a u. S. Official, israeli officials, and another official in the middle east. The Intelligence Failure is raising new questions in washington of how an attack of this size could go undetected. House Foreign AffairsCommittee ChairMichael Mccaul told reporters the United States is still, quote, not quite sure how we missed it. Following a closed door intelligence briefing with lawmakers about the conflict, mccaul said he was informed egypt warned israel three days prior that an event like this could happen but did not provide further details on the claim. Joining us now, pentagon reporter for political. Laura, great to see you this morning. Lets talk about this iran angle at the moment in terms of u. S. Officials youve spoken to about what role if any, and we know hamas is a major taterror backer, but it does seem like the question is whether they had direct knowledge of this attack. And also what is the concern from u. S. Military officials this war could grow from the Northern Front if hezbollah gets involved . Good morning, jonathan. Yes, theres definitely concern that the situation in israel could escalate. The issue with iran right now u. S. Intelligence officials seem to have no smoking gun yet that iran was actually involved in the approval of the strike, the planning of it. Although we do know iran has certainly had a role in supplying hamas with weapons over the last few years and funding. The thing u. S. Officials and the pentagon especially are concerned about right now is increased threats on troops in the middle east. Specifically iran where we have 2,500 troops and syria where we have 900 troops. Just in march Drone Attacks and Rocket Attacks from iranian proxies killed an American Contractor and wounded six others at a u. S. Base in syria, so this is something that they are familiar with. Theres also a concern that u. S. Forces and Partner Forces in the persian gulf might be targeted also as this conflict escalates. The issue is if there is attacks increased attacks from lebanese lez bola in the north if maybe israel goes and launches a Ground Offensive into gaza, that could have the potential to spill into the rest of the region. And once that happens, the risk of escalation and some kind of accident really happens. Yeah, laura, youve got brand new reporting as you just mentioned about this fear about threats to u. S. Troops in the region. Everyone should check that out on politico. So lets talk about weapons. The u. S. Obviously has been sending weapons to ukraine for quite some time. I know theres been concerns about supplies. Now looks like some heading to israel. Some en route, others will come once congress elects a speaker and funding can be authorized. What is the concern level at the pentagon just about arming our two allies but also having enough here at home . Right, it was a really interesting split screen these couple of days because Secretary Austin and general brown flew to brussels this week. They kept their commitment. They met with president zelenskyy of ukraine, and they met with a series of Defense Leaders to talk about sending aid to ukraine. So the issue going to balance here is aid to ukraine as well as aid to israel. For the moment defense Officials Say they do have enough weapons and stockpiles particularly in israel they are able to release to israel. They have Iron Dome Interceptors that are en route right now. Theres munitions that are coming. But in the future they will have to authorize additional funding from congress to likely get that additional aid for ukraine and israel at the same time. Another issue is the u. S. Industrial base is already stretched very thin with the conflict in ukraine. The war in israel is going to stretch that even further. And some Companies Like raytheon produces both missiles for israel and ukraine. Terrific reporting as always. Political reporter for politico, thank you for starting us off this morning. Still ahead on Way Too Early, what we know so far about the 17 americans who are still missing in israel and what the white house had to say about sending u. S. Troops into gaza to try to find them. Plus republicans take action to remove one of their own from congress. Well tell you who it is and you can probably guess. Those stories and a check on weather and sports when we come right back. When we come right back [city ambience sounds] [car screech] [car door slam] [camera shutter sfx] introducing neds plaque psoriasis. [camera shutter sfx] he thinks his flaky, red patches are all people see. Otezla is the 1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. [ned . ] it can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. With no routine blood tests required. Doctors have been prescribing it for nearly a decade. Otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. Dont use otezla if youre allergic to it. Serious allergic reactions can happen. Otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. [crowd gasp] with clearer skin, movie night is a groovy night. [ting] live in the moment. Ask your doctor about otezla. Welcome back. New york congressman George Santos is facing yet another resolution to expel him from congress, but this time its coming from republican lawmakers from his home state. Earlier this week santos was hit with another round of federal charges, this one a 23count superseding indictment alleging the infamous rookie lawmaker committed Identity Theft and widespread fraud. The republican resolution comes months after a democratic move to oust santos was voted down. At the time thenHouse SpeakerKevin Mccarthy said he wanted to wait for an Ethics Committee investigation. The measure will need twothirds of the entire house to agree. At least one new york republican who signed onto the expulsion says that hes confident that they will meet the threshold. Santos responded briefly to the new resolution while he was running from journalists. Take a look. Hard to hear there, but hes trying to say the voters put him in more or less. An editor from forbes, meanwhile, responded today a social media rant from donald trump after the magazine left trump off its list of wealthiest americans. The former president on tuesday demanded a full apology because he was not on the forbes 400 list for the second time in three years. Trump also falsely claimed the publication is owned by china and accused an editor of writing false articles about him. Heres how dan alexander, the editor trump mentioned in the social media post responded. He wrote this. If you want to point out a single false fact in any of the articles ive published about you or in the book i wrote about you, feel free. In the meantime, im going to keep reporting and carefully Fact Checking every word i publish. So heres someone who does have a lot of money, the winner of The Grand Prize power ball worth 1. 76 billion. That lucky ticket was sold in frasier park, california, which is outside los angeles. This is the largest Power Ball Jackpot of the year and the second largest jackpot in history. Seven separate 1 million tickets were also sold in the states california, florida, new york, oklahoma, and virginia. Check your tickets. Still ahead, well turn to sports and a major upset in the baseball playoffs. Plus, well show you the stare down between two stars last night in philly. A remarkable moment. Well bring you all of that next. G you all of that next theres challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. When better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for Special Olympics athletes with developmental needs. Thousands of Bank Of America employees like scott spend countless hours volunteering to teach people how to reach their financial goals. It felt good. It felt like i could take on the whole world. Inez, let me ask you, youre using head and shoulders, right . Only when i see flakes. Then i switch back to my regular shampoo. You should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. Tiny troy hes right, you know. Is that tiny troy . The ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. Microbes, really . Theyre always on your scalp. Little rascals. But good news, theres no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here i love tiny troy. And his tiny gorgeous hair. Hes the best. Make every wash count little help please. And a 22 pitch. Hit in the air to left. The Arizona Diamondbacks sweep the dodgers and head for the lcs. The Arizona Diamondbacks in a significant upset advance to the National League championship series for the First Time Since 2007, riding a Record Setting Barrage of four home runs hit in the third inning. Four solo shots. Arizona sweeps the 100 win Los Angeles Dodgers out of the playoffs. This is the fourth Straight Year of disappointing playoff finishes. The greenbacks win the nlds 42 and now await the outcome of the bravesphillies series. The philly lead the braves 21 in that. Philadelphia clubbed a franchise record six home runs in the game including a pair hit by bryce harper. Harper had made that Base Running Mistake at the end of game two. Some trash talk. He gave a stare down to the brave shortstop you saw right there, and two home runs last night. He rose to the moment. Game four tonight in philly. Meanwhile in mississippi, the Houston Astros punched a ticket to the alcs for the seventh season in a row. The astros will host the Texas Rangers in the alcs opener on sunday, a Lone Star State showdown, if you will. Also, week six of the nfl regular season kicks off tonight in kansas city. The chiefs host the Denver Broncos on thursday night football. No word if taylor swift will be in attendance. Time now for the weather. Angie, whats the forecast looking like . The forecast a little soggy in the southeast, jonathan. Were waking up to plenty of rain for folks there. Still, atlanta, jacksonville, out to panama city youre going to need the umbrella and a little extra time for todays commute. By the afternoon hours as i mention all that rain will start to shift offshore as the system works its way east, but the severe Thunderstorm Threat will be there, and well likely see potential for hail and gusty winds. And that goes for the parts of the plains as well. That is thanks to this system were watching move basically west to east over the next couple of days. Its going to bring snow to parts of the rockies, heavy rain to parts of the plains along with severe weather. We could see Flooding Threat among parts of the great lakes and midwest involved in heavy rainfall with impressive Rainfall Rates as we get into tomorrow. And then, of course, as we get into saturday like clock work unsettled and soggy conditions once again for parts of the north east. As we get into sunday well likely start to see that work offshore but unfortunately leave windy and chilly conditions. Freeze alerts across the west with temperatures in the 40s this morning. Always looking on the bright side, jo