Im Chris Jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york. As we speak, gaza is being decimated by punishing air strikes. Israels Defense Minister is emphasizing that this is phase one, warning of a potentially monthslong invasion designed to wipe hamas off the earth. The latest sign this could explode into a wider war. Plus, the Herculean Task ahead in the house as nine men square off in the attempt to claim the cube yous honor of becoming house speaker. What are the chances this produces more gridlock and chaos . Well have a live report from capitol hill. And what is potentially a 10 million question. Were Donald Trumps defamatory comments about the writer e. Jean carroll covered by president ial immunity . Hell test that theory today in court. We begin overseas with the war pushing into a more dangerous phase, already spilling beyond its initial borders. Today the Israeli Military announced it sent tanks and infantry on a series of limited raids deep into gaza, escalating beyond the air strikes that marked the first phase of this war. The goal, wiping out hamas and probing for information about the hostages. Today israel updated the number being held to 222. Multiple u. S. Officials tell nbc news that the Biden Administration has been urging israel to hold off on a Ground Invasion to buy time, both for Hostage Negotiations and deliveries into gaza. But john kirby said this morning israel has free reign to decide its next move. We made it clear well be willing to help in any way that we can. Its important to remember that the idf, they make their own decisions. They decide what theyre going to do and when theyre going to do it. Every day brings new fears that things could get worse very quickly. On sunday irans Foreign Minister said war could quickly spiral out of control. A top israeli official responded by warning, if iranianbacked hezbollah, israel would go after the head of the snake. In other words, attack iran directly. I want the bring in nbcs raf sanchez who is in ashdod. Where do things stand militarily right now . Reporter chris, at this hour all across southern israel Israeli Forces are massed at the border with troops, tanks, artillery in position. What they do not have is an order from israels Political Leadership to mount this longawaited Ground Offensive into northern gaza. It remains unclear what exactly the holdup is. Nbc news now learning that u. S. Officials have been urging israel to declay the Ground Offensive to allow more time for negotiations over the fate of these some 222 hostages, encouraging signs on friday when an American Mother and daughter were released over the weekend, hamas saying it was prepared to release two elderly israeli hostages. Not clear if that offer was sincere or not. It never actually materialized. We know that qatar, the small wealthy persian gulf state that acts as a mediator is in the absolute center of these gobetween negotiations, and it may very well be that the qataris via the u. S. Are telling israel, give this more time, it may be possible to get these hostages out. Were also seeing israel mounting smallscale probing incursions into gaza with ground troops. They are looking at hamas defenses. They are searching for any evidence as to where those hostages are being held. Chris, there are a number of clocks ticking here simultaneously for israel. One is military. The Israeli Military is at absolute war footing, 360,000 reservists have been mobilized. Its not clear that israel, which is not a big country, can stay at that level of Military Readiness indefinitely. The generals are potentially concerned that they need orders sooner or later. They cannot stay at this tempo forever. The other clock is diplomatic t. Israelis are conscious that the wave of global sympathy after the hamas terrorist atrocities on October 7th May not last forever. The world is seeing the horrifying images out of gaza where the death toll is now above 5,000. Diplomatic pressure likely to grow for a ceasefire the longer this goes on. Israel militarily, diplomatic cli does not have forever to launch this Ground Offensive. Of course, every passing day brings deeper and deeper humanitarian catastrophe inside of gaza. Chris. Raf sanchez, thank you for that. In gaza, as raf just mentioned, thats where more than 5,000 people have now died. Many, many more are low on food and fuel. Multiple aid convoys have now made it across the border, but is it too little too late . Nbcs Meagan Fitzgerald is following all those movements from cairo. Meagan, what do we know about whats gotten in and how long it will last . Reporter well, chris, what we saw is that this convoy of 20 trucks moving into gaza starting on saturday. So saturday we saw 20, and then yesterday on Sunday We Saw 15, and then today another 20 trucks made their way across the rafah Border Crossing into gaza. A collective of 45 trucks packed with needed lifesaving aid, from food, water, medical supplies. What was not on board those trucks, fuel needed for electricity as hospitals and humanitarian Aid Organizations on the ground are desperate for fuel because theyre running out of electricity. So the concern here, though, is that this isnt enough. There was a summit here in cairo over the weekend that was hosted by egyptian president sisi where World Leaders gathered and they spoke with one voice where they said there needs to be more aid going into gaza and at a faster rate. Unicef said of the shipments that made it into gaza, there was enough water for 20,000 people for one day. We know theres millions in dead pratt need of food, water and resources making their way into gaza. Yesterday on msnbc we heard from Ambassador Satterfield, the special envoy for humanitarian issues. He said essentially this is a race against time because as soon as the israelis launch that Ground Invasion, this will make things even more challenging to be able to provide aid to those in need. He said they are going to be beefing up starting today the aid and resources getting into gaza. Chris, that is certainly something well be keeping an eye on. Meagan fitzgerald, thank you for that. Meantime u. S. Officials say they dont want the situation to escalate clearly. But they insist they are ready if it does. Secretary of defense lloyd austin ordered a strike group to the gulf, the first time patrolling the waters in two years. It comes after a series of attacks and attempted attacks in recent days, not just from gaza but lebanon and yemen as well. Targets including Israeli Forces and u. S. Forces in syria and iraq. In a sign of how dangerous the region has become, just yesterday the u. S. State department warned any americans planning to travel to iraq to draft a will. I want to bring in retired army colonel jack jacobs, recipient of the Congress Medal of honor and an msnbc military analyst. Colonel, whats your assessment of where this stands right now . Well, its fully capable of exploding into something that nobody wants to see, not us, not anybody in the region. Its a very dangerous neighborhood, always has been, but the United States has got interests in the region, is desperate to make sure that yes are not involved and others are not involved. But at the end of the day, the countries in the region, particularly egypt and the other arab countries are part of the solution to the problem in the region and also part of the solution to keeping things quieter than they are now, and maybe finding a solution before there is an extension of the war to other areas. You know, the United States is desperately worried that hezbollah will enter, but you can take some solace in understanding that iran does not necessarily want to use its major lever, its major tool in the region and commit it to some kind of conflict in which it will get destroyed. To that point, nbc news reported on friday that iran definitely doesnt want any kind of direct confrontation with the United States, but it is looking to ratchet up pressure on israel and the u. S. Through its proxies, as we just talked about. What would be the red line, do you imagine, jack, for the u. S. To get actually more militarily involved . If there were a direct attack of any of our assets in the eastern mediterranean, such as the attack that took place against the u. S. S. Cole some years ago in which 17 americans were killed, if irans fingerprints were directly on it, hezbollahs fingerprints, any other adversarys fingerprints were on a direct attack on an american asset, you can expect an immediate american response, certainly in proportion to the attack on american assets, but perhaps greater than that, chris. This is pretty terrifying. Just last night israels president hert zogg confirmed they found al qaeda Bomb Making Instructions on the body of a hamas fighter. Let me play that for you. Its al qaeda material, official al qaeda material. Were dealing with isis, al qaeda and hamas. In this material there were instructions on how to produce chemical weapons. We know israel didnt see the october 7th attack coming. How concerned should we be that there are more deadly surprises waiting if the idf goes into gaza . We should be very much concerned. One thing that is good news and bad news, the adversaries of american tests are fragmented. Though they take instructions from one another and suggestions from one another, theyre not coordinated yet, but the spector of the possibility of Weapons Of Mass Destruction should be very, very concerning, particularly in view of the fact that there have been Chemical Attacks in the region before. Its vitally important that the intelligence operations, that the intelligence capabilities of all allies in the region, all of our allies in the region are alert to the possibility of Weapons Of Mass Destruction, of a coalition of disparate forces who are against american tests coming together and causing even more heartbreak in the region, chris. Colonel jack jacobs, thank you. Stay with us. Were going to talk to you in just a little bit. Were watching the White House Briefing room where National Security councils john kirby is expected to give a briefing in the next couple minutes. Well have that for you live. On capitol hill, three weeks, nine new candidates and zero clear paths to the speakership. Were back in 60 seconds with the republicans desperate struggle to get their house in order. Struggle to get their houn order. And who doesnt love a good throwback . [sfx video game] emergenc crystals. He hits his mark center stage and is crushed by a baby grand piano. Youre replacing me . Customize and save with liberty bibberty. He doesnt even have a mustache. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Today House Republicans are desperately seeking a cure for the paralysis plaguing the Lower Chamber as the speaker battle drags on into a third week. Tonight theyll get a chance to look at and listen to nine candidates Behind Closed Doors, each of them making his case to the conference before they vote on who should be their speaker nominee. Then the even larger question, can any of them secure enough support to avoid another embarrassment for the party once out on the floor. At the heart of the fight, at least part of it, how did the candidates vote on accepting results of the 2020 election . Only two did vote to affirm 2020, one, tom emmer, is both a frontrunner and a target of donald trump which may actually prove to be an oxymoron. Joining us now, nbcs ali vitali on capitol hill, jake sherman cofounder of Punchbowl News and msnbc political contributor, matthew dowd is a senior msnbc political analyst. Welcome one and all. Ali, what do we expect from tonights Candidate Forum . How does this exactly work . Reporter chris, weve been here before. The conference has never had a problem getting Behind Closed Doors and listening to their colleagues talk. Theyve also never had a problem going Behind Closed Doors and getting a secret ball loet for to get a new candidate for the speakership. Well be watching tonight, seeing all nine candidates present themselves to the conference, taking q a, getting feedback from the people who are their constituents, if you want to call them that, trying to learn their colleagues votes. Tomorrow morning about 9 00 a. M. Begins what i expect to be a lengthy process. Unlike the last few times republicans have done this, this time theyve got all nine of those faces youre seeing across your screen right now. This is not just a manoamano moment. What thats going to look like is each Round Winnowing by one. Whenever someone gets to an actual majority of people in that room, say around 110 or so votes, depending on how many people actually show up, then that person will be the speaker designate. Its not clear that title has meant much in the past. Theyre hoping it can mean more on the floor. Jake, to skip ahead, can any of these nine candidates win over enough support from the Republican Caucus to become speaker . What are you hearing right now . I dont think so. If past is precedent. Two factors to think of. People just get sick of this. The exhausts is going to settle in. It has president already . It has for me, but im not sure about anybody else. Another couple things to note, number one, the fact that there are nine candidates in this race indicates that people are not afraid of or content with, i guess is the best way to say it, the frontrunner, tom emmer of minnesota. Elmer has a large operation, sophisticated operation. Hes won a Leadership Race before. We said the same thing about Steve Scalise who was in the race and dropped out and jim jordan who has a Large Committee staff who wasnt able to get 217 on the floor. A couple of these folks in the nineperson field are likely maybe not likely, but could give a speech and drop out. We dont think dan meuser or Pete Sessions who have run a bunch of Leadership Race also have a chance of the being the nominee. Some people just get in to give speeches and to give out. Theres a couple of conservatives, kevin hearn of oklahoma, mike johnson of louisiana, and gary palmer of alabama will eat away at each others bases. You asked the right question, chris. The floor can any of these people get to 217 . To be honest with you, i have not seen any evidence thus far that there will be a candidate that people rally behind by the end of this week. Matthew, if there is such a thing as a frontrunner, consensus is tom elmer. I wonder if you think trumps influence is waning in this fight or does it still hold enough weight if not to elect someone, to keep someone from being elected . Well, its a bit like a Game Of Thrones episode where if you win the gladiator fight, then you get eaten by the dragon which is donald trump in the course of this. This is the result. Donald trump still has great powers, probably the most powerful person in the house caucus today. Once the fraternities took over campus which is what seems to have happened in the house caucus with nobody in charge of settling things down in this, this is the result of this. I dont think any of us none of us im sure on this panel are smokd by the developments of this. When you have gop voters elect cooks, cranks and Conspiracy Theorists and gop leaders empower cooks, cranks and Conspiracy Theorists, which are completely disrupting this process. Im with tom. I dont think that this is resolves itself any time soon. It would be surprising if it does. This is what weve become, a clown show. Its a fight over who is the biggest clown. Jake, just to be clear, i 2020 six of these nine candidates voted to reject the election results. Meuser voted to reject just in pennsylvania, not in arizona. How does that part of the battle play out within the Republican Party . Whats the level of influence this has . Well, its interesting because in the last goround when jim jordan was on the floor, he actually lost votes because ken buck of colorado said he would not vote for somebody who couldnt unequivocally say that donald trump lost the 2020 election and joe biden won the 2020 election. I think thats the way it will break here. Let me be blunt about this. I actually dont think that trumps im endorsement means a hell of a lot here. I think jim jordan couldnt break anywhere close to 217 and he had trumps very strong endorsement. I think trump is an afterthought here in the sense that this is really a High School Class election. These are intensely personal affairs in which people vote for those who have done favors for them or who they like or who they believe will help them win reelection. This is not by and large. There are some people who will look to trump for an endorsement. This is not by and large a trumpinfluenced co