Continuing our coverage of Breaking News of ongoing explosions in gaza. Nbcs raf sanchez is reporting from ashdot israel, what do we know at this hour . Reporter chris, tonight is feeling different from other nights. We are hearing intensified bombing in gaza, 10 miles south of where we are. Im looking over my shoulder because just a moment ago we were seeing israeli iron dome Missile Interceptors in the sky, a sign of rocket fire coming, but israels Chief Military Spokesman is confirming that an intensified Bombing Campaign of gaza is underway three weeks after the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack. He also says israel is expanding its Ground Operations inside of gaza. Thats not a sign that they have launched. Chris, you may be able to see over my shoulder here, this is one of these iron dome interceptors, and if you bear with us one second, youre likely to see it explode. There you go. Now, that is likely a sign that it just intercepted a palestinian rocket a little bit further south of where we are, possibly over the city of ashkelon. I want you to take a listen to what the Israeli Military spokesman had to say a little bit earlier. Translator the Ground Forces are expanding the Ground Operations. Idf is operating at all dimensions in order to achieve the goals of the war. Reporter now, chris, we have seen the Israeli Military operating inside of gaza already. Two nights ago, there was a large formation of tanks inside gaza. Last night Israeli Forces landed by sea in southern gaza. They fought against hamas militants inside of the strip. It does not appear at this moment that this is the full scale Ground Offensive, it does seem this is a significant intensification of the Israeli Attack inside of gaza. Were just hearing more booms now. Chris, another sign that something unusual is going on. The palestinians are reporting that all internet is down inside of gaza. Palestinian humanitarian organizations are saying they cannot reach their staff there. We have been texting people in gaza. We have been seeing those messages not going through. And hamas is confirming that internet is down inside of gaza. They are accusing israeli of deliberately taking the internet down. They say israel wants to commit atrocities under the cover of darkness. We have asked the Israeli Military whether this is a deliberate policy to take the internet down. It could be a sign, potentially, that Israeli Forces are entering from the grounds. They want the internet out so that hamas fighters are unable to communicate with each other. The Israeli Military spokesperson repeated earlier israelis warning to Palestinian Civilians to the north of gaza to head south saying it is not safe in gaza city for them. Israeli says it is targeting palestinianHamas Terrorists in the north, but also across the gaza strip. I want to reiterate about the mobile networks being down. We have reported in the last hour, one of the major Internet Providers had confirmed that. Now both of the palestinian Internet Providers are saying they have been cut off, theres absolutely no connectivity, and our Richard Engel is reporting. Trying to reach our folks in gaza and was unable to make contact with them. I want to ask you about something that the idf spokesman said, that they are expanding the Ground Operations in all dimensions. What might that mean, all dimensions, raf . Well, so, chris, last night, in the Early Morning hours, we saw Israeli Naval commandos, their equivalent of the navy seals coming in from the sea. They landed on a beach in the south of the gaza strip. They say that they attacked Hamas Naval Facilities there. So those were boots on the ground, but they came from the sea. They didnt cross through that ruined border fence, through which Hamas Terrorists burst on october 7th. They landed by the sea. We have seen israeli tanks going into gaza, israeli infantry going into gaza. When theyre expanding their operations theyre going in bigger numbers. The other possibility, chris, is that they may be planning to move in and begin to start taking and Holding Territory inside of gaza ahead of the long awaited fullout Ground Offensive. We expect israels military to establish a beachhead inside gaza, a kind of zone on the other side of the border fence where israeli troops can gather, knowing they have pushed hamas fighters away. It is possible that what were seeing tonight is the beginning of the establishment of the secure zone into which israeli troops, vehicles, armor, will pour when the actual Ground Offensive comes. I should say, chris, we have not yet heard anything officially from Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu or from the Israeli Government because ultimately the Israeli Military answers to the democratically elected government of israel. It is a political decision, not a Military Decision to go ahead with the Ground Offensive. I can tell you, the government has been under a lot of pressure from the families of the 224 or so israeli hostages being held inside gaza to delay the Ground Offensive, to give more time for negotiations to try to get those people out. We have seen four hostages, all women released so far. That is a trickle compared to the 200 plus being held. It has given hope to the families that there may a channel to get their loved ones home or their message, which they have been repeating in protests daily outside of the Israeli Defense ministry is give time for negotiations and they fear that once the Ground Offensive begins, those negotiations will collapse, chris. Let me ask you about the hostages in particular. Im just looking at the notes as theyre coming in by that briefing from the Idf Spokesperson, one of the things he said is they are targeting underground terrorist infrastructure, is that a reason for concern for the families of those hostages . It definitely could be. Our Working Assumption has always been that hamas plans to hold these hostages who they see as incredibly valuable Human Bargaining Chips in that vast network of tunnels underneath gaza city, underneath the rest of the gaza strip. Admiral hagarai earlier on today said that israel has located a Hamas Command Center underneath the el Shifa Hospital in gaza city. We have seen that facility just being overwhelmed, chris, by a tide of wounded and dying people. Many of them civilians, many of them children. Great, great concern. We should say nbc news has not been able to verify those israeli claims about a Hamas Command Center underneath the hospital, but we do know hamas is denying its being used, its being used by armed groups . Reporter they are denying that there are tunnels underneath the hospital, and they say they are concerned that this may be a preamble for an israeli strike against that facility. But in terms of the hostages, there is a lot of fear that targeting of tunnels could be targeting the place that the hostages are being held. Hamas has said that some 50 of the hostages have been killed so far. Theyre blaming that entirely on israeli air strikes. We have no way of verifying that. But each one of these chilling announcements from hamas, a new source of fear for the families waiting for news of their loved ones, chris. The difficulty of us verifying these claims on both sides just got a lot more difficult with the communications being cut off by those two Internet Providers or being cut off by israeli strikes involving the two major palestinian Internet Providers. Raf sanchez, thank you. I want to bring in National Security columnist at the washington post, max boot. Max, can we drill in for just a moment on the timing here . Why would israel do what theyre doing now . Well, there was a report on Israeli Television that there had been talks ongoing to try to feed hostages and free hostages and those talks had broken down. Clearly, israel, sooner or later was going to feel compelled to go in on the ground, and i think the surprise is they had not done it earlier. They have certainly been bombing the gaza strip ever since the horrific attack of october 7th. They have to lay a Ground Offensive in part because of u. S. Pressure because the u. S. Wanted to move defensive assets into the region, but i think israel at the end of the day understands that its not going to be able to defeat hamas from the air. It is going to have to go in on the ground, however difficult and dangerous that may be, and i think what youre seeing now is the first stage of a renewed and expanded israeli offensive. Does that mean that its imminent. When you talk about first phase, how long are we talking . Well, i dont have, you know, i dont have access to israeli planning, but i would assume, to me, this looks like the beginning of a major Ground Offensive, and that doesnt necessarily mean that the bulk of the Ground Forces are about to go in, but it certainly seems to me that they are preparing the ground for a much larger operation by Ground Forces. You just came out with a piece, max, saying that israel needs a political offensive, just as much as a military offensive. Raf was just saying that ultimately, this will be a political decision, not a military one. We have not heard from Prime Minister netanyahu. Would we expect that he would . And in making these decisions, if it is a political decision, how much is he listening to the military for what clearly will be a very difficult and challenging decision . Well, theres certainly been reports and tensions between the Prime Minister and the military war cabinet, so that is of some concern. I think my biggest cause for concern right now is not about the purely military part of the operation. I think israel is going to face a difficult task, but they also have a very competent military. My concern, as i suggested in that column is about the political side of the equation. Is israel going to have a Peace Offensive to go along with its military offensive, and so far, it has not done that. I think its imperative for israel to show that it can offer palestinians a better life post hamas, than they have under hamas. It needs to be promised to lift the embargo on gaza once hamas is defeated. It also needs to bolster the Palestinian Authority, and to stop this land grab and creeping annexation in the west bank because the only conceivable longterm Governing Authority in the gaza strip other than israel itself, the only alternative is the Palestinian Authority in the long run, and the Palestinian Authority needs to be bolstered and strengthened so it can become a more capable administrator of both gaza and the west bank, which its not at the moment, and so, you know, israel needs to reach out to more moderate palestinians as well as even while its waging war on the most extreme faction, those in hamas. But i havent really seen that outreach, and i just see the focus on military force, and im not sure that theyve thought through fully, what happens the day after this offensive finally ends. And i can go back for just a minute to the hostage situation, obviously an absolute number is not clear, but the one we have been working with is 220, only four have been released. Many of the 220, perhaps 10, are american citizens. Is Benjamin Netanyahu willing to risk the possibility of losing hostages to go in . I think clearly the answer is yes because thats what the israeli public demands. They are not going to live indefinitely with the threat of hamas on their border because hamas has succeeding in seizing these hostages. Thats a tragic reality but i suspect that the idf does not have much capability to mount effective Hostage Rescue Operations because day just dont have very good intelligence, i think, about hamas. And clearly, hamas was dangling the prospect of more hostage releases to try to delay the israeli offensive, but i think israeli patience has been wearing out, and they know that there are terrible risks to the hostages but i think they also feel theyre a terrible risk to the hostages if they remain in hamas hands, and ultimately theres a larger risk to israel itself if this Terrorist Organization, which inflicted the greatest oneday loss of life in israeli history, if this Terrorist Organization is allowed to continue governing and threatening israel from gaza. That is something that i think is intolerable to the vast majority of israelis. Next, what about iran and hezbollah, how do you think theyre watching what were seeing unfold at 9 14 in israel . Obviously theyre watching it closely, and i think this would be a nightmare for israel if hezbollah and iran were to open a second front in the north while Israeli Forces are heavily engaged in the gaza strip. I think the idf is certainly aware of that contingency but it would be a very difficult war for israel because hezbollah has 150,000 rockets poised on israels Northern Border, but i havent seen any indication so far that hezbollah is, in fact, anxious to join in a fullblown war against israel. There have been attacks by hezbollah across the Northern Border. Theres been some israeli retaliation. So far, its been fairly low key, but that could obviously escalate Out Of Control very quickly, because, you know, both sides may not be intending to launch a major war, but things could get Out Of Control very rapidly with hezbollah threatening israel from the north, and so i think that i think both sides have an incentive to keep things quiet on the Northern Border because israel doesnt want with a twofront war. Hezbollah remembers the massive damage israel inflicted in 2006 in the last war but we have seen plenty of examples in history of wars breaking out even when they werent intended and this is a tinderbox situation. Max boot from the washington post, your deep expertise in the region is invaluable at a time like this where there is an escalation of Israeli Attacks on hamas. Thank you so much, we appreciate you being with us. I want to bring in provash budden, deputy Senior Vice President for Emergency Programs at amer cares. Thank you for joining us. Gazas two top Internet Providers say service has been cut off. The red crescent has lost contact with their teams. Has americares lost contact as well, and overall, what does this mean for civilians in gaza . Thank you, chris. Its absolutely dire the situation in gaza, with not only the internet out and communication out, but all the basic necessities that are needed for millions of people that have been affected by this crisis. At this point, we are coordinating with our partners. A lot of them have operations in and around gaza and the west bank and egypt itself. But were very concerned about partner staff on the ground as they over the past three weeks have been seeking safety and shelter for themselves and their families, and at the same time, trying to provide important humanitarian assistance to people affected. Your Organization Currently has Aid Prepositioned in egypt near the gaza border, as i understand it. Do you have any idea when it will be let in, and when you watch whats unfolding right now, does it make you concerned about whether it will get in at all . We have our aid positioned and we are increasing the supply chain to the border in rafah. The border in rafah is limited right now, as you know, nearly 80 trucks have been able to get in over the past week, but thats just a drop in the bucket compared to the 500 trucks that are normally sent into gaza prior to this crisis. We know theres just not enough aid at this point that is getting in. Critical aid such as medicines, medical suppli