you're not going to be the only one watching. a lot of folks are going to watch his hopeful return to the field. thank you for that, jesse care. we have a lot more coming up. you are watching msnbc. our second hour starts right now. hi, hi, everyone. and yasmin vossoughian. welcome. if you are sticking with us, we are very thankful for that. you have the split screen moment in the israel-hamas war. on the one side, more strikes by israeli defense forces in gaza, leaving victims and destruction behind. on the other side, the u.s. ramps up diplomatic efforts across the region. will this intense fighting and talking lead to results? we have multiple reports across the middle east for you coming up. from abortion rights to accusations of voter influence, what you have not heard yet about this weeks off year election in some states. we have a live report on that. do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth? that's the first question former president donald trump will need to answer in court. what we are learning ahead of his testimony in the civil fraud trial. plus, this. >> we are not ready to give our freedom to this [bleep] terrorist putin. that's it. that's why we are fighting. >> president volodymyr zelenskyy is sharing what he is saying about help for the united states and what is unfolding in the middle east as well. we begin with a detail out of the middle east at this hour. there has been a, quote, complete interruption of all communications and internet services in the gaza strip. that is according to the palestine telecom company. earlier today, u.s. secretary of state tony blinken made a surprise visit to the west bank. he traveled to meet with palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas amid ongoing discussions about the future of gaza. the visit by america's top diplomat came amidst claims by hamas that as many as 60 hostages have been killed as a result of the israeli bombardment of gaza. nbc news has not been able to independently verify that report. i want to go to the ground in israel. joining us now is nbc news correspondent jay gray from tel aviv. good to talk to you once again. conditions in gaza are seemingly getting worse every hour of every day. give us the latest of what is taking place over the last 24 or so especially after the visit of the secretary of state. >> no question that we have seen an uptick in what is going on in gaza. some on the ground there relay that this is perhaps the most intense fighting they have ever seen. we know that troops have expanded their footprint inside of gaza. they are surround in gaza city with the intent, we are told by the idf, to move into that area and eliminates some of the hamas infrastructure they believe is inside. we know that there was a strike which also hit the all maghazi refugee camp. we are having the air sirens here. we are going to unfortunately have to scoot out and get to the shelter. i apologize for that. >> yeah, no, yeah, absolutely. >> jay gray, please get to safety along with the crew as well. that has happened in numerous times from our reporters who are risking their lives on the ground they are both in israel and our nbc news team on the ground in gaza as well amidst this ongoing war between hamas. it's best to keep them safe at all times. we are thankful to jay and his team. they can hopefully get to a safe place rather quickly. during secretary of state tony blinken's visits to the occupied west bank and other parts of the middle east this weekend, he reaffirmed the u.s.'s commitment to humanitarian assistance in gaza. palestinians should not forcibly be displaced. aaron gilchrist is with the president in rehoboth beach, delaware to talk more about this. give me some takeaways from blinken's travels and what the united states is doing to secure a humanitarian pause to get more hostages released along with more americans across that rafah border. >> i think what we are seeing is the secretary trying to do some damage control, partially with the strip is made to the middle east this weekend. he's making that first stop in israel and moving on to jordan and then back to the west bank and then to baghdad as we saw this afternoon before he took off for turkey. in those conversations, he has talked about the effort to control some of what we are seeing come out of gaza. he acknowledged that there was so much suffering that has happened there and so much death that has happened. he talked about having conversations with the israelis that they're not only -- the need to execute this war but he talked to them about how they are doing it. he said that was a key part of keeping a handle on what the israelis are doing. he said he talked a lot with them about what they can do to minimize and further reduce the amount of civilian harm which is happening as israel is operating in gaza. the conversations that he had with arab leaders while he was in jordan and again in the west bank, so much of that conversation focused on the humanitarian efforts, the humanitarian aid which has been getting into gaza and be unable to widen the entrance for that age, meaning to get more of the aid into gaza to help people who are there. he talked to so many of these different partners in the region about trying to make sure that the conflict doesn't spread outside of gaza, that there are not other actors who become engaged with what is happening there. i think we heard the secretary speak a little bit about talking to the partners -- we talked about that with the palestinian leader in the west bank today. i want to hear what he said about what he -- >> has the p.a.'s plan a very important role right now in the west bank and trying to keep stability there. as you project forward to the future, what we all agree is that in defining that future, in shaping the future for gaza, for the west bank and ultimately for the palestinian state, palestinian voices have to be at the center of that. the palestinian authority is representative of those voices. >> in the immediate future, yasmin, the secretary says that a humanitarian pause, he feels, would be an appropriate thing to do to get hostages out, it condition that the israelis -- also to get more aid in. he has people on the ground right now having those conversations about how to do a humanitarian pause, where and how to do it, and exactly what conditions would have to be set up to make that something which could be useful and successful. yasmin? >> aaron gilchrist, thank you. we appreciate it. former president donald trump is going to take the stand tomorrow, testify in his own defense in the a.g. civil fraud trial. what can we expect? how is trump using it to help his presidential campaign? we are back in 60 seconds. paig we are back in 60 seconds. we are back in 60 seconds. n and cavities is strong enamel- nothing beats it. new pronamel active shield actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is 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set to take the stand on wednesday. we want to bring in justice reporter ryan reilly. he's the author of sedition hunters, how january 6th broke the justice system. ryan, congratulations, first of all, on the release of your book, by the way. secondly,, let's get into this testimony. we saw eric junior testifying this past week. eric got a little bit contentious on the st donald trump, the former president, is going to be testifying monday, ivanka on wednesday. what are the expectations for the testimony from the former president? >> yeah, i think it's whether or not he gets heated as well, whether the apple farce far from the tree. donald trump has gotten a little bit angry. lawyers can get under his skin a little bit. he's not someone who is used to having his authority questioned. we have been seeing him lash out like that our reporters when he was at the white house. it's curious to see how much they end up getting under his skin a little bit. we can probably expect a similar defense than we saw it with his sons as well as one ivanka testified on wednesday, when she comes up. we will see them on the same page about blaming their accountants and whatnot here. this really gets at the heart of his broader reputation and something that really gets at him because it's all about his business, this idea that he was inflating his assets and acting like a bigger success than he actually was, that tends to irritate him. like our reporting has said from nbc, i think he will be making a big spectacle out of this and trying to take a test run before we come up to these various criminal trials. it's a lot easier to testify in a civil trial then in a criminal trial. i wouldn't expect that we would see that in the jacks mitt case when that gets around to a trial in march. >> ryan riley, thank you. we appreciate it. gop contenders this weekend are coming off of the annual gop florida freedom summit. the florida state turned out to be a grinding battleground for the state's governor ron desantis and former president donald trump as well. nbc's marissa parra is standing us standing by for us in key biscayne. talk to us about what we have been hearing over the last 24 hours or so. >> hey, yeah. when it comes to the actual stage that we saw this weekend, what we saw in terms of jabs was one-sided. trump and his usual style was throwing jabs at desantis. we did not see that from desantis himself. that's not really his style. we saw asa hutchinson, chris christie throwing jabs at donald trump. those were met with boos. that's not a surprise. that's what we have consistently seen among candidates. this is the hometown, florida state, the hometown for desantis and trump. there is a lot of pressure for them as they are trying to win support here in their home turf. there is that home turf battle going on. what you might have noticed if you were watching was that that was displayed on a screen behind both candidates this weekend. one thing that is interesting is that during a moment when the former president was naming states which did covid right in his estimation, he did not acknowledge florida. you're going to listen to that and we will explain it on the other. and take a listen for yourself. >> we had covid and we had to take care of it. we had a lot of things happen. we had a lot of amazing successes. we did a great job at covid. we never got the credit for the job we did. we let republican governors keep their states open, many of them did. henry mcmaster, south carolina did a great job. south dakota did a great job. tennessee did a great job, a lot of them. they kept them open. >> [screaming] >> what might have been hard for you to hear was the crowd. there were people in the crowd chanting florida. he just smiled and moved on, not wanting to give a point to his opponent here. as we have spoken about, desantis, it's not really his style to attack trump on the stage, especially in front of a crowd. that is something the optics are just not in his favor if he's going to be doing that. yasmin, certainly the battle remains to be seen. we have a debate happening on wednesday and then. there is counter program in with the trump team because, as we know, he has not been at the previous two debates. he won't be at the debate this week. he is having a rally here in miami miles away in a city called hialeah outside of miami. >> marissa par for us, thank you. i want to go back to jay gray in tel aviv who was able to come back to his camera after you had to leave for air raid sirens. i'm thankful that you guys are safe. i'm glad you were able to get back. we have talked specifically about another refugee camp that has been bombed as well. talk us through more of what you have been hearing on the ground. you have been hearing on the ground >> we move to a shelter and have gotten the all clear. let's talk about on the ground in gaza, the footprint expanding, more troops moving in, a quick moving into the area. they've surrounded gaza city with the -- the idf says to go inside and debilitate some of the main operational structure is between gaza city. they believe that is where a lot of the structures are located. that is why they are preparing to move in. we know that the airstrikes have continued and some are saying that the last 24 hours have been the most intense they have seen there in gaza. one of the refugee camps was hit. the idf said, and i'm quoting it here, they are reviewing circumstances surrounding that explosion. the health ministry in gaza run by hamas says that dozens are dead and many more are wounded as a result of that blast. we have heard from the idf on several occasions that they are targeting hamas where they are and in many cases they say that has been in areas highly populated by civilians. they say that they are taking every precaution they possibly can to protect those civilians, what hamas has said repeatedly is that they are attacking civilian areas within gaza indiscriminately. unfortunately, as you have pointed out many times, yasmin, we cannot independently verify that. we can't get into gaza to look into some of these things. all right -- thank you, appreciate it. straight ahead everybody, ukrainian presidents, speaking exclusively to nbc news. what he has said about one of his own generals, saying the war with russia has reached a stalemate. people trapped in gaza, finally crossing the rafah border up to egypt. we're gonna have a new report from there, after a break. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. pneumococcal pneumonia? i help others. but i need to help protect myself. honestly? i couldn't afford to get sick. i want to be there for this one. i can't if i'm sick. pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease. you may be at risk if you're 19 to 64 with certain chronic conditions. or if you're 65 or older. don't pause a moment longer. ask your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia 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[ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into all right, welcome back. when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. a lack of food and water in gaza, contributing to what is being called a, quote, horrific nightmare, according to the united nations world food programme. nbc's megan fitzgerald is in cairo, with the struggles experience by so many trying to escape the war. through the rafah crossing. >> for three and a half days, there was hope that the thousands of foreign nationals, including hundreds of americans, would be able to escape the horrors unfolding inside gaza, making their way across the rafah border crossing into egypt. but saturday afternoon, those gates closed. the palestinian border officials say they will not open the rafah border crossing until injured palestinians are able to make their way into egypt. meanwhile, we continue to hear the calls from arab leaders calling for a cease-fire. you know, secretary blinken -- calling for humanitarian pauses. but both agreeing that more aid needs to get to the enclave, at a faster rate, as millions of people trapped inside continue to suffer. meanwhile, we've also seen the trucks that were carrying the food, the water, medical supplies, the life saving supplies have also stopped crossing. there were no trucks that entered the enclave today, creating an even more dire situation. back to you. >> all right, thank you to megan fitzgerald for that. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky, speaking exclusively to meet the press today, rejecting claims that the war with russia had reached a stalemate. he reiterated calls for more air defense systems, and weapons from the united states. >> our military, -- they are coming up with different plans, with different operations, in order to move forward. and to strike russia unexpectedly. but they're handed, it is impossible to do without weapons, without -- proper weapons. >> meanwhile, as the war approaches the two year mark, zelenskyy was asked how he continues fighting, after all of this time. >> i have a lot of power when, but even feeling strong, and have a lot of energy. it doesn't mean, if we want to fight all our life. because, the price is high, like i said. because, the war takes the best of us. but, we are not ready to give up our freedom to this [bleep] terrorist putin. >> after the break, house speaker mike johnson, making his first mark on congress. we're going to talk to democratic congresswoman on his leadership, and republicans ability to work across the aisle. up first though, aid for israel is now in the senate's hands. majority leader chuck schumer says the gop bill is d o a, the latest on capitol hill. st on capitol hill ier card is made for people like sam, who make- everyday products, designed smarter. like a smart coffee grinder, that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that- i need a breakthrough card. like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more. plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases. and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas- a brilliant reality! the ink business premier card from chase for business. make more of what's yours. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. all right, welcome back. ♪ i'm gonna hold you forever... ♪ ♪ i'll be there... ♪ ♪ you don't... ♪ ♪ you don't have to worry... ♪ on capitol hill, we are rapidly approaching a deadline to fund the government, just under two weeks to. go and it is coming as the new house speaker tries to go it alone, on aid for israel, pack passing a package that also gets irs agents -- with republican votes. all, as the president and senate leaders say it is doa. i want to bring in nbc news correspondent julia tsirkin from capital to talk more about this. julie, bring us up to date first on what we're hearing on this package ahead of a possible government shutdown, in just a few weeks time. >> well yasmin to be honest with you,