It is good to be back with you on this second hour of Chris Jansing reports. At this hour, the fierce fighting on the ground in lebanon. Israel, rushing in additional troops as hezbollah forces vow theyre standing fast, and this is just the start of a long battle. Were live near the border. Plus, Nbc News goes One On one with a senior hamas official. What he told our Keir Simmons about Irans Missile Attack on israel. Into the storm. And from the stage to the stump, tim Walz And J. D. Vance return to the Campaign Trail this hour after a debate that was heavy on policy and maybe surprisingly light on personal attacks. Our Nbc News reporters are following all of the latest developments. We begin with nbcs Richard Engel on the ground in lebanon. We know eight israeli soldiers in clashes with hezbollah forces. What more can you tell us . So hezbollah has claimed that it has carried out numerous attacks against israeli troops, and this is just the beginning of a Ground Campaign, a Ground Campaign that is escalating. The first 24 hours to 48 hours after israel announced that a limited number of troops crossed into lebanon, a few hundred at first in Walking Distance of the border. In the first 48 hours, lets say, hezbollah was hanging back. There were not any direct confrontations. It seems that hezbollah was assessing the israeli strength, trying to do some reconnaissance. Now that has changed. That change today, hezbollah says that it is directly encountering, confronting israeli troops in close quarter combat. It does seem that this has entered a new phase of the war. Hezbollah says it is using weapons as booby traps, it has been firing at israeli helicopters, and then Israel Today confirmed the death of so far eight israeli soldiers and prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid his respects and offered his condolences to the families. Richard engel, Thank You. Lets go to Nbcs Keir simmons live in doha where he had a rare conversation with a top hamas official. What did he tell you . Reporter what he wouldnt tell me is whether hamas officials in qatar will meet with an iranian delegation that is here now. No idea, he said. That either means that they are going to meet with the delegation or he doesnt want to say. Either way, pretty illuminating. He did say that yahya sinwar, the leader of hamas is still alive, despite reports that he had been killed. Hes still communicating on the ground there, and still communicating with the leadership of hamas outside of gaza. But i wanted to ask him specifically about since October 7th where hamas finds itself now, with all of the bloodshed and the tunnels destroyed in so many of their battalions broken. And i was speaking to him just hours after that attack by iran on israel. Iran finally Last Night launched less than 200 missiles. Are you disappointed by the Support Or Reaction that youve seen from iran . It is war crimes, the top leadership of hamas, In Teheran and beirut, its their decision, how to do it, operational decision, logistical decision to do it. Would you expect more support from iran . Look, we are expecting support not only from the iranians, we are expecting support from anyone in the region and outside the region because we are under occupation and we are looking for our freedom. Reporter in understanding what hamas thinks is trying to understand more broadly what iran thinks, whether it is holding back, at what point it will decide to unleash more munitions, more missiles, more rockets. As i mentioned, the president of iran is here in qatar. Heres what he said just in the past few hours about that attack overnight. He said, the europeans in the u. S. Said if we do not act, there will be peace In Gaza in one week. We waited for them to have peace, but they increased their killings. So the president of iran there appearing to suggest that iran was holding off, was slated to hold off because it was told there would be a resolution to gaza. Whether you believe that, there will be many who do not. Keir simmons, Thank You. Lets go south now where President Biden and vp harris are visiting Hurricane Helene survivors today. Nbcs Antonia Hylton is in Western North Carolina where the president will be getting an aerial store. What is the reality on the ground. What is the president going to see and hear there . Chris, well, the president is going to see devastation, homes completely unrecognizable, a vibrant, artistic community that is, you know, its just never going to be the same until the years and months its going to take to rebuild for all of them. Whats still here, though, is the spirit in nashville. This community is intensely close, and the people who you see here volunteering at this manna food bank, the organization running this, they lost their entire operation. Their building destroyed, all the food that they had gone. And still, they have managed to do all of this, and just so you know, the line that you see here around me, that is the level of need here. The number of people who need simple things like water, hygienic supplies, and food for the kids, take a listen to the conversation we have had today. We cant call our people. And we got a writer, and the station is finally get engaged. Get the gas cans. We didnt have any way to get the generator to get me to breathe. Reporter and what were hearing from residents, too, chris, frankly is they understand the federal government is on the ground and trying to help. They say theyre not actually getting a lot of messages. They dont have cell service. Its hard to make phone calls. Its the local organizations that they say if you are watching this right now, and youre trying to figure out a way to support them, its go directly to food banks. Or there are all kinds of Family Foundations of Western North Carolina, for example, that could directly get the money to the people they know, the towns they are familiar with, and thats what people are asking for. They say its a little bit of a gap, a delay as they wait for that sort of federal presence to be felt on the ground, chris. A quick turn around for the Vice President ial candidates, both back on the Trail Today after their big debate Last Night. Nbcs Dasha Burns is following this for us. What are we seeing today . Yeah, a quick turn around, vance is in michigan, walz is in pennsylvania, both, of course, critical battleground states, both camps saying is momentum from the debate Last Night, which, chris, ive got to say was surprisingly nice, congeniality, policies, some empathy. I believe the phrases i agree and i dont disagree were used a dozen times to find common ground. They did have sharp exchanges and criticism for one anothers Running Mates, take a listen. The world saw it on the debate stage, a nearly 80yearold Donald Trump talking about Crowd Sizes is not what we mean in this moment. If Kamala Harris has such great plans to address middle class problems, she ought to do them now, not when asking for a promotion. How is it fair that youre paying your taxes every year, and Donald Trump Hasnt paid any federal tax in the last 15 years, in his last year as president. The real Family Separation Policy until the country is Kamala Harriss wide open southern border. A lot of consensus i have been hearing from operatives, vance came off more polished, better command of the stage. Walz came off as the Mid Western character hes been known for. There is some consternation among some democrats. Walz was perhaps too nice, didnt prosecute the case and missed some opportunities to press vance a little bit more on issues like Abortion Rights, chris. Dasha burns, Thank You. In 90 seconds, running for number two, but fathers first and foremost, the hot Luton Issue that turned into a surprisingly emotional moment between the candidates. You founded your Kayak Company because you love the ocean. Not spreadsheets. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Our matching platform lets you spend less time searching and more time connecting with candidates. Visit indeed. Com hire when my doctor gave me breztri for my copd i noticed things changed. Breztri gave me better breathing starting within 5 minutes. It also reduced flareups. Breztri wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. It is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Dont take breztri more than prescribed. Breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, Mouth Or Tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or Eye Pain occur. Ask your doctor about breztri. [uplifting music] Arearn Saint Jude they gave it 110 every time. And for kenadie to get treatment here without having to pay anything was amazing. In a Campaign Season dominated by divisive rhetoric, they were polite. The word agree came up two dozen times, and they even shared a moment on an issue where theyre miles apart on policy, Gun Violence. I think all the parents watching tonight, this is your biggest nightmare. Ive got a 17yearold, and he witnessed a shooting at a Community Center playing volley ball. Those things dont leave you. Tim, first of all, i didnt know that your 17yearold witnessed a shooting. Im sorry about that. Christ have mercy, it is awful. Joining us is eugene daniels, politico White House correspondent, playbook coauthor, and msnbc political contributor. Jeremy peter, michael hardaway, a former spokesperson for hakeem jeffries. Good to have you on set. Michael, agree was the big word, The Buzz Word last nigh. Did being civil Help Either Candidate . This is the way it should be, right . Really . We should be in a situation where we can disagree respectfully. However, i have bad news. I knew there was a however. J. D. Vance did an excellent job of being sort of like the Mike Pence nice guy, good guy thing, but he lied most of the night. The idea that Donald Trump Saved Obamacare is egregious. Thats not true. He had a litany of those things. From a substance perspective, we cant lose sight of what was said and whether those are accurate. I want to give j. D. Vance credit for being adults, which is what we need in this era. A panel of swing voters, surveyed by the Washington Post gives the win to vance, and so do The New York Times writers, one who suggests trump will be enraged by vances good reviews. Did you hear in vances answers, i dont know, a 40yearold whos trying to preserve a Post Election political career . What did you make of Last Night . Looking ahead. Yeah, i mean, when you think about the way that he was kind of packaging everything, he it was as if you put all of the things that Donald Trump says and believes in the heart of trumpism and put it through kind of a machine that put it out in words, that made it not feel like a lot of democrats that i talked to, even they would say not as scary for voters. That was really fascinating. So it was definitely someone putting his stamp on the next it ration, whether it be in 2028 or past that. Either way, 2028 for republicans, kind of figuring out what their party is going to look like no matter what happens in november. And repackaging it as a calmer version of Donald Trump, and still being kind of feisty, i think the headline about Donald Trump not liking that vance is getting all of this praise is true, which also means people should not think not put out of the equation that we might get another debate because i dont know, i still am not convinced and lot of reporters arent that Donald Trump is going to allow j. D. Vance to have kind of the final say on a big stage for his ticket. Thats interesting. And so watching that is something that folks should keep their eye on, especially given how well j. D. Vance did Last Night. Okay. So thats a provocative point out there, jeremy. Trump made it clear on truth social yesterday, hes not debating Kamala Harris again. He pulled out of his 60 minutes interview, so whats going on, and do you think he could change his mind . I think he could. You never know with trump until the last minute. In 2015, during the republican primaries, it was last moment that he pulled out of the debate with a republican candidate. Things can change on a dime with him. Im not ruling that out at all. What i do think not participating in a debate does is it really complicates a rather effective argument he has had against Kamala Harris, why isnt she doing more interviews so if his brand, his image is that he wants people to see is strength and confidence, it doesnt seem very strong or confident to be pulling out of interviews and hiding from Debate Moderators when your opponent has agreed to one already. Trump likes to say i answer questions all the time. Vaughn was here earlier and pointed out he has done two sitdowns in the last several years. Its a very different thing. Michael, right after the debate, the Harris Campaign put out a digital ad attacking vance, but also Donald Trumps age. Not just weird or dangerous, he could be a Heart Beat away from the oval office. Can he govern from prison . People should be concerned. The former president has been off his game. Ominous. Hes so disoriented. Want to take bets here . I think democrats leaning more into the Age Argument . They have to. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Donald trump spent months attacking President Biden for his age. Theyre very similar in age, and also, lets just look at Donald Trump over the past few months. His mental acuity is off. He Cant Finish ideas or thoughts or sentences. Things he says dont make sense. Windmills causing cancer is a crazy thought. We should figure out whether hes okay, and another debate would be perfect for that. So, eugene, trump is getting a lot of attention for some, lets call them hard to follow comments he made while speaking in milwaukee. Heres a sample. Global Warming Wasnt working because the planet has actually gotten a little Bit Cooler recently, but climate change covers everything. It can rain. It can be dry. It can be hot. It can be cold. Climate change, everything is look, i believe i really am an environmentalist. You got to see the bathrooms they project for people. I Cant Talk to you about it because theyre so gross, but basically water free bathrooms. No water. This is not good. They were like rambos, Sylvester Stallone is my friend. A million rambos, great fighters. Give them a knife. Thats all they need. There have been some questions, eugene, about his cognitive fitness, my question is this actually a notable shift or is this just trumps streak of consciousness . Yeah, hes always had tangents right . Thats something Donald Trump has always done. He says Thats Part of his brilliance, he can keep following different tangents. He said say that, there are a lot of things in there at the same time. I think what youre ending up seeing when the tangents in 2016 and 2020, there was kind of a coherent strategy to it, right . He was talking about in 2016 in his words, lying hillary or why you shouldnt trust hillary. The same thing in 2020, biden, why you shouldnt Trust Biden and biden is bad for the economy, et cetera, now its all over the place, right . Theres been a lot made about Hannibal Lecter and him talking about windmills all the time. Cognitive side, im not a doctor, what youre seeing is this happens when someone doesnt really have a policy north star. Right . Like he doesnt really care that much, it seems about policy across the board, and so the things that he really cares about, immigration and the economy, things he knows voters are focused on, even those now, those tangents dont seem to make the lot of sense. It doesnt matter for people that love him. They dont see a change. Theres clearly a change in the way hes speaking. Its those independents, those people in the suburban areas who are looking at this, and they are having concerns, especially, as michael said, we spent months, years, talking about whether or not President Biden had diminished because of his age. Right . And so when you look at the comparison between the two. You look at the age difference, it does make pundits say, and yes, wait a second, theres clearly something happening here with guys in their late 70s and 80s, and when you compare him to Vice President harris, who is so much younger and doesnt have these issues. Im going to interrupt if i can because Tim Walz is taking questions. Take a listen. Were talking about everything except school shootings. I sat as a member of congress wit