on the ground. israel expands its ground operations in gaza. >> we're going to fight in the air, ground, and sea. >> what does the escalation mean for the region's future? and for the hostages trapped there by hamas? national security adviser jake sullivan joins me live, next. and then, intelligence which he republican senator, james langford. plus, blackout, as israel's barrage picked up, gaza went dark with communication services cut. >> palestinian civilians must be protected. >> now with communications partly extraordinary, what is the latest inside gaza? and, new beginnings? finally, the u.s. house elects a speaker. one more sign of republicans' embrace of donald trump. another? >> i have decided to suspend my campaign for president. >> gop candidate chris christie on what it all means, coming up. >> hello. i'm jake tapper in tel aviv, where israeli bombardments of gaza lit up the sky overnight. cnn teams are hearing constant explosions and some machine gun fire with drones, helicopters, and israeli fighter jets circling the skies. israel says the next phase of its war against the terrorist group hamas has begun with israeli leaders confirming their troops are inside gaza and prepared for a, quote, long and difficult fight. we're just now getting our first looks at the damage inside gaza, as lines of communication to the area are slowly coming back online after they were cut days ago, prompting increasingly dire warnings from aid workers about the conditions for civilians there. there are 2.3 million palestinians in gaza. in israel, that concern is shared by the families of hamas hostages still trapped in gaza. they fear the barrage of israeli attacks make it less likely their loved ones will ever return home. and this morning, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is apologizing after tweeting blame at his military and security service leaders, accusing them of being unprepared for the october 7th hamas attack. that tweet received widespread criticism and prompted a rare deletion of the tweet and apology from netanyahu. joining us now from cairo, cnn's melissa bell. and we're learning that a small number of aid trucks have entered gaza this morning. tell us more. >> reporter: that's right. it is ten extra aid trucks. that's according to the palestinian red crescent. it brings the total number of trucks, jake, that have managed to get through the rafa crossing and into gaza to 94 since this escalation began three weeks ago, since this conflict began three weeks ago. and to give you an idea and put that in some perspective, the more than 2 million habitants of gaza are dependent on what the u.n. estimates would be 100 truckloads per day of aid getting in. the fact that there have been 94 so far gives you an idea of how depleted the resources are inside the gaza strip. and i think one important measure of that is what we've seen over the course of the last night, which is desperate civilians raiding the u.n. warehouses to try to get their hands on wheat, on flour, on hygiene supplies, on everything that they need to try and survive. so those latest ten trucks, clearly, a bit of relief. nowhere near what is needed for the civilians trapped inside. it's very difficult for us to get to the rafa crossing, but we're hearing that they are seeing now 40 other trucks that are on the other side of the rafa crossing from egyptian authorities and waiting to get through. the difficulty is the checks that are being imposed on those con voice by israeli authorities. now, we've been hearing also from the israeli military over the course of the weekend, saying -- the course of the last few hours, jake, i'm sorry, saying, look, we'll hope to get more aid trucks in, but it's extremely slow and we're wanting to check every aid truck that's going in because we're concerned about what's going into the gaza strip. and i think that gives you an idea of why this process is so painstickingly slow, jake. >> all right, melissa, thank you so much. joining us now discuss, president biden's national security adviser, jake sullivan. thanks so much for coming. we appreciate it. the idf says that they are, quote, expanding ground operations in the gaza strip. netanyahu is calling this the second phase of the war. is this the ground invasion we've been expecting? and i know that the biden white house believes that israel has the right to do so this, but my question is, do you think what israel is doing in gaza is wise? do you think what they're doing is the smart thing to do? >> first as to what is exactly here, i'll let the israeli defense forces characterize their operations and how it flits into their larger plan. i would say they're the ones making the decisions, conducting the operations, and they're best positioned to speak to it. over the course of the past twleex jake, we have had numerous conversations from the prime minister and prime minister on down and certainly among the prime minister and their counterparts about israeli military objectives and about the steps that they have ten and intend to take to achieve those objectives and we've asked them hard questions. the same hard questions that we would ask ourselves, if we were seeking to conduct an operation to take out a terrorist threat. and you know, we've pressed them on questions like objectives and matching means to objectives, about both tactical and strategic issues associated with this operation. but we've done all of that behind closed doors, so i'm not going to characterize here today the specific nature of those conversations. what i will say is this. hamas is making life extremely difficult for israel by taking civilians as human shields and by putting their rocket infrastructure and terrorist infrastructure among civilians. that creates an added burden for israel, but it does not lessen israel's responsibility, under international humanitarian law to distinguish between terrorists and civilians and to protect the lives of innocent people. and that is the overwhelming majority of the people in gaza. those are innocent people whose lives should be protected. >> right. and that's really what i'm asking, because so far, israel says that they've killed about 32 hamas commanders. and we also know that thousands of palestinians have died. i don't know what the exact number is, but we know it's thousands. and, look, you're in a much better position to analyze the specific targets israel is striking than i am, or the airplane critics on social media, based on what you're looking at, based on your analysis, is israel making limited, targeted, specific, discreet attacks or are they carpet bombing? is it indiscriminate? what's your take? what's your analysis? >> as you said, jake, we do believe that thousands of splinl civ ma palestinian civilians have been killed in this bombardment. every single one of those deaths is a tragedy. every human life is sacred. and we stand firmly for the proposition that all measures should be taken that are reasonable and responsible to protect the lives of civilians. as i said before, hamas is going out of its way to make this more difficult. they are hiding among those civilians and turning those civilians into human shields, but that does not lessen israel's responsibility in this regard. and we have had conversations privately, as well as our public pronouncements, private conversations with israel about the need to protect innocent civilians and to be targeted in their military operations, so that it's focused on the terrorists and not on innocent people whose lives deserve to be protected. >> look, i'm not pretending i have the answers. i get it, israel -- look, we can go back however many years people want, whether they want to start in the hashemite kingdom, the ottoman empire, 1968, 1973, 2000, 2008, wherever they want to start the conversation, we can start. but if we want to start on october 7th, we can start on october 7th, and the bottom line is, as far as idf is concerned, the government of the country next door invaded, killed 1,400 of their citizens and went back and they have a right to take out that government. that's how the idf sees it. and i get that the biden administration is onboard. my question is, is the idf going about this the right way? do you think they are going about this the right way? >> what we believe is that every hour, every day of this military operation, the idf, the israeli government should be taking every possible means available to them to distinguish between hamas -- >> and are they? >> hamas, terrorists who are legitimate military targets and civilians who are not. and i'm not going to react to every strike, every move that they make. we continue to do that at the highest levels. the president will speak again with the prime minister in a few hours time today. and he will continue to reiterate the united states' position on this issue. it is clear and straightforward and we believe that it is rooted in the fundamental laws of war. >> so there's a lot of fear among the families that have hostages in gaza right now that what the idf is doing is guaranteeing they'll never see those hostages again, never see their loved ones again. i want you to take a listen to what lael alexander had to said about her son that was kidnapped by hamas, 19-year-old idan, an american who grew up in new jersey, who went to volunteer for the idf. >> they told us that he's alive and he's over there in gaza and we're hoping for him to come back home. i told him, we love you, be safe, be brave, and i'm still here. like, let's be in touch and that's it. we finished the phone call and then i text him again and again and again and nothing came through since then. >> i know that president biden is trying to help. i know the nsc is trying to help. what's the latest on negotiations for the hostages? >> well, negotiations are ongoing. and i have to be careful about what i can share publicly on this subject, because of the sensitive and delicate nature of those negotiations. but we are in almost hourly contact with regional partners and with israel to try to get to a point where there is a deal to have the hostages released. it is difficult. it is challenging. the hamas terrorists have not been forthcoming about allowing these hostages to go. but we believe that there can still be a pathway to get their release and we are going to work tirelessly to make that happen. and even though we have started to israel move in on the ground, that does not change our basic view, this has to remain a paramount priority and those negotiations are ongoing. and listening to that mother, i sat with president biden as he spoke to the families of the american hostages and it is difficult to hear the hurt and pain in their voice. it's impossible to understand what they're going through, not knowing the fate of their loved ones. and it's something that weighs on us emotionally, but we are trying to stay as focused and as clear-eyed as possible in achieving the objective of bringing people home. >> meanwhile, in gaza, more than 600 americans are still trapped in gaza. they have not been evacuated or allowed to exit into egypt. fair facing bombings from the israelis, a worsening humanitarian crisis. earlier this week i spoke with abboud ocal. >> ul it takes is one missile, one air strike to miss its target or be too close to where you are. we're trying to stay strong, but we cannot help but feel hopeless and abandoned, given it's been a 18 days and no concrete help from the state department. >> i know you can't just send in s.e.a.l. team 6 to get the hostages in the hamas tunnels. first of all, you don't even know where they are. but this is hundreds of american citizens by the rafah gate. they're stuck, too. they can't get out. two weeks i asked you about them and you said it was hamas that wouldn't let them out. what's going on? when can they get out? >> just as there is ongoing discussions and negotiations over the hostages, we are facing a similar situation with the american citizens and other foreign nationals who are trapped in gaza. it is true, the egyptians are prepared to allow american citizens and foreign nationals to come through the rafah gate into egypt. the israelis are no issue with that. hamas has been preventing their departure and making a series of demands. i can't go through those demands in public, but that is the subject of the discussions and the negotiations that are ongoing. we are trying to work through those to get to a point where we have secured the safe passage of any american in gaza who wants to leave. we are in contact with them on a near-daily basis. we will continue to stay focused on this. this is an equal priority to us as getting the hostages out. it equally requires us to get to a apppoint where hamas will per their safe passage and we are working hard at that every day. >> meanwhile, there are reports that an israeli shot a palestinian settler in the west bank. this comes after president biden made a point about warning netanyahu about the extremist settlers in the west bank saying, it has to stop. these continued attacks suggest to me that netanyahu didn't take pride's warning very seriously, even though president biden evaluated that warning to a public warning. palestinians are literally being killed on the west bank by these extremest settlers who put out leaflets, warning of another na nakba. palestinians were literally chased out of a town in the west bank, because there's no one there to protect them. why do you think netanyahu didn't take the warning seriously? >> well, we believe that prime minister netanyahu does have a responsibility to reign in the extremist settlers on the west bank, who are pouring fuel on the fire. and it is totally unacceptable to have extremist settler violence against innocent people in the west bank. that is something that we will continue to press upon this is not a one-day, one-issue event. this is an ongoing challenge. it is going to require ongoing and intensifying effort by the israeli government. that's a point that the president made publicly. it's a point we will make continuously privately. and we expect over time to see the israeli government step up on this. and the president use the word "accountability," that there be "accountability" for those extremist settlers engaged in this violence. >> good luck, jake, this is quite a challenge you have. i appreciate your time today. >> thanks, jake. >> as the war in gaza escalates, are republican senators in line with the new house speaker's views on u.s. aid to israel and ukraine? i'm going to ask one of them, next. and with the republican presidential field shrinks once again, who will emerge as the top alternative to donald trump? 202024 hopefulul chris chrhrist jojoins me livive. welcome back to "state of the union." i'm jake tapper in tel aviv. house republicans have finally chosen a new leader and speaker mike johnson of louisiana is already laying out his priorities. one of the most pressing issues on his plate is aid to israel. our next guest is on the senate intelligence committee, senator james langford, republican of oklahoma. the u.s. has been encouraging israel to delay a full ground invasion in order to make an effort to get all 230, i think it is, hostages out. israel has, of course, announced the second phase of the war and is launching more attacks in the gaza strip from air, and also from land. does the intelligence suggest that a delay would hurt israel's goals to destroy hamas? >> it's a very complicated issue, where hamas has about 500 miles worth of tunnels underneath all of that area in gaza. it's a very complicated environment, to be able to hide hostages. right now israel is trying to be able to bombard some of those areas. they know where there are hamas fighters, where there are leadership, and where there are key -- either ammunition depots, missile storage, or obviously, where their military typically functions underground. going after hostages is incredibly difficult in an urban environment. no one knows where they are. hamas is trickling them out, trying to prevent anyone. but if you stop right now and if you pause, it gives opportunity for hamas to dig in more and to be able to lay more booby traps. it is a judgment call has to be made on the ground based on intelligence right now. and it has to be an issue of the united states positioning more and more missile defense systems launch from yemen towards israel that our forces were able to take out on their way in. we've seen that. this is an ongoing issue, not only to pre-position more missile defense, but also to watch out for hostages. >> a lot of the families of the hostages are very worried that the ground incursion might result in them never seeing their loved ones again. is that a reasonable concern, do you think? >> yeah, that's a reasonable concern for anyone. the folks that are the families and the friends of these hostages, every one has great compassion for them and pain for them. these were folks that were just at their homes, at music events, at places where they were snatched away and kidnapped. everyone is very concerned for them. the challenge is, what's the right way to be able to go get them. how do you actually go do that? how long will they be used as a pawn? what will hamas do? what are they going to do in the meantime to those individuals. there's a priority to go after those individuals, to make sure they can get to them and to be able to rescue them, which obviously israel has done many times, to go rescue hostages. but there's a priority also to make sure that hamas doesn't come back on ground forces. as you've seen there on the ground, multiple missile attacks from gaza every single moment, where they continue to be able to attack israel over and over again, so it's not as if they have paused. they certainly continue to be able to fight. >> the u.s. carried out air strikes targeting two facilities linked two iranian-backed militias. in eastern syria this week. you've been calling on the biden administration to stand up to iran and iranian-backed militias more strongly. are you satisfied with the response, or do you think president biden needs to do more? >> i think president biden is very focused on not trying to escalate the war. that's a good thing to not escalate the war into a regional conflict, but the problem is iran only understands force. iran has attacked the united states 19 times in just the last two weeks. and i think most americans don't know that iranian forces, shia militants, whether it be the houthis from yemen, or whether it be an iraq or in syria, they're finding ways to go attack american forces. we've had multiple of our forces that have been injured in those attacks. the united states is finally pushing back on those shia militants and on iran, to be able to make it clear, we are going to stand up for ourselves in this, to be able to stop it. i know the administration is trying to be able to keep this separate. unfortunately, there's no way to actually separate iran attacking the united states while iran is also facilitating the attack of israel, as well, at the same time. they are connected. >> the israeli government and the israel defense forces claim that hamas puts command and control centers underneath hospitals, specifically, they're talking about gaza's biggest hospital. no one disputes that the hospitals have in them patients, doctors, nurses, and individuals seeking shelter. have you seen intelligence suggesting that that is true, that hamas uses these hospitals, including gaza's largest hospital, as command and control centers, either in the hospitals or underneath them. is that something that you believe to be true? >> actually, again, i can't go into the actual intelligence documents that are out there, but it's long been noted that hamas uses schools, they use mosq