Top Story with Tom Llamas - Friday, October 13, 2023

Episode Date: October 14, 2023

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world.

Tonight, a special edition of Top Story, live in Tel Aviv, near the Israel-Gaza border where more than a million people have been ordered to evacuate. A 24-hour deadline has expired, a ground invasion likely imminent, as Israel unleashes a brutal new wave of attacks. Missile strikes rocking Gaza at all hours of the day and night, and now Israel confirming it has sent troops inside of Gaza to hunt for Hamas terrorists and rescue hostages. The Israeli military ordering more than one million people in northern Gaza to evacuate, dropping flyers, telling them to get out in 24 hours, thousands packing their families into cars,

onto horse-drawn carts, or fleeing by foot. At least 70 people killed in missile strikes in Gaza today as they tried to get out, and the violence spreading. A Reuters photojournalist killed near the border with Lebanon when his team was rocked by an explosion, We're bringing you the very latest on all fronts of this war with that Israeli ground invasion. Tonight, especially at any moment, inside Gaza tonight, hundreds of thousands still trapped with nowhere else to go. Among them, more than 100 hostages taken across the border by Hamas. Tonight, the urgent plea from one man with 10 family members still missing, the youngest, Yahel Shahom, just three years old. Also breaking tonight, NBC News, recovering maps and documents on the bodies of Hamas fighters,

showing that its leaders intentionally targeted elementary schools and a youth center. The disturbing details coming to light as we're learning more about the horrific terrorist attacks on Saturday. Now the deadliest day in modern Israeli history. Across the Arab world, anger spilling out into the streets, tens of thousands taking part in a, quote, day of rage called for by Hamas in response to the attacks on Gaza, their message to Israel and to America tonight. And that day of rage, stoking security fields, fears back at home. The entire NYPD ordered to be in uniform and on duty as protesters call for an end to this war.

Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers on high alert as calls for peace ring out across America. A special edition of Top Story starts right now. And good evening. edition of Top Story. We have made our way into Israel reporting live tonight from Tel Aviv, where at times air raid sirens are going off, but tonight it has been very, very quiet. Those missiles, of course, launched by Hamas. And we know just miles from here is the Gaza border, where the Israeli military has ordered more than one million people to get out as this war barrels into a dangerous, very dangerous new phase. Thousands of flyers raining down from the sky,

urging the people of Gaza City to evacuate within 24 hours, a deadline that has come and gone. This is a very densely populated area we're talking about here. This entire area shaded and red, you see in front of your screen there, home to more than one million people, all of them told to make their way south. A mass migration the UN has called impossible to achieve because the residents of Gaza have nowhere to go and are getting no assistance. We'll explain more later in the show. Global leaders imploring Israel to rescind that order tonight, and Israeli colonel telling our partners at Sky News that the 24-hour timeline is flexible. But all throughout the day, we have seen Palestinian men, women and children urgently trying to make their way out.

Families packed onto that flatbed truck, others fleeing on foot or on carts pulled by horses. Tonight, the Palestinian Health Authority says at least 70 people, most of them women and children who were obeying those orders to get out have been killed. Three caravans hit by Israeli missiles as they fled south. Chaotic scenes at local hospitals as doctors tended to the wounded. And tonight there are still hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza in grave and imminent danger, including doctors and nurses, inside of hospitals there who tell our teams they have a moral obligation to stay behind

and to care for the wounded. And many civilians who either listened to orders from Hamas to stay in their homes, or had nowhere else to go, or now tragically, trapped in the crossfire of this war, bracing for the next Israeli onslaught as the IDF vows to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth in response to that vicious terror attack carried on an Israeli soil. Also trapped in Gaza tonight the more than 100 hostages taken during that shocking ambush assault, among them, three-year-old the Ahel Shaham. Take a look, who was taken from a kibbutz with her eight-year-old brother and eight other relatives.

their cousin describing the agony of knowing they are trapped in that war zone tonight. Starting to raise ideas about wiping out Gaza and carpet bombing the neighborhoods and while they're Israeli citizens being held their hostage. And I worry. I worry for my family and they worry for whoever else might be held there. As Israeli forces bombard Gaza from the sky, the military tonight says it has sent ground troops into Gaza to execute localized raids to clear that area of Hamas terrorists and to locate Israelis and other foreign nationals being held hostage.

And tonight, the chilling new reporting, NBC News recovering these maps and documents on the bodies of Hamas terrorists outlining plans to target elementary schools, specifically and intentionally going after children. And the horrors of this war reaching northern Israel tonight, cameras capturing the moment a news crew was caught in an explosion near the Lebanon border. Reuters photojournalist Isam Abdallah killed in that strike. Tonight, Israel vowing to investigate what exactly happened there. His death went of more than 3,200 casualties of this war.

And sadly, we know tonight that number will only continue to climb. This may only be the beginning. as Israeli tanks and troops stand ready to launch a ground invasion of Gaza. We are tracking their movements tonight, and we will bring you the very latest throughout this broadcast as that 24-hour window to evacuate has expired. First up tonight, NBC's Richard Engel, near the Gaza border tonight, leading us off.

Bombs are raining down on Gaza tonight. The Israeli military saying, some forces have already entered Gaza to gather intelligence to recover hostages. ahead of an anticipated full-scale ground invasion, one that will be a challenge for Israeli troops, as Hamas fighters use an underground network of tunnels to their advantage. Israel gave 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza 24 hours to head south to save their lives. Some heated the order, fleeing in vehicles, on foot, and horse-drawn carts.

But most have not left, according to our contacts inside Gaza. Many Gazans are already refugees from previous wars, and they're determined not to be made refugees again, and they have nowhere to go. Salma Sharab, a 22-year-old dental student, is keeping a video journal. Every time I close my eye, I either hear a bomb or see a light, or hear a noise, or hear a scream, or hear a neighbor evacuating. So I'm like, should I evacuate now or should I just wait for my death in my own house? It's really confusing.

This is my bed. I've moved it several times this night trying to find the safest room to be with my family. Medical workers say they aren't leaving that they can't abandon the wounded already flooding in. Our local camera crew visited the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and found it in a state of collapse. With all the beds full, patients are treated. on the floor. Sheets used for stretchers. Israel says it's only targeting Hamas. But there were wounded children everywhere. In some cases, even those trying to flee are attacked. Medical officials told us most of these victims, 200 of them were injured by Israeli airstrikes

as they were trying to escape Gaza City in a convoy, and that 70 were killed. We were heading to the south, and they bombed us. God will punish them for this, says Nur Shaladan. The Gaza Strip is 139 square miles bordered by Israel, the Mediterranean Sea, and Egypt. Israel told Gazans to move south of the Wadi Gaza Valley. All of Gaza's borders are shut. Aid workers say a humanitarian corridor must be open to at least allow in food, water and medicine to southern Gaza. Everybody from Gaza is moving towards where we are.

1 million people, no food, no water. Where are we going to put them? But my thought is all these people in the hospital cannot be evacuated. Where's humanity? Where's people's hearts in the world? The US is working to contain this war, but it's already spreading. To the West Bank, where more than 40 Palestinians have been killed in violent clashes. And in Lebanon, where the deputy chief of Hezbollah, a militant group that supports Hamas,

said it would act when the time is right. An Israeli strike in Lebanon near the border with Israel today hit a group of foreign journalists, killing a Reuters videographer and injuring six others. As the situation in Gaza deteriorates... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before cameras today. to say this is only the beginning, that Israel is striking at its enemies with unprecedented might and will eradicate Hamas.

Richard Engle joins us tonight live from the Israel-Ghazah border. Richard, folks at home that are going to be watching your report are going to see those Israeli military vehicles moving in. We know you reported that some ground forces have entered Gaza, but this is not the beginning of the quote-unquote ground invasion, correct? It does not seem to be the beginning of the ground invasion at all. That was a targeted strike. It seems like it was a targeted opportunity with some commandos going in to potentially look for some hostages.

They said they were gathering intelligence. This is a phase where it would be a time where special operations forces could move because the people in Gaza are on the move. Hamas is dug in. We've spoken to people in Gaza City and they say they no longer see Hamas fighters. on the street. They have disappeared off the streets of the Gaza City. They are underground in tunnels, in their positions, getting ready for this fight. So, yes, the Israelis moved in, potentially to go find hostages. No word if they did find any. But it's not the beginning of the

big push. That could come tonight, could come tomorrow. We don't know yet. And we're going to talk a little more about those tunnels that Hamas has built under Gaza in the minutes ahead. Richard, I do want to ask you the 24-hour deadline Israel gave to Hamas has come and gone. Is Israel listening to the international community and the U.S. to let those refugees evacuate to give them some more time? Or do you think this simply is Israel trying to keep the enemy guessing? Really have no idea. But the complicating factor here is the hostages. Once Israel commits and once those tanks and artillery peace, start firing and the tanks roll into Gaza Strip, then you're in a full-scale war.

It will be much harder at that stage to conduct these kind of commando raids. It'll be much more dangerous for the hostages. Israel right now is carrying out this bombing campaign to try and destroy some of those tunnels, to get Hamas potentially on the move. An ideal scenario for Israel would be to convince or to force Hamas to have to move. the hostages, that would create an opportunity when the special forces could rescue them, could find them, could identify where they are. So we're still seeing right now, I think, preparations for the big push.

Okay, Richard Engel leading us off tonight here on Top Story. Richard, thank you. Now to the missing and the family still anxiously waiting for news about their loved ones. This says the IDF has started conducting raids into God to try and locate hostages as Richard was just reporting me there. Joining me now is Miran Aloni, his sister's Danielle and Sharon, went missing on Saturday from a kibbutz known as Near Oz, along with Sharon's husband and their children. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

When you watch Richard's report then, I know you've seen images all across Israel and the world of this bombing campaign, how hard is it for you to know that these bombings are happening? They are part of the war, and your loved ones are somewhere there in Gaza trapped. It's hard. It's a one you understand that this is something that needs to be done in order to find them, but you understand that until they find them, a lot of things can happen. So it's stuff. It's very divided thought.

I don't know how to call it. Yeah, Moran, tell me about what is the process like for people? like you in Israel who are searching for their loved ones. Are you in contact with the military? Is there a place that you have to go to? Has your family submitted DNA? Talk to me about this painful process. So, yeah, basically we have submitted DNA. We have, there is a certain body, an official body that we are working in front of them. It looks like they have, you know, a good planning in order to how to get these hostages back, starting from pressuring the international community, and first of all, creating a corridor to provide food and water and whatever they need

and then, you know, trying to negotiate them. And this is probably along with the Army efforts to find them as well. I assume I'm not a military man. This is just what I hear. That's the process. You know, we had a chance to, you know, we're seeing some of the pictures of your family members. I had a chance to speak to some of your cousins, as you know, who live in New York earlier this week. I know it has been such a tough and painful week for you and your family.

How much of the news do you follow? How much of social media do you look at? because we know that the Hamas terrorists have put out some sickening videos out there, and there were images today put out that no one should have to look at. I'm curious that if you have to detach yourself at some point, or are you so anxious to see any type of information about your missing loved ones? I think, I guess it's different for everyone, for each one of the families. But personally, I can do it.

the footage that I recognized by my brother-in-law, David, was sent to me by friend that recognized him, by his brother, actually. I don't see these images. I don't know how I'll handle seeing one of them in one of these pictures, in one of these pictures. So I am not following them. Do you have a message for the Israeli soldiers who may move into Gaza or the commandos who are going to be tasked with rescuing your family members? Keep safe and keep my family safe and all the other families and do your best to bring them back alive. I guess I don't have anything else to say. I don't know what we can control or not, but I hope that they are doing everything they can in order to make sure that the families are

will not get hurt. That's my hope in this entire situation. Moran Aloni, we thank you for your time. I feel for your family, for all of your relatives who have gone missing. We'll be thinking about. you and of course keep you updated if we get any news as well. Thank you very much. Next tonight to an NBC News exclusive. New reporting about just how extensive the planning was for that Hamas terror attack, with schools targeted to specifically go after and kidnap children.

Raf Sanchez tonight with the breaking details and concerns over Israel's readiness. Tonight, chilling new details on how Hamas terrorists does The Hamas terrorists deliberately targeted Israeli schools and youth centers in their hunt for hostages. Documents recovered from the bodies of Hamas fighters and obtained by NBC news from an Israeli official show how the group drew up detailed plans to storm specific schools and tasked special units to deal with the hostages. The documents contradict Hamas claims that the group does not target children. And they're part of an emerging picture of the scale and sophistication of the attack. raising new questions about the failure of Israeli forces to stop it.

The Israeli military tells NBC news that the Gaza border fence was breached approximately 30 times, a higher number than previously reported, and which helps explain how hundreds of terrorists were able to enter Israel. We located some of the most severe breaches, including this one near Kibbutz-Berid, where terrorists use high explosives to blast their way through, then storming and storming in some. the rural community, leaving a trail of death behind. The Israeli military says that in this house, the Israeli residents had barricaded themselves into a safe room. The Hamas terrorists weren't able to get them, so they set the whole house on fire.

Hamas ground forces were supported from above by explosive carrying drones. At this spot near Kafar Azza, a drone dropping a bomb on a machine gun tower overlooking the border. New images also show what two. Two security analysts believe is an anti-aircraft missile. It's not clear if it was fired, but it indicates the terrorists arrived ready to defend themselves against Israeli helicopters. We don't know why Israeli monitoring systems failed to detect hundreds of Hamas fighters approaching the border fence.

Critics say Israeli intelligence missed early warning signs, including Hamas fighters building an open-air village to practice their tactics. Well, it was a collapse of all systems, but the first one is the intelligence system. And painful questions over the slow response of Israeli troops once the attack was underway. It's not the success of Hamas, it's more the failure of the Israeli defense. Yeram Errez was a senior Israeli officer stationed along the Gaza border. What's the single thing that shocks you the most? Most. None of them were, was in full gear in Israel for decades. It was a drill that before the dawn

rise. This is the most important and sensitive time that the enemy can attack. We asked the Israeli military's top spokesman. What went wrong here? Was this an intelligence failure? Was it a failure of the units on the border? What went wrong? This is a plan that was being planned, a massive scale plan. Why we didn't know, we will find out what we didn't know, why we didn't know. But now we're not into that. Our mindset, our mindset now is in the other side of the border. A military with a difficult fight ahead and difficult questions to answer. Ralph Sanchez joins us now from Ashtad Israel live.

Raf, Israel is taking blame for being taken by surprise. We just heard that in your report. The military of Israel is both feared and respected around the world. How are they explaining what happened? Well, Tom, it's a very consistent refrain when I ask this question of military officials, as we have been doing all week. They acknowledge, they failed. They are the Israel defense forces, and they failed to defend Israel.

They say, though, that there will. be a lot, a lot of time to answer those painful questions. Now is not the time. Their focus is on the fight in Gaza. But I can tell you, Tom, this is a country where institutional failures are investigated. There is a long history of commissions. There was one after the 1973 war, and you can bet that there will be one into this major failure. Tom. And then, Raf, going back to those documents that you had at the top of your report, is what Hamas planned on paper? Is that what happened? It is what happens that those documents lay out in real specific detail about how these fast-moving squads are tasked with going in, killing as many people as possible, but critically capturing those hostages, which Hamas sees as totally critical bargaining chips.

We saw that happening, this kind of human relay, one squad grabbing the hostages, another task with getting them back into Gaza. The schools themselves were not in session because this attack happened very early on a Saturday morning, but in its big picture and in its essence, the plan in that document was carried out. Tom. Ralph Sanchez for us tonight. Raf, we thank you for your reporting. I want to stay more on those documents and dig a little deeper tonight. We want to take a more in-depth look, if you will, at those plans.

You see here a map created by Hamas of the Kibbutzium Kafar Azza, Nahal-Az, And I'm Lim, showing the locations where young children would gather, including the dental office, the supermarket, and the dining hall in each of those communities. We're joined tonight by the writer who broke that story, NBC News Investigative Unit, senior producer Anna Schechter. Anna, thanks for joining Top Story tonight. You know, as we take a closer look at these documents, you can see a list of what they wanted to do, right?

And this is obviously translated into English for our viewers, breaking it down of the groups they were targeting and the vehicles. Talk to us about what you uncovered. Sure, there are bullet points on one of the pages of documents that were recovered, almost step by step. So one unit would surround the east side of the kibbutz, another unit would take control of the west side, take hostages, surround the dining hall, trap people inside the dining hall, take those people hostages, and or kill as many as possible.

Then, there is a directive to go to a specific school site, go to another school site, and a youth center. This is all laid out in black and white. So we have video documentation. We have eyewitness accounts of this horrific massacre. And still, we hear propaganda from Hamas that they did not target children. But these documents show that is absolutely false, and it was part of their plan to go after children to go after women in some cases, take hostages and kill as many as possible.

You know, Anna, one of the things that stood out to me in your reporting was the last part of your article that's on NBCNews.com. You spoke to an IDF official. Tell our viewers what this person told you. This person told me that the intelligence trove that this trove of documents present is actually unprecedented. It was an unprecedented brutal attack, but never in the couple of decades that he has been doing this kind of work, has he seen an attack so outlined so explicitly with such incredible detail. Maps with circles drawn around the borders of these tiny kibbutz scene, with pinpoints of areas that they wanted to target. Explicit detail. about the formation of motorbikes and jeeps as they drove in towards the Kibbutzim.

He's never seen this. And he also told me that anyone in the intelligence community, their draw is going to drop looking at these documents. Anna Schechter, with a very important story that you can read on NBCNews.com, Anna, we appreciate you coming on top story tonight. With Israel's military preparing for the next phase of this brutal war, I want to bring in a retired IDF lieutenant. Colonel. His name is Mikey Hartman. He served 22 years in the IDF and is now the CEO of a

defense company. But on top of that, he also built the IDF shooting school and served in the Gaza Strip as a sniper and a commander. Mikey, thank you so much for joining us tonight. I really do appreciate this. What do you think is going to happen over the next 48 hours? And I asked that question in the sense that if that ground invasion does begin, what do you think that's going to look like? First off, Tom, thanks for having me. We did not want this, Tom. We did not want this. But what's going to have to happen, we're going to have to build a buffer zone between them and us. We're going to have to move them back.

And the fact that we're sending out flyers and telling them to move, I suggest for them to move. We don't want to kill civilians, but we have to move them back. What they did to us on Saturday will never happen again. Mikey, I want to talk to you. I want you to explain to our viewers this tunnel system that Hamas has developed in Gaza. It may be reminiscent of the Viet Cong in Vietnam. We've seen some images that have been out there. These are file images, but they're images that have been taken before of Hamas terrorists inside these tunnels,

working in these tunnels, living in these tunnels, if you will. We heard Richards reporting that apparently within Gaza, Hamas has disappeared, that they've gone underground. As we look at these photos, what exactly are we looking at here? Well, what happens, I think, when rats search for a place to go, they go under the tunnels, they go under their ground, because Hamas, by default, uses its civilians as shields. Why we try protecting our people, they use their people as shield. So they go underground. They don't have the, I don't want to say a bad word, but they don't have the strength that

be up above ground. They have to hide underneath them. So we're going to have to go in there, and we're going to have to go tunnel by tunnel, and we're going to have to take each one of these guys out. But it's a very, the tunnel system, and we train on this. We train in depth on how to deal with these tunnels. It's very complicated, and they can get from place to place, and they move. The commanders, no commander of Hamas is above ground right now.

They're all underneath ground, and we're going to have to go in there and get them one by one. But there's an incredible danger there, right? Especially if there's hostages, and they've been taken down to these tunnels as well. You worked as a sniper. You trained snipers here in Israel. What roles do they play, and how do you fight an underground war? Well, unfortunately, it's extremely complicated. and it's going to be very, very difficult.

There's going to be IEDs waiting for us. There's going to be ambushes waiting for us. We have to do this very, very slowly. We have learned a lot from our past. We've made mistakes in the past, and we're going to implement those in the future so we do not make those mistakes. We're going to have to go house by house, tunnel by tunnel.

Okay, Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, we thank you for your time. Thank you for explaining the military aspects of this operation. Still ahead tonight on this special edition of Top Story from Texas. of Top Story from Tel Aviv, our coverage of this dangerous new phase of the Israel-Hamas war continues. Across the Arab world tonight, tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets as part of a, quote, day of rage called for by Hamas. Their messages for Israel tonight. And back home in the U.S. law enforcement on high alert as protesters on both sides of this issue, gather in cities large and small. Stay with us. Top story just getting started on this Friday.

We're back now with a special edition of Top Story, live from Tel Aviv. Today, Hamas calling for a day of rage across the Arab world and beyond in response to Israel's relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip. Thousands taking to the streets burning Israeli and American flags. Matt Bradley's on the ground for us tonight in southern Lebanon. Tonight, fury on full display. The militant group Hamas calling for a day of rage across the Arab world and beyond. In the wake of relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip by Israel after Hamas' gruesome attack.

Tens of thousands taking to the streets across the region. In Kabul, Afghanistan, protesters desecrating the Israeli flag. Their signs read, Israel is the biggest terrorist. But the anger not directed at Israel alone. In Iran, Israeli-American flags burned. In Amman, Jordan, riot police clashing with the protesters using tear gas to turn some of them back. The massive crowds stretching for blocks to the capital city. The protests come as fears grow that the skirmishes on Israel's northern border with Hezbollah could explode into a second front to this war.

Behind me is Israel's northernmost town of Metula. And just the past couple of hours, we've heard from the Israeli defense forces that they've evacuated the town completely. and we've watched as IDF soldiers have raced around trying to enforce that order. It's easy to see and hear why. All along this ridge, we've been watching artillery firing all day. We were on the ground today as mostly Hezbollah supporters of the Palestinians rallied in southern Lebanon. They're chanting, death to Israel, death to America. We spoke with a Hezbollah member of Lebanon's parliament who laughed openly at the warnings from President Biden

and the American Navy's show of force in the region. America, before 40 years, had been New Jersey to Lebanon, and what's it? Hamlet, juneut her jussed. Before 40 years, not today.

Today, we're in a way of a lot of 40 years. That threat, a reference to the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon that left 241 Americans dead. The U.S. blamed Hezbollah for that attack. But when I asked him if Hezbollah had made a decision yet, this is the matter of the war, a threat of violence that could upend a region already swelling with rage. And Tom, if Hezbollah does enter the war,

it could bring force against the Israeli government that would dwarf that of Hamas. It has a more powerful military. It has been bloodied in its fight against Islamist insurgents in Syria for the better part of the past decade. And its leaders and soldiers enjoy freedom of movement within Lebanon. And it has a real political base. It controls ports and airports to bring in weapons and other supplies. So actually, it is much stronger than Hamas and could put up much more of a fight against Israel than even Hamas has done in the past week. Tom? An escalation of this war is something nobody wants. Matt Bradley for us tonight in southern Lebanon, Matt, thank you for that.

And the concerns about this war, not only on this part of the world, but also back home in America as well. Many Americans at home today playing out in protest, raw motions, and heightened security around the country. Blaine Alexander, with that part of the story tonight. From the shadow of the U.S. Capitol to the nation's heartland. Free, free, Palestine! Tonight, from coast to coast, thousands are spilling into the streets in emotional protests over the Israel-Hamas war. I stand in solidarity with my Palestinian friends and all my friends who want an end to occupation and a justice of lasting peace. In New York, where all officers have been ordered in uniform and on duty, more than a thousand people packed into Times Square, where officials are watching from the ground and.

And above. All of it comes on the day declared by a former Hamas leader as a global day of anger. But in New York, we found peaceful protesters showing up to voice their own perspectives. I feel bad because the people die. Like, what is for what? For the land, they must have it. They have to sit down and talk. This is difficult for you.

This is a lot to wrestle with. Yeah, I mean, I am Israeli. I'm Israeli, but I'm also human. Like, I don't want anybody to be suffering. Nobody deserves to die. No children deserves to die. Not on the Israeli side, not on the Palestinian side. It's really horrible.

Tonight, police remain on high alert. Law enforcement officials tell NBC News they are monitoring a lot of chatter on social media, both domestic and global, but stress there are no specific credible threats. At Jewish schools and places of worship across the country, a steady stream of added security. prepared to observe the first Sabbath since last week's attack. And Sabbath begins at sundown. Now, tonight, despite that heavy security, many Jewish leaders are vowing to keep their doors open

and urging their members to come out and worship. Tom? Blaine, Alexander, for us, Blaine, thank you. When we come back, the latest on that mass evacuation ordered by Israel, more than one million people told to leave northern Gaza. But the difficult question tonight, where are they all supposed to go?

The growing calls tonight for neighboring countries to take in the Palestinian people. Coming up after this break, Ellison Barber, live on the border for us. You're watching Top Story. We're back now with a special edition of Top Story live from Tel Aviv. More than one million residents in northern Gaza have been given 24 hours to evacuate. But that deadline has passed. Now, those who are left there will need to prepare for a looming ground offensive by the Israeli military. Ahead of the Sabbath, Israeli prime ministers, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the country is, quote,

hitting our enemy with unprecedented force after that brutal attack by Hamas that left more than 1,000 people in Israel dead and more than 100 taken hostage. Ellison Barbara is there at the Israel-Gaza border tonight for us live. Alison, tell us what you're seeing there. Tom, there was so much activity in this area as the sunset. You could hear the rolling booms of artillery inside of Gaza, the skyline. It was lit up with pockets of orange. The last few hours, though, it has been unusually quiet in this area compared to how it's been the last couple of nights when we have been here late. But right now, just as we were standing here, a large group of Israeli troops in two different military vehicles.

They're just off camera here, came through asking us for our credentials, telling us they are doing a sweep of the area. The question tonight is what happens next? How soon could we see Israel launch a full ground assault? The question for Palestinian civilians living in that area of Gaza where they were told to evacuate is, do they listen to Hamas and stay put in their homes? Do they heed Israel's warnings and evacuate? And if they do, where do they go? After Israel gave more than one million residents in northern Gaza, 24 hours to evacuate. Many asking, where will they go?

The only option by land besides Israel is into Egypt, and the only way in is the Rafa crossing, a seven and a half mile opening that's about 20 miles south of Gaza City. But right now, it's not operational. In a statement, Egypt's foreign ministry said the crossing was damaged by Israeli airstrikes. They say they asked Israel to refrain from targeting the border so they can try to make repairs. But so far, no agreement is in place. World leaders are calling on Egypt and other Arab nations to help evacuate Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire, including an estimated 5 to 600 Palestinian Americans.

It's also priority for me to urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. At my direction, our teams are working in the region, including communicating directly with the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations. Egypt's President Abdel Fata El-Sisi seemed to rebuff the idea in a statement on Thursday, saying in part that Palestinians, quote, must stay steadfast and remain on their land, while assuring Palestinians, Egypt is trying to get humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Historically, Egypt's long-standing relationship with Palestinians has been supportive.

Egypt was one of the first countries to support the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988. Egypt has actually helped create the Palestine Liberation Organization. President NASA was a very strong supporter of the Palestinian. And so for many years, Egypt was very closely aligned with the Palestinian cause. But a report from the Human Rights Watch in 2022 accused Egypt of, quote, restrictive policies at the Rafa crossing. The nonprofit said those policies made it nearly impossible for residents to leave the Gaza Strip.

Egypt has mostly kept that crossing close. It's only allowed it's a very small number of Gazans to exit the Gaza Strip. And Egypt also cooperated with Israel. in destroying the tunnels that had been dug under the Gaza Strip into the Sinai. After Israel and Egypt fought four wars between 1948 and 1973, Egypt became the first Arab country to agree to a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, following the Camp David Accords. They have also helped facilitate multiple ceasefires between Israel and Palestinian leadership,

including Hamas. Egypt condemning Israel's 24-hour evacuation notice, calling it a, quote, grave violation of international humanitarian law. Tonight, the question is what, if anything, will Egypt do to help civilians trapped inside Gaza? Ellison Barber joins us again live from the Israeli Gaza border. Alison, I think it's a good time to sort of explain to our viewers some of the dimensions and the locations of the places we're talking about. because for a lot of people, especially in the U.S., some of these areas are going to be somewhat new to them. When we talk about evacuating more than a million people from northern Gaza to the south, right? From Gaza City further down south.

Talk to our viewers. I mean, how much of a distance are we talking about here? So, I mean, we talk about Gaza and describe it as thinking of the land size of New Jersey, right? But the thing that you have to remember when people are being told to evacuate and just had some. South. One, the crossings, the one that's at the North crossing, that has been closed. That's because, according to Israel, Hamas struck that in, and when they began their terror attack on Saturday, the Erez crossing, so that's closed. Then you have the situation on the crossing with Egypt that we just explained in that in the piece. But look, when we're talking about people

moving down south, it's not just like you could just make a drive like you could in New Jersey down south. The UN has asked Israel to rescind its call for that 1.1 million civilians to evacuate saying that that is far too dangerous and will not be possible because the infrastructure there already can't support a whole lot of moves like that. And then on top of that, you have so much damage that has happened, especially of late because of the airstrikes, strikes that even though we're talking about a relatively short distance, again, think of New Jersey. Navigating that, it's not just like you can get on the turnpike. It's very, very difficult. Tom. Ellison, Barbara for us tonight.

Ellison, we do appreciate that explainer on what's happened between the Palestinian people and that border crossing there in Egypt. Coming up, Israel fighting a war with Hamas, but also political turmoil within its own party. One of Netanyahu's cabinet members forced to leave a hospital where she was visiting victims of Saturday's attacks after angry residents yelled at her and said she ruined the country. Many Israelis outraged with Netanyahu's far-right government, But will the country unite and rally behind its leaders? A live report when we come back.

All right, back here in Israel, the citizens are grappling with their government security and intelligence failures that led to the horrific terror attack last Saturday. It also comes at a time when the country's leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was already facing criticism over a judicial overhaul plan and an ongoing trial for corruption. I want to bring in NBC News Foreign Correspondent, Josh Letterman, who joins Top Story Live tonight. Josh, I know you have a piece out on our website about this. Talk to me about some of the people you talked to, and also a moment that was captured on camera when it came to a local Israeli politician. Well, a lot of Israelis, Tom, are really torn right now between two conflicting emotions. On the one hand, there is a lot of anger and frustration about how there was such a spectacular security and intelligence. failure in a country that is known for its security and intelligence that has led to such extensive

bloodshed of Israeli civilians, women, children, innocent men and women. And on the other hand, a lot of Israelis feel like now is the time in the wake of this mass tragedy to rally behind their government, to have a unity in this country, just the way we saw after 9-11, Americans really came together. And in fact, former President George W. Bush's popularity surged to some 90% the highest ever recorded for a presidential popularity. And so many Israelis are now asking the difficult question about whether the accountability that everyone agrees needs to take place for what went so disastrously wrong here can wait until after the war, whether Israelis can say, yes, we are going to demand

answers for what went wrong here. But first, we're going to come together and we're going to focus on defeating this threat, Hamas, and dealing with the security issues in the Gaza Strip. As you mentioned, there have been some really remarkable incidents where these frustrations have spilled into public view in the last few days with multiple members of President Netanyahu's cabinet being berated in public. The environmental minister, the economy minister, both were paying visits to hospitals, visiting the wounded from these attacks where they were essentially chased out by civilians in the hospitals who said, this is your fault. What are you doing here? How dare you go home, leave the consoling of these victims to us? And so you can really see how Israel, at this very vulnerable moment,

is really torn apart and grappling with how to deal with the political issues they're going to have to deal with, even as they focus on the more immediate conflict in Gaza. Josh Letterman, live tonight for Top Story. Josh, we appreciate all your reporting. When we come back, one of the greats will join Top Story Live, are Martin Fletcher, who spent decades as a bureau chief here in Israel who's covered so many conflicts. We'll put into perspective what we're seeing tonight, what he thinks is going to happen,

and what ultimately is the end game for Israel once that ground invasion starts in Gaza? Do they want to occupy Gaza City, or is it merely a military ploy to get those hostages back? You're watching Top Story. Stay with us. All right, nearly one week after Hamas terrorists launched brutal attacks in Israel, the death toll is staggering, more than 1,300 killed in Israel, more than 1900 in Gaza, and this war is likely just beginning. For a closer look at the war in the region, I want to bring in Martin Fletcher. He worked for NBC in Tel Aviv for 26 years and spent more than 15 years as our Tel Aviv Bureau Chief.

Martin, it's so great to have you on Top Story. I am sorry for what's happened here in your country. you were here for so long living here. I noticed close to your heart. You've covered this region, you know this region, and you know both parties, right? Both Israel and Hamas. What has surprised you most about what you've witnessed over the last week? Well, I think as Josh referenced, the idea that Israel could be so surprised, totally surprised, a complete failure of Israel's intelligence and military system. I think that must have been the greatest surprise. Another surprise, or maybe it was not so surprising to everybody, was the ferocity, the viciousness,

the barbarity of the Hamas attacks on the Israeli civilians. I don't have to list it. We've been seeing horrific stuff all week. So I think those are the biggest surprises. And the biggest fear is that, well, two fears, I guess, that Israel will go in with a mass of ground invasion and kill unbelievable numbers of Palestinian civilians. And the reason I say that is that when Israel warns them to leave, and we're talking earlier about Israel's warning to a million people leave Gaza. I don't think for a minute that Israel actually believes that those people will go. Some will go.

But I think Israel just wants to stake out the moral high ground and say, look, we told them to go. Hamas is fighting from amongst them. We had no choice. I think that's what this is all about. What is your take, and I know this is a very difficult question, but there are so many families across Israel and America and really the world that have loved ones that are hostages right now, including children, including babies.

What are your thoughts on a successful sort of operation to bring those Israelis back? Is that a fantasy world, or do you see a scenario where that could actually happen? I'm a feeling I wouldn't bring much comfort. to those families, and I hope not too many are listening to me. But if you ask me honestly, look, Hamas held one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, for five years. They had one hostage for five years, and Israel could never find him. In fact, they swapped a thousand Palestinian prisoners to get their one person back. So if they couldn't find one guy in five years, they're not going to find 150 in three days.

So these poor hostages are going to be stuck in dark tunnels underground, with, with, with fuel running out, probably in a terribly uncomfortable situations. And the Israelis are going to have to steamroll over the land above those tunnels and hopefully try to find them and save them. But Israel's priority is going to have to be its soldiers and winning the war. And sadly, the hostages will have to take a backseat to that. I think the only way out for the hostages is through negotiations. Maybe the women and children will be freed, maybe American citizens will be freed, but the

idea that the Israeli army could go in and have enough intelligence to find them, I don't believe it. I mean, intelligence failed to forecast the war. They're not going to find these people, probably. Yeah. Martin, we only have about 30 seconds. You said win this war, this ground invasion may start at any moment. What does when this war mean for Israel?

I don't know, Tom. I really can't answer that question. I don't think the Israeli leadership knows. They say they want to destroy Hamas. Well, they've said that. I've reported that they wanted to destroy Hamas about five times, the last five wars. Israel always says they want to destroy Hamas. They failed so far. But they've never gone in with the kind of power, but it looks like they're going to launch this time. So they may well kill lots of people. They may well kill lots of Hamas leaders. But Hamas will probably, you know, they're going to feel. fuel younger people to take Hamas's place. So I don't really see anything good coming out of this at all, but Israel has to do what it needs to do. Martin Fletcher, one of the great reporters from this region. Martin, we appreciate all your time, and we thank you for watching this special edition of Top Story.

I'm Tom Yamis in Tel Aviv. Stay right there. More news on the way.