Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Episode Date: October 11, 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, breaking news, the death toll climbing in the brutal war between Israel and Hamas. And we now know Americans have also been taken hostage there. Israel unleashing a flurry of missile strikes on Gaza, obliterating entire neighborhoods, sending buildings crashing to the ground in retaliation for the horrific terror attacks carried out by Hamas. Chilling new videos showing the moments gunmen opened fire in towns across Israel, ruthlessly murdering men, women, and even children. More than 1,900 people killed since the start of this war. Tonight, Richard Engel goes door to door with troops on the ground hunting for Hamas terrorists

and uncovering unspeakable horrors. More than 100 hostages still being held by Hamas, including Americans. President Biden condemning the carnage, vowing to stand with Israel, sending his Secretary of State tomorrow to Israel. Plus tonight our conversation with one man desperately searching for his family members missing since Saturday. Ready for a ground war? More than 360,000 Israeli reservists called up to serve. Tanks now amassed near the border with Gaza is a full-scale land invasion the next phase of this war, and is Israel's advanced military ready for urban combat. Trapped by war, devastation on the ground in Gaza, where Palestinians are caught in the middle of this horrific conference.

More than 900 people killed by the relentless bombardment. Food, water, and electricity cut off completely. What we're hearing from the people inside with nowhere else to go. As President Biden pledges U.S. support to Israel, the House of Representatives without a speaker, unable to get anything done. The two Republicans now vined for the job making their case to their colleagues in a closed-door meeting tonight. How soon that slot could be filled. Plus oversees a deadly earthquake rocking Afghanistan.

More than 2,000 killed. The urgent rescue effort still underway. And tension rising even back here at home, a stampede breaking out at a vigil for Israel in Florida. Police called in as thousands gather in Miami. The outpouring of emotion and anger tonight as supporters of Israel and the Palestinian people try to make sense of this senseless violence. Top story starts right now.

And good evening. We begin top story tonight, once again with the brutal war raging in the Middle East. More than 1,900 people killed in Israel and Gaza, among them at least 14 Americans. And tonight, President Biden confirming U.S. citizens are also among the more than 100 being held hostage by Hamas. Dramatic video released by Israeli police showing the desperate effort to free one of those hostages you see here as they come under. under gunfire in southern Israel. Tonight, we're learning that the U.S. is now sending hostage rescue experts to assist in the retrieval of those being held as Hamas threatens to execute those hostages. Israel, tonight, ramping up its attacks on Hamas from the skies, bombarding Gaza day and night,

wiping out entire neighborhoods, and sending buildings crumbling to the ground. More than 900 people killed in those retaliatory strikes, including families and children as well. And tonight, we're getting a clearer picture of how Saturday's brutal, terror attack unfolded inside of Israel, the shocking assault that triggered this explosion of violence. Disturbing dash cam video capturing the moment Hamas fighters, you see them there open fire on this car, the driver pushing past several of those gunmen before losing control. Another driver shot and killed as Hamas terrorists stormed through the gates of this

kibbutz, similar scenes playing out across the country, shocking the nation and the world. President Biden late today addressing that carnage, describing the attacks as, quote, evil, calling Hamas a terrorist group on par with ISIS and making it clear that Israel has a right to defend itself. Stomach turning reports of babies being killed. Entire family slain. Young people massacred while attending a musical festival to celebrate peace. To celebrate peace, women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies. Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond, indeed has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks.

And Biden's sending Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Israel tomorrow in a major show of support. The Pentagon also sending the aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford and four destroyers to the Mediterranean. This has signs continue to point towards a possible land invasion of Gaza, Israeli troops and tanks standing ready near the border. We'll dive much deeper into that military operation straight ahead, but we begin first in Israel, and the horrors uncovered as the military goes door-to-door, looking for Hamas terrorists, still in their midst and finding unthinkable horrors. NBC's chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, alongside those troops tonight. He leads us off.

Israeli troops are still trying to secure the country, four days after the worst terror attack in Israel's history, and today moved into the village of Kafar Uza on the border with Gaza. Hamas massacred dozens of Israeli civilians here. The area is not yet secure. This is the first time journalists have been allowed in. Israeli troops are still clearing this kibbutz. They fear that there might still be Hamas fighters hidden in some of these buildings. It's a slow and dangerous mission as the soldiers go through every room, double and triple checking.

All the residents are gone, either evacuated, killed, or kidnapped. There are still bodies everywhere. The Israelis in body bags, Hamas gunmen were left rotting where they fell, next to the flags they brought to declare victory. And these were the homes that the Hamas militants were going through. You could see all the doors and windows are broken in. It was like each one. suffered a home invasion and kidnapping.

As the troops kept searching, they discovered the remains of an elderly woman. They wrapped her in a plastic tarp, adding one more to the death toll. Sergeant Dov Chichet Portis is a civil engineer, now on an open-ended combat mission. What is it like for you to see this? It's horrible. Actually, I live 10 minutes from here. By mistake, I didn't do the weekend here. What do you think needs to happen? for now.

We need to, I don't know, to change this reality. We live like this for years. Kaffarazah is only one Israeli community where Hamas went on a killing spree. Today we saw new images from the nearby village of Be'eri, where more than a hundred men, women and children were executed. Hamas says it trained for over a year for all of this, and today released new footage which the group edited and blurred of the militant's street. streaming through holes in the border fence and flying over it.

And Hamas isn't finished yet. The militants today launched hundreds of rockets into Israel. We took cover in a shelter. This is happening in Israel every single day. Israel's Iron Dome defense system intercepted nearly all of the rockets. But a few did get through. Israel has declared war on Hamas, and these may only be the first days of it. And with that, Richard Engel joins us live tonight.

Richard, I want to ask you, I know we're getting some new details and actually some new video of the phone call between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu. And this is interesting on our end for a variety of reasons, but one, we can actually hear what the Prime Minister was saying to the President and speaking in very graphic detail about what his country has. just been through. What can you tell our viewers about that call? Well, graphic detail is absolutely right. So Israel put out a readout of this call, released video of Netanyahu on the call. And according to the video and the readout,

Prime Minister Netanyahu told President Biden that ISIS is, that Hamas is worse than ISIS, that it had beheaded Israeli soldiers, that Hamas beheaded. soldiers. There's a claim we had not heard before. He also said that they executed dozens of children. We haven't independently been able to verify these claims, but it shows the messaging that Israel is sending the President, that Prime Minister Netanyahu is sending directly to President Biden, conveying the brutality of Hamas and saying that they are effectively inhuman. Previously, we've heard Prime Minister Netanyahu call Hamas fighters' animals. So we're getting very much a sense of how Netanyahu is framing this conflict

and how he's presenting it to the American president. You know, Richard, I know you've traveled to Israel a variety of times. You've covered conflicts there before. For many of our viewers who may not be familiar with it, I do want you to explain where you were today because there was an image in your report that I'm going to put up now for our viewers here that really stood out to me. It's of a basketball court, and you see four body bags, and you see what looks like what could be an American suburb, right?

And this looks like a suburb anywhere in the world, and yet you have all this carnage. Talk to us about, and now I'm noticing these kids' bikes on the right side as well. I mean, just talk to me about what you witnessed today with your team. So that is a, you know, you know, You're right to describe it as a little American suburban town, but it is a unique Israeli creation. It's a small kibbutz. So it's a community where the people try and spend time together, sometimes they work together, they have parties together.

And in kibbutz all across this country, people often will keep their doors open. The neighbors know each other. there is absolutely a community spirit. And this attack happened at 6.30 in the morning during a holiday here, and you could tell that the people were unprepared. And if you look at the hostage videos, a lot of the hostages were being dragged into Gaza, in their pajamas, shoes off. They were taken right out of their beds as they either woke up to find Hamas at their door

or were being dragged out of their homes. It is a community where people were living quite quietly right on the border with Gaza, very, very close to Gaza, and that was ultimately their fatal flaw, if you will, that when Hamas broke through the fence surrounding the Gaza Strip, it is a very short distance to get into this kibbutz. So they had to cross a small area of no man's land between Gaza and the kibbutz. through the perimeter fence of the kibbutz, and then they went on a killing spree, and then brought people out of that kibbutz as hostages and brought them back into the Gaza Strip. And then, Richard, there were threats from Hamas

that if the bombardment continued, they would be killing hostages. We know they've taken more than 100 hostages. Some of those are Americans, Israeli Americans with dual citizenship as well. Do we know if that threat is being ignored, listened to by Israel, or is the bombardment from Israel

over Gaza continuing? The bombardment is absolutely continuing. I don't know if it's being ignored. They certainly are aware of this threat, but they are not slowing down the bombing campaign, or they're not slowing down the bombing campaign, as far as I can tell. Perhaps the bombing campaign was supposed to be more intense than it is,

but it is very intense. And if you watch what is happening to Gaza, buildings are being taken down. The skyline is being changed. The city is being flattened. Hamas leaders' homes are being destroyed. The infrastructure is destroyed. Now there is a total siege on the Gaza Strip

with no, water, power, food, medicine, anything going in, nothing coming out. So it was isolated before. Now it is completely cut off and under attack with the hostages trapped inside. by Hamas. I can't think of a worse place to be right now for those hostages, to be held by people. You were taken from your homes. Now you're held by people who despise you in what is effectively a prison colony under attack, and you're being hidden underground. A lot of the people

were wounded when they were taken. They took elderly people who, without their medicine. They just pulled them out. There was no any kind of concern. This is a hostage-taking situation. They took children. They took children with special needs. I spoke to one family. She has a brother with special needs who's inside. So the conditions that these hostages must be going through physically and emotionally are unbearable. Yeah, you can't even imagine.

Richard, we thank you for your time. You and your team, please stay safe as you continue your great reporting in that region. Our next guest tonight, Gilad Corn Gold, had family missing since Saturday morning. His son, Tau, daughter-in-law, Adi, and two grandchildren were at Adi's parents in their kibbutz of Biri, where he was told on the phone by Adi's parents that the terrorists were there and they could not talk. The Special Forces Unit in Israel went to the home after, and no one was left, and you can see the state that it was left in here. It's unbelievable to see if that was your family's home. Join us now is Galad. Galad, I understand since your son Tal and his family went missing, you've actually,

seen his image on TV. What exactly did you see? And have you had any communication? Do you have any idea where they are? I think we have, I think we've lost a signal with Galad. We're obviously talking to him in Israel. We're going to check back with him. Galad, are you there? This is Tom Yamas. Yes, now I can hear you. Yes. Okay. I don't know if you heard my my question, but my question was, you know, what was it like to see your family on television like that from what I understand in zip ties? And do you have any idea how they're doing tonight? Well, actually, I didn't see my family, okay? There are missing now, eight

members of the family missing now. We realized that after, after with, so that no, nobody's in the home, we realized they are in the Gaza Strip. We hope yesterday they evacuated the 124 bodies from the house of the kibbutz. And we wait until recognize all the bodies. And then we'll be sure if there are between the bodies, dead bodies or in the Gaza Strip. For sure, we know that two members of the family was taken to Gaza Strip. My son, that we're sure that they get alive from the house.

They throw him to a car trunk and the father of my daughter-in-law also. Somebody answered with Arab accent and say, Gilad Khalid, Gaza. It means the phone is in Gaza, the guy is in Gaza. Today, even somebody tried to charge is a credit card. I don't know if try or charge, we didn't know yet, but charge is credit card in Gaza. And it's a mystery for us for four and a half days,

where is the member? It's very difficult to live like this with knowledge that maybe, they died, maybe they're there. We didn't know exactly what's happened. What do you make of this senseless violence of this terrorist act that's happened to your family? What? I'm sorry, what? What do you make of this terrorist act that's happened to your family? What make the terrorist act to this? You know what, Gelaide, no, I'm sorry. Maybe you didn't

understand that question. It's fine. I understand some of your family members, have dual citizenship with Austria. Do you think that will help them in this situation if they've been taken hostage? I'm almost sure. Part of the family, they're Austrian citizens, and my grandson and granddaughter and my daughter, hello, they're a German citizen.

Now I'm sure that both governments put power. to get a live contact and they talked to me today, the embassy, the Austrian MNC, and I know that the Austrian Council talked with our president. Okay, I get notice of this, and I get hope that soon they go to the release. But never know, okay? I really never know because first we need to know for sure they are there.

Gilada, we'll be thinking about your family. I know you're praying and I know you're hoping for any sign that they're still alive. We are so sorry for what you and your family are going through right now, but we thank you for taking the time to talk to our viewers. We want to turn now to the Gaza Strip, which came under fire today by Hamas. Our crew is taking cover as the rock. Rockets were launched right above them. NBC's Ellison Barber has the latest. When Hamas fires rockets on Israel, this is what it's like.

A warning in Hebrew and within seconds. Go, go, go in the shelter. It happens fast. It happens fast. That's how close we are to God. the border. It's about two and a half miles from here. And the second, that siren, that alert goes off saying rockets are incoming. It's a sprint to a place like this because you really don't have a whole lot of time to get to safety. There are very few civilians in this part of Siddharat. On Saturday, Hamas militants were walking in this street, shooting, then overtaking the police

station. This man was across the street in his bedroom, looking out the window in absolute horror. I just look down. And secretly, I'm looking like if they're in my mind. And they look, they don't look here to me, I just looking like the car. Yeah, because you were afraid they could see you. Yeah, they're afraid. And now he, like so many here, is living in limbo, not knowing what will happen next. I think this is something that we haven't seen in a very long time in Israel.

Samuel Arusa is a medic. How are you and your organization preparing for the next days and weeks to come? What are you expecting? We are buying a lot of medical equipment, and we are mobilizing. We have 7,000 volunteers here in this show, so everybody knows that we can call them at any time. We have enough people who need to buy more at medical equipment. What's the youngest victim you've treated since Saturday? Oh, baby's one.

who went to a family two days ago. One eight-year-old was hiding in a closet, and her family was killed. When we went to rescue her, we saw that her sister was killed also. Both her parents were killed. Ellison Barber joins us tonight from Tel Aviv. Ellison, explain to our viewers,

because we saw there in your report when you and your team had to scramble, When you hear a siren in Israel, it is much different than maybe in other parts of the country because there is little to no time to get to safety. Explain why. Yeah, I mean, Tom, you saw it through your reporting in Ukraine. In places like that, you're in such a big country, you will hear the air raid siren. And then depending on where you are, if you're in Kiev, say, you know because those rockets are coming from inside Russian territory or the Caspian Sea that you maybe have 30, 45 minutes

to get to shelter. or if you're in a place further east like Harkiv, it's less, but it's still time. It's not like that at all here because we're dealing with such a small area to begin with, and the areas that are being shelled near Gaza, I mean, you heard me say there, we were two and a half miles from the border with Gaza. It is literally seconds, 10 seconds or less, to get into a shelter before you hear a boom, where it is intercepted and then possibly have to worry about the possibility of shrapnel falling down, or it strikes something.

So when that happens, people do not have a lot of time to react to act, and it's not a natural thing to know where to run to a shelter necessarily. You just kind of feel it. You know you need to get somewhere, but it takes a minute sometimes to process that. That processing time that you and I experienced in Ukraine where you have a minute for it to go through your brain to say, okay, I need to get to shelter. Do I have everyone with me? That doesn't really exist here in the places where Hamas is firing. It is seconds, and it really is just to hunker down as best you can. because you might not be next to an actual shelter.

Tom. Ellison, Barbara, please stay safe. You and your team. I know you guys are in the middle of it there, but please continue your excellent reporting, but please stay safe. Next to Israel's offensive efforts in the sky, Israeli defense forces launching more than 2,300 air strikes

into Gaza as they prepare for an expected ground offensive. NBC's foreign correspondent, Ralph Sanchez, is in the region, and it has more on what a possible invasion could mean for one of the most densely populated areas in the world. tonight the scale of devastation in Gaza coming into full view after four days of Israeli retaliation airstrikes whole neighborhoods now lie in ruins and smoke rising as boats burn in Gaza city port one missile falling into the sea Israel's military says it's launched

more than 2,300 strikes so far in response to the assault mounted by Hamas terrorists Tonight, Hamas leaders continue to fire rockets into Israel and hold civilians hostage in Gaza. But it's ordinary Palestinians who live under Hamas rule but don't necessarily support the group, who often pay the heaviest price, digging through the rubble with bare hands. Gaza's hospitals overwhelmed by the tide of injuries. We evacuated from our houses. Jumanah Shaheen is a young mother. Her daughter, Sophia, turns two tomorrow.

I feel like guilty because I can't even celebrate her birthday. With Gaza's borders still sealed, we were forced to talk over shaky internet. When the bombs are falling, what do you tell your daughter? Big car. That's all what I can reply to her. But she can recognize the sound. Israel's defense minister has ordered a total siege of the strip, cutting off food, fuel, and electricity.

Leaving the border with Egypt as Gaza's only lifeline. But today, Israeli strikes landing near the crossing point. And with Israel massing its forces for an expected ground invasion, it's likely to be Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire. Raf Sanchez joins us tonight from Tel Aviv. Raf Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Palestinians to leave Gaza ahead of what is to be an escalation in violence and warfare. But is that realistic?

Explain to our viewers why that is pretty much impossible. Yeah, Tom, it is not realistic that people can actually leave Gaza. There are two land routes out of Gaza. One is into Israel. The Israeli military says it has sealed the border after that breach by Hamas terrorists. Any normal crossing into Israel is suspended during this time of war. The other way out is into Egypt. Only a tiny handful of Palestinians have the permits to leave Gaza.

through Egypt. From the people we've been talking to in Gaza tonight, the best most families can do is just try to get out of the neighborhoods where Israel is bombing most intensively. And then, Raf, how are people who live in Gaza getting by? No food, fuel, electricity being cut off? So how do they plan on surviving over the next coming weeks and what could be possibly months of war? Yeah, Tom, human rights groups are warning this has the potential to be a rolling humanitarian disaster. There does seem to be enough food inside of Gaza for now. There is some diesel fuel that is still powering some of the electricity there. We spoke to a woman earlier over Zoom. She had electricity. We were able to speak to her. Her internet connection was very shaky.

But those supplies are limited. There are two million people inside of Gaza. And if those supplies are not replenished soon, it could be a truly, truly diet. humanitarian situation. Tom. Ralph Sanchez, part of our reporting team there in Israel tonight. Raf, thank you. As Israel launches an all-out missile attack on Gaza, violent urban warfare on the ground is expected to follow. For more on the future of this conflict, I want to bring in NBC News military analyst Colonel Jack Jacobs. He's a retired U.S. Army colonel who fought in the Vietnam War and received the Medal of Honor. Colonel Jacobs, I wanted to bring

you on tonight because you have experienced fighting guerrilla warfare, right? We had the power of the American military that went into Vietnam. And we were in that war, as you know, better than maybe anyone, for a long period of time, and it was not easy. And so I want to know what is your take on Israel. They have one of the most advanced militaries in the world, one of the most powerful. And they're going to go into this ground invasion, as we reported, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. And it's going to change it.

There is going to be urban warfare, possibly street-to-street combat. Is Israel ready for that? Well, there are a few things in combat that are more difficult than fighting in built-up terrain. Nobody likes to do it. The advantages to the defender, as the Russians found out in the Second World War, it is extremely difficult, especially when the streets are full of rubble, plenty of places to hide. I don't think that Israel has any intention of moving en masse into Gaza and fighting some. street to street. Israel has three possible objectives, all of them difficult. The first is to decimate Hamas's capability. And to do that, it can do that from the air with precision

guided munitions, go for command and control headquarters, places from which rockets are launched, and so on. It can also try to destroy Hamas. That's going to be a lot of more difficult, even in a Gaza that's already cordoned, that's cordoned off. Or can try to take over all of Gaza and control it. Now, it has been in Gaza before and left. It is extremely difficult to maintain control over an area like this, and it's extremely difficult to gain control of it in the first place if you've got to fight house to house. It's difficult to envision what Israel will do on the ground except to make, perhaps

as they did in Lebanon a few years ago, to make a for a foray into Gaza for a short period of time and for a small distance and then withdraw, but to rely almost exclusively on air power, intelligence

and air power, to try to decimate Hamas. We talk about intelligence, Colonel Jacobs, but then again, we have to ask the question, how do this attack happen in the first place? You talk about precision targets, but you have to know where those targets are. And I raised the question because if Israel was caught by surprise on this Saturday attack, which was so horrific and killed so many Israelis, you have to sort of wonder, is the intelligence still as strong as it once

was? Because Israel, and I know you know this, was known around the world for their intelligence capabilities. Well, their intelligence is very good. I think what you had here is the independent variable of complacency. It was easy to get complacency. It was easy to get complacency. when you think what you have is an impregnable fortress. I remember being on the border there some years ago when there were foot patrols and motorized patrols 100% of the time. And all of the border area and the barriers to entry from Gaza were completely covered by forces who could fire on any breaches that might occur in the wall and in the fence. And we saw in the videos from just a couple of days ago with Hamas coming through on motorbikes and vehicles and so on after blowing a hole in the wall with no fire. from Israel taking place to thwart it.

So it's not intelligence, perhaps, per se, that was the independent variable here. There was the proximate cause. It was probably complacency. Colonel Jack Jacobs for us tonight here on Top Story. Colonel Jacobs, I'm sure we're going to be talking to you maybe almost every night of this week, so we appreciate your analysis and always your experience

from the combat field. We'll continue to follow the latest on this war throughout the broadcast, but we'll turn to other headlines when we come back, including a major update on that imploded, tight, and submersible. The Coast Guard just releasing this new image of an intact piece of the wreckage. They have recovered from the ocean floor, along with the remaining debris. What officials say was also found inside. Plus, the battle for Speaker of the House heating up the two top Republican candidates making their pitch to their colleagues tonight.

And TikTok sued why officials in Utah say the app is intentionally, intentionally harming children. We'll explain. Stay with us. is just getting started on this very busy Tuesday night. We're back now with the battle of consuming American politics, the fight for House Speaker paralyzing the House of Representatives after Kevin McCarthy's dramatic ouster last week. This coming in the middle of the international crisis in Israel,

Republicans Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise, the two declared candidates, making their case into a divided GOP lawmakers. Tonight questions remain about how long this process could take with President Biden demanding that funding be sent to Israel. Garrett Hake joins us tonight live from Capitol Hill. Garrett, I want to start with some new reporting. I know you have the former Speaker Kevin McCarthy essentially telling Republicans,

don't nominate me. I don't want that job. Yeah, that's right, Tom. McCarthy's been kind of all over the place on this. The night a week ago where he lost the speakership originally, he sort of indicated that he was done with it. But then over the weekend and early this week, he's been out doing a lot of interviews. He's made himself available.

He's been behaving as if he's, He were still the Speaker of the House. And several of his supporters that indicated they would vote for him still, and some said even only him. But he's begun today telling those supporters, don't nominate me, don't put me into the middle of this fight. Although I have to say, even late tonight, he was kind of coy about what he would do if he started to get votes or the possibility that he might still, in some capacity, want the job.

I think it just speaks to how messy this could potentially be. In theory, only two candidates, Tom. gets the majority one doesn't in a secret ballot vote. But it sounds like this could end up being more complicated for any number of reasons, including the folks who still think McCarthy got this short shrift here and want to stick by him. Okay. And then, Garrett, do we know or have any sense of who has the upper hand here? We know Representative Jordan got the blessing of former President Trump. But have you heard from your sources on who's the inside guy here?

Look, that certainly has to help. And Jordan has more confirmed endorsements or sort of people who've publicly said they'd vote for him by our whip count that our team is doing. But Scalia has the operation. He's running these kind of inside leadership races many times before and knows how to work behind the scenes. It's very difficult to say right now who's got the upper hand. I do think the Trump factor probably helps Jim Jordan

with some of the members who are more closely aligned with the president, which is a former president, which I think is more common in the House. But the people I'm watching haven't shown their cards yet. And that's a lot of those members who are new in states like New York in California who won in districts Joe Biden carried. We were very close to McCarthy. Almost none of them have shown their cards yet saying who they would vote for. Where that block breaks, I think will tell us a lot about who ultimately is holding the speaker's gavel, either at the end of this week or perhaps sometime in the more distant future.

Garrett Hague, I know we'll be hearing from you all week. We appreciate your reporting. When we come back, two deputies critically injured in California, a fire breaking out in a trailer at a correctional facility near L.A. What that structure was being used for when the blaze broke out. Stay with us. All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed. In an update, the Coast Guard has recovered the remaining debris of the Titan submersible. The Coast Guard sharing this new photo showing the vessels recovered end-cap, almost completely intact. Officials also confirming more presumed human remains were recovered.

The submersible exploded on its way to the wreckage of the Titanic in June, killing all five people on board. Two L.A. County deputies critically injured after a fire broke out at a detention center. Firefighters racing to put out the flames at the Pitches Detention Center in northwest L.A. after a fire erupted inside of a mobile shooting range used for training. The deputies taken to the hospital. Two others also injured at the scene. The cause of this fire is under investigation.

And Utah formerly suing TikTok for allegedly targeting, and they say harming children. The governor and attorney general accusing the Chinese company that owns that app, illegally begging children into unhealthy and addictive use. The suit comparing the algorithm design to a slot machine, saying it keeps kids glued to their devices harming their mental and physical development. Indiana and Arkansas have also filed similar suits. Next, we want to continue our coverage of the Israel-Hamas War, where more than 1,900 people have been killed since Hamas's terrorist attacks on Israel began on Saturday.

One of those people is Lieutenant Commander Ellie Ginsburg, who was killed while rescuing hostages at the music festival on Saturday. For more on Ellie's story and what the terrorist attacks mean for the larger region, I want to bring in his uncle, Ambassador Mark Ginsburg, who served as the former ambassador to Morocco under President Clinton and was a senior advisor on Middle East policy to President Carter. also been someone you know from the news, as he's always gone to as an expert to talk about the matters. Ambassador, this is sort of ironic and strange, right? Because I've interviewed you before talking about issues in the Middle East, and now we're talking about something so personal to you. First, we are so sorry for what happened to your nephew. How is your family doing

tonight? It's very tough, Tom. He's left behind four wonderful young children, a beautiful wife, two younger brothers, a sister-in-law of mine, his mother, who already lost her husband, my brother, in the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war. It's an extraordinary amount of sacrifice because Ellie was not only a wonderful father, but he was one of the most respected commanders and commandos and a Navy seal in Israel. Do you have any idea? Do you know what happened to him? Yes, and I know as much as my sister-in-law was able to find out and share with me.

His unit was called up immediately to begin a hostage rescue attempt at Kibbutz Reim. That was the site of the kibbutz that where the music festival had taken place, where that enormous massacre of music festival attendees had taken place in Hamas, not only killed over three to 400 people there, but took hostages. And his job and his unit's job was to go block by block, apartment by apartment, to try to discover whether or not there were Israelis that were being held still hostage. And during one of the efforts to break into one of the buildings, he was shot dead by one of the Hamas terrorist.

You've spent so much time in Israel, in Gaza, at times I know under President Carter, trying to work on peace in that region. Where's your mind and your heart today? You know, the situation is so abysmal. Just following Israeli media, I'm sure you are of the calamity of the massacres, the barbarity that has taken place by Hamas, to watch Israel threatened like this on such a surprise attack, and to know that Israel faces enormous threats from the neighborhood that I have grown up in, which is the Northern Galilee, and where my family has suffered already, having to be the victimized of Hezbollah

through terrorists as well. And all my friends in Israel and all are those of us who know so many in Israel. I was raised in Israel. Everybody of my friends and family are so aware of people who've died, who've been killed, who have no friends who have been killed. I mean, this war has touched so many Israelis so quickly. It's beyond words to describe. I mean, in the past, these wars have largely been soldiered to terrorists. did never seem this type of monumental attack on civilians.

It's shocked the conscience. How is your nephew's family? You spoke to him, spoke about him so eloquently just now, and I know you're still trying to wrap your head around this attack and where Israel goes from here. But how is your nephew's family? And what do you think the magnitude of the Israeli response is going to be in the days ahead?

Let me, my family, look, we're caught in this terrible situation where we can't lay him to rest. The Israeli army is dealing with so many deaths at this point that he was unable to be laid to rest in an army ceremony, which, as you know, usually or has to occur within 24 hours in our religion. So now the family is caught in this twilight period, not able to lay him to rest and not knowing when we can have a funeral. Now, with respect to your second question, look, I know and have been in Gaza, I am well aware of what Hamas's goals are, but one thing that I'm convinced of at this point, Israel has spent the better part of over 12 years trying to find a solution to, its cancer that exists in Gaza. And these attacks that have gone back and forth have always resulted in an inconclusive result. What Israel, I believe, has to do now is to totally decapitate Hamas's control over Gaza and find a way of turning civilian control over

Gaza to some government leadership, and I'm not suggesting the Palestinian Authority, but some temporary government that is going to be able to take what essentially has been the cancer of Hamas out of Gaza. And when I mean the cancer, I'm talking about not only deprogramming, but ridding Gaza of any semblance of Hamas control. Now, it's easier said than done. I have no illusions, what my Israeli compatriots are up against. Yeah, it is going to take a long time. And as many in Israel know, and as you know, this is just getting started. Ambassador, again, we are so sorry for your loss.

We will be thinking about you and your nephew and your family. Thank you so much. And thank you for remembering my great nephew. He was a real hero. Ambassador Mark Ginsburg. Coming up, the race against time, a deadly earthquake in Afghanistan, has rescue team searching for survivors, the major tremor reducing cities to rubble will have the latest on the aftershocks still hitting right now. Stay with us.

Back now with Top Stories, Global Watch. Time to get a check of what else is happening around the world. And we start with the urgent search for survivors after a deadly earthquake in western Afghanistan. The 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks, reducing villages and homes. You see them here to rubble in Harat. Officials say more than 2,000 people were killed and thousands more have been hurt. It's one of the deadliest quakes to hit the country in 20 years. The death toll is expected to rise. Myanmar's military blamed for carrying out a deadly attack on a refugee camp.

A bombing at the camp near the border with China has killed nearly 30 people, including women and children. A rebel group has blamed Myanmar's ruling party for the attack, but they have denied the accusations. It's one of the deadliest attacks on civilians there since a military coup. back in 2021. And on this side of the world, Mexico, on high alert as Hurricane Lydia takes aim at the country's west coast, the storm just strengthening to a category four storm and is expected to make landfall near Puerto Vallata tonight. Local authorities have announced school closures throughout the area as communities prepare

for dangerous winds and heavy rains. There are warnings of potential flash flooding and dangerous storm surge in Mexico and across the U.S. Gulf Coast. Okay, we want to return out our continuing coverage of the Israel. Moss war, we turned to Israel's northern border and the ongoing skirmishes that could turn this conflict into a two-front war. Israel exchanging fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that has turned deadly. Our Matt Bradley talked to local leaders who say they have thousands of martyrs standing by to sacrifice themselves against Israel.

This is a cry for vengeance. Here in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is burying two men among the three who died fighting Israel yesterday. There are fears here that Hezbollah will launch a full-scale war with Israel, opening a second front in the fighting and internationalizing an already horrific war. The cross-border violence here escalated dramatically over the weekend. A day after Hamas's brazen attack on Israel, Hezbollah fired missiles on disputed territory along Israel's northern border, calling it solidarity with Hamas.

Israel fired back with airstrikes and artillery. Six fighters were killed, including a senior Israeli general. The tit-for-tat combat sparked fires in the hills along the border, and rage in southern Lebanon. The anger here is palpable, but is it enough to push Hezbollah into the war and the region into an even deeper crisis? Whether that happens may be up to yet a third nation, Iran. Like Hamas, Iran is Hezbollah's patron state.

But leaders here in southern Lebanon tell us the decision. To enter the war will be entirely up to Hezbollah's revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah. I asked this local imam if Nasrullah was waiting for the go-ahead from Tehran. He said, not at all. Nasrallah doesn't wait for a signal from anyone. But when I asked if the Lebanese people feared a war, he said no. Telling me Lebanon has hundreds, even thousands of martyrs prepared to sacrifice themselves against Israel. That's why on the other side of the border in Israel, there's anxiety.

This isn't the best feeling in the world, said this Israeli. We've experienced rockets here. We've been through a lot. But this time, we feel there will be chaos. Many still remember the last time Israel and Hezbollah waged a full-scale war in 2006. That month of fighting killed nearly 1,500 Lebanese people, most of them, civilians. And it destroyed huge swaths of southern Lebanon. But for now, the fighting here.

is still mostly contained, even as Israel rushes more troops toward Lebanon's border. As I speak to you now, there are no incidents at the northern border, but we're ready, in high readiness, said this IDF spokesman. If Hezbollah does throw itself into war, it'll bring to bear weapons and training that could dwarf even Hamas's capabilities, and heap even more bloodshed on a region that's already bleeding. Matt Bradley joins us tonight from tired Lebanon near that border with Israel. Matt, when it comes to Lebanon and Israel, are there indications this will escalate? I know President Biden made it clear he doesn't want anyone to take advantage of the situations what he said today at the White House, but it's unclear if anyone in the Middle East is

listening. Yeah, I mean, it's a really good question, Tom, and an uncomfortable one for Iran and Hezbollah. Basically, if Israel goes into the Gaza Strip and completely destroys Hamas and its military infrastructure, that's when they're going to have to make this uncomfortable decision. Either they weigh in at a great cost and to great damage for the Lebanese public who had been kind of supporting them where they sit by and watch as one of Iran's most formidable anti-Israeli allies in the region is completely dismembered. Tom? Matt Bradley for us, Matt, thank you for that. When we come back, the war between Israel and Hamas felt here at home. The rallies held in cities across the country, supporters of Israelis and Palestinians facing off in New York and in Miami Beach,

police on high alert as thousands of people gather for a pro-Israel rally. Our team is there. We'll take you there. Finally tonight, division across the country as supporters of both Israelis and Palestinians take to the streets. Tensions are reaching a boiling point with confrontations from New York to South Florida, while peaceful demonstrations bring a small amount of peace in a time of tragedy. San Brock is in Miami with the latest. The wounds of a war half a world away felt here at home. Supporters of Israelis and Palestinians rallying in cities across the country,

even as confrontations ratchet up while the unrest rages on. This isn't about territory. This isn't about politics. This isn't about any of that. This is about terrorism. This is about children. being murdered. This is about women being raped. This is about Americans and Israelis being kidnapped. Where are our politicians when thousands and thousands and thousands of Palestinians continue to die? Dueling protests held in the New York metropolitan area for a third straight night. New York's governor, Kathy Hockel, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, joining Israeli advocates for a rally in Manhattan.

I stand here to tell you that New Yorkers will never tolerate evil, whether it's committed here in our homeland or in Israel, we'll never, ever tolerate evil. And in nearby Newark, New Jersey, pro-Palestinian groups gathering outside of Senator Cory Booker's office after his trip to the Holy Land. We demand that the entire context to be acknowledged, 75 years of settler colonialism, a 15-year-plus blockade on Gaza is not a way to achieve justice. On Monday night, tensions high at the University of Florida in Gainesville during a vigil for Israel. A student fainting, but scared crowd members, misinterpreted the panic and caused a stampede that left five injured. God bless the state of Israel. In Aventura, a Jewish community just north of Miami, loved ones and strangers standing shoulder to shoulder, united in grief.

We never like to have war or fight. We like peace. We're people of peace, but we have to fight because we have, they're forcing us to fight, to defend ourselves. And tonight in Miami Beach, an expected crowd of four to five thousand aligned in anguish, but showing strength, even as barriers outside the event and rapid deployment units reveal the vulnerable state of affairs. Israel is a strong country. We will survive. We will prevail. What happened now is horrible. We're all in shock. And that's why we're all. here, and it's good to see that people care. Sam Brock joins us tonight from Miami Beach, and Sam, I'm curious about the tone of this gathering, right, because there is so much emotion, there is so much anger, and it's only building as we see more videos, and we see more images.

Plus, I have to think security is a major concern there as well. Sure, Tom, tonally, as we speak right now, Senator Marco Rubio just said, the horrors of the Holocaust, replaying out, in the sense that six, six, six. million Jews died to form modern-day Israel in the first place. And now here we stand with thousands of people behind me, feeling very much like there is persecution anew, coming directly at them in the most grotesque forms possible. As far as the security component is concerned, Tom, over my shoulder, you see trucks that are barricading access. There are stands. You have to go through a metal detector just to get out here to where I'm standing to those physical

perimeters that have been established. And I want to show you one other thing. If you look at the building here, look at the very top of that building. There are snusiness. You see one there, but multiple plural, just on that one building that are watching out for this crowd. I watched as an entire team of rapid deployment units came and drove through the area, officers on the ground doing sweeps before we started here. Now, granted, Tom, we are talking about four or five thousand people at this event versus maybe several hundred or a thousand and others in the area. But still, what does that speak to? And I think I spoke with one gentleman who told me one sense, it's fear. It's not necessarily vulnerability.

that people are scared right now based on what's happened, and some semblance of confidence, of protection exists with all these trappings behind me right now. Tom? Okay, Sam Brock, bringing us just one of the many demonstrations and gatherings happening right here in the United States. Sam Brock for us, Sam, we thank you for that, and we thank you for watching this special edition of Top Story tonight covering the ongoing crisis in Israel.

I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way. Thank you.