Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Episode Date: October 18, 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 as we report live from Tel Aviv, a catastrophic missile strike on a hospital in Gaza and the urgent efforts to get those hostages out of the war zone. Video showing a massive blaze tearing through a hospital in Gaza city, hundreds killed in what could be the deadliest scene for Palestinians since the start of this war. Israel and Hamas, both claiming the other side is responsible, the horrific assault sparking anger throughout the Arab world, The humanitarian crisis inside Gaza worsens by the hour. Residents running out of food, water, and fuel. We'll talk to a doctor inside of Gaza tonight about the impossible conditions he and his team are up against. Trapped in Gaza tonight an estimated 200 hostages, a senior Hamas official telling our Richard Engel they are willing to release civilian hostages if Israel stops its airstrikes on Gaza.

Tonight you'll hear from multiple families with loved ones, believed to be held captive tonight, including one American citizen who disappeared during the Hamas terror attack. His father joins us live with reaction to those demands. Biden heads to Israel, the president in the air on the way to Tel Aviv, for his most dangerous trip as commander-in-chief. The leader of Jordan now canceling a major summit between Biden and the Palestinian leaders what we know about the president's next 24 hours. The war within.

Tonight, our journey to Jerusalem and our conversations with two business owners, one Palestinian and one Israeli, in their own words, why they may never see eye to eye with the other side, but the one thing they can both agree on. The other major headlines back at home, Congressman Jim Jordan falling short in his bid to become Speaker of the House, when the next round of voting is expected as the House enters a second week without a speaker. Plus, inmates on the loose, an urgent manhunt after four men broke out of a Georgia prison, one of them an accused murderer, the getaway car they were spotted in, and band of brothers back here in Israel, five siblings answering the call to action, how they're finding strength in each other as they

take up arms. Top story starts right now. And good evening. Top story is live again on the ground in Tel Aviv, where tonight we are following several developing headlines. The situation here is changing in real time, and we want to carefully walk you through what we're we do know at this hour. Catastrophic images coming out of Gaza tonight as a major fire burns through a hospital in Gaza City. Hundreds of people, including children, killed in what Hamas is calling an Israeli air strike. Israel denying those accusations, saying it was a misfired rocket that came from within Gaza launched by a militant group separate from Hamas. We may not know the truth of what happened there for days to come. But tonight, we are seeing anger ripple

across the Arab world, pro-Palestinian demonstrators who see them here marching towards the Israeli embassy in Amman Jordan. That nation's leader tonight canceling a summit that had been scheduled between Palestinian leaders and President Biden, who is in the air and on his way to Tel Aviv as we report tonight. In the south of Gaza, where hundreds of thousands sought shelter after Israel told residents in the north to evacuate, missile strikes killing at least 80 people inside that evacuation zone in the last 24 hours alone. top Israeli official telling NBC news, despite those evacuation orders, southern Gaza is not off limits as the military targets Hamas strongholds in the wake of the terrorist attack that

killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. Desperation and a sense of hopelessness inside Gaza tonight as Palestinians are forced to confront the haunting realization that no place is safe. There is nowhere for them to go. And critical supplies, including food and clean drinking water. Tonight remain stuck in Egypt. You see them here. Trucks lined up near the Rafa checkpoint, unable to get in as the Gaza-Egypt border remained sealed. But here in Israel, there is also anguish and heartbreak and the desperate effort to get the more than 200 hostages being held in Gaza by terrorist home. Among them, 21-year-old Mie Hashem. That haunting video released by Hamas late last night, showing her alive, though, unclear when that was taken. Her mother describing the moment,

which she saw that video to our Lester Holt. I saw my baby alive. So at first, I started to scream. And then I started to scream from happiness. And everybody came, and we said, wow, and we were so happy. And after everybody went home, I sat and I watched the video, and I wanted to die because I saw my baby so scared and so in wounded. And, well, I mean, this is the worst nightmare for every mother in the world.

If Mia sees this, what do you want to tell her? I want to tell her that I, me, her brothers, her cousins, all the family and all her friends, and she have a lot, did do and will do everything to bring her home and then we'll do everything to bring home all the hostages we will never stop as we mentioned president Biden late today departing for Tel Aviv perhaps the most dangerous trip of his presidency where he is expected to meet with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

and offer his support for Israel as he tries to head off a broader regional war as troops remain stationed along the Gaza border tonight, the Israeli military says that ground offense we've been telling you about for days is not a certainty. We will have much more on the Israeli front of this war straight ahead, but we begin first with those devastating scenes inside Gaza and our chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, leading us off tonight. Palestinians call it a massacre and say an Israeli airstrike exploded at the Al-Ahli Hospital

in Gaza City, a direct hit where thousands of Palestinians were taking shelter from Israeli retaliatory strikes on Gaza. Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas, says hundreds are dead. Bodies seen lying on the grass outside. The wounded were rushed to another hospital in Gaza City. Young children are among the victims. There was an almighty missile shriek and then a big thud, and the full ceiling in the OR fell on top of us. There are lots of children, very young children.

whose bodies were laying on the floor. This could be a tipping point, triggering rage across the Arab world, just as the region is on the brink of a wider war. Israel quickly denied responsibility and said the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket that misfired, launched not by Hamas, but another Palestinian militant group in Gaza. Many Palestinians don't believe that. Protests erupted in the West Bank, Jordan's king, calling it, a heinous war crime, and President Biden's impending visit is now in jeopardy.

The leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate, left Jordan, refusing to join President Biden for a peace summit in Amman with other Arab leaders. And now that summit has been canceled. Inside Gaza, Hamas is under pressure. On Monday, the top spokesman for the group's military wing claimed the group is willing to release an unspecified number of foreigners it took hostage during its attack in southern Israel. Today, a senior Hamas official told me that offer has expanded. We are ready to release all the civilians, including the foreigners.

All of the civilians, including the Israeli civilians? I'm sorry. Can I just clarify this? You say you're willing to release all of the civilians, including the Israeli civilians, nationals if there is a stopping including the Israeli civilians and all the foreigners and what are you asking for in order to do that do you want the airstrikes to stop is that the condition to stop the aggression how can we technically logistically it is impossible to do it so that our our viewers might hear that and say that this offer doesn't mean anything that if you're not

willing to carry it out then it doesn't mean anything How? Why? If you stop the aggression, it can be implemented on the next hour. Okay, Richard joins us now live from the Israel-Gaza border. Richard, there's so much news tonight, but I do want to pick up actually right there where you left off. How do you interpret that, and what can you report to our viewers? How should that be taken by Israel, by Hamas, by the international community? This is an offer by Hamas, and we don't know how serious it is. It has been made twice.

Hamas is saying that if the airstrikes stop, it will let the civilians go. It says it does not apply to Israeli soldiers. It could be a Kaman. It could be an attempt by Hamas to buy time, but it is an offer. And since the hostage crisis is at the center of this conflict, many ways. It is something that I know officials are exploring, but I'm not sure they have great amount of faith that Hamas will be, will live up to the deal and will actually hand over these hostages, even if Israel stopped its airstrikes. So a lot of skepticism.

Richard, we were just showing our viewers some of the video and the images from that hospital attack where up to 800 people could possibly be dead. I have sort of an interesting question for you, I think. And each side is pointing the finger at each other, right? And the truth is always important. It's important to us, to the international community. But in a war like this, will it matter to those truly affected? I ask, because the sense I'm getting from Palestinians and from Israelis is that they don't trust each other, they don't believe each other. This is a war, and there are hundreds that are now dead, and it's going to be blamed on whoever the enemy is. perception is reality so whatever the evidence proves could have very little impact of how things play out on the streets

the Israeli military just a short while ago released what it says is more evidence it released video evidence showing what it described as a rocket it looked like a rocket flying in the sky and then taking an unusual turn and then crashing somewhere into Gaza so The Israelis are trying to build the case. The Israeli military says when President Biden comes, they will show the president the evidence that they have. But that's not going to stop the protests across the Arab world, which are already beginning and which are scheduled to intensify in many Arab capitals tomorrow. Richard, before you go, I have to ask you one question.

You had a line in your report that really stood out to me. You said Hamas is under pressure. What do you mean? Hamas is under pressure from Arab states. Hamas has taken hostages in the past. It has taken Israeli soldiers. But this time, Hamas took hundreds of people. It took children.

It took women. It took babies. And that has embarrassed many Arab leaders. And there is a sense in the Arab world that Hamas may have overreached by taking children, taking the disabled. And it is making Arab states look bad. even Arab states that want to defend the Palestinian cause, have traditionally defended the Palestinian cause.

And they are pressuring Hamas to not change its course, but to certainly try and improve the image of this conflict by getting rid of some of these hostages, allowing some of the most vulnerable to go. But so far, that has not been able to be accomplished. But there is pressure on Hamas to do something because the Arab states, a lot of the Arab states that would have been sympathetic to Hamas are no longer. Richard Engel, reporting from close to that border, you saw that explosion or flare up just behind Richard just now.

Richard, we thank you for all your reporting. We now want to speak to someone inside of Gaza about what they're experiencing about that horrific hospital explosion. Join us now live is Dr. Mohamed Ziyara. He's a surgeon at a hospital inside of Gaza. Dr. Ziarra, first, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. I can't even imagine what you're going through and what your colleagues are going through. Do you have any information about the hospital that some type of missile strike happened at, and we know that up to 800 people are dead?

Well, this is the Anglican Christian Hospital. It is managed by the Anglican and Christian Church in. UK, it provides the medical aid and many surgeries all the time for the civilians, for the people of Gaza. I actually started working my start of career in the hospital, the Baptist Hospital. Ten years ago, I worked there for seven months, and then started my, my, started my, my specialty in the governmental hospitals. So

I was two days ago there. I was trying to we were trying to evacuate some patients injuries to do perform surgeries there. As you know, a shift hospital as many hospitals in

Gaza trying to deal with so many patients and lots way more than the capacity and the base capacity of the the hospital, and more though, the capacity of OTs, the operational teachers, can handle the large number and mass casualties that's coming in every hour to the hospital. So we were there to make just, yeah. Do you want, do you, are some of those patients that survived this explosion, this, this missile

strike. Are they being taken to your hospital in Gaza? Is there room in your hospital? Yes, they are now. Just only hospital in Gaza that can receive these hospital. These injuries is a ship hospital. It is already full loaded and the patients are or the injuries are staying there. The Justice Department waiting for any evacuation for more room to after doing surgery, maybe for some people, transfer them to other hospital to take less medical care, less procedure, so more room are available so we can deal with these patients. Actually, about 10 minutes ago, a relative of some patients who I already seen in the ER, who was burned 80% of his body, and the other,

His brother is about 30% of his body was burned, and they can't go to the ICU. And we did admit them to our department, but unfortunately, we don't have room. We don't have beds. This is the situation since about one week ago. So three days from the aggression, it was fully loaded, fully divide. So they tried to have any space. They were begging me to, or begging the department to admit them to our department, but we couldn't do that. We need, we urgently need to intervene with these patients to do surgery, to deprive the tissue,

so they can have a chance to live. But still now, we don't have the capacity. Other departments can't admit them or have a place for them, so we can't. for them. Besides that, the operation theaters fall in our hospital out of tonight. Okay, Dr. Ziaro, we thank you for your time and the work that you're doing there in Gaza. Again, I cannot imagine what you and your colleagues are up against. Next, we want to turn to the desperate pleas from the families of hostages being held in Gaza. Joining us now is Jonathan Declan. His son, Saggy, lived in the kibbutz near Oz with his pregnant wife

and two small daughters before he went missing the day those Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. Jonathan and his son Saggy are both American citizens. Jonathan, can you explain what you know happened to your son and how you interpret our reporting? I'm not sure if you were able to hear Richard Engels reporting his conversation with a Hamas official that potentially any civilian hostages may be released if the bombing stops. Well, thank you for having me out. I guess I'll start from the beginning, which in effect explains where we are right now. On October 7th, somewhere between 170 to 200, heavily armed, well-organized, well-trained,

Hamas terrorists invaded my kibbutz, my small cooperative farm on the border with Gaza, and another 20 very similar small communities, rampaging through, killing, dozens on my kibbutz and abducting many dozens more and then destroying the kibbutz as a habitable place. And my son was one of a small group of young men civilians who are on a security team for this kibbutz. And they took action from around 6.30 in the morning that day. And for the next Three hours, they engaged the terrorists, but were totally overwhelmed, talking about a handful of young guys. They were lightly armed. And there was absolutely no chance.

And by the time they recognized what was going on, it was far too late. It probably wouldn't have mattered. Like many others in the security team, he disappeared, meaning that we know for certain these many dozens of people, men, women, children, infants, toddlers. The elderly people were on the kibbutz, were in our little community at 6.15 in the morning, and when our army finally, mid-after was able to clear out the last of the terrorists and the looters came to take all of our properties from the kibbutz, many dozens of people were not found. We know for certain that both by eyewitness testimony on our side and Hamas videos on their own social media platforms that many, many of our people were taken into captivity,

including my ex-wife, who by some miracle, was able to escape. We are absolutely certain, although Hamaski has no indication that it has any of these people, we're talking to hundreds of people. We have no doubt that Sagi and all of the other missing people are in Hamas custody right now. As far as what Hamas is offering... Jonathan, you know, President... Yes, go on.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt. Keep going. I'm sorry. Well, the second part of your question was about this supposed Hamas offer. And look, for all of your viewers, what you just showed in Gaza Hospital, it doesn't matter of where that missile came from. This is a human tragedy. What's happening there? The sad fact, the horrific fact, is that while there are 200 or so Israeli hostages being held by Hamas, nearly 2 million Palestinian civilians in Gaza are similarly held hostage. Hamas leadership is either deep in tunnels under the Gaza Strip or outside of the country. These poor people in Gaza that are suffering now from the results of that massive mass.

in Israel last Saturday are captives of Hamas and whatever happens with these hostages and we all pray that they'll come home safe. Quite honestly, we don't know if they're alive or dead right now. But whatever happens with them, Hamas is an evil that is doing at least as much damage to the people of Gaza in the end as it's doing to Israelis that it affects. Jonathan, I just, you sort of gave me pause because I know you're a father and you just said you have no idea if your son is alive or dead. And I know you've been through this process for more than 10 days now.

And I just wonder if your grief, if your worry is now changing the frustration and anger or if it's always been that way. Well, there's, there are elements of frustration and anger. And Hamas is Hamas. I mean, to expect anything other from Khamas, you know, one would have to be, it may have been possible to expect something else from Klamas before last Saturday. Now all of its cards are on the table. It came into these, you know, 2,000 Palestinian terrorists came over the border last Saturday, intent on massacring anyone that they could find, taking others into captivity. in a way, that's not a surprise to Israelis. The scale may have been a surprise. We've lived with Hamas rocketing since 2007 in these border communities.

That's not new in essence. Frustration, there's also frustration with our own government, because from A to Z, this was not supposed to happen. That's no secret as well, that this kind of assault should never have been allowed to happen. when the dust finally settles and our Hamas hostages are return to Israel and the Israeli government and perhaps the military must be held accountable. There's a lot of frustration there. And in terms of the surviving remnants, you know, of the 400 people who were on the kibbutz that night or excuse me,

that morning, only 160 survive and our homes are gone. And the government here again is not really giving us any indication and what the future holds for us as communities and so there's immense frustration and fear of course and i see like all the other parents just yeah the warfare being conducted in gaza and we're terrified but we understand that we can't just ask Hamas nicely to return our children or our fathers or grandparents and your reporter spoke about pressure. Jonathan Declan, we thank you. Jonathan, I am so sorry that what you're dealing with and what you're going through.

We thank you for your time tonight here on Top Story. As those hostages remain in Gaza, there is some confusion tonight if Israel is still planning a ground invasion. But so far, more than 600,000 residents in northern Gaza have fled their home as air strikes continue. I want to bring in NBC News correspondent Ellison Barber, who's live for us tonight, joining us again from the Israel-Gaza border. Ellison, an Israeli army spokesperson spoke to reporters earlier today about the expectations of a ground offensive, and he indicated things may not go as people expect.

Explain what he said. Yeah, so this was a regular press briefing that they've been holding every day, and he said their forces are preparing for the next phase of war, but that, quote, everyone's talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different. That's a direct quote from one of the spokesmen. people for Israel's defense forces. Everybody has been talking about the ground offensive because that is what the IDF has been talking about in conversations and briefings with reporters, in TV interviews as well as statements that they have released. Just three days ago, the IDF released an official statement where they said they were preparing to expand their offensive. And they said that it would likely include integrated and coordinated attacks

from air, sea, and land. In that same briefing from three days ago, and I'm going to quote from this for you, Tom, the IDF wrote, quote, IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed all over the country and are prepared to increase readiness for the next stages of war with an emphasis on a significant ground operation. That is an official IDF statement released just three days ago. So the comments that we heard from the spokesperson this morning, it is a shift in the language we have been hearing from the IDF to date. Now, whether or not that's a shift in language because they are trying to reestablish an element of surprise here or because they're changing their plans, we don't know. Tom?

Alison, are you noticing a difference on the ground there? You know, we've talked so much with you the last few days about how we have seen massive amounts of military equipment moving towards the border. We haven't seen that forward movement so far this evening. And that seems to be because everything is already positioned at the border. I did in the last hour see a military Humvee with about 15 armed Israeli troops in this area. We have heard some military equipment in the area. We have heard some things flying over our head. We haven't seen the big ground movement towards the border. And that seems to be though, Tom, not because it's not there. It seems to be because all of it is already there. And they are in a position.

for this if they were to launch a ground assault. Tom. Ellison, Barbara, for us again tonight. Ellison, thank you for your reporting. For more on Israel's military strategy and what could come next. I want to bring in retired U.S. Army General and NBC News military analyst, General Barry McCaffrey. General, following up on Ellison's reporting, it was a bit of a cryptic statement. We are at war here in Israel against Hamas.

What do you make of it? Well, it's a surprising change in tone to some extent. Look, this massive tragedy that undoubtedly has occurred in Gaza in a hospital. And by the way, we're sure that Israel does not target hospitals, never mind the day before the President of the United States arising country. But this kind of tragedy will be commonplace if there's a massive airground campaign into a city of over a million people. thankfully a half million are out now, but still it will be an ongoing fight, three-dimensional,

vertical underground on the street level. It'll go on for weeks. So the international condemnation of the ongoing actions in Gaza may possibly change the IDF thinking. Hard to imagine, but that may be what's happening. General, so many important things have happened, I think, over the last 12th. 24 hours, namely one, Hamas acknowledging or at least telling the world they would be willing to release civilian hostages. And Richard also pointing out that Hamas is under pressure from other Arab nations. How does that change the calculation of what happens in this war? I think probably not much. When Hamas said they'd release the international hostages,

if the ground condition, field conditions changed, that essentially was a negotiating stance to stop the air and artillery campaign, which the Israelis are trying to target only Hamas infrastructure fighters and political leaders. So again, if Israel stops the air campaign does not carry out the ground offensive, something I've been concerned about is, you know, I tell people how wars end is much more a profound implication than how they began. So if Hamas ends up with a strategic victory over Israel, they will never live in peace in the future. And the next time, it'll be possibly their survival at stake.

I don't know what the Israelis are going to do. It's a perilous situation for them. I got one more question for you before we go. And briefly, if you can, I'm going to ask our director to roll that drone video over Gaza, again, that just shows the complete hellscape of Gaza. Israel has said they want to wipe Hamas off the planet. They want to destroy Hamas. Can you destroy Hamas and not destroy Gaza?

Boy, that's a good question. A quick answer is no. I think there's going to be massive infrastructure devastation in Gaza when they go in. They probably minimize, to some extent, the loss of innocent life. But it's going to be a fight. We'll go on for weeks, you know, 400 miles of underground tunnels, the hostages are there. I think the Israelis have to carry out an airground assault. I think they've got to do it or the survival of Israel is at stake, but it's going to be a bloody mess if they do.

General McCaffrey, we thank you for all of your analysis night after night. We do move on now to President Biden's visit. The White House saying it shows the president's, quote, steadfast support for Israel in the face of Hamas's brutal terrorist attack, but the trip set to put the president in the heart of a war zone for the second time. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez joins us now from the White House. Gabe, we know the president also traveled to Ukraine, and that war is ongoing there. I have a question about sort of the TikTok, and I think it's important of what happened here. We know that the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, decided to cancel his visit. He was not going to be part

of that summit because of what happened at that hospital in Gaza tonight. And then there was a release that the king of Jordan, King Abdullah, was going to cancel the trip altogether, and then the White House said they were working with the Jordan officials to cancel that trip. What exactly happened? Well, Tom, this all came apart just in the last couple of hours, and the trip was canceled, the trip to Jordan. And right now, the White House is dealing with that major setback. Late today, the Jordanian embassy said all parties agreed to the cancellation, because under the current circumstances, the summit would not achieve any of the goals it set out to. And it is a dramatic change, Tom, because just hours earlier, Palestinian Authority president, Makuta Bas, had met

with Secretary of State Blinken in Jordan. And tonight the White House says the president is sending his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza and that he looks forward to consulting in person with the Arab leaders soon. Tom? So, Gabe, as you know, if you're in Tel Aviv, if you're any part of Israel, you have to take cover, you have to go to bunkers at different hours. You never know. It's obviously unpredictable because it's a war. It happened with Secretary Romney, with Schumer, when we were with them over the weekend. It happened, obviously, to Secretary Blinken as well.

What type of precautions are they taking for President Biden? Well, Tom, as you know, the White House doesn't really get into details of its security measures when it comes to the president, and only to say that it's working around the clock to keep the president safe. But as you point out, this trip is a stark contrast from the president's visit to Ukraine earlier this year, which was shrouded in secrecy. One U.S. officials stressed to me today that while there are security challenges in Israel, it is a different kind of conflict than Ukraine. Ukraine, this official said, is facing a military that has a very long-range, advanced, sophisticated capabilities

that Hamas simply does not. have. But of course, it is a challenge, Tom, to get the president in and out, what is essentially a war zone. But now, again, the breaking news this afternoon that over the last several hours, that second leg of his trip to Jordan just fell apart. Tom? Yeah, things changing by the minute here. Gabe Gutierrez with a lot of new reporting for us, Gabe, thank you. This war deepening painful divides across Israel and the region. Tonight are conversations with Israeli and Palestinian business owners in the old city of Jerusalem. Neighbors now refusing to speak to each other.

What they told me about the thousands of innocent civilians killed, the brutal Hamas attack on Israelis, and the possibility of peace. We traveled to Jerusalem, to the old city, to ask about the new war. For centuries, Muslims, and Jews have lived, traded, and prayed here side by side along these ancient steps. But could they spare a few minutes today to talk to what? one another. Would you be open though to talk to someone who's Jewish about this? Yeah, of course. So we're going to find somebody to talk to anybody now because

why? Because the tensions are very high. It's too hot right now? Too too hot, way too hot. Would you go over there to talk to them about this or no? In the meantime, we are not, it's not clear, situation is not clear. What do you think about the bombings in Gaza? What's the bombing in Gaza? They're getting back what they send us. Who doesn't feel for a man, for a family that the house was bombed? Of course we feel for them, but we feel for us first. Esther Weiss is an Israeli. She owns a jewelry shop in the Jewish quarter.

Hani Imam, a Palestinian merchant who has a stand in the Muslim quarter. And though their businesses are a short walk from each other, their views of this war are a world away. The problem is based on 75 years of occupation. You cannot control people and treat them like caged animals, and then when they retaliate, you call them animals. You treat them like animals, because that's why they became animals. It's not true at all, because the Palestinians want to work,

and they stand in line to come and work in Israel. They're getting water, supply, electricity, gas, they get everything from Israel. They're not in a cage. You do not go around bombing children and women. That's unacceptable. So with that logic, the Hamas terrorists were then absolutely wrong as well. Well, first of all, I won't call Hamas terrorists. I'll call...

The Hamas terrorists that attacked last Saturday. I would call them militia, whatever you call. You can call them whatever you want. But if there's civilian casualties, I totally disagree with that. Do you think those men are terrorists? They're not human being. I don't know what to call them. Terror is not enough.

When people are at home, sleeping at home, children. women and some F-16 decided that they don't want them around anymore and just bomb the hell out of them, killing all those innocent civilians. That's very painful, yes. It hurts really bad. And yet, despite the animosity preventing these neighbors from even speaking to each other, if they did, they may actually agree on something. What would you tell him so he understands your side of it?

He asked to open his eyes and see that we are people who want peace. Eventually, they're old babies, but it's going to take some time. It takes two sides to make things work. Still ahead tonight, our coverage on this intensifying war continues as Israeli forces fight Hezbollah on its border with Lebanon, how likely it is that this conflict will spread. Secretary Blinken's message from Cairo today, and we're also following a major headline back at home. Congressman Jim Jordan failing to secure enough support to become House Speaker in the first round of voting. So what's next?

That's top story just getting started, live from Tel Aviv. We're back now live from Tel Aviv, but we want to turn now to a major headline back in the U.S. and the battle for House Speaker. Congressman Jim Jordan failed to rally enough Republicans to elect him to the job. NBC's Ryan Nobles is tracking it all for us from Capitol Hill tonight. Tonight, the congressional drama over the next Speaker of the House continues. In the first vote of the day, the next man up, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan fell short of the 217 votes needed, with 20 GOP members supporting other candidates. Jordan went to work behind the scenes to win over skeptical moderates, still angry about the way former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was pushed out.

Despite the setback, Jordan saying he's not giving up. So we get a speaker, we got to have a speaker, and it can't be some deal with the Democrats. I mean, American people don't want that. But several of the members who voted against Jordan warned they could not be won over, with some even asking for McCarthy to return. We should go back to what we had, who was a great speaker, really good for our conference. Jordan's candidacy is controversial. He voted to object to the 2020 election results.

On the floor, Democrats attacked Jordan's record. Even leaders of his own party have called him a legislative terrorist. all right ryan nobles joins us now live ryan walk us through what happens next when's that next vote expected tomorrow morning and then does it sound like jordan has enough votes well tom i think if jordan had enough votes they'd probably be voting tonight so likely the reason that they're going to wait until tomorrow is so that he can reach out directly to those 20 holdouts to try and convince them to support his speakership they've scheduled floor action beginning at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning but it may not happen that soon

soon if Jordan doesn't think he has the votes in place. And keep in mind, Tom, there's also the possibility that people that voted for Jordan today may not be with him in subsequent rounds of voting. To put it simply, this is still a huge mess here on Capitol Hill. And we still don't know when there will be a Speaker of the House. All right, Ryan Nobles, who may be covering this for a while. All right, Ryan, we thank you for your reporting. When we come back, the latest from here in Israel, Israeli forces clashing with Hezbollah militants on Israel's border with Lebanon, and many fear this war could be fought on two fronts. Our team on the ground in northern Israel asking residents there how they're preparing for that possibility.

Stay with us. Special edition of Top Story live from Tel Aviv. As missile strikes between Israel and Hezbollah continue, IDF troops are amassing along the northern border with Lebanon. Many civilians there are already evacuating as the threat of war on multiple fronts looms. Josh Letterman explains. In the shadows of the Lebanese border, Israeli troops are preparing for a two-front war. They hope they won't have to fight. Moving Merkava battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, and scores of soldiers to make-shift encampments, barely two miles from Lebanon.

The fear that Israel could soon find itself at war simultaneously in the south, in Gaza, and in the north. 24-year-old Harrison Schwartz from Pennsylvania is in Israel's reserves. He flew back after the Hamas attack, now defending Israel's northern border. You know, I get to base. I ran here with a carry-on bag, with jeans, the shirt on my back, you know, my uniform and socks and underwear. That's all I came here with. You know, I'm proud. I'm really happy to be here. But unfortunately, it's not for the best of reasons. While Israel and Hamas battle near Gaza, the country's north has also been under daily attack. The militant group Hezbollah launching missiles, mortars, and arms drones from southern Lebanon,

and Israel striking back. with artillery shells and fighter jets. On the other side of this checkpoint is Lebanon, and this entire area is now a closed border zone, extending about two and a half miles into Israel. The Israeli military says it is urging the public to stay away from this area for their own safety and is restricting GPS in what the military calls active combat zones.

Backed by Iran, Hezbollah is a far mightier force than Hamas, with thousands of advanced missiles that could strike anywhere in Israel. So far, the fighting has stopped short of full-on war, mostly low-level tit-for-tat strikes. But Hezbollah is threatening to go all in, especially if Israel proceeds with a ground incursion into Gaza. That's the scenario the U.S. is scrambling to prevent. President Biden heading to Israel tomorrow to try to contain the crisis, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken criss-crossing the Middle East looking for diplomatic help.

There's a determination in every country I went to to make sure that this conflict doesn't spread. President Biden's been very clear about this. But there are worrying signs that the conflict could spiral. Iran's foreign minister threatening Israel on state TV with consequences for a ground war in Gaza, even saying preemptive action may be taken. Along the Lebanese border, dozens of Israeli towns have been evacuated, while in others, many Israelis are leaving voluntarily. Israel's northernmost town of Kiryat Shmona is normally bustling, now a ghost town. There's No one in the streets, many of them have gone south to safety.

But many Israelis who make their home near Lebanon lived through the last war with Hezbollah in 2006 and say they're not going anywhere. Why are you staying? I'm staying because my daughter live with me now. She has a baby. All over of Israel, there is bombs, not just here. In Tel Aviv, in Petach Tikva, in everywhere. Well, this is our home.

You want to stay here. We are not afraid. We are not afraid. We are strong and we know what to do. So Josh Letterman joins us now live here in Tel Aviv. Josh, obviously, the big news that attack in Gaza of that hospital, up to 800 possibly dead. How does that affect sort of Hezbollah's calculation in this war? Well, Tom, this could significantly escalate the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

Tonight, Hezbollah is calling for an unprecedented. a day of rage tomorrow against both Israel and President Biden's visit. So that means a couple of things. Northern Israel, they're going to be on an even higher level of alert. And the White House will also be watching for signs of potential missile strikes that could affect President Biden's visit. The Iranian foreign minister tonight is tweeting about Israel in English. Time is over.

And we're seeing protests erupt in Beirut, including outside the U.S. embassy. All of this means that the chances of an Israel-Hazbalah war are now far higher now than they were just a few hours ago, Tom. All right, Josh Sletterman, part of our reporting team here. Josh, you've been doing an amazing job, so thank you for that. We'll continue our coverage on this war in just a few minutes, but we are following a developing story back in the U.S. as well. Four inmates, including a suspected murderer on the loose in Georgia, how they escaped and the

car they could be traveling in. That's next. We're back live from Tel Aviv, but we want to turn to a developing story back home right now, a manhunt tonight in Georgia for four escaped prisoners. including one charged with murder. The search prompting schools in the area to go on lockdown. Valerie Castro has the details. Tonight, four inmates, including a murder suspect on the run,

after escaping from a detention center about 85 miles southeast of Atlanta. I would consider these individuals to be a little bit dangerous. The Bibb County Sheriff says the group found their way out through a broken window and a hole cut in the fence early Monday around 3 a.m. This photo of a blue Dodge Challenger was released. by the county, the suspected getaway car captured on surveillance video outside the jail. The FBI and U.S. Marshals now joining the search. The sheriff says among the escapees, 52-year-old Joey Fournier charged with murder for the strangulation death of his former girlfriend,

Cynthia Barry. 24-year-old Mark Anderson stands accused of aggravated assault, and 29-year-old Chavez Stokes was being held on possession of a firearm and drug trafficking. All three have pleaded not guilty to their charges. 37-year-old Jennifer Barnwell was being held for the U.S. Marshals on drug charges after being convicted by a jury. Barnwell just was sentenced to life in prison in the federal system, so he probably has some incentive to want to get out of jail. The sheriff revealing at the time of their escape, there were fewer than 10 people working at the jail, overseeing a population of more than 800 inmates. That's been an issue for us, staffing the conditions of the jail. we have a 43-year-old jail and this is this happened in the oldest part of the jail

the escape prompting a lockdown of area schools while bib county jail staff could be seen making repairs to the fence where the group slipped out they're no longer thought to be in the immediate area but the sheriff is confident they'll be back in custody soon somebody that sees this tonight knows where these four people are and somebody is probably laughing at TV set saying, oh, they'll never catch us. They'll never catch us. We will catch them. All right. Valerie Castro joins us now in studio. Valerie, as you mentioned, one of these men is accused of murder. You spoke to the spouse of his alleged victim. How concerned was he that his inmate is on the loose? That this inmate is on the loose. Tommy's very concerned. We spoke to the

husband of Cynthia Barry. She is the woman, Joey Fournier, is accused of murdering. Robert Barry says he believes Fornier is a violent, dangerous, and unpredictable man. He says he murdered his wife with his own bare hands and says he won't hesitate to use his fellow escapees as human shields. So he's urging anyone who might see him or the other inmates to immediately call police. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to their arrest. Tom. Okay, Valerie, we thank you for that.

When we come back, a family story from the front lines here in Israel, the Israeli-American answering the call to serve, He's not alone. His four brothers in combat with him. That story next. Finally tonight, brothers in real life and brothers in arms, our Raf Sanchez introduces us to an Israeli-American fighting on the front lines along with his four siblings. Everywhere across Israel, signs of an army heading to war. Some are active-duty combat troops. Others, reservists, putting their lives on hold. I called off my commanders, and I knew right away. I have to tell my wife that I have to go. We met Nafthali on the Gaza border.

Born in New York, he's lived in Israel since he was a baby. In peacetime, he's the father of three young girls and a doctor in Jerusalem. I work with Arab doctors, Jewish doctors, saving lives every day. But now he's back in uniform, and in his family, he's not the only one. The first brother and the second brother and the third until the fifth brother, we are all combat soldiers. A literal band of brothers. All five preparing for war. For security reasons, the family asked we show only Naftali's face.

I can't even describe what my mom is feeling right now. We drove into the desert towards the Israeli-Egyptian border, where we found Naftali's youngest brother, Shui. I was actually born on Naftali's Bar Mitzvah, so I actually wound his party. Wow. We're best friends. He forgave you? He forgave you.

At 21, he's the only one of the five brothers still in mandatory service. It's important to be here right now. I fear to take the most important thing I would do in my life. Two other brothers, Bensi and Haim, are in the north, where Israel is exchanging fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. We're a fast unit, combat unit, and usually the first wants to be in reserves. The final brother, Yohanan, raced home from the U.S. This whole thing caught me 2 a.m. in New York whenever it all started.

I didn't sleep all night. Back to his duties as a tank platoon commander. Neftali's unit was securing Kafar Azza, One of the first communities overrun by Hamas terrorists. More than 50 civilians were killed here, including children. The horrific attacks that happened here cannot be answered in silence or in a weak response. This has to be a fierce response, citing the evil that you've seen here today. The siblings giving each other strength from afar.

I see my brothers standing in the north, the south, everywhere. And I say, surely, you're not alone. Look, you have the brother that with you. Sons of Israel and brothers in arms. Raf Sanchez, NBC News, Kfar Aza. We thank Raf for that, and we thank you for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yamas in Tel Aviv. Stay right there.

More news on the way.