First.

We'll begin here, the growing volatility in the Middle East. We have been watching Israel on the defensive since Hamas started this heinous war on October 7, and somehow they have lost the PR war. To this point, we have seen the IDF moving through Gaza, making great progress militarily, but struggling to justify nontraditional military targets like a hospital. They assumed the world knew the tactics of the Immoral rule terrorist group and would understand what Hamas was all about. But that changed this week. They stopped waiting in Israel. The Israelis finally realized they had to do something about it. They told us about the butchery on October 7. Now, if you want, you can see it. They're bringing reporters into the fold to view it. I had an offer to go on Monday to see it, although I didn't need proof. They're going to release footage of the tunnels as well as the weapons too. AK 47s. We're talking about grenades. We're talking about battle vests, all with Hamas insignias on them, hidden in an MRI wing of Gaza's largest hospital. Not really the place you keep weapons, would you? More proof that Hamas has no issue putting civilians in harm's way.

In fact, you could say it is their mission to do so. Burning, slaughtering, beheading innocent people and children, up to 800 in one day alone. We can't make sense of the senseless violence, but here to try is two men that have covered these wars and are doing it for us. Spent a lot of time inside the Middle East region and have both witnessed firsthand what goes through the mind of a terrorist. Trey Yinks has been on the ground since the start of this war and has been in contact with members of Hamas in the past. And Benjamin Hall has been covering Middle East conflicts since 2006, wrote a book about the brutal ways of ISIS and heroically covered the Ukraine war. First things first. Bulk to both you guys. Ben, to you. Were you surprised that Israel didn't realize the PR headwinds against them even after October 7 and had to tell more of their military story?

No, look, I think that they've been well aware of it. I think they knew that the PR war was on their side in the first few days, but they knew that as soon as they moved into guards or as soon as the bombing started, that that would start to fade. And that's what we've seen since this started. And now they need to push back. They need to keep reminding people of the hostages in the tunnels. They need to keep reminding people that Hamas uses human shields, because if not, all you see are these images from inside Gaza, and they are terrible, and there are civilians dying. And so what we are starting to see are people starting to move towards the Palestinian side, start to call for more of a ceasefire. And that happens not only in the media that we're seeing, we're also starting to see it in governments as well. So even the State Department. The White House moving towards that position. And that's the difficulty for Israel right now. How do they keep people reminded that there are people they have to save, that Israel itself is at threat, and without going in, they can never stop this.

So they have to go after Hamas, but it's very, very difficult from them. And they are keeping on top of the journalists as much as they can, so they are constantly updated.

Trey, I've been watching you've been kind enough to be contributing nonstop through Fox and Friends throughout the day. And I'm watching explosions. And then the invasion started. And now, for the first time, I think they seem to be telling you guys, you can go with the IDF on the ground, and now they want you to tape these things. They're not limiting you into what you can show, I would imagine. What are you seeing, and what does the IDF want to get across when you travel with them into the war zone?

Yeah, brian? Well, they have no editorial control over what we put out. We only agree to blur faces of certain soldiers and sensitive technology that could endanger their troops. But editorially, we have full control when we embed with Israeli forces. Benjamin raises a great point, though, because he talks about the terrible images coming out of Gaza, and this is a major problem for Israel as they try to maintain international support. We know as a fact thousands of civilians are dying in the Israeli campaign against Gaza. The Israelis say they're not going to stop until they bring the hostages home and until they destroy Hamas. But this is not a process that will take days or a process that will take weeks, but rather months and even possibly years as they work to hunt down the leadership responsible for ordering the October 7 attacks. Now, less than 24 hours after the Israelis entered Gaza's largest hospital, the Al Shifa Hospital, we joined those forces in Gaza City. And we got a firsthand look in the dark of night at just how difficult this battlefield is. It is an urban battle environment. They are operating from inside Gaza City with threats from Hamas less than a block away as they try to push forward and search for information.

But they are faced with this critical information battle, and it is one that so far, they say, is a trickle effect. They say what they've found so far at Gaza's Shifa Hospital is the tip of the iceberg. When we were there, we saw weapons in an MRI room. They released video of a single tunnel entrance on the hospital complex. They say there is more information to come out when they discover it. We have to be patient, though, in our reporting. Hold them accountable for what they say and wait until we get that actual information.

Brian Ben, you're located right now in the UK. And there's been demonstrations more for the Palestinian cause than for the Israeli cause. I've been stunned by what I'm seeing. You were just also in New York, and you probably been reading and saw a lot of things that were pro Palestinian over Israel. Does that resonate in the Middle East? Do you think they know what it's like here? And does that matter there?

Well, I think absolutely that the message is being pushed out around the world, and that's what you said earlier. This is a PR campaign and both sides are trying to push out their messaging. But yes, you see some of the marches that we've seen here in the UK. 300,000 people last weekend marched here, and quite a few of them wearing Hamas headscarfs, carrying antisemitic signs, verging on Nazism. And there is very little on the Israelis pro Israeli side. And there is now a big push here on the ground as well to say more people who support Israel need to rise up, need us talk about it. But the other sense is there's a lot of fear amongst Jews and Israelis. I've spoken to lots here who do not want to go out being open that they are Jewish because of the anti Semitism. And so that part of the PR campaign is very much being won. I would say, on the Palestinian side. I will say that in Paris last weekend, you did have a very big pro Israel march in DC on, I think, Tuesday. You had a very big one as well. So we are starting to see a shift in that direction as well.

But again, this is part of the back and forth that we're seeing at the moment, and it is going on around the world.

Trey, what does this region need? What would be the right message to send to these forces backed by Iran to show that we got Israel's back and we're not going to be a victim?

Well, look, when you talk with top Israeli defense officials, including the Defense Minister YAV Galam, and I've spoken with him multiple times in person since this war began, they explain why American forces are in the region, why you have these warships here. And it is not to battle Hamas. It is a message of deterrence to Iranian proxies across the region, namely the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that has an arsenal of hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles. Not to get involved because there could be an American response. But when we talk about the attacks on US. Bases, we've talked with analysts and people who are watching this closely who have raised questions about the response and if the level of deterrence is high enough, because the attacks continue. And when we look back in history, and I remember it was the year 2020, benji and I were in Aman, Jordan, and we were covering the aftermath of the attack on the American Embassy in Baghdad. And ultimately, the response by the Trump administration at the time was to target Qassim Soleimani with a drone strike. And then there was a response from the Iranians, but then there was a period of quiet.

And so some analysts have pointed to that time period when they are looking about what's happening now. There was a time in the Middle East when one or two of these attacks on American bases would lead to a significant U. S. Response, often targeting Iranian backed military proxies in places like Iraq and Syria.

And Ben, real quick, you think we need to show strength. You told me that last week, right?

Yeah, look, absolutely. This is one of the things that is most infuriating, is that Iran is allowed to push the boundaries. Over 50 times it has attacked US. Bases. Over 50 American soldiers have been injured. But only one soldier was injured was killed when President Trump boarded the strike on Soleimani. And frankly, the attacks on these Shia bases across Iraq does nothing to Iran. It is no response at all. And there are big questions about whether or not the current administration is pulling back and not doing enough. It is not sending a message to Iran. And Iran, frankly, is able to do what it likes at the moment. So waiting to see if that changes, but I think the feeling is it won't.

Thanks, guys.

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