>> Welcome to the newshour.
Fierce fighting between Israelis
and Palestinians continues
tonight as air strikes and
artillery pound gaza after
Saturday's hamas invasion of
southern Israel.
The death toll has continued to
mount.
More than 1000 Israelis and 900
Palestinians have been killed in
four days of attacks and counter
strikes.
Among the dead are 14 Americans
killed by hamas.
Other Americans are now
confirmed held hostage by the
terrorists in gaza.
Again from Israel, Layla Manon
Allen starts our coverage.
>> Love ones mingling with the
scream of sirens and the boom of
rockets.
Families on both sides of the
gaza border barely have time to
bury and mourn the dead after
they face the threat of more
violence and death.
A 29-year-old policewoman was
one of eight people in the
community who were buried.
Five of them police officers.
One hamas militants stormed the
police station on Saturday, she
was shot by a sniper as she
tried to seek shelter.
>> I didn't have a chance to say
goodbye to you.
The last words I heard from you
were screaming in terror.
>> The Israel defense force has
stepped up their campaign to
eradicate the threat from hamas.
To stop the terror attacks by
land and air, the U.S. Promised
Israel unconditional support and
pledged more munitions and the
movement of an aircraft carrier
battle group closer to Israel.
In addition to the $3 billion a
year it already sends in
military aid.
President Biden confirmed
American citizens are among
those held hostage by hamas and
emphasized U.S. Support for
Israel.
>> 75 years, the security of
jewish people around the world,
so the atrocities in the past
could never happen again.
Let there be no doubt the united
States has Israel's back and
we'll make sure the jewish and
democratic state of Israel can
defend itself today and tomorrow
as we always have.
As simple as that.
>> On the ground, Israelis are
battles.
At the border area pot biggest
hospital, doctors have not slept
for days, trying to save the
wounded who lived long enough to
make it there.
>> Being the closest hospital to
gaza, we have been trained by
the events, we have been
treating more than 500 injured.
That is an incredible number.
We are used to mass casualty
events, we have prepared for
mass casualty events.
A big event is considered 30
injured.
>> He's from less than a quarter
of a mile from the gaza border.
After spending hours fighting
from -- hiding from the
fighters, he headed straight to
work and has been working 20
hour shifts with his colleagues.
>> Since Sunday morning I'm
here.
>> You have been treating your
own friends and neighbors?
>> Absolutely, many of them.
>> He believes the community
will rebuild, but some things
will never be the same.
>> The main thing we have lost,
especially people in the
surrounding area of gaza, is our
sense of security, may be our
illusion of security.
>> Any fear there is more to
come.
The Israel defense forces have
recaptured the entire border
with gaza.
We can hear gunfire in the
background.
An evacuation order suggests to
some that a ground invasion is
planned.
As some clear out of town,
others are refusing to budge.
>> No, they can't tell me to
away.
>> She said she trusted her
government to protect them and
it didn't, so why would she
listen now?
>> And of years saying, Benjamin
Netanyahu is even worse.
Terrorists, slaughtered
soldiers.
Where is my prime minister?
Where is my country?
I'm not going anywhere.
>> Moments after we left,
another gun battle broke out
between security forces and
militants.
Even as reticence residents of
these embattled border towns
make the choice whether to stay
or go, facing more violence to
come, the rockets fall without
end.
In these Israeli towns a few
miles from the border with gaza,
when the sirens sound, there is
less then 15 seconds to take
cover before the rockets fall.
There are reinforce shelters all
around, but often there is not
time to get to them.
The rocket bombardments make
gaza a --
Israel's state-of-the-art
defense and warning system
cannot handle them all.
Many fell with no warning today
at all.
Just across the border in gaza,
civilians have no shelters at
all.
And today, Israel's rage
intensified.
The Israeli military said it all
but destroyed the district every
Mao, and administrative hub for
the government.
Bombs reportedly targeted the
house of the hamas leader.
Waves of airstrikes continue to
pound the strip neighborhood by
neighborhood.
In the process, raise entire
districts to the ground.
Palestinian journalist -- shared
this video from her apartment in
gaza.
The view shrouded in smoke.
Streets like this one are
deserted.
Cultured in gray ash and lined
with mountains of crushed
concrete.
>> The situation is very scary.
>> Are newshour producers spoke
to us from the ground.
I was after a bombardment
shredded the area.
Wax we are standing near the
building that was being attacked
this morning.
More than 15 people were killed
in this building.
Two journalists were filming
here and were killed during the
attack.
All of the building was
destroyed.
>> The U.N. Reporting 187,000
gazans have been displaced.
Fleeing their homes and moving
towards the sea, where a naval
blockade awaits.
Many have nowhere left to go.
>> We had fled to escape from
death, we came to find death.
If we stayed at our houses, we
died.
If we go on the streets, we die.
>> In the quiet between strikes,
Palestinians carried the dead.
Honoring them with funeral
processions through the streets
of gaza city.
The ripple effect of this war
are being felt across the middle
East.
Israel has deployed tanks with
the border of Lebanon, where
residents fear violence could
escalate.
And there are concerns of
possible escalation between
Israel and Iran.
Iran's supreme leader denied
held -- helped plan the attack a
book the attack.
>> Supporters of Israel have
made false statements, including
islamic is Ron -- Iran is behind
the movement.
They are wrong, but we defend
palestine.
We are proud of them.
>> The violence rages on and
people on both sides of the
border feel they have nowhere
left to go.
After a lifetime of war, all
they can do is sit and wait as
another ramps up on their
doorstep.
That is what is so strange and
terrifying about the situation
on the ground.
People on both sides of the
border are already at war, under
bombardment every day.
They are afraid of what they are
talking about the next bigger
war they think is coming.
The first shipment of promised
U.S. Munitions turning up, and
the Israeli defense forces are
ramping up calling of service to
360,000 people.
>> You spent the day at the
center of the strike zone.
Tell us what you saw.
>> We did.
The way things work here, the
gaza strip is a long strip south
of Israel.
As you get closer to it, these
large towns and cities with
hundreds of thousands in them,
they are seconds within which
rockets are launched within gaza
you have time to take shelter.
The closest place is under 10
seconds.
People were trying to bury the
dead, multiple funerals, people
also in the streets trying to
help feed people who have lost
their homes, who have been
evacuated.
And all the while, the sirens go
off.
You have the time to take
shelter.
There's a lot of shelter on the
Israeli side of the border.
It is such a rapid amount of
time, you often cannot get to
them.
When you get close to the
border, sometimes the systems
will not even work because they
are so overwhelmed, so many
rockets coming in.
We saw several times rockets
coming in straight over our
heads, having to hit the ground
with no warning.
>> After four days of heavy
airstrikes, what is the
situation like for gaza?
>> The situation is absolutely
dire.
Humanitarian organizations have
been calling out begging for
humanitarian corridors to be
created.
People are not really doubting
in those organizations that
Israel needs to take action.
The hamas attack's were
unprecedented, something that
was done they can never allow to
happen again.
How they do it is the problem.
Because it is a densely packed,
less than 30 mile hour -- 30
mile strip.
Many buildings have civilians.
They have nowhere to go.
They have been fleeing from the
border site, where rockets come
in constantly.
There is a naval blockade on
that side where there is
artillery fire.
So there is nowhere to go.
Crossing into Egypt, the one
place they could actually go to
get humanitarian assistance if
allowed through, it was hit
yesterday.
There is no way for more than 2
million people to get out of
this place.
We are probably looking at a
military incursion on the
ground.
People are absolutely terrified.
>> The last time you were there
to report and early July, young
people and soldiers protesting
against the government.
Now they are at war.
How has that dynamic laid out?
>> That is also interesting.
All of the young people who say
the right wing government is
doing things Israeli liberals
don't want, and they don't want
their kids to die for a cause
they don't believe in.
Everyone has rallied because
they are at war.
Many say that is the reason that
is happening.
Moving soldiers into the
settlement areas of the west
bank away from where they should
have been protecting things on
the gaza strip.
That is why they are angry it
was not foreseen.
They have missed this massive
operation that has killed nearly
1000 Israelis.
>> Layla milana Allen reporting
from tel aviv.
Thank you to you and your team.
The war between Israelis and
Palestinians has upended
president Biden's foreign policy
efforts.
To his plane how the
administration is responding, we
are joined by our white house
correspondent.
President Biden gave this
impassioned condemnation of the
terrorist attacks during his
remarks today from the white
house.
What was his message?
>> He forcefully condemned the
attack and stated unequivocally
that the United States and his
administration stand behind
Israel, the Israeli people, they
also made clear distinguishing
between hamas' horrific actions
and the impact it has had on
Palestinian civilians.
>> There is no justification for
terrorism, no excuse.
Hamas does not stand for the
Palestinian people's right to
dignity and self-determination.
The stated purpose is dni Shea
-- annihilation of Israel and
the murder of jewish people.
They use Palestinian civilians
as human shields.
Hamas offers nothing but terror
and bloodshed with no regard to
who pays the price.
>> Another notable message from
the president was that he and
his administration officials
compared the attacks to the very
worst of ISIS terrorism.
>> What moraes white house doing
to -- what more is they doing to
find the civilians?
They are working with partners
to recover the hostages,
including intelligence sharing.
Jake Sullivan, the national
security adviser us in the white
house briefing there are at
least 20 missing.
Not all of those 20 missing
Americans are necessarily
hostages.
And we don't know the number of
American hostages hamas has
taken in addition to aiding
Israel, the white house is
sending munitions, air defense.
They are trying to come up with
as many contingency plans as
possible for scenarios in case
this conflict escalates.
>> Was told by U.S. Officials
and Israeli officials talking
about this idea of creating safe
passage for gaza civilians.
What more did you pick up in
that reporting?
>> The president stressed he
used the term abiding by "Law of
war."
That is a message he was
sending, something he talked
about in his conversation with
prime minister Netanyahu.
They also talked about making
sure as Israel takes action
against gaza and against hamas,
that civilians are not
deliberately attacked.
That is something the president
has been talking to him about.
I also asked Sullivan about what
you mentioned, whether or not
the administration is trying to
help civilians find passages out
of gaza.
He did not give specifics about
border crossings, but he said it
is a primary focus of the
administration and something
they're working towards.
>> There is a role for congress,
what are they asking lawmakers
to do?
>> A big focus is to see former
treasury secretary jack Lew
confirmed to be the ambassador
to Israel for the U.S..
They are in close touch with
senators to make sure that
confirmation happens as quickly
as the senate returns.
They will be seeking additional
funding for Israel.
But the white house did not say
whether or not they were going
to try and tether that aid to
funding they want to see go to
Ukraine.
They want to renew their Ukraine
-- request, but don't want to