menendez. we begin with heavy bombing underway right now as israel announces a new phase in its war against hamas. the past 24 hours, israeli forces have intensified ground attacks inside the gaza strip, and increased the already constant airstrikes. nbc news crew member in gaza says the situation is growing desperate for civilians, quote, no water, no food, no medicine, no fuel, no electricity, and the bombing does not stop. the palestinian health ministry reports more than 7500 people have died in gaza, 1400 have been killed in israel. protesters around the world today calling for a humanitarian cease-fire. it s real s prime minister, netanyahu, dismissing the criticism, and predicting a long war ahead. there are moments in which a nation faces two options. to exist or to seize. right now, this is the kind of test we are facing, i have no doubt how it will end. we will come out triumphant. we ve eradicated the infrastructure of terrorism, and it s only the beginning of th