There was so much sorrow here, for those who have missing loved ones or witnessed their abduction. We crossed the rubicon in terms of being uncharted territory, never having seen anything like this. Reporter blood on the walls. Bullet holes in the walls. They just went in there and shot these innocent people. They shot him. And i was saved. He absorbed all the bullets. We dont know if shes alive, if shes hiding. I cannot describe the pain i feel. I dont even want to connect to my own emotions because i know that i will fall apart. I dont know if someone invented a word to describe what happened there. It was planned, well designed. We have never seen atrocities like this time. The images of the devastation and destruction are just the beginning. Were working every hour with israeli officials on these americans where they are and how they are. The things that survivors saw are things they will never forget. The world needs to see this. And the world is watching as we begin this hour. Again, with this breaking news. We are following very fastmoving developments with israels war with hamas as it escalates. These are live images on your screen of gaza as air strikes there continue overnight. Israel pounding gaza with more of these air strikes despite hamas threat to execute the hostages they are holding in retaliation. Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu says this is, quote, just beginning. We also learned up to 150 hostages including children and americans are believed to be in gaza right now. And hamas militants are threatening to kill them and to do it on camera. And theres growing signs that israel could soon launch a Ground Offensive into gaza. This is new video from our team on the Ground Massing near the border. Moments ago our Nic Robertson had a firsthand look at one of the border communities invaded by the hamas militants during their unprecedented surprise attack. Reporter these were the homes of the young families. The general told me when his troops got here and this is the end of the kibbutz that is closer to the gate with gaza. So when hamas came in, these were some of the first buildings they went to. People, their families, were hiding inside. Parents, young parents, with young children. And he said, when they opened the doors and went in, he said some of them had their hands bound and they had been shot, executed. This is why the death toll keeps, keeps climbing here in israel. Over 900 people now. Why . Because its only when the military can take control of these villages that they can begin to find the cost of hamas attack. That they can actually get into the buildings that are in the community thats now secure. And just find out how many families were slaughtered. And thats why the number keeps going up. And you know, when you talk to a career general, 39 years in the military, he himself just moved himself when he retired, moved himself here as soon as he could on saturday morning, when you see the tiredness in his eyes. I asked him before when he was rubbing his face, i said have you had any sleep . Its like, no. Not since saturday. These guys have been on the go. This is now where they take a pause, take a breath. They brought a number of journalists here today. Were on the team that they brought in. But this is where they can pause. But its a pause to move forward. Its not a pause to rest back. This is how it feels. And as nic described to us in his reporting earlier, it is only as they go town by town, kibbutz by kibbutz they find more bodies, more killed and the number this morning, the death toll in israel, at least 900 confirmed dead. And nearly 700 palestinians have been killed in gaza. We have Team Coverage on all of this. Lets bring in our Nic Robertson. Nic, to you. Tell us more of what youve been seeing on the ground this morning in that kibbutz and show us where you are in relation to the gaza border. Reporter yeah, the gaza border is just sort of through the kibbutz over the hill there. You cant see it at the moment. We moved away from the location we were at before. But this is one of the houses that hamas was holding out in. That the Israeli Defense forces had to take back control of as they came in to the kibbutz, working their way through it, working their way through it, going deeper and deeper and deeper. We have been around this area now. Its astounding what you see, an elderly persons Mobility Scooter outside a house. We have no idea what happened to that person in that Mobility Scooter. Kids toys just strewn. Kids bikes just strewn around. There are Hand Grenades left by hamas on the pathways to houses. You have to watch where you put your feet because you can quite literally step on a grenade if youre not watching where youre going. There are forensic teams going through all the different houses, searching the houses. Making sure they recovered everyone from here. Making sure the buildings are now safe. When you look at the edge of the kibbutz, we got down to the edge before quite close to that, quite close to the gaza end, there were still holes in the fence. Theyre patched up, if you will, by having huge tanks parked across them. And the whole time that were here, you can hear these explosions going off. Those are explosions in gaza. Its so close. Thats why theyre so loud. And it gives you an indication sort of active volatility of this situation. So it is, as i was saying before, a pause to move forward, not a pause to sit back. This one is secure. Theyre securing more. But as we heard from the Israeli Defense force from today the day and the general in charge, theres no 100 certainty that you have every single hamas operative Inside Israel. That continues to be a threat. That will continue to be a threat. There are more troops coming in. There is more heavy armor coming in. There are tanks here. There are a lot of infinity here. But theres also that forensic work to go through all the buildings. So many booby traps here as we witnessed. And so easy to almost stumble upon them as well. Becky anderson is live for us in tel aviv. Becky, to nics point, this is a pause to move forward. Not a pause to fall back. Do we have any sense whether or not a Ground Incursion is imminent at this point . Reporter yeah. I think the bottom line here that a Ground Incursion does seem probable and imminent. The idf has, to quote their spokesman, saturated the Southern Border with troops, reports of as many as 300,000 troops. Those are just reports. Cant confirm them at present. But we certainly seen this massive buildup. They continue with the intensity of these targeted air strikes, which has seen military par lens softening up the ground as it were for a ground attack. Just to be quite clear, were in tel aviv. Down the coastline, of course, is gaza. And we can hear the booms from here. Its sort of continuous rumbling and has been for, what, hours and hours and hours. 200 strikes overnight alone they say. And to quote the Idf Spokesman, i think this is important. On the Ground Incursion, he said the issue here is that we have been tasked with mitigating or making sure that hamas doesnt have any military capabilities at the end of the war. And that will be achieved. And he went on to explain i quote, what happens on the way and how we implement that task will be seen. But at this stage, we continue to strike from the air and there are plans, of course, to expand that. And the troops, the reserves and the regular units that are amassing along the Southern Border are readying for their task. So, i think its quite clear and we have been told this both on and off the record, that this Ground Incursion is clearly on the table. The israelis are not going to release the details as to when that will start, but you see all of the sort of planning that goes into what they will hope will be an Effective Ground incursion building up. Now, what that Effective Ground incursion looks like, though, what this ground war will lock like and what sort of price will be paid in terms of lives, of course, is a massive question. At least there are these 150 hostages as we know in gaza. Then theres the lives of the civilian palestinians as well, which are clearly absolutely in play here. And will be a real concern to the idf. They say that these are military targets, that they are degrading at present. But you can only imagine what this Ground Incursion is going to look like, how they will try and secure these hostages and how they will try and avoid civilian loss of life. But thats difficult. Absolutely difficult. This is so complicated. Back to you guys. Becky, thank you so much for that reporting. To our Nic Robertson, our appreciation for his reporting on the ground as well. Well get back to you soon. Joining us life from tel aviv, spokesperson for the Israel Defense forces. Sir, we appreciate your time. I want to start with nic has been on the ground and kind of watching all this Work Kibbutz Through kibbutz. In terms of the scale of the attack, do you have an assessment of how many hamas militants were killed . We have seen numbers ranging from 1500 to 1600 . Do you have clear numbers at this point . No. We still dont know exactly how many terrorists infiltrated or were killed by the idf and the other Security Forces operating in the immediate vicinity of the communities, the towns that the kibbutz of southern israel. What is clear, the magnitude of their attack is unprecedented. As Nic Robertson clearly pointed out and showed you these devastating images of the destruction, disregard for human life and just them being bent on hamas, this terrorist organization being bent on ab abducting, killing and massacring people in bedrooms. To that point, that has i think the recognition of that has driven the assumption of an imminent Ground Incursion, invasion, from idf forces. Is there an update on what that time line may be at this point . Well, obviously i wont go into operational details. Indeed the idf is rallying its forces. We have recruited over 300,000 reserve troops. And we are making the preparations to take this to the next step. Will a Ground Incursion, will it happen . The most important demand is that hamas release all of the prisoners, all of the civilians, all of the women, children and men they abducted to gaza and release them to israel immediately because they will bear the consequences of their action. You cannot expect that they infiltrate into israel, abduct and kill and that they will not be any consequences to their actions. They are going to be on the Receiving End of the idfs capabilities. When you talk about those capabilities, hamas officials have threatened to execute those hostages if there are continued strikes, if there is a Ground Incursion. To what extent does that factor in to the planning here . I would highly recommend that they dont do that. As i said, we are very, very concerned about the civilians abducted into gaza, about israelis, about the women, about the children, about the elderly. Its unacceptable. We cannot accept that. They have to calculate their steps in a way where they restore and release the israelis that theyre holding or pay those consequences. You know, what were doing and as Becky Anderson rightly pointed out, were currently targeting hamas infrastructure, their command and control positions, their staging grounds because they are still trying to stage attacks against israel. We wont let them. This devastation of Israeli Society cannot be permitted to happen again. We wont let it happen. That is why we are rallying. Is there any shift in terms of posture, in terms of how you guys deal with potential Collateral Damage in a place like gaza, given the scale and brutality of the attacks that you have seen over the course of the last several days . Our war is against hamas. They chose strategically to attack israeli civilians on saturday. We are seeking them out and we will seek them out and destroy their capabilities, degrade their operational elements against israel and if need be, hunt them down. Our enemy is not the people of gaza but their leadership will pay a price for their actions. U. S. Officials said they offered fbi assistance when it comes to Hostage Recovery. Have been discussions about other players, any headway on that front . Do you have any developments in terms of a potential breakthrough . I cant say i cant comment on that. Our relationship with our u. S. Counterparts is extremely strong. Historically and were very grateful for their support. The idf is fighting its fight at this time, using our forces, our intelligence, our operational capabilities and the support of our colleagues and friends Around The World is very much appreciated. Last one before i let you go, have you seen any signs theres been a lot of concern about up north in terms of what hezbollah may do. Has there been any signs of escalation on their side of things, any signs things could be ramping up there . We had a few skirmishes yesterday including an Infiltration Attempt which the idf killed. Unfortunately one of our servicemen was killed in the exchange there. Theyve also fired some rounds towards the border. I would advise hezbollah, look very carefully at whats happening in gaza today against hamas. Look very carefully at how hamas is hiding and needs to be continue to hide from our actions. There will be very severe consequences if they decide to chime in. I suggest they look stay on the sidelines because we are prepared. We have the forces on the ground. We have the forces in the air. And also at sea. So, we hope not but were prepared if r that outcome as well. Lieutenant colonel peter lemer, we appreciate your time. Thank you very much. Now back to the civilians in anguish the middle of all of this. Ahead, were going to speak to parents desperately trying to find their 23yearold son. You see him there. He was attending a Music Festival on saturday when hamas militants shot civilians and took hostages. And this just in, why some israeli parents are being told to remove social media from their childrens phones as a Hostage Crisis in gaza unfolds. So this just in to cnn a new alert to some israeli parents that is a grim preview of what may come in the days ahead. They are being told to remove social media from their childrens phones because they might be exposed to hostage videos. Here is more reporting on this. Good morning. What can you tell us . Reporter poppy, this is a message from the Parent Association at a tel aviv high school. The mother who is both british and israeli forwarded me. This came from the Parents Association saying we have been informed obviously we saw the threats from hamas to execute and broadcast those executions of hostages if israel were to carry out attacks on the gaza strip without prior warning. So following on from that, this message saying we have been informed that may be videos of hostages begging for their lives. Please remove tiktok app, the tiktok app from your childrens mobile phones. We cannot allow our kids to watch this stuff. Its also difficult for us to contain all this social media. Thank you for your cooperation. This is a Parent Association. Its not something coming from the Education Ministry or anything like that but clearly there is a lot of concern and anxiety about children who otherwise at least physically are affected by whats happening mainly in the south of israel being exposed to Something Like broadcast executions. So, a lot of anxiety, a lot of concern about this. Children in israel are very mobile savvy. You know many of them have smart phones from the age of 7 or 8. So there is a concern that with pretty much all of them exposed to social media, if this does transpire, broadcast executions that their children will be exposed to them. Trying to protect them in any way they can. Thank you. Lets bring in cnn chief International Anchor christiane amanpour, Foreign Affairs correspondent, rina naan. Guys, i actually want to start with you. We were talking yesterday about the dynamics here related to hamas. And that hamas in terms of when it came into actual elected governmental power and how israel played that between the Palestinian Authority and fata at the time, there was no expectation it would ever reach this scale. And trying to figure out what israel does next i think is a difficult thing because you never thought it would get to this point. Yeah. Israel has to figure out what its objective is. We know this very well in the u. S. In terms of going into war. What is the objective . What is the end goal, iraq, afghanistan, it changes over time. Israel dealt with the same thing. War in lebanon in 06. In terms of hamas, were talking about regime. Were talking about regime change. I was struck by the Idf Spokesperson talking about decimating hamas. Last night netanyahu talked about eliminating hamas, saying the west knows how to deal with isis, complete elimination. What youre talking about there is regime change. Regime change could take month