Terrorists breaching the gate. The attack just after sunrise. They targeted mothers, fathers, the elderly. Children were not spared. The victims killed in their homes, some taken hostage. And after nightfall tonight, what we saw. The haunting scene, now more than four days after this attack. Also tonight, the massive buildup of Israeli Soldiers close to the gaza border. My interview tonight with a Lieutenant Colonel with the Israeli Military. We ask, is a Ground Incursion coming . We also asked tonight about the hostages. Is there an operation under way right now to get them home safely . And we ask about the scenes from gaza, the retaliation against hamas, and the palestinian civilians, the children, now paying a price. What he said about all of this. Tonight, hamas militants and the rockets raining down on Southern Israel today. Matt gutman with a Family Running from a rocket attack, racing into a bomb shelter. At the same time, israeli fighter jets poundi iing palestinian neighborhoods. Parents there racing their children to safety, too. A father telling his daughter, dont be scared. Tonight, the death toll rising on both sides. As the number americans now dead stands at 22. The remarkable story of survival tonight. This 16yearold son, an Israeli American. He parents shielded him to save him. They did not survive. Their son then hiding for nine hours with a bullet in his stomach. James longman with that son. Announcer from abc news, this is a Special Edition of World News Tonight with david muir, reporting tonight from tel aviv. Good evening tonight from israel, and we are just back from Southern Israel, where tonight, we witnessed firsthand the horror. The Israeli Military bringing us to beeri, where more than 100 people were killed. Tonight, you will see the surveillance of the attackers. No one was spared. Mothers, fathers, the elderly, and children. Today, they took me behind that gate. Meantime, across the region, the death toll rising again tonight. Now 1,200 People Killed here in israel, including 22 americans, and 1,100 dead in gaza. Tonight, gaza is in ruins. Israel retaliating against hamas. And all day today, hamas launching rockets into israel. You can see there, the sirens sounding, People Racing to shelters. Matt gutman and our team right there as it played out. In a moment here tonight, my interview with a Lieutenant Colonel from the Israeli Military. We ask, will there be a Ground Incursion . And what about the hostages . Is there anything being done right now to bring them home . How he answered in a moment. But we begin tonight what we saw late today in Southern Israel. The horrors are unspeakable. Today, we went to find the place many here are calling israels ground zero. One of the bloodiest scenes from the hamas Terror Attack. As we get closer, we see the massive troop presence. It was here a brutal and chilling scene played out saturday morning. Tonight, the haunting Surveillance Images posted online showing the beginning of the horror, just after sunrise in beeri, israel, a kibbutz not far from the gaza border. Two heavily armed hamas militants right outside the gate. Crouching down, one on his stomach, peering under the gate. Then walking to the Security Window, smashing it, and crawling in. Moments later, a car pulls up to the gate. The terrorists waiting to ambush them. As the gate opens, one attacker walks toward them and fires, killing them. Then running in. One of the attackers grabbing the security camera. Minutes later, the attackers can be seen from another security camera, walking through the center of beeri, hunting for civilians. This video showing the militants taking israeli hostages on the street. Their hands behind their backs, marching them away. Then, the images, showing people lying motionless on the ground, there off in the distance. Authorities say they were killed. Today, for the first time, the Israeli Military allowed us to see it. You can see that we are approaching the gate now to the kibbutz. This is what you actually saw in that surveillance of the hamas militants waiting just outside the gate, simply waiting for it to open so they could sweep in and begin their killing. Immediately, we see the shattered Security Window where they waited to attack. The charred car sitting at the entrance. We see where that surveillance camera once was, wires now hanging. And it was not long before we witnessed something else. The scope of the brutality here. There are no words to describe it. Whats been left behind here is simply horrifying. The Israeli Military telling us that the hamas militants came in from four or five Different Directions and began indiscriminately killing mothers, fathers, and their children. They tell us in this home right here they held 14 people hostage during the hours of terror as it was unfolding. The homes here cratered from rockets and from the grenades the attackers brought in with them. Littered with bullet holes. On the ground, a childs dictionary. A shoe. And everywhere here, the smell of death. What did these militants do when they got to this kibbutz . They massacred everybody here. 112 residents of this kibbutz were murdered. We can see just the level of destruction of what happened and when we imagine, they come in Early Morning. People are asleep at 6 00, 6 30 in the morning. Surprise them in their homes, some butchered in their beds. Its horrific. David they killed more than 100 people here, and they took captives, too. Youre all convinced that members of this community, some of them were taken captive and dragged into gaza . Correct. Correct. We cant imagine what is going on with them right now. David here in this community, orthodox religious volunteers have been recovering the bodies here. But we also notice whats been left behind. Everywhere you look here, you see the signs of brutality what was done to the families here in those Early Morning hours. Then you come across this, wrapped in plastic, another body. This one though is different. You can see in red here, they have written simply terrorist. They were ruthless. Even the children, they did not spare. And everywhere here, the signs of a morning cut short. It is heartbreaking to see whats been left behind here. These are Family Photos and a Wedding Photo here. A photo of a father with his child. But perhaps what hits the most are these backpacks, the Childrens School bags left right here in the open. The scope of the brutality here there are almost no words for this. Theres no words for this, you know . Its something between ice sis and a program. Its not a battlefield, its not a war. Its a murder. Its a Terror Attack. I cannot you cannot imagine what we saw here in the last three or four days. And, you know, it was between the houses, the bodies of the mothers, the babies, you know, People Killed by knife, by hand grenade, by fire. Children in front of their mother, mother in front of the children. People locked by their hand, by their foot and shot at. David and as night falls here, the lights still on. Whats particularly haunting is whats been left behind here. As you know, the terrorists got here first thing in the morning when the sun was coming up. Many of these families were just waking up to start their day. And you can see, in so many of these homes, the lights have been left on. The families are gone. You can see right here, the bags, the hats, a womans purse. And we couldnt help but to notice back here is the kitchen, and we knew that these normal daily routines were just beginning. Theres actually milk on the counter, and beyond us, a table that has been set. More than four days after that brutal attack, the sounds here at night are still chilling. It is though its frozen in time here now. You can hear the rockets off in the distance, the cars, the doors open, Family Belongings there strewn on the sidewalk. Another car here, the door left open, too. There are signs everywhere of families trying to flee, trying to escape, and in another telling sign, you can hear the alarms, now days after this attack, still going off. Those alarms still ringing tonight. A cry for help for those families who had no idea, no warning this was coming. Its heartbreaking. I have never seen anything like this. As we walk through the streets, we can see homes, were seeing Family Photos, were seeing remnants of regular life, and just unbelievable destruction and massacre. And its devastating to be here. And the smell and the sights and the destruction and its a nightmare. David the families in that community, it is unimaginable what they faced. Their homes, as you saw there, the lights still on, just the way they left them on saturday morning when those attackers moved in. Meantime tonight, hamas militants and the rockets still raining down on Southern Israel today. Matt gutman with the Family Running from a rocket attack, racing into a bomb shelter. At the same time, israeli fighter jets targeting hamas, and in doing so, destroying palestinian neighborhoods. Parents there racing their children to safety, too. One father telling his daughter, dont be scared. Matt gutman also here in israel tonight. Reporter its a war that tonight is being fought mostly in the air, as israel strikes gaza. Hamas rockets arc over the border, raining down on the Southern Israeli city of ashkelon. Above us, you can see so many streaks of smoke crisscrossing the sky. Today, we witnessed an onslaught, it was hourslong. We are pinned down here under this aerial bombardment, this is what people go through here every single day. This is why this town is a ghost town. Everything in south israel is a ghost town because of that. As air raid sirens wail, we race into a bomb shelter. Okay, this is another bombardment. It has been incessant. You see the families, the churn, taking their dogs down. Families huddling together. Ruti with her two daughters avivit and orhava. Ruti telling me this is not the life she wants for them. And these poor kids are growing up in this reality, thats the hardest part. Weve lived through wars, but these little kids havent lived through wars. Today, the childrens wing of the local hospital hit with a direct strike. And just miles away, across the border in gaza, parents clutching their children, too. Racing them to safety. In the back of this ambulance, a father comforting his daughters. Dont be scared, he tells them. Dont be scared. The destruction in gaza is staggering. Whole neighborhoods flattened by israeli bombs. We cant live like this this man says. Where should we go . Israel putting gaza under a complete siege, cutting off food, water, pow every. 21yearold afaf she cant stop shaking. There is nothing that we can do. Even the place that im in right now is almost out of water, almost out of food. Reporter on both sides of this border, young people trapped in the middle of a war that is only just beginning. And david, hamas is still firing rockets, but there are also infiltrations. While we were in ashkelon today, the Israeli Military reporting that several terrorists managed to cross from gaza into israel, it gives you a sense of the insecurity right now in Southern Israel. David . David malt gutman with us tonight here in israel. Matt, thank you. And just moments ago, i spoke with a Lieutenant Colonel of the Israeli Defense forces. We asked him, will there be a Ground Incursion . And what about the house tajs . Is there anything being done right now to get them home alive . And we ask about the palestinians who might not support hamas, the civilians who are now paying a price. But we begin here with the horror we witnessed in Southern Israel with our interview moments ago. Lieutenant colonel, thank you for being with us tonight. We are just bay from bea be more than 100 kills in that community alone. As far as the Israeli Military is concerned, we know that 360,000 israeli reservists have now been called up. We know the tanks, the soldiers now amassing along the gaza border. Is there a Ground Incursion coming here . Yeah, the sights of the carnage in beeri definitely put things into perspective, one would think. We have called up reserves. The reserves are from ground units. Infan infantry, armor, artillery, combat engineers. Combat intelligence. So, one could deduce that from the troops that we have called up that it is what they will be tasked to do. At the end of this war you hamas wont have the Military Ability to kill or hurt israeli civilians ever again, and definitely not repeat the scenes that you witnessed today in kibbutz beair ray. David is there any scenario where a Ground Incursion would not happen . Difficult to say. I personally dont think so. But that matters less, our job is to be prepared, and have all the troops ready for whatever assignment and however it is decided to implement them. David you know ive talked with many of the families who are enduring this excruciating wait, more than 100 hostages taken by hamas. We know there are americans among them. What can you tell these families tonight . Is there any kind of military operation, special forces, special operations, trying to get them out right now . Yeah, the issue of the hostages is perhaps the most sensitive and complex that we are dealing with within this Nightmare Scenario that we unfortunately find ourselves in. But so far, my understanding is that our objective will be to, as i said, dismantle hamas military capabilities, and at this stage, i have no further information about whats being done. David what can you tell these families tonight, though, about their loved ones . Do you know if theyre still alive . No. Information is extremely sketchy. I can only assure them that this issue is at the top priority of the idf, and that every man and woman in the idf is committed to returning these israelis back home to their families. David you know, the world has now seen what hamas did here. It was brutal, it was terror. But what would you say to the palestinians tonight who are not affiliated with hamas, who dont support them, but who are now suffering right now, because of israels retaliation . Can you really get rid of, wipe out hamas, without mass Civilian Casualties . On a human level, i can definitely feel sympathy for the suffering of civilians in gaza, but i think you must understand, and everybody must understand that the attack that we have suffered and the actions of hamas against our civilians, they leave no room for mercy towards hamas. David but do you believe palestinians who dont support hamas should pay a price here . No, that is not the aim. Were not looking to inflict a price on civilians. We never are. The sad reality is that the way that these Cow Arnards Have Depd their infrastructure, they are hiding behind civilians and forcing us to sometimes endanger palestinians in order to get achieve a military objective. That responsibility lies with hamas, not with us. David Lieutenant ColonelJonathan Conricus with us before we came on the air tonight. We turn now to an extraordinary tale of survival here. A 16yearold Israeli American teen, gunmen bursting into his familys home, killing his father and mother, who were shielding him so he would survive. And when they came back to make sure the whole family was dead, the son was hiding for nine hours with a bullet in his stomach. James longman with that son tonight. Reporter these are the memories 16yearold Rotem Mathias will cherish. His parents deborah and shlomi singing and laughing with family and friends. But that life was destroyed in an instant, when Hamas Terrorists burst into the familys kibbutz. His parents killed trying to protect rotem from the gunfire. They threw a grenade or something that exploded. The last thing my dad said is he lost his arm. And then my mom died on top of me. Reporter his sister survived the Carnage Hiding out in another shelter. When the gunmen returned, rotem took cover under a bloody cloth, waiting nine hours with a bullet in his stomach. And you were there yeah. Reporter terrified that they were going to kill you, too . Yes. I didnt know what to do. I just stopped my breathing. I lowered it down as much as i possibly could. I didnt move. I was terrified. Reporter and rotem and his sister told me they remember their parents as brave people who would do anything for the people they love. David . David really moving, james, thank you. We should point out tonight that we will have a prime time special later tonight, 10 00 p. M. Eastern, right here on abc. There are so many larger questions here, how long was this initial Terror Attack, what l