Cabrera. The historic mobilization of israel continues. These are live pictures youre seeing of gaza and there are again plumes of smoke emanating from different parts of that tightly lived city, where these attacks have been pretty consistent throughout the past 24 hours. Hundreds of thousands of reservists are preparing to join the war. The possibility of a Ground Invasion is still growing. And then inside gaza, entire neighborhoods were seeing images that are just really breathtaking here from bombings where you can see neighborhoods destroyed, and this is all happening right now in retaliation for the Terror Attack by hamas. Right now were told electricity in gaza is out as night is set to fall. Just as the last power plant there in gaza runs out of fuel. Plus, the devastation in israel from saturdays Surprise Attack coming into greater focus. One woman who escaped the terrorists describing it as a second holocaust. We have complete coverage with reporters on the ground in israel. Lets take you live now to the images out of gaza, you can see a lot of smoke and haze just hovering, blanketing over the city there. I want to go right now from israel, our nbc news Foreign CorrespondentKelly Cobiella who is standing by. Kelly, tell us what youre seeing where you are, what do you know . Reporter well, ana, we are outside a shelter for some of the many, many families who are evacuated from the south over the weekend. They were told that that area just wasnt safe enough. This was when the Israeli Military was still trying to secure those neighborhoods along the border with gaza. There are about 200 people here, about 50 families, and they have been told that their kibbutz has been you cant go in unless you get permission from the military because of Safety Concerns there. As we were talking to them, they were getting alerts on their phones, sirens were sounding over their homes, but they dont know what is happening at their homes where they live. Theyre trying to move on, get some semblance of normalcy for their families, for their children, here at the shelter. Meantime, as we know, the situation in gaza is turning is going from bad to worse. It is really a desperate, desperate situation there with families looking for their loved ones, civilians still being killed, buried under rubble of buildings after these israeli air strikes. We have actually been hearing the jets overhead as we have been here north of tel aviv, on a pretty regular basis. Every probably half hour or so youll hear another jet overhead. And the other thing that is happening in israel right now is just this incredibly long process of identifying the dead. We spoke to a family last night, whose two daughters were missing. Today we heard from them again and sadly their younger daughter, the 22yearold, has been confirmed as one of the victims. This is a 22yearold who was born in l. A. , she moved here 14 years ago, spent half of her life in the states, half of her life here, she was down at that Music Festival with her sister when the gunmen attacked. Her sisters status still unknown. Parents have submitted dna samples like so many families have across israel and just waiting for word as to what has happened to their relatives. So thats what the situation is here. You can maybe hear, we can hear the jets flying overhead yet again, guys. And just what you described, with that family, and the anguish that so many are feeling right now that is really powerful. Kelly cobiella, stay close, please and stay safe. Thank you for joining us. And want to bring in jerusalem from jerusalem ari mayer, the editor in chief of the jerusalem post. Thank you for being with us this morning. In your latest piece, you compared saturdays Terror Attacks by hamas to September 11th. Give us a little bit more of the perspective of that. Well, jose, i was a High School Senior in the d. C. Area on September 11th, 2001, i remember the fog of confusion and chaos, not knowing whether people were alive or dead, whether peoples loved ones were going to come home at the end of the day and thats very much what israelis are feeling today. But orders of magnitude worse. When i wrote that piece, a number of casualties, i believe er 1200 israeli dead, just by way of comparison, that would be the equivalent given israels size of 12 9 11 attacks on a single day. This country is devastated, it is in a State Of Shock, it is in a state of mourning. There is not a Single Family in israel that hasnt been affected in some way, that doesnt have a loved one, a neighbor, a colleague who has lost a Family Member or whose Family Member is missing and presumed kidnapped in gaza. And so that is the situation on the ground. It is a devastating period in israel. One of tremendous confusion. And israelis really are in a state of total shock and despair. Israeli forces as they go and try to fight hamas, and they try to free some of these areas where hamas came in and just brutalized innocent civilians, what they are uncovering is unthinkable, it is unspeakable. What has been the reaction beyond that initial State Of Shock . What are you seeing in terms of how israelis are responding to what happened . Look, i think israel is a very small, tightknit country. When things like this happen, the country tends to mobilize quickly to support those who have been affected. So as has been mentioned, there has been a very high mobilization of troops to go down and serve reserve duty, perhaps ahead of a larger Military Campaign in gaza. But even the civilian population is those who are not mobilize ready volunteering in remarkable ways, sending food packages, care packages, hosting families in the south in their homes because they cant go back to areas that are no longer considered safe and so many other ways. But i think what is so remarkable about this moment and striking to so many people is that we always knew that hamas was a terrorist organization, thats not new to us. It has been murdering israelis for decades, thousands of them. But what we saw on display on saturday was isislike behavior. Children slain in their cribs, entire families burned to death in their homes, elderly people executed on the street. And that is the force that were contending with today, thats the force that we in the west must realize is now at the forefront of this campaign. And so when you see this response taking place in gaza, we have to understand this is like the american response to 9 11 or to the campaign against isis. That is what were talking about now. And that is why this Force Of Evil must be eradicated from the face of the earth. I think, avi, it is important you mention that. It is just the widespread dissemination of evil to, as you say, you know, little children, men, women, babies, hostage taking, you know, 260 people massacred in a Peace Concert In at sunrise. Forgive me for interrupting. I just got word we need to go to the Secretary Of Defense lloyd austin speaking right now. Forgive the interruption. Were working to get the audio. Jose, please continue. I was wondering, were probably going to go back to the secretary as soon as we get that audio there he is. Lets watch. Fighter squadrons in the region and the Department Of Defense stands fully ready to deploy additional assets if necessary. As President Biden has said, for any country, for any organization, for anyone thinking about trying to take advantage of the agony in israel, to try to widen this conflict or to try to spill more blood, we have just one word. Dont. Additional u. S. Military aid to israel started flowing in yesterday, including key munitions. And well be providing more Iron Dome Interceptors so israel can protect its citizens and cities. And well continue to ensure that israel has what it needs to keep itself and its citizens safe. And like any other country, israel has a right to defend itself. As the president says, israel has a duty to defend itself. And make no mistake, the United States will remain able to project power and to direct resources to tackle crises in multiple theaters. So we will stand firmly with israel, as we continue to support ukraine. So let me turn to todays agenda. This was the 16th time ive convened the Ukraine Defense contact group, and im pleased that we were joined in person today by and that was the moment that you the secretary is speaking directly about the situation, the israelihamas war. I want to bring back avi mayer, the editor in chief of the jerusalem post. Tieing into what the secretary was talking about as far as what the military reaction should be in this case. And how do you deal with a group that its existence is to deny the existence of israel but that is in a place filled with civilians . Well, i think it is right quite appropriate that the secretary tied israel and ukraine together in his remarks. I think it is notable that the ukrainian president and the ukrainian people, zelenskyy, had been tremendously supportive of israel during this time. They view israel as being in the same boat they are. On the Receiving End of murderous acts of terror and violence. And so, look, how do you respond to that . You respond with full force and determination. That is what israel must do, thats what any country in its situation would do under the circumstances. And, yes, certainly care must be taken to spare innocent civilians in gaza of whom there are many. They have received warnings from Israeli Military leadership and from Prime Minister netanyahu himself to evacuate those areas that will be targeted. Israel has a longstanding practice of Warning Civilians before they are targeted to give them the opportunity to escape. Many of them dont have many places to go so there are u. N. Facilities and others that will try to keep them safe during that time. But that cannot prevent israel from doing what it must to keep its own people safe and not only its own people, but quite frankly the west. This is a war of civilization. That what we see happening, israel is dealing with the same thing the United States dealt with on September 11th, and that israels allies in the region dealt with when isis came to power. This is a war against a form of Fundamentalist Islamism that is terrorizing the world, murdering as many people as it possibly can and it must be stopped. Avi mayer, thank you for being with us this morning. I appreciate your time. Joining us from israel is a man whod the attack at the super nova Music Festival. Some of his friends were among those killed at the festival. Guyam, im so sorry for your loss and what youve been experiencing. Can you talk to us about what you witnessed and experienced at the festival on saturday . Yes, hello. I want to start first of all that we all of us want to come and just celebrate life. Im, so, so sorry for the loss of my friends and everyone that lost their lives. Five minutes before we even start, i talk with my friends, and i tell them something im going through and she told me it is okay, everything is going to be okay. And one hour after they took her on a motorcycle with weapons to gaza. I want to tell if they see me now, i want to tell you, just be strong, keep breathing, trust and believe that everything is going to be okay. Guy, how do you process this . And just to think that, you know, just before that happened, that was your motorcycle, and then that motorcycle was used to such horrendous things, how what is it how do you process this . Stay kind. Be with your loved ones and to talk a lot about the things i want to tell my story. So there was rockets and then one of us run to our cars and start to drive to the main road so we can drive to the main road and the main road became traffic because all of us they put a gun over here and gun over there, so start to close us. And my friend run so fast east, like opposite from gaza, but i was able to see what was going on, so i stayed, but then i just hear woman scream, so i run with guys to there and she was so injured from bullets, so we just tried to take her to a safe place and after a few minutes after, just feel the bullets around you, so just feeling it close to my ears, i jumped in the bush and from there, shots back to terrorists. Just for a second, i put my head down and i look up and i saw bullets just hit the leaf above my head. So close. And so close. I tell the guy hiding with me, we need to run. So we start to run, and just look back and i saw them just explode, the cars over there. And even, like the they try to hit any of them, but they didnt do it. So we saw Me And My Friend left, the terrorists have uniforms. We get in, we drive on the field, so, so, so fast, and he give me his gun. I open the window. But then started screaming arabic. And me and a friend realized maybe he is a terrorist, and will take us to the border. Just give me his gun to make me trust him. And my friend was ready to choke him from behind. So just screaming, whats your name, stop now, he stopped, and we keep going by foot. After it is israeli officer. There was a lot of situation like that, yeah. That is a Nightmare Material what you just described. I cannot imagine the fear you must have felt and the panic of everybody who was trying to escape. Thank god you were able to escape. I just am wondering, do you feel safe right now . Now im safe. Now im safe with my family. And difficult time for everyone. Now im safe. My soul is scared. Every one of us, it will take time. But for now my physical body is safe, yes. Guy, i just couldnt stop to be, you know, horrified, by what you were describing. And what you saw. And i just keep thinking about, you know, there are 260 plus people just like you that were doing what you were doing, that were having those conversations that you had with your friend about problems and breathe, keep going, and they didnt. They didnt survive. How boy, how is that even possible . How does Something Like this happen . I think a lot of people freeze when they saw the guns and the terrorists. And when i say that, i saw a group of girls in the car, so afraid to get out, and i realized if they stay there, they are going to get killed. Just take them, and screaming and just run, so fast east because they understand if the people that get freeze, they going to die. So, yeah, i think thats the reason that most of the people there get killed from the shock. It is really, really deep fear, just make you freeze, you know. I heard people just put themselves in blood and just get under bodies to make them safe. Yeah. Guy ben shimon, thank you for sharing your story with us. Thank you. Keeping you and your loved ones in our hearts and wishing everybody strength and comfort during this very difficult time. Thanks again. Thank you. Thank you. We continue to monitor the situation meanwhile in gaza, where we just saw some fresh explosions, just moments ago. Up next, a u. S. Carrier strike group is now in the mediterranean, trying to deter any other countries that might want to get involved in this. Well talk to a former white house Military Official about the strategy Going Forward. Were back in 60 seconds. Youre watching Special Coverage of the israelhamas war. G specie of the israelhamas war. One aleve works all day so i can keep working my magic. Just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted pain relief. Aleve. Who do you take it for . And for fast topical pain relief, try alevex. The citi custom cash® card automatically adjusts to earn you more cash back in your top eligible spend category. Hi. You dont have to keep tabs on rotating categories. This is the only rotating i care about. Or activate anything to earn. Your cash back automatically adjusts for you. Can i get a Cucumber Water . Earn 5 cash back that automatically adjusts to your top eligible spend category, up to 500 spent each Billing Cycle with the citi custom cash® card. I love it. 21 past the hour. Happening right now, israels fierce battle this morning, targeting hamas with air strikes in gaza and shelling a southern town in lebanon in response to a Rocket Attack from hezbollah there. Lets bring in retired Brigadier General mark kimmitt now, he was also the former Assistant Secretary Of State for Political Military Affairs under george w. Bush from August Of 2008 to january of 2009. Thank you for taking the time. Your expertise is so valued by all of us. Israel is now believed to be planning a Ground Attack. They have 360,000 reservists who have been called up. What would a potential Ground Attack look like if theyre trying to go into this very densely populated area that is currently controlled by hamas . Well, i think the important thing is that president netanyahu said that he would be conducting a that tells me conventional forces will move up to the outside of the city, but it will be a significant step going inside this is a tough mission for military, probably one that no military so, general, because there are two very difficult things among all of the difficult things that they have, one is