Good evening, in for diane. Its great to have you with us on a thursday night. We begin with breaking news on two fronts tonight, israel and that escalation in gaza. First the devastating images coming in from ukraine, the debris from the plane stretching for miles, pieces of the broken jet and so many innocent lives lost, the passports intact found in the field. Heres what we know at this hour. Malaysia flight 17, 295 people on board flying from amsterdam to kuala lumpur at 33,000 feet when it disappears over ukraine, 30 miles from the russian border. Look at the track of the plane on the flight map. You can see the jet simply vanishing from the air. That plane, a boeing 777, one of the strongest in the world. Tonight u. S. Officials say they believe it was shot down. This evening we have Team Coverage across the globe and we begin with abcs chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz. Reporter there in the distance, that burst of flame, the flight with 150,000 pounds of fuel crashed down. Then the smoke plumes filling the horizon, those white streaks, debris from the plane littering the sky. As cameras reached the scene in the ukrainian country side, utter devastation. Flames in one part of the wreckage, the massive boeing 777 with its 295 souls on board shattered on the earth. As far as the eye can see, an enthe de wasdcrossn le others, sble,cl ons traide, a that thf the plane blown up in the sky. Flight 17 took after from amsterdam just after noon local time. Just over four hours into the flight to kuala lumpur, malaysia, cruising at 33,000 et cssesiasns rr i la w aingle phoneovaying thatn thecordinay seho wanarrussia. Aircraft. Raines president sayig wasnt an accident or disaster, t an actrrf is theroussian militants den the ar,sting itay ,ukraini forces e. Donoefate on modoyir thceneed of will tveriathe a svetts oeisr was operati that surface to air theory at this point surfacetoair missile was aiming at a military aircraft and shot down the 777 instead, and david, tonight we are also learnghy we have whether or not there are any americans on board. There were apparently several names, according to a senior official, that looked american but they are doublechecking and triple checking. Being very careful. Martha raddatz leading us off. Thank you for your reporting ad. Reke a the first reporters on the scene. Its the middle of the night, but tell us what you saw upon arriving. Right now the wind is blowing pretty hard and kicked up some of the fires that had been burning earlier. Theres still a number ofloinesb la kind niyod of th there is aext toit. E ei right now i dont think its very clear what the next steps are. Rgersse ill on with theptn of h t. Fieldte ukr debris. From thebosillief. An sme ite s the sinerany, this m says. Several shots and then some loud bangs. I was scared. I looked up and saw fragments flying. The scorched crash site, an empty field along a country road, deep in the territory held by russian separatists. I knew it was an airplane right away, says this man. It fell right over there. It curved and went that way. An eye witness describing the scene to russian television. I personally saw malaysian passports scattered around the site of the crash. So far the area has not been roped off. Firemen have just arrived and so far the debris is still smoking. Reporter among the first responders, the ukrainian emergency services, and rebels armed with guns. Sifting through a gruesome landscape remains and the personal belongings of the 295 on board. A tourist guide unscathed. The search of the charter continuing tonight as darkness fell. David, tonight that Little Village is in absolute shock. Theyve been through months of war, but nothing could have prepared them for the carnage they saw in the field today. Kirit radia reporting live from moscow. Thank you. As you heard Martha Raddatz report earlier, the president of ukrae, president poroshenko, calling this a act of terror today. I spoke with the foreign minister of that country and asked him about that and about the proof they say they have. I wanted to ask you something about your president , the president of ukraine said earlier today, that we are not calling it an accident or a disaster, but an act of terrorism. Who do you believe is responsible tonight . We intercepted phone calls where the terrorists talking to each other about shooting down the planes. Do you believe russia is responsible . I believe russia has clear influence on the terrorists. So you believe there was a plan to bring this plane down . Absolutely. Ukraines foreign minister just moments ago said absolutely an act of terror, a plan to bring it down. I want to bring in our veteran aviation expert, colonel stephen ganyard. What do you believe brought the plane down . It looks like a sophisticated surface to air surfacetoair missile system. This would require some degree of training. This is a front line russian capability. Its a derivative of the sa 17. Very powerful, very capable with a significant warhead. As this airplane was hit today, it came down in multiple pieces. It was actually ten miles of distance between where you saw that fire ball in the video and where there were other pieces that were not burned landed. So very powerful, very deliberate. This couldnt have been an accident. You see the video of those miiles. Would theil have any idea there was a missile on the way . This is an airliner. They would have no reason to think that they would be going into a combat zone. Im sure that crew was on auto pilot and looking inside the dock pick. They would have no reason to look out the window. There was no chance for them to see it. They didnt see it hit them. In amsterdam where the jet took off, a horrific night for families. Tonight theyre awaiting for official word now, one family walking arm in arm there, this man, the anguish overwhelming. Tonight we wait to learn if americans were an board. Lama hasan with the stunning image one passenger captured right before that plane took off. Reporter tonight, desperate family members gathering at Amsterdams Schiphol airport. Flight 17 took off here this morning. And across the world, in kuala lumpur, where it was supposed to land. Now, the first details emerging about those 295 souls on board. 280 passengers, 15 crew, all believed to have died. These Haunting Images of what appear to be their passports in the rubble. On board, australians, malaysians and brits, not all nationalities identified at this hour. More than 150 passenger dutch, like this couple on their way to a Beach Vacation in bali. The couple had recently opened a flower shop in their dutch hometown. He was a drummer in a band there. On his facebook page, this eerie message posted just before takeoff, what appears to be the doomed plane with the caption, shou it disappear, this wh ilooks like, a reference to t previous malaysian over th indian oceanhat in march. All day weve been seeing messages from distressed loved ones. One of the crews on board was my sisters friend one tweet read. You get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. We were supposed to be on that flight. Obviously there was something watching over us and saying, no, dont get on that flight. Reporter david, weve seen desperate families gather here all night in amsterdam Schiphol Airport trying to get more information. The majority of passengers on board that flight were dutch nationals. At this hour there are still dozens of unidentified passengers, unidentified nationalities. We still dont know if there were any americans on board. David . Still so many families around the world and here in americag. We will have much more on the disaster in the sky. As all of this was playing out, the world watching those images, another International Story break in the midwest. Israel launching a ground incursion in gaza, the evidence ry, aseen in thete tla nzingigd alin. Anothep tonight, a total of 00weve bui waiting in these fields to move in. The military is telling abc news there is no time limit on this operation. The mission, to bring calm and quiet back to israel. This is, stop the rockets and prevent hamas from conducting operations like this. Today heavily armed militants used underground tunnels to get into israel. For five hours earlier there was a window of hope, a temporary ceasefire, but expectations of a lasting truce are now shattered. At least 240 people have been killed in gaza so far. This afternoon they buried four boys this afternoon killed yesterday as they played soccer on the beach. These will not be the last funerals this war brings. David, there are significant risks for israel in conducting a ground operation inside gaza. They have been there before, and it has not turned out well. David . Our thanks to Hamish Macdonald reporting in from the region. I want to bring in abcs chief westinghouse correspondent jonathan karl. I want to take our viewers back to the images we saw, the explosions, the ground incursion under way. What is the white house saying if anything . Reporter they seem to be blindsided by the israeli invasion. Yesterday the president came into the White House Briefing room and before the cameras said he was working with World Leaders to get a ceasefire. Just hours before the invasion, the spokesperson for the state department expressed optimism that the ceasefire would take hold. Now, of course, you have an escalation, not a ceasefire, although its important to say the white house has said over and over again that israel does have a right to defend itself. Optimistic just today about a ceasefire. I wanted to get back to the plane. We heard the president today say he would support the investigation, but the white house also waiting for word tonight on whether there were americans on board . Reporter no indication of americans on board. Vicepresident biden today darkly warned that the repercussions of this downing of this jet go far beyond the tragic loss of life today. Thats why he said he wants a quick investigation, and the white house issued a statement just a short while ago saying that all evidence from that crash must remain in ukraine, including those black boxes. That very clearly was a message to russia amidst reports that you heard from Martha Raddatz that the rebels are claiming the black boxes have been found and sent to moscow. The white house said that that must remain in ukraine until International Investigators have arrived to do their investigate. Stay in ukraine and not be sent to russia. That will be a conflict to come. Jon, thank you. Much more ahead tonight of our breaking News Coverage disaster in the sky. The airline investigating two mysteries tonight. We were all thinking 131 days ago, the other Malaysian Airlines went missing. Were also following the other news of this thursday night, the massive flash floods, the wall of water rushing through one american town and the one thing they did that saved lives tonight. Then the dramatic bank robbery this evening, three hostages taken and the one who did not survive. A special edition of world news continues in a moment. Jake and i have been best friends for years. One of our favorite things to do is going to the dog park together. Sometimes my copd makes it hard to breathe. So my doctor prescribed symbicort. 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So many of us thinking what you were thinking, too, not again, another tragedy for Malaysia Airlines. 131 days since flight 370 vanished over the indian ocean. David kerley on the airline in crises mode and the one major difference with now two investigations under way. Reporter this is t scene malaysian officialsonfronted four months ago when flight 370 sappeared. St. Ry family members of those days, Malaysia Airlines is once again in the headlines. Two disasters, two different flights, one airline. Fl 370htt disappear ear it was somewhere over the south indian ocean, not a single piece of debris found so far. Tonight it appears that flight 17 was shot down near the russia ukrainian border, and that key piece of evidence, those black boxes, reportedly recovered already. Both doomed flights were boeing 777s, an aircraft with one of the best safety records in aviation. Both carried more than 200 souls on board. Todays flight 295 people. Marchs flight 239. A double disasser that no airline has faced in recent history. They faced fierce criticism for its handling of information and investigation. Sending a text message to family members about the fate of their loved ones. Tonight those who had loved ones on flight 17 already have some answers. Now, if those black boxes have been turned over to the russians, a former aif yater for the United States tells us the russians are well quipped to read those black boxes. With the political overtones between ukraine and russia, david, this needs to be an open investigation. Of course, Big Questions tonight about where those black boxes will indeed end up. David kerley live in washington. Thank you. When we come back here on a thursday night, more headlines from around the country on a busy news night. There was big news for american 401 k s because of all this. A bank robbery, a high speed chase, a mother caught in the middle, the dramatic pictures coming up next. Due to menopausal changes. 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Look at the radar over texas. That state already saturated. Nearly a foot of rain in six hours, drivers stranded in many places. This picture tonight, a Convenience Store north of dallas swamped. In colorado flash floods, too. This staircase transformed into a waterfall. In california a community recovering from a deadly shootout in stockton. Three suspects took three female hostages on an hour long chase. Police report the shots fired at homes and cars. Two hostages jumped or were pushed from the get away car. At the end of the chase, the lost hostage used ais a human shield was killed with long with two of the suspects. When we come back here, the latest on that downed flight over the ukraine and the story behind this image, the teams on the ground there already. Introducing nexium 24hr finally, the purple pill, the 1 prescribed acid blocking brand, comes without a prescription for frequent heartburn. Get complete protection. Nexium level protection™ there was like an eruption on my skin. I had no idea i had shingles. Red and puffy and itchy and burning. D cktierulnc d dias wu ow. Enr wonasvehi myrmib t drus en awtiny i want to thank you for watching this special edition of world news. For many of you well have another halfhour in just a moment here. For the rest of thes. M ro evmu m ag mormorninnd all of uss for many of you, we see you cae up a ii s s cu st, rightrahi the ia sowhaght thatet777,toes e