this is nightline. >> tonight, this 22-year-old student has a dangerous obsession, for many americans, food is the enemy, battling it own tougher, but for many admitting it is even tougher. so what happens when she finally reveals her painful secret? plus, our two teams caught in the cross fire. >> the israelis are trying to put down fire. >> unprecedented access inside an israeli army mission, to find and destroy secret tunnels they say are a smuggling line for terrorists. tonight, we're on the front lines of a raging war in the holy land. and the big screen, a city

transforms into real-life gotham for one hero. tonight, the true story of a make a wish story. but first, the "nightline" five.

good evening, you're about

to meet a woman battling a dangerous obsession, it is one 8 million americans share, many suffering in silence, for them, food is the enemy. and if you think overcoming an eating disorder is a matter of willpower then this young woman's journey may shock you. >> to me, this will be really cute. >> reporter: jenna loves fashion, she has style and grace, a seemingly secure and confident young woman. but 22-year-old jenna has a dark secret. >> i do a lot of emotional eating. i use it as a crutch. to feel better, almost like a drug. >> reporter: she desperately wants to be thin, and idolizes the bodies of stars like rihanna and beyonce. black women are shown to be confident about their curves, but at 5'9" and 235 pounds, she

says she feels ugly and heavy. feelings that push her to extremes. >> i eat, not even joking like a half gallon of ice cream. >> reporter: binge eating is a common disorder that affects black women but it is rarely talked about. >> i am heading out to class right now. >> reporter: a few months ago we gave her a camera to document her struggle. >> i wish my stomach was flat, i wish my thighs were slimmer. every time i use the scale to lose weight i become very obsessive about the number, and that is when i end up -- that is when i end up purging. >> reporter: she succumbs to frequent eati ining sprees, andm time to time she forces herself to throw up. how long do these binges last? is it hours, days?

>> sometimes it is months, sometimes it is only a week or a few days, or maybe just a couple of hours. >> reporter: what does it mean? what does it look like? >> eating when i'm not even hungry, i don't have a candy bar, i'll have like three candy bars and like a half a gallon of ice cream. there is no point where i'm like i need to stop. especially when i feel like i'm in that dark place. >> reporter: it is a difficult topic to talk about in any family, but often in black families eating disorders are not seen as a real issue. >> i don't understand why she can't see she is beautiful, she is a beautiful black woman. >> reporter: we visited jenna at home on the south side of chicago, she lives with her parents but somehow she has managed to keep her secret from her whole family. >> and she keeps everything inside, even though i ask, she doesn't tell me. >> i don't really deal with it, you know, like my mom said. >> reporter: but today, jenna

has finally worked up the courage to tell her mom. >> i mean, that is not something that i do often, but when i feel really bad and i'm eating a lot that i know i should not. i guess i'm in an emotional state so i get rid of it, pretend like i didn't eat it. >> i'm learning something here too, today, because i understand it. we've all done it. i have done it. you know you have used food to soothe yourself or make yourself feel better. you know you have eaten way more than you should and you want to get it out. i have done it. >> reporter: because women of color don't talk about it doctors often ignore the signs. >> there is this assumption that black women are expected to be overweight. that you know we like our curves. that it is not an issue. and unfortunately what happens if a black woman walks into an office and she is obese, obesity will be evaluated. they're not going to ask if you're depressed, do you use

food to cope, do you feel like you're eating is out of control? >> reporter: black women often go undiagnosed and that makes the statistics inaccurate. >> are you bulimic again? >> no. >> reporter: from tv to music, the media often perpetuates the stereotype that black women embrace their curves. and nicki minaj discusses it in her song. >> reporter: even beyonce questions the standards in her musical video "pretty hurts" the video sparked a social media conversation with fans asking, hash tag, what is pretty? >> it seems that the world's perception of black women is that they all want a big booty, black is beautiful, big is beautiful. >> reporter: do you think that

is true? the noise we are fed? >> i think in media we still have a ways to go because whether what you see is on television, really is a thin or overweight black woman, is either the comedian. >> reporter: the funny black women. >> i see some of you skinny [ bleep ] nervous. y'all looking right here, baby, this is a [ bleep ] leg. >> we have insecurities just like every other woman, we may put on that act because we have to be the strong black woman, no, we have insecurities just like everybody else. and it gets hard because you have to sort of put on the face like oh, no, i'm fine. >> reporter: so just tell me again why you like her figure. >> she has the ideal black woman body. >> exactly. >> reporter: for jenna, images of curvy black women she sees on line and even in magazines often makes her feel even worse about

her own body. what is that dark place for you? >> just insecurity. self-doubt. just feeling hopeless like i wouldn't be able to achieve my goals. >> reporter: does the food give you -- does it help? >> it helps me feel better, but immediately afterwards i am in a worse place than i was before. i wish i could wear something like that. >> reporter: jenna has yet to seek therapy in part because she can't afford it, but for now she is hoping to get better on her own. >> for me, i don't really want their life or anything. i just want that for my life. >> reporter: for "nightline" abc news, chicago. up next, in the cross-fire, during one of the deadliest days in the conflict, our reporters are in the war zone on both sides of the bloody battle. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like rocks piling up.

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. as this -- at this hour as dawn breaks in the holy land, people on both sides are bracing for what has quickly become one of the longest and deadliest war between the palestinians and israelis. two teams on the front lines, giving unprecedented access to a thank y tahank yoank unit. >> reporter: as they gather, we're going in today with the soldiers of the 188th armored brigade, suiting up. but in moments, alert, in-coming

mortar fire, and we run for shelter. clear? all clear. >> said to wait for ten minutes, no one actually does that. >> reporter: back to work, these soldiers are preparing to go back to battle. their leader knows the dangers and the costs of this operation. you came under fire? >> yes. my driver was killed. and another officer. >> reporter: but the colonel and his troops remain determined and proud in their work. how is this morale among your guys? >> the morale is very high, every guy in the brigade has a family. the sergeant is honest. are you scared going in? >> of course. >> reporter: inside it is a rough ride, very hot, choking with exhaust fumes.

we cross into gaza, hamas territory, the gunner anxiously scanning the dusty roads and deserted buildings. the mission today, find and destroy hamas-built tunnels. they are a terrifying threat to ordinary israelis, 36 tunnels uncovered so far. palestinian fighters have infiltrated israel several times, monday killing five soldiers before slipping back across the border. several miles into gaza, our convoy stops. a tunnel dug up and exposed, soldiers standing guard. >> this tunnel was found this morning by the israelis. they say it leads about 400 yards where there is another entrance under a house and they believe this tunnel goes under the border, under the fence into israel. but they are not going in. >> the assumption is it is

booby-trapped. >> this is the difference between us and hamas, the hamas looks to kill innocent civilians. we do anything to avoid killing innocent civilians. >> reporter: but for the people of gaza, that is hard to believe. israeli artillery shelling a u.n. school, doubling as a refugee camp. hellish and tragic scenes. abc's david wright is on the front lines on that side in northern gaza where it already is turning out to be a horrible day. >> one of the shells struck this classroom where mothers were sleeping with their children, thinking that this of all places was safe. because look up. there is the u.n. flag. but that didn't protect them. witnesses say they heard several explos rounds. >> two here and one here. >> reporter: in the roof and in the classroom walls, holes from

the artillery shells, killing 17 people, injuring dozens more. >> it is just awful. this is criminal. >> reporter: he is normally a math teacher. now he is helping to run this refugee camp, one of more than 80 u.n. schools across gaza. the u.n. says it communicated the coordinates of this camp 17 separate times to the israeli military, including just last night. no official response yet from israel. but the israeli military is investigating. many of the people here fled the nearby u.n. school that was attacked just last week. a tailor is here with 19 members of his family. i have never seen anything like it, he told me, describing the terrible scene, he tells me these families were slaughtered in their sleep. the place that i left, he says, i even more dangerous. the sad fact is, there is no

place else to go. the soldiers of the israeli defense forces, proud soldiers, what did they feel when they see the innocent dead, the broken bodies of so many children? >> everyone where in the world, no matter, their race, their religion. a child is a child. >> reporter: but it is a murky battlefield, densely populated. and israel has seen ferocius criticism. people say you are brutalizing the people. what would you say to them? >> we do everything we can to not harm innocent people. >> reporter: suddenly, sniper fire, the israelis engage the threat. we hunker down for several minutes. so the israelis are trying to put down fire, suppressing the fire action that is holding us here. the israelis lay down a smoke screen, and we use it as cover

to return to the vehicle. back across the border, to israel. it's just before sunset now, and the humanitarian cease-fire appears to be over. we're told an explosion has happened. at least 17 people killed, possibly 200 injured. late afternoon, the second mass casualty event of this day. one of the most crowded markets in gaza hit according to eyewitnesss by an air strike in the run-up to dinner. these are cell phone images of the immediate aftermath. much of it too gruesome to show. hamas is calling this incident a massacre. you can see the blood on the ground here and off in the distance is the sound of incoming fire. once the shelling starts no place feels totally safe. we're having to drive fast now because there were also reports that three israeli soldiers were killed and israel is expected to retaliate hard tonight. but on the way home one more

quick start. it is almost sunset now and i count one, two, three funerals going on. people who have just died. just killed in the marketplace. three, they had no idea that their day would end here in the graveyard, but tonight they're burying their family members. as night falls, both sides dig in for the fight with no end in sight. millions of people on both sides caught in the cross fire. >> our profound thanks to david wright and terry moran. we'll be right back. abc news "nightline" brought to you by geico. well another great thing about all this walking i've been doing is that it's given me time to reflect on some of life's biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view.

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and finally tonight, the story behind the story that warmed everyone's heart. the bat kid, the 5-year-old diagnosed with leukemia whose greatest wish was to be a real-life super hero and save his hometown of san francisco. now, a new documentary takes us behind the scenes of his emotional journey, to villains and cancer. a damsel in distress, a bank about to be robbed. and a beloved mascot, kidnapped. with two killers on the loose san francisco needs a hero. >> we need you, caped crew aider. and, bring the bat kid. >> he captured the heart of the nation last fall when he transformed into bat kid to save his city. now, a new documentary reveals

how it all went down. >> there have been plenty of super hero wishes that they have made, nothing was like this. >> behind scenes, they're making costumes and the 5-year-old had already fought leukemia. it was time to take on the individual villains. >> he was diagnosed in april, that is when the whole town came together. >> when his wish went viral it took on a life of its own. >> the city is expecting thousands of people to participate. >> the scale of this production is unbelievable. >> it is remarkable, leaving his parents overwhelmed and grateful. >> i'm like okay, well, there are a lot of cops around. he needs a car seat. >> 25,000 people lined the streets to cheer for miles,

hoping to pull off one of the most elaborate escapades in history. >> all of these people are not at work today, they came to watch our son parade around town. >> as he went around town, the exploits went viral. with miles in remission, they are raising money to support the fund, over $50,000 to help other san francisco charities, big shoes to fill for the next charity. thank you for joining us on abc world news now, tune in to "good morning america tomorrow" and as always, we're on line at abcnews.com. good night, america.

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