more americans still missing though it's unclear how many have been abducted by hamas. he said there are no current plans to send u.s. troops into the conflict. >> at this point, that is not something that is under planning. >> reporter: with the fighting ongoing, the president huddled with his national security team this morning and held his third phone call since the conflict began with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> president joe, i want to thank you for your continued and unequivocal support. >> reporter: offering more military support, including precision-guided munitions for fighter jets. the first shipment of supplies landed this evening. mr. biden is also sending secretary of state antony blinken to israel tomorrow, part of a diplomatic push to contain the crisis from spreading further. a major fear among allies that iranian-backed hezbollah could fully join the fight. the president today issued this warning. >> anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, i have one word -- don't.

don't. >> reporter: now, amid all of this, a bipartisan congressional delegation was in tel aviv today and met with prime minister netanyahu as president biden says he's planning to ask congress to approve more aid for israel when lawmakers return to washington next week. norah. >> ed o'keefe at the white house, thank you. tonight we're learning more about the americans killed and those still missing after the deadliest attack on civilians in israeli history. cbs's imtiaz tyab spoke with a mother and father whose son died during the first hours of the assault. >> reporter: in the chaotic first hours of hamas' massive assault, the israeli military scrambled to respond. combat troops were called into action, including 27-year-old israeli american aria deeding. >> he loved sports. he loved the boston red sox. >> reporter: his parents moved to israel from new york nearly

30 years ago. on saturday night, they received the news arya was killed in action. >> what was it like when you received the call? >> you never want to get the knock on the door with the two army officers outside. and this woman came in, and she said to us, "your son was killed today." >> reporter: at least 100 people are being held c tive inside gaza. the number of u.s. citizens there is unknown. na har net ta's mother is from california. she was taken by hamas. >> the optimistic scenario is that she's held hostage in gaza and not dead on the street of the kibbutz where we grew up. >> reporter: for debbie and mark deeding, despite the pain of

using their eldest son arya, it hasn't shattered their hope for a better future. >> we believe in peace. we believe in, you know, coexistence. we don't want to -- we don't want to eliminate anybody from this world or this planet. everybody should have a place to live. >> reporter: now, tonight another 20 or more americans are still missing as israel's military begins distributing thousands of weapons to volunteer defense teams in towns and cities all over the country. norah. >> imtiaz tyab, thank you. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.

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into an act of service. >> second siren in about ten minutes. >> reporter: this is what it's like to be in a country under attack. air raid sirens blare. that's the sound of the iron dome intercepting a rocket. it's a scramble to safety, into a shelter, downstairs quickly. people checking in with their loved ones and waiting. >> well, it's just about 3:30 in the afternoon here in israel. there have been two sirens that have sounded in just the last few minutes. we're emerging now from the staircase. we've gotten the all-clear. american michelle freund, a physician assistant, sheltered here too. she was on vacation in israel when hamas first attacked. she knew she needed to help, so she's volunteering at this hospital. >> i feel like it's also my country. i'm jewish, and i feel like everybody that's been affected by this is my family.

>> how are you doing? >> there are good moments and bad moments. i think right now we just had a siren, a couple before we started speaking, and i think my anxiety kind of built up. i had a little bit of a panic attack but, you know, you muster on. that's what i think jews do in general. >> reporter: the idf said this morning they're calling up 360,000 reservists. do you have many friends who are in the reserve? >> friends, family, and the people that i don't know, i feel like are my friends and my family. like every person that is held hostage right now -- i'm sorry -- in gaza, personally i don't know them, but i know them, and they are my family. and it's really hard. >> reporter: her grandmother worked in this same hospital when she came to israel from hungary after surviving the holocaust. >> she would just be so, you know, proud of having me here, especially in light of the

atrocities that are happening, that are very holocaust-like. >> so your grandmother who survived the holocaust came from hungary to work in this hospital. >> mm-hmm. i know that she would be very proud to see me here. >> she would. >> yeah. >> reporter: well, michelle is supposed to return to new york city next week, but she says she may decide to stay to continue helping here in israel.

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sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! israel's iron dome, the anti-missile system you just heard about, was first deployed in march of 2011. the military claims it has about a 95% success rate, but it was pushed to the limit during the early hours of the attack due to the sheer number of rockets fired. cbs's david martin takes an in-depth look at how it works. >> reporter: israel says hamas has launched more than 4,500 rockets. many of them intercepted by the iron dome air defense system. it has kept the death toll from going even higher, and today president biden promised to send more interceptors manufactured pby raytheon at about $50,000 each. >> we're surging additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish iron dome. we're going to make sure that

israel does not run out of these critical assets. >> reporter: iron dome has been defending israel against terrorist rockets for more than a decade. >> it has been effective as it typically is in taking a lot of those rockets out of the sky and saving countless lives by doing so. now, of course some rockets have gotten through to tragic cost. >> reporter: because the flight time for a rocket is so short, iron dome can operate on automatic. as soon as a rocket launch is detected, an alert goes out telling everyone to run for shelter while iron dome launches its interceptors, homing in only on rockets headed toward populated areas. >> so it doesn't have to fire 4,500 interceptors to shoot down 4,500 rockets? >> no. a significant fraction of these rockets are not going to hit anything vital. >> reporter: retired general frank mckenzie says hamas doesn't really care where the

rockets land. >> they've got a lorge stockpile of missiles, and i think we should anticipate the intensity of these attacks to continue for a few days yet. >> reporter: if hezbollah, which is based in lebanon on israel's northern border, unleashes its stockpile of rockets and missiles, iron dome could be stretched to its limit. norah. >> that is the big concern. david martin, thank you. in new york city today, there was a rally at a jewish community center where elected officials from both parties pledged support for israel. across the river in new jersey, there were calls for a cease-fire t

new york republican george santos was hit with new criminal charges today. the freshman congressman, who has admitted to lying about his background during his campaign, is now accused of charges including conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and credit card

fraud. prosecutors say santos stole the identities of campaign donors and then used their credit cards for more than $40,000 in unauthorized charges. the white house is condemning what appears to be a car attack on the chinese consulate in san francisco monday. video posted on social media shows a blue car that crashed into the room where visas are processed. officials shot the driver, who died at a hospital. we're told investigators believe the unidentified driver posed a threat to consulate staff. finally tonight, something we noticed as air raid sirens went off here in tel aviv. strangers helping strangers. no matter where you are, at a hospital, a store, a hotel, when they go off, people are waving you in the direction of the nearest shelter. people we don't know. people who don't even speak the same language as us. but still they made sure everyone got to safety. it is scary when you hear that sound, but it is even scarier when you hear the boom that

follows. and this is in tel aviv. the closer you get to gaza, the more dangerous it truly is. we are thinking of those people. and that's the overnight news for this wednesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs mornings" and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from tel aviv, i'm norah o'donnell. this is "cbs news flash." i'm jarred hill in new york. fighting continues between israel and hamas as we learn more about the extent of the bloodshed. israeli officials now say that 1,200 israelis were killed in

the attacks by hamas. the gaza health ministry says 900 people in gaza have died in israel's response. the ex-girlfriend of former crypto exec sam bankman-fried testified in the federal trial against him tuesday. caroline ellison, who took a plea deal with prosecutors, said bankman-fried directed her to commit fraud and money laundering and told her he would be president one day. and the movie musical adaptation of the color purple has a new trailer out. the film stars fantasia barrino and taraji p. henson. the color purple hits theaters christmas day. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm jarred hill, cbs news, new york. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." we're in israel as it prepares for an expected ground invasion of gaza in what is

already the bloodiest war in decades. here in tel aviv, we heard air raid sirens throughout the day with constant threats of rocket attacks. on day four of this escalating war, israel is pounding gaza with hundreds of missile strikes, targeting what the military calls a hamas terror nest. reports tonight the idf took out hamas' economic minister. and more than 1,000 people have been killed in israel with an estimated 900 in gaza. and we have learned some disturbing new details about a massacre that occurred in a small israeli village near the gaza border with the brutal murders of men, women, and children, including babies. at least 14 americans are among the dead with at least 20 more americans unaccounted for. some are being held hostage by hamas. president biden spoke today with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. it has been their third phone call since this crisis began.

we have team coverage tonight from israel to washington, and cbs's holly williams is with us just back from the southern border. good evening, holly. >> reporter: good evening, norah. hamas says it won't hold any negotiations over the hostages that it's holding while it's still under fire. and as we now know, some of them are american. we should warn you tonight that our report contains some disturbing images. israeli air strikes are pounding the gaza strip, perhaps softening the territory for a ground invasion. israel says it's destroying weapons storage and infrastructure used by hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the u.s. palestinian officials put the death toll at 900, and the united nations says there have been more than a dozen hits on health facilities. israel's military says it's now positioned 35 battalions in the areas surrounding gaza from where hamas launched its attack

on saturday. it caught israel's security forces off guard, but hamas propaganda videos appear to show the militants training for a similar attack, complete with a model village. the militants fired more barrages of rockets today, hitting the city of ashkelon in southern israel. the country's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, promised his people they would have vengeance. >> hamas will understand that by attacking us, they've made a mistake of historic proportions. we will exact a price that will be remembered by them and israel's other enemies for decades to come. >> reporter: but the scale of what the militants inflicted on israel is still emerging. in some small farming communities, people were murdered wherever the gunmen found them. >> mothers, fathers, babies, young families killed in their bed, in their protection room,

in their dining room, or in their garden outside. >> reporter: yehuda gottlieb is a dual u.s./israeli citizen who works as a first responder. he was outside be'eri kibbutz as israel's security forces battled the militants. security camera footage shows the gunmen breaking into the compound and shooting its residents. more than 100 people were killed there. >> have you ever seen anything like that before? >> never, ever, ever. we like drove all the way to the end of the road, and we were careful not to get any bodies. >> you had to avoid bodies on the road? >> exactly. >> they were littering the road. >> terrible. >> and holly is back with us. you have reported from israel for decades. what have these attacks done to the people psychologically? >> norah, i think it's rocked people's sense of security. some people have told us that they no longer feel safe in their own homes. this is a part of the world that's no stranger to violence.

but for many israelis, this just feels very different. that first responder who you saw just now in our report told us that he believes this is the worst thing that's happened to jewish people since the holocaust. >> holly williams, thank you for your reporting. back in washington, president biden addressed the nation this afternoon with a forceful show of support for israel. the president vowed to do everything possible to free the american hostages, saying he has, quote, no higher priority than the safety of americans being held hostage around the world. cbs's ed o'keefe has the latest tonight from the white house. >> this is an act of sheer evil. >> reporter: president biden condemned the attacks by hamas, which he revealed killed at least 14 american citizens, comparing it to the worst rampages of isis. >> parents butchered, using their bodies to try to protect their children. women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies. >> reporter: he said the u.s. is sending special operators to help israel coordinate the

rescue of more than 100 hostages held by the militant group, including americans. >> we now know that american citizens are among those being held by hamas. >> reporter: a carrier strike group, including the "uss gerald ford," has arrived in the region and could be used as a platform to launch hostage rescue missions. national security adviser jake sullivan says there are 20 or more americans still missing though it's unclear how many have been abducted by hamas. he said there are no current plans to send u.s. troops into the conflict. >> at this point, that is not something that is under planning. >> reporter: with the fighting ongoing, the president huddled with his national security team this morning and held his third phone call since the conflict began with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> president joe, i want to thank you for your continued and unequivocal support. >> reporter: offering more military support, including precision-guided munitions for fighter jets. the first shipment of supplies landed this evening. mr. biden is also sending secretary of state antony

blinken to israel tomorrow, part of a diplomatic push to contain the crisis from spreading further, a major fear among allies that iranian-backed hezbollah could fully join the fight. the president today issued this warning. >> anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, i have one word -- don't. don't. >> reporter: now, amid all of this, a bipartisan congressional delegation was in tel aviv today and met with prime minister netanyahu as president biden says he's planning to ask congress to approve more aid for israel when lawmakers return to washington next week. norah. >> ed o'keefe at the white house, thank you. house republicans are expected to vote tomorrow on their choice to be the next speaker of the house. gop leader steve scalise and jim jordan are both running to replace kevin mccarthy, who was removed last week. mccarthy today took himself out of contention for returning to the role. the leadership vac oomph in the

house has essentially stalled congress. the white house confirms that president biden has been interviewed by the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents from his time as vice president. the president met on sunday and monday with special counsel robert hur, who was appointed earlier this year to look into the storage of more than two dozen documents at the president's home in delaware and another office. biden maintains he did nothing wrong. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news." ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term

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washington. israel's air war in gaza and an expected ground invasion are designed to deliver a fatal blow to hamas. the group was elected by palestinian voters 16 years ago and rules over them with an iron fist. hamas has launched strikes into israel over the years, and the united states and other nations have branded it a terrorist organization. gaza is one of the most densely populated regions of the world. 2 million people live crowded into an area about twice the size of washington, d.c. its border with israel is 25 miles long. now that israel has imposed a sige and is targeting hamas and missile launch sites, innocent civilians are caught in the middle. >> this is inhuman to let people die from the lack of food and water. now we are about to have a

problem with water. there is no electricity. there is no water. here in bureij camp, which is the most populated area in this area, limited area, it means no food, no electricity. we are suffering. even we can't go to the bathroom. it is inhumane. no one in the 21st century imagined that this will happen. >> imtiaz tyab has more from tel aviv. >> reporter: over the years, i've made frequent trips to gaza and have spoken with several hamas leaders, and, you know, they know their military capabilities are no match for israel's enormous firepower. but what they lack in firepower, they make up for in ideology and sheer determination. that resolve despite the odds

may be what caught israel so off guard. since its founding, hamas has made its ideals clear. israel has no right to exist and that every israeli citizen is a legitimate target. >> they didn't hide what they're planning to do even for one second. >> reporter: avi e sack rath is a former israeli undercover commando and journalist who has interviewed several hamas leaders. >> they said it very honestly and very clearly. "we will not stop till we will eliminate the state of israel." >> reporter: when hamas swept into power in gaza in 2007, it was almost immediately blockaded by land, sea, and air by israel and egypt. since then, it's fought four major wars with israel. the leader of hamas' military wing, one of the self-declared masterminds of this weekend's attacks, said it was in response

to recent israeli raids on the al aqsa mosque in east jerusalem, known to jews as the temple mount. they also said it was for the detention of thousands of palestinians in israeli jails. and he said it was so that israel would understand its, quote, time of rampaging without accountability has ended. but attacking israel was also personal. his entire family was killed in an israeli air strike that was meant to target him. still there are other major factors at play. over the past few months, the biden administration has also been trying to broker a normalization agreement between saudi arabia and israel. >> we've been actively working on trying to help israel and saudi arabia normalize their relations as well as israel broadening its relationships with many other countries in the region and beyond. >> reporter: relationships hamas and many palestinians see as the arab world's most wealthy and powerful nation choosing israel over them and putting an end to

their aspirations for an independent palestinian state. but hamas' brazen and brutal assault over the weekend may actually be the end of hamas itself. >> but at the end of the day, it gave the israelis, all of the israelis, the feeling that we need to go to war and eliminate hamas' regime once and for all. >> reporter: now, we may very well see the end of hamas and its 15-year rule over gaza in the coming weeks or months. but whatever happens next, palestinians, whether they support hamas or not -- and many do not -- they will pay a painful price for this weekend's attacks. >> that was imtiaz tyab in tel aviv. you're watching the "cbs overnight news". (♪♪) honey... honey... dayquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu symptom relief with a honey-licious taste. because life doesn't stop for a cold.

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of those things. lesley stahl has the story for ""60 minutes." >> three, two, one, and liftoff of artemis i. >> reporter: last fall, nasa launched the first in a series of artemis missions. the next with crew on board is scheduled for next fall. and by the end of the decade, an icon printer is supposed to fly to the moon to test-print part of a landing pad. jason ballard, who once applied to be an astronaut but was rejected, can't wait. >> if the schedule holds or even approximately holds, the first object ever built on another world will be built with icon hardware. >> he wants icon to be the first company to make something on another world. >> so do we. >> reporter: at marshall space flight center in huntsville, alabama, nasa scientist jennifer

ed mondayson and corky clinton run a program called impact, spelled mmp-m-pm-m-p-a-c-t. >> moon to mars planetary construction technologies. >> you people at nasa come up with these very, very long names. >> that's why we call it mmpact. >> reporter: the key word there is autonomous. >> we want to be able to make structures that we need without having to be tended by astronauts. >> if you're going to have a truly sustainable presence on the lunar surface, you have to be as earth-independent as possible. >> reporter: nasa was interested in 3-d printing having looked at an early version almost 20 years ago. so when they heard about the progress icon had made with their first houses in austin, corky clinton traveled there to take a look. >> being an engineer, i spent a lot of my time going around and looking at the size of the beads and how they went around the corners. and i'll tell you i was really impressed with what they had accomplished.

>> reporter: impressed enough that nasa gave icon development money in 2020 and then last fall, a $57 million contract. >> welcome to spacelab, lesley. this is where we figure out how to build on other worlds. >> reporter: ballard and evan jensen, who leads the project, explain the fundamental challenge. >> to bring an object roughly the size from earth to the moon's surface would be $1 million. think of how many sort of brick-sized things we would need to do launchpad, landing pad, roads, habitats. so we have to learn to live off the land. >> you have to laernd to build it there. >> correct. >> and use the materials from there. >> reporter: but that's no easy feat. it means using what's called lunar breg alith, which covers the moon's surface, rather than concrete and water as a building material. >> breg alith is made up of rock that has been pummeled over billions of years from asteroids, comets and things. >> is it like sand? >> it's actually finer than

sand. >> reporter: icon has a big tub full of simulated moon regular alegislate, and they have invented and built a robotic system to 3-d print with it. >> you're going to build all those roads and buildings out of this? >> that's correct, to the robot's will. >> this is actually the mission that we were scheduled to fly. >> reporter: as he pointed out in this rendering -- >> our robotic arm with our laser system. >> reporter: they've created a whole new way to 3-d print with lasers. instead of a nozzle squirting out soft concrete, a high-intensity laser beam will melt the powdery regolith to transform it into a hard, strong building material. they're running experiments now using the laser to create a small sample. >> once that red light is on, we're hot. >> oh. >> lots of power. >> here we go. >> here we go. >> reporter: we watched on monitors as the arm got into

position. >> there's the laser. >> oh, that white thing's the laser. >> so it's melting right now. it's going up to, say, 1,500 degrees celsius. >> it's going to complete its second pass. you can see it emerging there. see the dark object on the screen? that's the object we just made with the laser. >> reporter: they can add more regolith and laser again and again to build in layers to go as high as they want, which will be done remotely from earth. it takes hours to cool, so they showed me a sample they'd made days earlier. >> this is pretty darn hard. >> that's our landing pad you're holding. >> i'm holding the landing pad. >> that's exactly right. >> that's pretty cool. that's a scientific term. >> reporter: icon sends them to nasa, where they're blasted with a special plasma torch. >> the torch will be about 4,000 degrees. >> reporter: to see if they can take the heat a landing pad would have to withstand. >> see there. >> oh, there it is.

>> reporter: the torch is so bright, you have to watch on a monitor. >> that was it. >> reporter: a few minutes later, out it came. >> it's just a little bit warm. >> it looks good to me. i don't see any loss of material. i don't see any cratering. >> it survived the test? >> passed the test with flying colors. >> reporter: the next test will be operating the entire robotic arm and laser. >> we'll put in a large-scale simulant bin. >> reporter: inside nasa's giant thermal vacuum chamber, which mimics the moon's extreme cold, heat, and vacuum conditions. >> this is sort of like a -- >> reporter: ballard's idea is to eventually send mobile 3-d printers to the moon. >> so this moves the printer around. >> reporter: with a longer robotic arm sticking out of the top to print whatever is needed. >> then they would build the road.

then they would build those habitats. >> reporter: and it wouldn't stop there. >> if we can do it on the moon, we can do it on mars. the moon is actually harder. >> it's harder? >> mars is almost in every way easier except for it's so far away. >> reporter: easier, they agree, because for one thing, mars doesn't have extreme temperature swings. >> still in my mind, it's science fiction. but in your minds, it's absolutely in the palm of your hand. it's going to happen. >> we can see the steps and the technology to get us there. >> now that's thrilling. >> it's exciting. >> you can see lesley stahl's full report on our website, (female) i grew up in a home that didn't have running water. my shoes always had holes in them.

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one of the complications of the homeless crisis is that a lot of people who don't have shelter do have pets. how the city of denver is working to create safe living spaces for both.

jericka duncan reports. >> reporter: for 45-year-old phoebe wellty and her dog, jazzy -- >> i love her a lot. >> reporter: finding a place to call home hasn't been easy. wellty is among the more than half a million people in this country experiencing homelessness. >> i got beef jerky for you. >> reporter: she says she and her husband could have found a shelter sooner if not for their dog. >> how comforting is it to have jazz with you? >> oh, it's incredible. >> reporter: for years, they lived in tents until they learned about this salvation army housing community near denver made up of pallet shelters. >> our goal is to keep people with their pets. >> reporter: kristen baloo yesterday is the director of social services. >> people do not want to be separated from their pets. they would rather sleep on the street under a tarp rather than enter a shelter and have to leave their pet behind. >> reporter: each shelter has a door that locks, electricity, heat, air-conditioning, and accommodations for pets like jazzy. between 5% and 10% of people experiencing homelessness have

pets. the problem is most shelters in this country lack the infrastructure to address the needs of that group. >> what do you want people to know about your situation and others like yourself? >> don't judge my story by the chapter you walk in on. >> that was jericka duncan reporting. and that is the overnight news for this wednesday. for some of you, the news continues, and for others, check back later for "cbs mornings." you can follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm jeff pegues. this is "cbs news flash." i'm jarred hill in new york. fighting continues between israel and hamas as we learn more about the extent of the bloodshed. israeli officials now say that 1,200 israelis were killed in the attacks by hamas.

the gaza health ministry says 900 people in gaza have died in israel's response. the ex-girlfriend of former crypto exec sam bankman-fried testified in the federal trial against him tuesday. caroline ellison, who took a plea deal with prosecutors, said bankman-fried directed her to commit fraud and money laundering and told her he would be president one day. and the movie musical adaptation of "the color purple" has a new trailer out. the film stars fantasia barrino and taraji p. henson. "the color purple" hits theaters christmas day. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or york. tonight, we are live in tel aviv. president biden denouncing attacks by hamas as, quote, pure, unadulterated evil as israel pummels gaza with its fiercest air strikes yet and the desperate search for hostages,

including americans, under way. here are tonight's headlines. tonight, the relentless attacks as israel reduces parts of gaza to rubble. and this propaganda video shows hamas preparing for the attack. cbs's holly williams with new reporting. >> reporter: israel's material says it's positioned 35 battalions close to the gaza strip with a ground invasion expected. >> president biden's address to the nation, confirming americans are among the hostages in gaza and vowing support for israel. >> this is an act of sheer evil. hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price. let there be no doubt. the united states has israel's back. >> tonight the "uss ford" carrier strike group arrives near israel as the secretary of state prepares to visit. what was it like when you received the call?

>> cbs's imtiaz tyab speaks with the parents of an israeli american soldier killed in the first wave of hamas attacks. >> you never want to get the knock on the door with the two army officers outside. >> we're on the ground in tel aviv as air raid sirens sound and the iron dome intercepts rockets. cbs's david martin has an in-depth look at the high-tech defense system. >> we always continue to fight and move forward. and answering the call to action. meet an american physician assistant on vacation here in israel, now working in a hospital with special meaning. >> your grandmother who survived the holocaust came from hungary to work in this hospital. >> where i'm working today. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." we're in israel as it

prepares for an expected ground invasion of gaza in what is already the bloodiest war in decades. here in tel aviv, we heard air raid sirens throughout the day with constant threats of rocket attacks. on day four of this escalating war, israel is pounding gaza with hundreds of missile strikes, targeting what the military calls a hamas terror nest. reports tonight the idf took out hamas' economic minister. and more than 1,000 people have been killed in israel with an estimated 900 in gaza. and we have learned some disturbing new details about a massacre that occurred in a small israeli village near the gaza border with the brutal murders of men, women, and children, including babies. at least 14 americans are among the dead with at least 20 more americans unaccounted for. some are being held hostage by hamas. president biden spoke today with israeli prime minister benjamin

netanyahu. it has been their third phone call since this crisis began. we have team coverage tonight from israel to washington, and cbs's holly williams is with us just back from the southern border. good evening, holly. >> reporter: good evening, norah. hamas says it won't hold any negotiations over the hostages that it's holding while it's still under fire. and as we now know, some of them are american. we should warn you tonight that our report contains some disturbing images. israeli air strikes are pounding the gaza strip, perhaps softening the territory for a ground invasion. israel says it's destroying weapons storage and infrastructure used by hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the u.s. palestinian officials put the death toll at 900, and the united nations says there have been more than a dozen hits on health facilities. israel's military says it's now

positioned 35 battalions in the areas surrounding gaza from where hamas launched its attack on saturday. it caught israel's security forces off guard, but hamas propaganda videos appear to show the militants training for a similar attack, complete with a model village. the militants fired more barrages of rockets today, hitting the city of ashkelon in southern israel. the country's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, promised his people they would have vengeance. >> hamas will understand that by attacking us, they've made a mistake of historic proportions. we will exact a price that will be remembered by them and israel's other enemies for decades to come. >> reporter: but the scale of what the militants inflicted on israel is still emerging. in some small farming communities, people were murdered wherever the gunmen found them. >> mothers, fathers, babies,

young families killed in their bed, in their protection room, in their dining room, or in their garden outside. >> reporter: yehuda gottlieb is a dual u.s./israeli citizen who works as a first responder. he was outside be'eri kibbutz as israel's security forces battled the militants. security camera footage shows the gunmen breaking into the compound and shooting its residents. more than 100 people were killed there. >> have you ever seen anything like that before? >> never, ever, ever. we like drove all the way to the end of the road, and we were careful not to get any bodies. >> you had to avoid bodies on the road. >> exactly. >> they were littering the road. >> terrible. >> and holly is back with us. you have reported from israel for decades. what have these attacks done to the people psychologically? >> norah, i think it's rocked people's sense of security. some people have told us that they no longer feel safe in

their own homes. this is a part of the world that's no stranger to violence. but for many israelis, this just feels very different. that first responder who you saw just now in our report told us that he believes this is the worst thing that's happened to jewish people since the holocaust. >> holly williams, thank you for your reporting. house republicans are expected to vote tomorrow on their choice to be the next speaker of the house. gop leader steve scalise and jim jordan are both running to replace kevin mccarthy, who was removed last week. mccarthy today took himself out of contention for returning to the role. the leadership vacuum in the house has essentially stalled congress, leaving it unable to conduct business, including approving aid for israel. the white house confirms that president biden has been interviewed by the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents from his time as vice president. the president met on sunday and monday with special counsel robert hur, who was appointed earlier this year to look into the storage of more than two

dozen documents at the president's home in delaware and another office. biden maintains he did nothing wrong. there's a lot more news ahead on the "cbs overnight news." alaska airlines $99 companion fare means that you can bring your best friend... you know, one of us is gonna have to change? but we're twinning? oh yay. ♪♪ ♪ we care a lot. ♪

you know, my friend funshine would have loved this trip. ♪♪ well our companion fare is just $99 with the alaska airlines visa card, so your friend can come along with you! next time you're the legs! ♪ ♪ we care a lot ♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." back in washington, president biden addressed the nation this afternoon with a

forceful show of support for israel. the president vowed to do everything possible to free the american hostages, saying he has, quote, no higher priority than the safety of americans being held hostage around the world. cbs's ed o'keefe has the latest tonight from the white house. >> this is an act of sheer evil. >> reporter: president biden condemned the attacks by hamas, which he revealed killed at least 14 american citizens, comparing it to the worst rampages of isis. >> parents butchered, using their bodies to try to protect their children. women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies. >> reporter: he said the u.s. is sending special operators to help israel coordinate the rescue of more than 100 hostages held by the militant group, including americans. >> we now know that american citizens are among those being held by hamas. >> reporter: a carrier strike group, including the "uss gerald ford," has arrived in the region and could be used as a platform to launch hostage rescue missions. national security adviser jake sullivan says there are 20 or

more americans still missing though it's unclear how many have been abducted by hamas. he said there are no current plans to send u.s. troops into the conflict. >> at this point, that is not something that is under planning. >> reporter: with the fighting ongoing, the president huddled with his national security team this morning and held his third phone call since the conflict began with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> president joe, i want to thank you for your continued and unequivocal support. >> reporter: offering more military support, including precision-guided munitions for fighter jets. the first shipment of supplies landed this evening. mr. biden is also sending secretary of state antony blinken to israel tomorrow, part of a diplomatic push to contain the crisis from spreading further, a major fear among allies that iranian-backed hezbollah could fully join the fight. the president today issued this warning. >> anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, i have one word -- don't.

don't. >> reporter: now, amid all of this, a bipartisan congressional delegation was in tel aviv today and met with prime minister netanyahu as president biden says he's planning to ask congress to approve more aid for israel when lawmakers return to washington next week. norah. >> ed o'keefe at the white house, thank you. tonight we're learning more about the americans killed and those still missing afer the deadliest attack on civilians in israeli history. cbs's imtiaz tyab spoke with a mother and father whose son died during the first hours of the assault. >> reporter: in the chaotic first hours of hamas' massive assault, the israeli military scrambled to respond. combat troops were called into action, including 27-year-old israeli american aryeh ziering. >> he loved sports. he loved the boston red sox. >> reporter: his parents, debby and mark ziering, moved to israel from new york nearly 30

years ago. on saturday night, they received the news aryeh was killed in action. >> what was it like when you received the call? >> you never want to get the knock on the door with the two army officers outside. and this woman came in, and she said to us, "your son was killed today." >> reporter: at least 100 people are being held captive inside gaza. the number of u.s. citizens there is unknown. nahar neta's mother is from california. she was taken by hamas. >> the optimistic scenario is that she's held hostage in gaza and not dead on the street of the kibbutz where we grew up. >> reporter: for debbie and mark

zeiring, despite the pain of losing their eldest son, aryeh, it hasn't shattered their hope for a better future. >> we believe in peace. we believe in, you know, coexistence. we don't want to -- we don't want to eliminate anybody from this world or this planet. everybody should have a place to live. >> reporter: now, tonight another 20 or more americans are still missing as israel's military begins distributing thousands of weapons to volunteer defense teams in towns and cities all over the country. norah. >> imtiaz tyab, thank you. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back.

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>> reporter: second siren in about ten minutes. this is what it's like to be in a country under attack. air raid sirens blare. that's the sound of the iron dome intercepting a rocket. it's a scramble to safety, into a shelter, downstairs quickly. people checking in with their loved ones and waiting. well, it's just about 3:30 in the afternoon here in israel. there have been two sirens that have sounded in just the last few minutes. we're emerging now from the staircase. we've gotten the all-clear. american michelle freund, a physician assistant, sheltered here too. she was on vacation in israel when hamas first attacked. she knew she needed to help, so she's volunteering at this hospital. >> i feel like it's also my country. i'm jewish, and i feel like everybody that's been affected by this is my family.

>> how are you doing? >> there are good moments and bad moments. i think right now we just had a siren, a couple before we started speaking, and i think my anxiety kind of built up. i had a little bit of a panic attack but, you know, you muster on. that's what i think jews do in general. >> the idf said this morning they're calling up 360,000 reservists. do you have many friends who are in the reserve? >> friends, family, and the people that i don't know, i feel like are my friends and my family. like every person that is held hostage right now -- i'm sorry -- in gaza, personally i don't know them, but i know them, and they are my family. and it's really hard. >> reporter: her grandmother worked in this same hospital when she came to israel from hungary after surviving the holocaust. >> she would just be so, you know, proud of having me here, especially in light of the

atrocities that are happening, that are very holocaust-like. >> so your grandmother who survived the holocaust came from hungary to work in this hospital. >> mm-hmm. i know that she would be very proud to see me here. >> she would. >> yeah. >> reporter: well, michelle is supposed to return to new york city next week, but she says she may decide to stay to continue helping here in israel. hi, i'm katie, i've lost 110 pounds on golo in just over a year. i was a diet soda addict, and i needed to have a diet soda every morning as my eye-opener. with the release, the cravings are gone. golo worked for me when i thought nothing would work for me. the first few weeks were really astonishing how quickly and how easily it came off, how much better i felt, what a change it made so fast. i feel like anything is possible after accomplishing what i've done with golo.

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see the difference with olay. israel's iron dome, the anti-missile system you just heard about, was first deployed in march of 2011. the military claims it has about a 95% success rate, but it was pushed to the limit during the early hours of the attack due to the sheer number of rockets fired. cbs's david martin takes an in-depth look at how it works. >> reporter: israel says hamas has launched more than 4,500 rockets, many of them intercepted by the iron dome air defense system. it has kept the death toll from going even higher, and today president biden promised to send more interceptors manufactured by raytheon at about $50,000 each. >> we're surging additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish iron dome. we're going to make sure that

israel does not run out of these critical assets. >> reporter: iron dome has been defending israel against terrorist rockets for more than a decade. >> it has been effective as it typically is in taking a lot of those rockets out of the sky and saving countless lives by doing so. now, of course some rockets have gotten through to tragic cost. >> reporter: because the flight time for a rocket is so short, iron dome can operate on automatic. as soon as a rocket launch is detected, an alert goes out telling everyone to run for shelter while iron dome launches its interceptors, homing in only on rockets headed toward populated areas. >> so it doesn't have to fire 4,500 interceptors to shoot down 4,500 rockets? >> no. a significant fraction of these rockets are not going to hit anything vital. >> reporter: retired general frank mckenzie, former commander of u.s. forces in the middle east, says hamas doesn't really care where the rockets land.

>> they've got a large stockpile of missiles, and i think we should anticipate the intensity of these attacks to continue for a few days yet. >> reporter: if hezbollah, which is based in lebanon on israel's northern border, unleashes its stockpile of rockets and missiles, iron dome could be stretched to its limit. norah. >> that is the big concern. david martin, thank you. in new york city today, there was a rally at a jewish community center where elected officials from both parties pledged support for israel. across the river in new jersey, there were calls for a cease-fire at a pro-palestinian rally.

new york republican george santos was hit with new criminal charges today. the freshman congressman, who has admitted to lying about his background during his campaign, is now accused of charges including conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud.

prosecutors say santos stole the identities of campaign donors and then used their credit cards for more than $40,000 in unauthorized charges. the white house is condemning what appears to be a car attack on the chinese consulate in san francisco monday. video posted on social media shows a blue car that crashed into the room where visas are processed. officials shot the driver, who died at a hospital. we're told investigators believe the unidentified driver posed a threat to consulate staff. finally tonight, something we noticed as air raid sirens went off here in tel aviv. strangers helping strangers. no matter where you are, at a hospital, a store, a hotel, when they go off, people are waving you in the direction of the nearest shelter. people we don't know. people who don't even speak the same language as us. but still they made sure everyone got to safety. it is scary when you hear that sound, but it is even scarier when you hear the boom that

follows. and this is in tel aviv. the closer you get to gaza, the more dangerous it truly is. we are thinking of those people. and that's the overnight news for this wednesday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back later for "cbs mornings" and follow us online anytime at cbsnews.com. reporting from tel aviv, i'm norah o'donnell. this is "cbs news flash." i'm jarred hill in new york. fighting continues between israel and hamas as we learn more about the extent of the bloodshed. israeli officials now say that 1,200 israelis were killed in the attacks by hamas.

the gaza health ministry says 900 people in gaza have died in israel's response. the ex-girlfriend of former crypto exec sam bankman-fried testified in the federal trial against him tuesday. caroline ellison, who took a plea deal with prosecutors, said bankman-fried directed her to commit fraud and money laundering and told her he would be president one day. and the movie musical adaptation of "the color purple" has a new trailer out. the film stars fantasia barrino and taraji p. henson. "the color purple" hits theaters christmas day. for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm jarred hill, cbs news, new york. it's wednesday, october 11th. this is the "cbs morning news." on the offensive. parts of gaza reduced to rubble as israel keeps up its relentless attacks against hamas.