Violence reigns as diplomacy gets underway

>>> good evening, while we may be close to some big news out of the middle east , a cease-fire that may be enacted, it is the middle east after all, and it was another day of violence there. rockets being fired back and forth. israeli troops gather for a possible ground invasion of gaza. tonight president obama has sent hillary clinton to the middle east to see if something can be done to quiet the fight that the world has been watching for a week. earlier today it seemed that cease-fire was all but done, but instead, it's been one of the most lethal days of the conflict yet. and tonight it goes on. our team is on the ground tonight. we begin with nbc's stephanie gosk in jerusalem. stephanie, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, brian. even egyptian president mohammed morsi hinted there was a deal. a spokesperson for hamas said there would be no cease-fire, at least not tonight. making secretary clinton's job here on the ground even more difficult. secretary of state clinton cut her trip to asia short, diverting to israel to personally help shepherd a possible cease-fire.

>> the goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of israelis and palestinians alike.

>> reporter: making her task more difficult, the u.s. has no diplomatic relationship with hamas. a group it labels a terrorist organization . so egyptian president mohammed morsi is playing a key role as intermediary.

>> the critical challenge is going to be to make sure that everybody understands the commitments that have been made, the same way, so there's no misunderstandings.

>> reporter: even with diplomacy in high gear , today was one of the most violence days yet. an israeli soldier was killed. the first since the conflict began. 150 incoming rockets, 30 alone aimed at a southern town. did you run down the stairs?

>> yes.

>> reporter: this family narrowly escaped a direct hit on their house. how many people were in the house at the time?

>> six people. my wife and four children and myself.

>> just in the last week --

>> reporter: the israeli government says their goal is to stop rocket attacks like this for good.

>> we don't think any country in the world would deal with such a situation.

>> reporter: near the border, soldiers still wait anxiously for an order to invade.

>> we're about to go into bombs and fire. nobody wants to go into fire.

>> just over the border as the sun sets, israel unleashed a volley of artillery in gaza. the beginning of another