from their journey, as they saw other crosses killed along the way. you can find us on twitter, google+ for facebook. see you next time. the funerals have begun for the israeli teens whose bodies were found on the west bank. president obama says he will send more u.s. troops to baghdad as the iraqi lawmakers talk about the future of their country. american fans hoping that practice makes perfect for team usa. today's world cup match with belgium is win or go home.

the funerals are underway for the three teenagers killed in the occupied west bank, the bodies found on monday. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu accused hamas of the killing, but hamas denies any involvement and is warning israel against any future attacks. nick is in gaza. some strong words and actions after the teens' bodies were discovered. >> reporter: absolutely. right now despite all the strong actions and despite all of those strong words, right now israel is celebrating or noting what it calls a day of national mourning. there's been three separate funerals over the last several hours, del, in three separate places. all have one message. in death the three united israel. it's a small country where military service is required, and it comes together in crisis.

that is one of the those moments right now. in this national outpouring of grief, you really see a national solidarity, and you've seen an extreme scene of sadness. one of the fathers of the 16-year-old who was killed calling his son a hero and becoming a national hero. so with all of that grief, with all of that sadness there are a lot of politics being played and a lot of violence being discussed by both sides. last night after those teens' bodies were discovered, a palestinian was killed, a member of hamas according to the israeli military when he tried to throw a grenade at soldiers. soldiers fired at him and shot him to death. in gaza there's a lot of anxiety and anticipation about how israel will respond. in israel palestinian rockets are fueling fires and calls for revenge. this morning at least eight rockets fired from gaza landed in israeli fields. firefighters near the gaza

border put out this one, but israel fears more. overnight in gaza the israeli military unleashed an onslaught. 34 strikes from air and sea shook gaza, nearly all target training grounds for anti-israeli fighters. this is a site of the air strike. it's nine hours. you can still smell the sulfur in the air from the missile that hit here. it destroyed this metal structure and ripped that tree in half. up until recently it created this huge crater right here, which has been filled in with dirt. so farther both sides have only struck empty areas thanks to an agreement between israel and hamas, according to the officer in charge of protecting israeli residents near gaza. >> translator: each party reacts to the other side in accordance to the nature of the attack launched. >> reporter: in the palestinian west bank, israel took more direct revenge throwing dynamite

at the homes of two men suspected the abducted and murdering three israeli teens. one of the boys also an american citizen. for israel their kidnapping and deaths are unprecedented, and they blame hamas. >> hamas is a radical organization not like hezbollah in lebanon or isis in iraq or boko haram in nigeria. these are extremist groups that have no qualms whatsoever about forcing through deadly violence their radical, extremist agenda on innocent civilians. >> in gaza where hamas is in charge, the rhetoric is also running high. >> we're not going to stop it. >> translator: this was an israeli story used as propaganda to start a war against our people. we warn israel against any stupid action. if israel wants war, the price they'll pay will be grater than in previous war. >> reporter: israel says it's united behind the families of the dead, and a national outpouring of grief is now turning to anger. with those funerals going on,

the question is, what will israel do with that anger? how will it respond to these attacks? a couple of hours the israeli security cabinet will meet for the second time in two nights. they met for three hours last night and couldn't come to a consensus. netanyahu will speak before the cabinet meeting. a lot of anxiety and anticipation in gaza and across the region as to what netanyahu will say and how israel will respond. >> one of those teenagers was also a u.s. citizen. has there been any u.s. reaction so far? >> reporter: the u.s. has definitely sided with israel in the sense that it says that israel is allowed to defend itself against terrorism and it's feeling israel's pain in the words of one u.s. official. however, president obama and secretary kerry have both said in their statements at the same time that we urge all parties toward restraint, and that's diplomatic words for don't do too much, israel, or do more to

inflame the middle east more. israel was looking for more support from the u.s. hoping the u.s. would say that palestinian president abbas needed to separate from hamas. the two sides have come together recently. the u.s. has not said that, disappointing israel, del. >> in this case schinick shifri live for us. we turn to iraq. more u.s. troops are headed to baghdad to bolster security and advise the iraq government. turmoil erupting at the first meeting of iraq's new parliament. we cover the story from washington with libby casey and jane is live in baghdad. we start with you, jane. the elected leaders were supposed to meet today to form the new government on july 1st. what happened? >> reporter: well, del, it started off really nicely. they showed up for the most part. most of the voting blocs. they sat there and sang the national anthem and took their oaths in arabic. the kurdish members in kurdish.

then one of the kurdish members got up to make a point about not getting money to the kurdish region. that's when the shouting started. they reconvened and went for a break, and a lot of them didn't come back. in fact, enough didn't come back that they couldn't continue. apart from the chaos of that, the obvious chaos, is really what it says about the political system. it's still so divided that they can't elect a speaker, the one thing they were supposed to do today, because they don't yet agree on who should be prime minister. that is going to take days, if not weeks to hammer out. del. >> jane, the u.s. released new numbers considering how deadly last month's insurgency was? >> reporter: absolutely. more than 2,000 civilians killed. in fact, more than 2,400 according to the u.n. similar figures from the iraqi government. that's the biggest loss of life. most of them were civilians.

that's the big loss since 2007. 2007 was when iraq was in the midst of a civil war, and that's what people are fearing again. there was an attack on a major shrine that has a lot of iraqis worried that iraq will again be plunged into civil war. really what those figures show is that civilians are bearing a lot of the brunt of this violence and the sweep by islamic state fighters into the country. >> jane, thank you very much. as we mentioned, the u.s. beefing up security in baghdad. libby casey is in washington, d.c. with more on concerns that we could be seeing the beginning of mission creek. libby, what role will those additional u.s. forces play? >> reporter: security and intelligence, del, both on the ground and in the air. despite the u.s.'s position that it's not sending in combat troops, these forces will be prepared for combat. for the third time in as many weeks, president obama announced more u.s. soldiers are heading

to iraq. in a letter to congress monday, the president said he's sending an additional 300 troops to reinforce the american embassy and airport in baghdad. those forces now join 275 others sent to protect the embassy last month, plus the u.s. military advisers aiding iraq's beleaguered army. citing security concerns they said helicopters and drones will be dispatched so americans can travel safely. with sunni rebels battling iraqi troops only 70 miles from baghdad in tikrit, iraqi security forces anticipate any attack sweeping bridges, fields and homes. meanwhile, the newly named islamic state released a video that they claim shows their ability to move freely along the swath of land in syria and iraq where they established a calasate. >> there is no army.

the soldiers, they took this off, their uniforms, and they throw them in the streets and run away like they are civilians. >> reporter: the system of rule was declared sunday by the sunni fighters and has not been seen since 1924. >> translator: i think such a scenario enables all parts of islamic state of iraq and the levant to become unified and fight shoulder to shoulder with one doctrine for world domination. >> reporter: the announcement also calls on all muslims to swear allegiance to one leader long sought by the united states and seen as having his sights set beyond the area they control. >> the holy grail for the groups is to strike in the west. attacks in london and the united states. this is what they strive for, and more and more this is a concern of u.s. intelligence. >> iraq's ambassador to the u.s., is speaking at this hour in washington, del, and he has a warning. he says this conflict is likely to go on.

it's not short term. he says the border between syria and iraq is a crucial powder keg, and when asked if iraq would take help from iran, he said we want to respect the international efforts against iran, international standards. however, we have a shared common interest, and we can't -- if we can't get help from the u.s. and others, we will go where we have to. >> libby casey for us live at the white house today. thank you very much. just hours after ukraine called off the cease-fire, fighting is breaking out in the eastern part of the country this morning. government forces and pro-russian separatists exchange gunfire northwest of donetsk. many residents have since fled. dozens of people are feared dead after i abomb blast today in a busy market in nigeria. the explosion happened in the northeastern part of the country. a stronghold of boko haram. andrew simmons has more from the nye jaerian capital. >> reporter: the minister of defense is saying there was a van which was packed with improvised explosive devices

covered over by charcoal, and it drove up to the busy market area in this city and detonated. it was a suicide bomber. as far as those dead are concerned, there are vague reports because four hospitals are involved in the casualty operation, but really, the estimates vary between 15 to more than 30. i think you can expect a lot of dead here. undoubtedly, according to security forces, were the hallmarks of a boko haram attack. there's a -- it's not well-constructed and it's a typical african market teaming with people around 8:30 on tuesday. a lot of people were shopping, and a lot of people were milling around directed at civilians obvious obviously. boko haram attacks urban areas while at the same time attack the rural areas.

the urban areas with bombs and the rural areas with gunfire, burning homes. it is an absolutely appalling situation in nigeria right now with the attacks really occurring on a daily basis. also today thousands marching for democracy in hong kong. demonstrators take to the streets calls for the city's leaders to be sack. this is one of the most visible challenges in more than a decade. hong kong's chief executive urged civility. hong kong returned to chinese rule on july 1st in 1997. for the first time since world war ii, japan's military could soon be able to get involved in fighting overseas. the cabinet approving a reinterpretation of the constitution. it allows the country forces to be involved in military action to defend the allies. prior to that, japan's constitution renounced war. former french president nicolas sarkozy is in police custody today being held for

questioning after turning himself in as part of a corruption probe. investigators want to know if sarkozy tried to exchange a judicial post for insider information about a campaign finance scandal. no charges have been filed. it is game day for team usa. fans across the country gearing up for the u.s.'s round against belgium in the knockout round.

it is and this may be the understatement a big day for team usa. they're facing belgium. the winner advances to the quarterfinals and the loser going home. john teret is live in new york right now. john celebrated after the last game. millions are expected to watch this game, though. >> reporter: you're so right, del. there's a forbes estimate of

upwards of 16 million people going to be watching. i reckon it could be bigger than that, because that is so exciting. it's like a national haul take with the u.s. team meeting the belgians this afternoon. i'm in one of the lungs of new york. this is where new yorkers come to breathe in the busy days. that's a bar here in bryant park called the southwest, and there's a screen over there. that's where we're expecting thousands of people to come down from their offices. no one is going to do any work in new york i predict from about 3:00 this afternoon, because the game gets under way. it has to be the cheering team usa. it's important they win today, and otherwise, it's curtains and they're out, del. >> belgium looks like a tough team to beat. the red devils finished undefeated in the first group. how are we going to do this? >> reporter: let me let you in on a small secret. this game is actually fairly

evenly balanced. here's the things. the belgians weren't much of a footballing nation. they got fed up being laughed at, so they spent $222 2 -- $22 million from players all over the world. if they could spell the word belgium, they were in and they're good player. commentators don't think they've done as well as they could have. team usa spent $26 million and thieve done under jurgen klinsmann who is the head coach for the usa team and have done way better than anybody expected. you have all the money on the belgian side, not much money on the u.s. side, but you have a cohesion on the u.s. side that is lacking on the belgian side. you see? that's why this game is a bit of a clencher. i think it's fairly even and can could go either way. the u.s. needs to win in order to go through, too. that will be a historical event if this happens if they go

through to the semifinals for the first time. >> john, speaking of that money, management wants to make sure you pay for that soccer ball and that scarf and shirt you're wearing. they say it's not coming on your expense report. >> reporter: we'll see about this. this ball i got last night and i got this scarf. this is the team shirt i'm wearing right now and i have a little pin with the u.s. flag on. guess what? it fell off somewhere in bryant park before the broadcast. >> if i get that for christmas, i'll never stop talking about you. john is live in new york at bryant park. thank you very much. well, in brazil excited fans for both teams taking over the streets and bars of salvador, which is where today's match is held later this afternoon. gabriel has more. >> reporter: the calming notes reverberate off the walls of the old city. salvador was once brazil's first

capital. it's now one of the most historic places in the entire country. fitting as fans from both the u.s. and belgium are looking to make history when they face each other. on monday night hundreds of hard-core supporters of the u.s. packed a ballroom in the city in a festival of red, white and blue. carrying their side to victory in a tournament the americans came into with low expectations. they now find themselves in the final 16. >> go usa! >> one win away from equaling the best ever world cup performance in modern times. >> we have to beat belgium. we beat belgium, we go on and most likely play argentina. that will be an amazing game! >> reporter: very confident you are? >> you have to be.

americans are confident people, and we have a great team. >> reporter: the belgium fans have other ideas in the old city they plan to go to a local hotel pub, their unofficial base camp. the president of the belgium football federation clearly having fun hoping some brazilian good luck will rub off on his side. >> we hope to play against the united states because the alternative was germany. so i think that we have a serious chance. i think that we have a serious chance to win. >> reporter: back at the u.s. party, they went late into the night not wanting this improbable ride to end. >> gabriel is still there. by the way, another match today. argentina playing switzerland in about 30 minutes. using music to overcome

hardships. coming up on al jazeera america, a special camp that uses music to help those with disabilities. thousands in italy come together to break bread let's just say in style.

welcome back. i'm del walters. these are the headlines this hour. in israel funeral services are now underway for three teenagers found dead. israel says hamas is to blame for the deaths. hamas denies it. iraq is ending the first session of parliament without forming a government. the sunnis and kurds walked out. fans across the u.s. are gathering to watch today's big world cup game. team usa going head-to-head with belgium. the winner of the match will advance to the quarterfinals, and the loser goes home. some country music stars are reaching out. they're helping people with developmental disabilities tap

into their creative potential. as jonathan martin reports from nashville, they help researchers study a rare disorder. >> i love what you say about the eye color. >> it looks like a typical song writing session in nashville with the band perry working on a new tune, but as you see and hear, this is something special. >> let's take ideas. >> reporter: this music camp sponsored by the academy of country music is for young adults with williams syndrome, it affects about 30,000 people in the u.s. it causes learning and developmental disabilities but they usually have a strong verbal skills and an affinity with music. >> they're talented and good singers and drummers and things like that. other z are interested in music, and they have given us a unique opportunity to combine music and the research to focus on the unique strength, which the music. >> after the writing session, they came here to their nashville studio to record the

song, and that's where the magic happened. [ music [ n. [ music ] >> they have amazing, innate sense of music, which is my -- which is such an amazing thing about williams syndrome. there's the negatives, but there's so many positives about them. it just blows my mind. >> reporter: participants are from all over the country, and as they write and record songs with country stars, researchers at vanderbilt university study how the brain responds to music. during this session the song they recorded is called "bright eyes." >> in our eyes we have starbursts, and when the light shines in our eyes, it shines to everyone else. i guess it just means we have bright eyes and are here to shine it for other people in the world. >> reporter: he interrupted his summer tour to hearing the campers. he and fellow country star wynonna get a lot from them. >> they might be the biggest group of talented musicians in

nashville because they have big, old hearts and they're so bright. that's what it takes to be in the music industry. >> these kids just do it for the heck of it. they just love it. i learn from them. >> reporter: after a week of writing, recording and rubbing elbows with their fairt stars, it comes down to this. the campers performed on the stage kov velted by musicians all over the world, the grand ole opry. the country musician joined them on stage and said their song writing talents and loving penalties humble him. >> they change my world as opposed to the other way around. >> the opry crowd gave them an honor for my musician, a standing ovation. jonathan martin, al jazeera, nashville. dave warren with your forecast. here's the big story this fourth of july weekend coming is a

tropical storm just developing. the latest advisory from the national hurricane center, 40-mile-per-hour winds and tropical storm arthur. you can see the radar starting to see these bands around the center. it's fairly stationary now, but it will interact with that severe weather. that front is approaching from the northeast comes across the country, and that will start to lift it to the north. these are all individual tracts here as you put all the information into the computer forecast. you can see there's a cluster here which moves north and turns and really clips portions of north carolina, the outer banks. that will be happening most likely overnight thursday to friday from the 3rd to the fourth of july. then we continue to push to the northeast off the coast. with this tract from the national hurricane center, this is just updated now. 6:00 friday morning eastern time, 80-mile-per-hour wind. it's anywhere within this cone. they put the center of the tract right in the middle of the cone, but this is the forecasted track. if it comes in this area here, really has a big impact along

the coast. a front is approaching from the northeast, and that is helping to lift and turn this to the north. you can see here's the rain up along the delmarva in new jersey with this front approaching. as it approaches the outer banks, you get the northeast to east wind and it will create coastal flooding and riptide risks there. overnight thursday to early friday. then it will continue to push up the coast. here's that front. in the meantime we're talking about severe weather again. it's approaching chicago moving through memphis. a line of showers and strong storms yesterday pushed through the area. it's continuing to move out, but puts a lot of rain over areas that don't need it. we see near record flooding as river gauges along the mississippi river here are close to the record flood stage starting to drop a little bit, del. >> dave warren, thank you very much. a record 11,000 people coming together in torino, italy for one big dinner. for the event participants dressed in white and bought all the dinner supplies from home. not just any supplies, but the tables, chairs, napkins, table

cloths and even the food all had to be white. a flash mob organized in 2012 by a local entrepreneur. thank you four watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. >> what the hobby lobby decision means for working people and their bosses is the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. the justices of the supreme