available to us. >> thanks to all of our guests. we'll see you online. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. they're coming from central america fleeing what they say is certain death. and they're running for their lives in the middle east. civilians caught in the cross fire. and they can only wait and watch as the floodwaters along the mississippi continue to rise.

>> we begin in the middle east, the death toll is rising in gaza, at least 43 people are dead. the leader of hamas is now asking the international community to urge the israeli government to stop their attacks. >> those who have asking us to stop our firing, why don't you ask the other party. first they need to pressurize netanyahu and his killers. our palestinians people cannot bear living under colonization. they burned all the holy qur'ans. we cannot allow them to touch

holy places. we cannot accept people being hungry. we cannot accept living like this. the time has come for this occupation to end. >> as for the fighting, many of the injured are now seeking treatment in hospitals but doctors say they're running low on supplies, and all of their resources could be exhausted in days. we have more from gaza. >> reporter: a young boy lies under this blanket. he is dead. his bodies i body is covered in wounds. too horrible to show. eight members of the family are injured. >> there were 22 of us in our house. they bombed behind the house and my house collapsed all over us. those who are doing this are not human beings. if you have a problem with some people, why are you punishing

all of us? >> reporter: israel said its targeting hamas' robert infrastructure and those responsible for launching them, but we're seeing many civilians here. >> i left the mosque with two of my friends. suddenly a rocket landed in front of us. my friend was killed. the other badly injured. i'm in a little bit of pain, but nothing compared to what happened to them. >> reporter: the hospital is struggle to go cope. >> the doctors are waiting to take in the wounded and the dead. people are terrified. they will tell that you they don't feel safe anywhere. we heard a large airstrike very close by. >> reporter: there is growing anger here. many people say this is not only a war against hamas. >> you have militants, but you're bombing houses, killing children without warning, this is a war crime. >> the loud boom shake gaza all

day and all night. this has been a long, painful conflict, and these are not equal opponent. israel's military might give people here little chance. >> this is the dramatic scene at an israeli wedding. [ sirens ] >> this is the video shot tuesday night south of tel aviv. a couple was celebrating their wedding when the sirens went off. that's when they saw the rocket flying above them, then they saw this happen. [ sirens ] >> that's the second rocket intercepted by the iron dome, the entire wedding including bride and groom had to run for cover. so far the wedding party is died.

in israel the scars are different. there the damage is psychological. >> reporter: even though it's a half mile from the gaza war, they feel right at home. for 25 years he has lived in this collective farm. >> i like this place very much. >> reporter: he lives here with his wife and daughter, but it's time to go. it's 9 kibbutz where i grew up. but if the situation remains this way and i continue to be scared i'll move to another dibbutz or another area. watch her face. that sound was not thunder. it was a rocket landing just 500 feet away. the rockets fired from gaza that target this country. they have not killed anyone but

they spread fear, and they sear images in every member of this community. firefighters show up minutes later. these days the community expects these kinds of attacks. >> we just heard another boom. you flinched a little bit. are you used to this? >> no, no, you cannot get used to it. >> he say he curses them with a smile. >> at the kibbutz's edge a hill shows the best view of gaza, and as some residents seem to thee as a spectator sport. >> i wanted to see how we strike back. >> do you support this operation? >> we have to show them who is

in the neighborhood. >> tonight they're praying israel strikes harder. >> i asked him whether he would ever actually leave that place, he said no, he has no intention. >> in iraq there has been an apparent mass killing in baghd baghdad. 50 bodies were found in a mainly shiite region. all of them were blind folded, tied and shot. many of the victims were sunnies. meanwhile from prime minister nouri al-maliki he's blaming the kurdish north, saying they have allowed them to seize power. >> we are getting reaction here

to nouri al-maliki's word. there is only one wordic use to describe the reaction, and that is surprise. many politicians are wondering what the prime minister nouri al-maliki is referring to in his statement. there are no, they said to me, no islamic state or rebels in kurdish territory. they wonder where that came from. they say they're surprised that he went that far. who is he really aiming the statement at? thnow in you want to win the islamic state, you have to inlist the help of the islam, sheiks. they said they won't help until nouri al-maliki goes. they say he is partially to blame for the crisis that iraq

faces, and they've been incredibly critical. it's likely to be aimed at them. this is also likely to be aimed at the kurds as well because they pursued a policy of looking a at a referendum. now they used to be very good friends. they fought against saddam hussein together. but their relationship has faded. 9 words we've heard is very strong. >> another heated debate in washington, right now senators are having a heated debate of their own. libby casey at the white house, it seems save to say that there is anger on both sides of the ail. >> reporter: many are concerned that these uncompanied clinton

spent back to their home. we also do see senate leaders willing to expedite this funding request that the president has asked for. the biggest problem will be with republicans. he's getting it from them on the other side of the spectrum. they say they don't want to give this request the way it's framed because they don't think enough money goes to border security. this is a well-beaten drum that the republicans have hit many times complaining that the white house has not done enough to security the borders. they're using this opportunity to register those complaints. with that as a backdrop, they held a hearing that just wrapped up a few moments ago looking at challenges at the border. and frankly, a lot of members are just trying to wrap their heads around the numbers. 57,000 is the number now of unaccompanied children who have crossed over and been detained since october. there was a heated exchange

between senator john mccain. arizona republican, he had a complaint. >> when i was there then the border parole and the people there said they didn't want me speaking to any of the staff or children. i view that as a violation of my responsibilities. >> i'm not familiar with your-- >> you're not familiar they were carrying out your instructions, sir. you have overstepped your responsibilities and your authorities, sir. and i want those instructions revoked as far as members of congress are concerned, and i want it done today. >> expect this fight to keep playing out, del, over the next days and weeks as many members of congress say they do need to do something about what they're calling a humanitarian crisis, what to do and how to do it. >> the president going to texas, but he will not be touring the

border. what is on his agenda? >> reporter: it's a fundraising trip. he has a date on his calendar to meet with governor rick perry, who has been a critic, also local leaders, faith leaders, they'll sit down and talk over wha what is happening. but that's in dallas, thousand of miles they have concerned that he's not getting down there as well. >> libby casey, thank you very much. and as you heard libby say the critics say they want to see the president face-to-face at the border. they want him to see firsthand the flood of migrants coming into the country. we go to texas to see how they're coping. >> reporter: the president has not only been criticized by rick perry, but state and local ""r" official officials who say he

should be tear to see what is going on firsthand. as they walk into this community center in texas migrant women and children are given supplies they need or a place to spend the night. some hope to take a bus out of town to be reunited with loved ones, but for others the journey is unknown but preferable to the alternative. >> the moms that we're seeing hearsay they rather risk the difficulties they will face along the way and what they're going through than know that their family, their child will be killed some day right there on their door step. >> those stories are repeated over and over as border facilities like this one are inundated with thousands of families and uncompanied minors entering the u.s. illegally. [ protesting ] >> reporter: league city outside of houston approved a

legislation to house or process undocumented immigrants. >> until the people in washington get their act together, you can't depend on the city council at leak cit league city to deal with the immigration problem. >> reporter: the president is facing criticism for not visiting the border to view the crisis firsthand. >> with all due respect i think he could do better. he could go down to the border. >> he needs to see this for himself, and not rely on his advisers. this is an crisis that is ongoing in. >> an going crisis that continues to hit texas that loads women and children to california. >> there will be a round table discussion where he'll be joined with religious leaders to come up with specific ways the

federal government could help with the crisis here in texas. >> anyone who has watched our border land program many women worry about rape and other violence. we talked to women in mexico about their fears. >> reporter: so close to realizing their dream of a new life. these migrants try to cross the u.s. border. it's a journey some die making. something well-known to those at this soup kitchen like 24-year-old luce. a single mother left her two-year-old behind hope to go work in the united states. asked about their greatest fears for the journey, luce has no doubt. >> i'm afraid of being raped, she said. i asked them if it was true that the smuggler raped us. it scared us and i told them that i against take any birth control. >> every woman i talked to knows

that they could be sexually assaulted, forced to trade sex for food or water. migration is big business, and migrants are increasingly hiring professional smugglers, making them more vulnerable. >> it's the final stopping point before crossing the border. here they buy things they need like camouflaged gear, and they're extorted some having to pay thousands of dollars to criminal groups just to pass through this gown the father said 80% of migrants he has met has been sexually assaulted. he often takes women to the pharmacy to buy birth control bills and injections. with girls as young as 14 taking precautions he said someone must step in. >> they risk everything, even the risk of being sexually abused. it's terrible and inhumane the way they are used. the drive to migrate is so great

they're willing to take the risk. >> sheriff estrada wants to act. he's been a police officer on the u.s. side in nogales for more than 40 years. but with women scared to name their attackers, the chances of arresting them are slim. >> very slim, very slim. it will happen if someone really cares and wants to do something about the perpetrators, but that's r remote. so we have a challenge. >> reporter: finally luce decides the journey across the border is just too dangerous. she has heard to many stories of women left to die after refusing to having sex with her smugglers. she said the dream just isn't worth the sacrifice. >> and for more information go to our website, www.aljazeera.com. we have in-depth coverage of all angles of the immigration debate including the u.n.'s call, and

an undocumented immigrant gives us her thoughts on her journey. that's at www.aljazeera.com. well, edward snowden has officially asked to extend his asylum in russia. if approved he'll be able to stay another year. his current asylum agreement expires july 31st. he faces espionage charges should he si set foot on u.s. soil. workers at the she ma power plant keeping the area safe.

>> police stepping up security in sao paolo ahead of today's final world cup. argentina goes against the netherlands there are reports of violence and rioting, but a lot of soccer fans are just hoping for a good match after germany clobbered brazil. in case you didn't know by now

they won 7-1. u.s.-china holding high-level talks in ba in beijing. they will focus on economy and climate change. since the 2011 tsunami the tokyo electri electronic power company tepco has been working tat the challenges of the water problems. >> radioactive water has been seeping with water into the

sea. that's why tepco started the construction of the containment wall. it's driving 1500 pipes into the ground around and beneath the reactors. these will then be filled with coolant, cold enough to freeze the surrounding earth and water into a wall of ice. tepco has tested the technique at the site but ran into trouble when it failed to cool the air enough for it to freeze. this time it says it's working better. >> the ice wall itself is being tested. in those cases we've seen that the ground itself does freeze. i myself i'm not that worried that it will not go worth. >> the ice wall technique is sometimes used in projects near water causes, but this is the first time it's being tried on this scale. >> to divert water around the

walls. those radioactive water will remain active for hundreds to thousands of years. >> challenging as it is stopping the spread of radiotive water may be the easy part. dealing with the melted reactive cores may be more dangerous. >> coming up on al jazeera america, the mighty mississippi is overflowing her banks, one town taking on water. we'll go to clarksville, missouri, to see what people there are doing to save their homes.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines at this hour. the president is head to go texas today, one of the hot spots of the border debate. the president is scheduled to speak with the governor and religious leaders there about the ongoing crisis but he's receiving criticism because he will not visit the border. 45 is dead in fighting

between israel and hamas. many of those people are civilians. the mighty mississippi is already ten feet above flood stage that has iowa, missouri and illinois bracing for floods we go to clarksville, missouri. >> the sandbags have done a pretty good job keeping water out of businesses and homes. we've talked to some business who is say they've seen water in their basements, and they've been able to pump that out. the streets are closed in the area. a major thoroughfare highway i-79 has been closed north and south to through traffic. we're seeing barged traffic from southern illinois north. clarksville is a major tourist town. there are a lot of little shops and antique stores in this area. they're really being hurt by

this was this could take a couple of weeks to get all the water out, and it's effecting their business. i talked to a woman who manages a lumber store. she said this store has been here for over a hundred years, and every time they see a flood it disrupts business. >> we do a lot of business here, we're very thankful, but when the flood walls are up and they can't get to us as easy, yes, our business does slow down some. >> reporter: now, the good news is that the water is beginning to recede. we've had some nice sunny dry days here for the last couple of days. if it's supposeit's supposed to stay sunny and warm through tomorrow. but there is a chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow through the weekend. >> as you can see those waters are creating a terrible situation for everyone. dave, is mother nature only going to make things worse. >> meteorologist: the rain in

the last 30 days we've had 10 to 20 inches of rain up stream. this is all relating to flooding now because it works its way into these larger rivers. this is the area of flooding, and it will slowly work its way down stream. this is what is happening, this is at its highest point. above that along the mississippi the waters are falling slightly. below that it's rising, still expected to reach flood stage. this is the river gan gauge, with major flooding reported. it will slowly drop over the next week. the moderate flooding will continue to the middle to end of next week. this is a very slow process and it's pressing against record stage. not much additional rain coming down, but it will remain in flood stage in had whole area for the next week. this is all wind damage reports, even one or two tornadoes

reported. it is cleared out today, great quiet along the radar. maybe some severe weather developing east of the rockies. but the big story is the cooler temperatures and the lower humidity feeling that break from the heat across the northern plane plains to the east. 85 in phoenix. to the north it's hot and dry. fire weather continues to be a problem. >> it might as well be fall in phoenix at 85. >> meteorologist: yes, not very bad at 85. >> scientists at m.i.t. working on a new device saying reading as easy as pointing to the wor words. it's to help people who are blind to read menus or fill out a form. it scans the printed text and then it says the word allowed.

we want to thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. you can always check out our website at www.aljazeera.com where we're following the entire immigration debate. >> east caracas, in the upscale neighborhood of altamira... an outpouring of anger at venezuela's government is met with a show of force. ...and we're caught in the middle of it. >> we've just seen tear gas being thrown. the police has showed up. everyone's running in this direction. >> since february, protesters have marched, blockaded streets, and fought running battles with the police. more than 40 people have been killed...over 3000 detained. >> so some of the protesters are now being arrested.