the website or facebook for google+. you can find us on twitter. see you next time. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here's are the stories that we're following for you. israel's president now saying interest is a need for cease-fire. much. the white house talking about the immigration crisis. >> the violence we're facing right now in america, particularly chicago this, is our katrina. >> reporter: chicago residents trying to stop a surge in gun

violence. >> the death toll in gaza is now 173. thousands are evacuating, and israeli strike continue to hit gaza. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said he'll do whatever it is necessary. still there are calls for cease-fire. >> nobody can see what will come out of the exchange of fire. i think there is an open or hidden wish to arrive to an immediate cease-fire. >> we want to see an immediate cessation of this assault, this of aggression, on in military assault on the palestinian people, but we also want to see

that israel is held to account. >> in the meantime life in ga- gaza not life at all. >> reporter: in this conflict the schools are now shelters. the children don't come here to study. they come here to live. more than 15,000 people from rural north gaza, this was their city last night. israel warned all residents to leave. they feel they have no choice. each family's story is repeated a thousand times. each classroom is a bedroom. this room is now home to four families. in total, 29 people liste live in 225 square feet. that's her son, five-year-old ahmed. he has seen no one and no child should ever see. >> even if the bombs don't hit

our houses they'll kill us from fear. at night my children cling to me so tightly they won't let me go to the bathroom. >> her son is violently ill, but they have nothing to offer him. they ask their neighbors for blankets and bread. >> why is this happening to us? where do i get food to feed my child? >> reporter: the family suffered from three wars in six years. her mother shows me how in 2008 an israeli bomb destroyed their house. >> that's what god has written. israel will bomb us and we will die martyrs. >> reporter: this woman was so scared that she fled in the back

of an ambulance. she is 50 and her youngest daughter is 3. >> we can't return to our homes. we can't pray. we don't have water. we don't have privacy going bathroom. this in the holy month of ramadan. what do i do. >> reporter: israel attack their neighborhoods because it is used to fire wrong from hamas. nick schifrin, gaza city. >> meanwhile a hospital in gaza city inundated with most of the injured. john hedron talks at the front lines about the efforts to shave lives. >> reporter: when serious things happen, people are brought here. when that largest incident to

date happened and 18 people were killed at the police chief's home, the survivors were brought here. this hospital is full of people all suffering wounds. we talked to a little girl, actually we spoke to her father because she is no longer speaking. she has shrapnel in her head, in her arms and legs. a woman was injured in a bombing that struck a hospital for the disabled. everyone is suffering from those same kinds of wounds. we spoke to a doctor. he came from norway to help treat patients. this is what he had to say. >> the explosives, the bombs to destroy houses. normally everyone gets killed. it's an enormous energy, and they get killed by the explosion

itself or pieces of building that drop on them. >> reporter: if there was a ground war, particularly a prolonged ground war, not only would hospitals like this be overwhelmed, but they would run out of equipment to treat peop people. >> israel's military said that it shot down a drone along it's southern border. meanwhile, israeli troops and tanks are amassing near that border. al jazeera's bernard smith is there. >> reporter: we're along gaza's eastern border. it's been quiet-ish today. we've had a couple of rockets come in. that's gaza right behind me in the last ten minutes or so we saw a rocket come and land in an open field a few meters away. that's the second time in the last couple of hours we've had that. but we've spent much of the day driving around this area and watching the israeli military

build up. you'll see material being moved into place, tanks with personnel carrier and troops, 36,000 israeli reservists have been told they must report for duty, and it's this part of israel to which they must be reporting. no one is telling us that there is going to be a ground offensive, but israel's army making all the preparations for one. >> as people in northern gaza flee those airstrikes, there are no shines either side will back down. i spoke to the former israeli ambassador to the united states. >> i think that a ground invasion is not something which has been decided yet. there is no appetite in israel for any ground invasion, although, we may have to do it if the firing would continue.

with ground invasion you can seek all those bunkers, which are underground, which we do not want to bomb from the air because the casualties will mount. but at the end of the day there will be, i hope, earlier than later negotiations that will then bar or prevent a ground operations. the most important thing is the regime. after the negotiations and after the cease-fire we don't want to repeat what happened to the last few operations where you reach a cease-fire. >> secretary of state john kerry is trying to hammer out a deal with iran. progress has been made, but the deadline is looming. both powers are hope to go strike a long-term deal by jul july 20th. how to get humanitarian aid

into syria. convoys would bring food and medicine into the areas of hard-to reach areas. they would do so with the government's consent. 10million people in syria are in need of help. in washington the crisis is on the u.s.-mexican border. thousands fleeing central america creating an immigration nightmare. now the line has been drawn at the $3.7 billion that the white house said it needs to fight the battle. >> shannon, former ambassador to brazil, and former undersecretary of state for western hemispheric affairs. he's expected to ask mexico to do more to stop children from entering it's southern border. here at home the administration

continues to ask congress and states for help. it's a humanitarian crisis the white house says it needs $3.76 billion to fix. but convincing congress to move on supplement to immigration is no easy sale. >> we're not going to write a blank check for a billion dollars. >> with border states being inundated with children alone, the obama administration is asking for other states for help. in nashville meeting behind closed door of how to house the 52,000 minors who have entered the governor since october. and with the government split on sheltering the children, government is taking action. >> the bottom line, the community doesn't want it. >> stopping children from being housed in a vacant army reserve building. >> the department of health and

human services should not be looking at it. >> under current law children ar from bordering countries are often reunited with their parents or relatives as their status languishes for years. >> all we need to do is change the act, the traffickicking victims act the same way they do with canada and mexico. if you come to our country illegally you will be spent back. >> reporter: president obama is considering making changes to the law and last week forcefully stated most of the children would be sent back home. but others in his own party on sunday were urging caution. >> we got to be careful when we consider completely doing away with that law. >> reporter: these folks need to be given a championships to go to court and argue their case. over the weekend congressional delegation went to honduras, that's one of the sources of the undocumented children who have been coming to the u.s.

two of the problems are poverty and misinformation prompting youth to flee to america. a plane from the u.s. will be returning 40 depou 40 deportpor. >> thank you very much. >> well, coming up on al jazeera america. >> we want the violence to stop. >> chicago residents demanding peace. they're protesting the violence that is playing the windy city. and destroying places of worship or destroying worship house all together we take you to a country where christian say their religion is under fire.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. >> i'm ali velshi, the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news.

>> sergeant bowe bergdahl back on active duty. he will now be working at fort sam houston. he's expected to meet with the general investigating his 2009 disappearance in afghanistan. more deadly gun violence over the weekend in chicago. over the weekend four people were killed, 30 wounded in shootings. keep in mind there were 14 deaths over the jul july 4th weekend. diane estherbrook is live in chicago. how are residents coping? >> reporter: well, del, in many chicago neighborhoods on the south side violence a has become a way of life, and for many they say these shootings have to stop. for a second weekend in a row gun dry lens rattles the stree gun violence rattles chicago. a neighborhood scared by gunfi

gunfire. [ protesting ] >> i come out every friday night so that the community sees there is a presence here. we're hopeful here but we want to make sure that things change. we do positive things for the young people here. >> the violence that we're facing in america, particularly in chicago, this is our katrina. this is our katrina. how we handle it as a community, as a city, as a state. how we handle this is going to be our legacy. >> reporter: powerful storms drop three inches of rain temporarily interrupting the bloodshed. there was not another shooting until early monday morning. [ protesting ] >> reporter: chicago has been on edge after nine people were

killed and more than 50 others wounded in shootings over the fourth of july weekend. governor pat quinn visited the family of taunya gunn who was killed during a barbecue that weekend. he called for tougher state gun laws. >> we cannot forget taunya gunn who did the right thing, they have lost their lives we have to do something in their memory to protect the public safety. >> reporter: so far this year there have been 46 more shootings than last year, however, the murder raid is down 6%. more people being shot, but fewer people dying from gunshot wounds. >> diane estherbrook for us in chicago. thank you. attorney general eric holder announcing a $7 billion deal between the justice department and citigroup recording the

mortgage securities that the bank sold back in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis. >> citigroup was able to expand their profits at the expense of investors of all types. today we hold the bank accountable for this wrongdoing. >> the largest penalty of its kind. another $2.5 billion will go forwards providing relief for consumers. the anglican church is set to vote whether to allow female bishops in the church. meanwhile christians in eastern china say they're being targeted for their beliefs saying authorities have removed crosses from churches and in some cases tearing down those churches all together. rob mcbride reports.

>> reporter: in a village the congregation pray for the protection of the cross on top of their church from the local authorities. just to be sure they also have tons of rock and two containers blocking the front gate, and scores of people young and old sleep in the church around the clock. >> i don't know why we're a threat to them. we love our country. we love our church. we follow the law. the chinese constitution states we have freedom of religion. >> reporter: at other churches nearby there is evidence of crosses that have been forcebly removed for being too conspicuous. going further and newly planted trees cover a mound of republic where there was once a church whose recent demolition brought the issue to international attention. the authorities denial gas stations of religious persecution. for them its just a question of church bees built bigger than permit: christians suspect

they're being targeted because their research itself is becoming too big. >> christians make up 15% of the province and congregations are growing by 10% to 20% annually. they've been spending more money on grander churc churches and bigger crosses in a country that is technically atheist and that is way of anything that might undermine the ruling communist party. this church did not escape this purge. >> there was no reason given to us. they just said that the pr provincial boss want the church removed. >> as chinese citizens we're meant to have human rights. but we don't have any. they won't listen to us and they

do whatever they want. >> reporter: construction on many new churches has been halted. those who have been completed, many wonder when the wrecking ball will be on its way. al jazeera, china. >> funeral services for a fearless journalist day. john seigenthaler sr. known for his commitment to the civil rights movement and a relentless advocate for free speech. he served as special assistant to robert f kennedy and as a result kennedy's widow among those paying their respects. he went on to become the editorial of u.s. today, and he is the father of john seigenthaler, our primetime anchor here at al jazeera america. he died friday. he was 86. [ grunting ]

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i'm del wall tears. these are your headlines this hour. despite international calls for a cease-fire there is no letting up on either side in the fighting of gaza. airstrikes continue to hit the reason, and the death toll from the conflict is now 173. the white house sending a senior official from the hous white house to discuss the immigration crisis. rahm emmanuel issuing a statement calling for an end to violence. surrogacy, big business in india. thousands of foreigners travel to india every year to have babies, but the service is not open to everyone. >> you they are every bit the doting parents. after years of trying to conceive naturally in britain they finally have a baby boy.

modify months ago an indian come gave bitter to their son through surrogacy. >> she has given us a gift--i'm sorry. it's a gift that you wouldn't expect. >> like the barkers, thousands of foreigners and indians pay for surrogacy every year. india's briefs government announced rules to protect the rights of surrogates and parents. but some of the requirements are controversial. some of the rules say that those looking for surrogates must no

be heterosexual couples. that means same-sex couples and single parents are banned. this doctor said that discriminatiothat is discrimination. >> there was a time when we did not accept it. but people are evolving. people are accepting. >> reporter: the india's government did not respond to our request for an interview. because of the ideal it is unlikely they'll reverse the rule. >> they have stood on the

opposite side speaking against gay rights. >> for the barkers, india and it's thriving surrogacy business has made their dreams come true. many argue the country should be as welcoming to other loving parents. al jazeera, new delhi. >> meteorologist: i'm meteorologist dave warren. this is the upper air pattern and it goes well up into canada across the western united states. a ridge of high pressure there, hot and dry weather will continue, but this is u uncharacteristic this time of year. big dip in the jet stream. cold air talking about highs into the 60s. very unusual this of year. areas of low pressure, and this is where we see active weather. here is this front pushing south.

hot and humidity weather. that will fuel these thunderstorms that will develop today. right along this line along the mid-atlantic states going up to new england there is a risk of severe weather. severe storms will be developing. watch the radar closely if you're in this area. storms have the potential to become strong or severe with flooding rain associated with them. 62 in minneapolis. 70s and 80s in the south and southwest. highs will be in the 90s and close to 100 degrees. highs today in philadelphia, 92, that cool air will push east. a flash flood flood watch in effect along i-95 from baltimore all the way up to new england. very heavy rain is possible with quick flooding will be developing. also the potential for these

storms will be severe. the carolinas could see these strong storms develop. here's the problem out west. the temperatures are hot and dry and this is the fire danger that we're seeing. we have heat advisories in effect and red flag warning for natural washington. not much for relief there. the highs climbing up to 91 degrees, 92. reading, california, at 100 degrees. the hot weather will continue. there is the fire danger there. in the east, temperatures in the 60s. >> thank you very much. finally more than 3,000 french soldiers commemorating bastille day. soldiers from 76 countries both allies and enemies of france during the war were invited to

the march as a symbol of peace. thank you for watching al jazeera. i'm del walters. you can check us out 24 hours a day for updates by going to our website at www.aljazeera.com where the news never stops. >> ray: the highway trust fund, the money that is supposed to keep our roads and bridges repaired is set to run out of money in months. the tax fee to that feeds the fund has not been raised in 25 years. now what? that's the "inside story."