you're watching al jazeera live from doha. hamas says it has captured an israeli soldier in the gaza strip. the death toll passes 500. the u.n. security council is calling for a ceasefire after the deadliest day of fighting. pro-russian separatists in ukraine say they have found flight recorders from flight mh17, as the military moves in to take the eastern town of donetsk. we have two major stories,

and we'll bring you the latest on the fighting in ukraine, and the investigation into the downed malaysian airliner. first, the latest on gaza, and the israeli army can't confirm or deny whether a soldier has been captured by hamas. the palestinians see the soldier in gaza city. many have been killed. 18 israeli soldiers and two civilians have died. nicole johnson reports from gaza. >> reporter: scenes of celebration in the occupied west bank after hamas's military wing anouninged a captured an israeli soldier -- announced it captured an israeli soldier. >> translation: the israeli enemy is hesitant to reveal the number of their hoszs. the number -- losses. the number has forced them to admit though. what the enemy did not admit to

is the loss of their own soldier. how can they conceal the disappearance of tag number 6092065. >> reporter: the group did not say what the soldier is dead or alive. >> we can't confirm the report, we are aware of it and looking into the detail. we'll confirm and deny over the course of the day once we have clarification. >> reporter: all day shifa hospital has dealt with hundreds of people injured and killed near shajaiya. for a brief moment, this. [ chanting ] >> translation: this is an honour to the palestinian nation and victory for the palestinian people. we are proud of the me of the resistance, and of the palestinians. >> it's to confirm that hamas has the body of an israeli soldier or has taken one alive. it would be a big achievement

for the group. in 2011 it swapped corporate gilad shall eat for over 1,000 palestinian prisoners -- shilete for over 1,000 palestinian riseners. captured israeli soldiers are wor worth a lot to hamas. here, no one wants another night like the one in shajaiya. and the latest now from gaza with stefanie dekker, who joins us live. when we spoke about an hour or so ago there was intense bombing in gaza. what is the situation right now? >> it's the same. we have moved locations. we'll get a better view. we'll show you, that's the neighbourhood of where we were yesterday. it was heavily pounded with artillery fire. that seems to go on again. i want to update you on a message received from the health

ministry, saying the israeli army is using white phosphorous. this is something we need to confirm independently. this is something that was used in 2008/2009, the war there. if it is confirmed, it's alarming. it burns through flesh. you can only stop it by using a chemical. it's aggressive. if confirmed, it will be - it is illegal to be used on heavily populated civilian areas, and the area you are looking at, shajaiya, there's shelling going on further down. it looks like they are trying to clear this whole eastern border area. i'm told the areas are some of the most heavily populated in the gaza strip , it is already densely populated in itself, and these areas are where more people live close by. we know most of the people have left the area, but there's

certainly many people remaining down this side. certainly the campaign in the last hour, as you said, when we started speaking, has stepped up again. >> there's no let up in the israeli bombing campaign, despite the condemnation of what happened. you went into that naib hour hood in -- neighbour hood in gaza, tell us about what you saw? >> well, it was quite horrific to see. the destruction caused on the neighbourhood. we were on a main road. the road is difficult to move up. trees had fallen down, oil slicks, all the houses with extreme damage from the artillery fire. we spoke to a man that hadn't been able to get out because overnight no one got out. that's how intense the fire was. balances were not able to get in. many were streaming out of the neighbourhood to look for a safety. those that didn't get out, the

message, the stories of verified people, this man sheltering under stairs, he was trying to get out. we spoke to a small boy who was crying. he was trying to get back to his house and couldn't get back because there was an israeli tank outside. the ms age is that it was a -- message is that it was a relentless campaign. certainly from what we saw, and the neighbourhood entirely ruined, destruction by the artillery firing from israeli tanks, and perhaps they are moving slightly closer in. we can't confirm exactly, because we can't go there to verify it, it is tense. it seems they are trying to push in further along the border area. >> for the moment, thank you very much. stefanie dekker with the latest from gaza of the let's get analysis on the situation. joining us from beirut is a

lecturer on international affairs at the american university. good to have you again on al jazeera. what began on thursday night as a limited ground invasion is turning into something more extensive and a dangerous faz for both sides in the conflict. israel, despite the condemnation over what happened, and there was 70 palestinian deaths, is moving ahead with the campaign, intensifying it. what does it suggest, what is the ultimate goal here? >> israel's ultimate goal is to figure out what in the world it should do been several million palestinians, displaced in 1947/"48, and has had been refugees and attacking and bombing, occupying them, sieging them, doing everything possible over and over again. ground operations, air attacks, every means of assault. the only response is stronger

determination politically and technical proficiency by the groups. this is the dilemma. the palestinians suffer, and the israelis politically and morally because they cannot win this militarily. the only answer, clearly, is a political resolution to a political conflict. >> hamas claims to have captured an israeli soldier. we - israeli ambassador to the u.n. denied. when we spoke to the spokesman 2-3 hours ago, he couldn't confirm or denied that an israeli solder had been captured. if this is confirmed, will this change the balance of power, is it a game changer. >> not in a significant which. the israelis have done before what they are king now. it's an all-out assault with weapons against defenseless civilian population.

it will not change the course of the assault. probably they'll be careful in the way they operate. they'll keep doing this, and it will end up in the same result. there'll be a ceasefire at some point, and they'll go back to the situation of 2-3 years, five or eight years ago. the israelis i don't think will make a significant change. they'll get angrier and more vicious in the attacks, using reports of foss ferrous bombs being used. the dilemma of how to shift from a failed military strategy to a successful political negotiation is really the big challenge for everyone on both sides and all the big external mediators. >> and diplomatic efforts stepped up with john kerry travelling to egypt to try to find a truce. we'll have to leave it there. we have developing news out of ukraine as well, where a military operation seems to be under way to retake the eastern

town of donetsk. we are going to hear now from the ukranian prime minister, who is speaking in kiev. let's take a listen. [ speaking foreign language ] okay, we have no translation yet. hopefully we will bring you a translation of the ukrainian prime minister there, speaking in kiev. >> translation:..remind in specialised refrigerators. russian terrorists prevent an opportunity to remove the bod yes and leave the station so

that they will be delivered to the allocators place. generally... ..overall 810 specialists involved in the operation. and 355 - the staff emergency services of ukraine. there is also special task force group farmed which consists of all the authority of special services. and they gradually joined in an investigation of this horrible damage di. our position yarding the investigation has not changed. it's complete international full-scale international investigation.

ukraine is ready to pass the coordination role of this tragedy over western partner. netherlands could, of course, help this process. jointly with ukrainians, regarding and medical - and medical... in amsterdam, they have one of the best facility yes, and ukranian government is prepared to transport all the bodies all over to amsterdam to conduct a forensic examination.

the western side have done nothing to provide - to provide an opportunity for emergency staff and authorities to have access. and that is why by using all possible opportunities including informal negotiations, we manage to collect the majority of the evidence relating to this tragedy. at this stage we have no doubts about the fact that this plane was shot. the reason reason of the full rocket impact and most likely

it's a missile system, book one. also, it is understandable that drunken pro-russian terrorists are not capable of operating such a system. especially trained people, and we have evidence that the such training took place on russian territory. they will received from russia finances, as well as training and education. and that is why this horrible international tragedy, this international crime against humanity must be vetted by international -- investigated by international commission. i underinterior again that we

are ready to pass to netherlands coordination of this investigation, as a country who suffered most, obviously involving all - every other - every member of international community. >> give us condolences to those families who lost their beloved. we pray for everyone. we pray for these families, and ukranian nation warrants. let me update on the latest developments. you cranian authorities k ukranian authorities discovered 272 bodies. 251 of which are already loaded in a train refrigerators.

we sent two trains ... you have been listening to a press conference from the ukranian prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk giving the latest on the investigation into the crash of malaysia flight mh17, shot down in eastern ukraine. the prime minister is saying that the investigation is continuing, saying that this will be an international investigation with the cooperation of the netherlands. he says that 257 bodies have been removed from the wreckage site, and these bodies will be taken to amsterdam for forensic investigation, and he added that there is no doubt about the fact that the plane was shot down and once again accused russian-backed separatists of bringing it down. again, a live press commons from the ukranian -- conference from the ukranian prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk on the latest in the investigation into the crash of flight mh17. it's been four days since that

plane went down. rescue areas say that 147 bodies from the wreckage site, experts from interpol and the netherlands want to begin the identification process as soon as possible. separatists say they have retrieved but denied shooting down the jet. australia's prime minister criticised the russian-backed rebels at the crash site. 27 australians were on board the flight. >> this is still an absolutely shambolic situation. it's an absolutely shambolic situation. it does look more like a garden clean-up than a forensic investigation. and there's no doubt that at the moment the site is under the control of the russian-backed rebels, and given the almost certain culpability in the russian-backed rebels in the

downing of the aircraft, having those people in control of the site is a little like leaving criminals in charge of a crime scene russian president vladimir putin assess the malaysia airlines crash -- says the malaysia airlines crash should not be used as a political tool. >> translation: no one should nor has the right to achieve the tragedy to achieve their own selfish political goals. these event should not divide but unite people. it's necessary that all who are to answer to this take responsibility before their own peep and the people of the countries -- people of the country who are the victims. a government has set up a crisis center and makeshift morgue. >> the government confirmed 251 bod yes and 8 # -- bodies and 86 body sites have been found in the 10km radius down south in eastern ukraine. up north in kharkiv, this is the

city that the ukranian central government out of the kiev, what the bodies brought up to. they are in refrigerated cars, 300km south of here, they want them brought here. this is outside the battle zone making it easier for family members to come and visit and pay last release, and the identification process, the government here has created a crisis center, facilities for the family members coming here and a makeshift morgue in a hanger. they want the bodies to come up. there's a discussion going on with separatist leaders, where they go. they still sit in the railway cars, more than 300km at the south. somewhere where the families go and family members see them. >> in eastern ukraine there's heavy shelling in the city of donetsk. government forces started a

campaign to retake the city from the russian-backed separatists. we are are joined live from donetsk. tell us about the situation and whether the bombing is companying right now. the shelling is turning. i'm tell you a bit about where i am at the moment. i'm close to donetsk raily station, that is where it appears the heart of the fighting and the battle is taking place. we understand, and i spoke to separatist commander on the ground, that his forces, he said they are trying to hold a line of donetsk, trying to stop ukranian forces from entering donetsk at the western bus station. this is a massive city of around 1 million residents. in the past three weeks, around 300 have fled from the city. this is a major city in eastern

ukraine, and the ukranian army, it appears came from the airport where they were held up since may and took the fight to the separatists. what the ukrainians appeared to do or tried to do is breach the lines of the separatists and get into the center of donetsk. now, the ukranian president a few days ago approved a special army operation for dong esque and luhansk. this will -- donetsk and luhansk. this will be a difficult operation, isn't it? >> well, it is going to be difficult if we are to believe that the separatists are being armed potentially by the russians with heavy weapons. it will be difficult for the ukranian forces. we know for the past week one of their planes were brought down by the separatists over this

region. so they have carried out air strikes. the key for the ukrainians and what they have been saying is they want the rebels,ar the separatists to lay dawn their arms to the ukrainians can control the key border region that we are close to. the separatists on their side are not going to lay down the arms. they don't want a ceasefire at the moment. that is the key. a lot of residence are suffering. in the city, a third of the population has fled, and in other major towns in this area, there is fighting as well. >> for the moment, thank you very much. that's al jazeera's reporter reporting from donetsk. moving to other news. the war in syria and the counter

crisis in iraq has redrawn borders in both countries. the ethnic kurdish population controls north-east syria and north-west iraq, but is divided by power centers? the region. we have a report from the crossing in north-west iraq. >> reporter: the river is a natural boundary between iraq and syria. two countries that are breaking up. in this corner of north-west iraq, the kurdish and regional government is the authority on the ground, moving towards ses session from iraq. this is a political fault line. it's run by the pyd, an offshoot of the p.k.k. party. kurds believed the border carved up the ethnic homeland with great er-kurdistan. decades later there's a new reality. on both sides of the border there are de facto kurdish

autonomous regions. they are run by long-time rivals who do not cooperate. the traffic seems to be one way. >> there are no humanitarian corridors to reach syrian kurds. people are suffering with the war, with the self-declared islamic state. this is the only exit point and people are not allowed to lee. >> this is one of two crossings connecting the kurdish regions, the other has been closed since the kurdish peshmerga took over positions abandoned by the iraqi army in june. . the pyd don't allow people to cross. i tried to speak to them about the humanitarian situation. they say they have orders, but not from home. >> the pyd is against breaking away from syria, and has been accused for working with syria in exchange for greater autonomy. >> kurdistan is part of four

countries, there are special circumstances in each. they can decide for themselves. we are not seeking to include these regions in our state. iraq's kurds controlled landlocked territory and have good ties with neighbouring turkey. it called for iraq to remain united and these competing players have their own kurdish allies. it is a complex web of alliances that blurs borders in a region where a new map is being drawn. >> the united nations nuclear monitoring agency says rain's enriched ukrainian stock can no longer be made into weapons, that means iran has complied with an agreement reached last november, and paves the way for the unblocking of 2.8 billion in frozen assets. talks of a comprehensive deal have been extended for another

four months. in libya 47 people have been killed in clashes between rival militia groups battling for control of the airport tripoli. 120 have been wounded. the fighting continued after a ceasefire failed. a powerful group controls the airport. five people have been shot dead in nicaragua. they were leaving an anniversary of the overthrown of a dictator. a group claimed responsibility for the attack china's president xi jinping held talks in caracas during a meeting with president nicolas maduro. he deccor shade xi jinping with the highest honours. he has signed loans for oil bills valued at $50 billion.

three al jazeera journalists spent 205 days in an egyptian prison. they are falsely accused of helping the muslim brotherhood, outlawed. mohamed fadel fahmy, and peter greste were gaoled for seven years. baher mohamed was given seven years but received three because he had a spent bullet in his possession, which he picked up at a protest. al jazeera demands the release of our journalists. cyprus marked 40 years since an invasion split the island in two. they are living separate lives with turkish cypriots in the north and greek cypriots in the south. we'll hear from paul beban in a next, but first simon mcgregor-wood in the south. [ sirens ] every year the sirens sound 5:30am. greek cypriots mark the moment forces began their enface. they morn those killed in the

fighting. white crosses for the 6,000 that well. of hns wept missing. the president laid a reef, along with the leaders of parties. later in this church, the surfaces was led by the archbishop. >> translation: i feel like the invasion happened today. a huge country invaded cyprus. no one cared, not the united nations, not the european union that claimed it's democratic. for creek sipry ots there was mourning. and anger and frustration that the politicians are unable or unwilling to solve the cyprus problem. for this day i hand over to my cole ago paul brennan. the turkish cypriots, the

memories of 20 july 1974 are different to those of the greek cypriots south of the line. the soldiers that landed on the peach in morne cypress came not for invasion but salvation. >> turkish september their troops to defend. the debt of gratitude was visible from the vowed cheering on. turkish president told them the result of the military invasion had been 40 years of peace on the island. but he admitted the status quo cannot go on forever, and we will not allow it to go on forever. many turkish cypriots share the frustration, and questioned whether the soldiers are needed here, there is the common ground between greek and turkish cypriots. the sides met that week, and the

leaders were scheduled to meet. a sustainable deal can't be par chuted in. it takes compromise, there's scanned evidence of that. >> more news on the website, aljazeera.com.