as fighting continues in gaza, theun top human rights chief says israel could be committing war crimes. ♪ hello and welcome. i'm stephen cole, this is al jazeera, live from doha. also coming up a day of shuttled diplomacy, to try to end the fighting in gaza, john kerry is in the region, meeting with both sides. a plane crash in taiwan kills at least 58 people after a failed emergency landing. a national day of mourning in this the netherlands, with

some of the victims of mh17 beginning to arrive. but first let's go to gaza, where more than 670 palestinians have been killed in the fighting. john kerry is the latest diplomat to visit israel pushing for a resolution. the met ban ki-moon before the un chief left for jordan. ♪ inside gaza, residents continue to leave their homes in order to escape the israeli shelling. this was the scene in a neighborhood in southern gaza, the area appears to be a focal point for the israeli army, as it continues its stated mission

to destroy underground tunnels. the tunnels israel says have been built by hamas. and the united nations is failing to protect palestinians, that's the damming verdict that the un human rights chief said. >> it is imperative that israel, hamas, and all palestinian armed groups strictly abide by applicable norms of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, this entails applying the principles of distinction between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives, proportionality and precautions in attack. respect of the right to life of civilians including children should be foremost

consideration, not abiding by these principles may amount to war crimes. >> let's cross to lauren taylor who is following that meeting in geneva, and lauren joins me now live. lauren has the vote been taken yet? >> not yet, but we do think it might be imnext, because after a day of speeches, impassioned at times, and tense on a subject like this as you can imagine. we have had a second intervention on both sides, so we think we could be getting a vote quite soon. the game was to get an independent inquiry into the events going on in gaza at the moment. israel didn't want this meeting to go on at all, because it was counterproductive during the cur round round of trying to establish a ceasefire. and they said it is one-sided. earlier i spoke with the israeli

ambassador, and asked him why israel objects so strongly to this idea of an independent international inquiry as to what is going on in gaza. >> we have two main objections, first is this special session, it is a sham. we are rewarding the aggressor, hamas, and punishing israel which is acting in this self-defense. and my second objection is that israel and the israeli army comply fully with international humanitarian law. they are very, very strict in their behavior, and in case where incidental damage is made to civilians, we have internationally respectable system of investigating ourselves. and this is already in place. >> well, clearly, we also heard from the palestinian foreign minister earlier urging the international community to

intervene in the conflict, accusing israel of perpetuating heinous crimes in gaza, saying they were killing whole families, and targeting medical facilities. and here is what -- a little bit of -- the flavor of what he had to say and the reaction. >> we must put an end to this occupation which is the source of all of the violations occurring in our country, which will enable our people to enjoy their right to self determination, and for us to have a independent state with east jerusalem as its capitol. enabling our refugees to return to their homes. thank you for your attention. [ applause ] . >> let's go back to lauren in geneva. lauren, is it likely the resolution will be adopted? >> well, i think on balance the

likelihood is, yes, i think the numbers that they had to get in order to call this meeting in the first place would suggest that they have enough support from a number of countries that they will in all likelihood get this resolution passed. the interest thing will be what happens after that, because if an inquiry is adopted, then there will still be time needed to establish the exact mandate, and also to kind the people to run it and get the things in place. so there is still going to be a delay. and also when i spoke to the israeli ambassador earlier, he was adamant that he thinks that israel doesn't need an investigation like this. he says they take all of the precautions they need. so i don't think that we'll get cooperation with any such investigation from the israelis even if it is adopted here. stephen? >> lauren thanks for that. the u.s. secretary of state has just concluded two meetings

with the un secretary general and the palestinian president, separate meetings. john kerry discussed the conflict in gaza with abbas, and met ban ki-moon in jerusalem. now a day of diplomacy, james, are we seeing any fruits of that yet? >> a lot of meetings are going on. there has been a lot of phone calls taking place too, but certainly no progress is being announced. in the last few minutes, john kerry the u.s. secretary of state met with benjamin netenyahu. they posed literally for five seconds for photographers, and then walked out to start their meeting. we have been expecting some sort of remarks from them. i'm told the meeting is taking

place in tel-aviv, because the secretary of state will be flying away after this meeting. where he is flying to, we are still seeking clarification on at this time. but this does seem to match what i am told by other sources. ban ki moon said he thought there could be peace very soon. i understand that the possible formula they were looking at was a ceasefire to be followed immediately by negotiations on the underlying issues to satisfy hamas that says there should be a lifting of the siege of gaza. they would get the ceasefire first and then straight away they would talk about that as one of the issues. well, i'm told by a source, i can't tell you anything more than it's a source who knows what is going on, that that has been a problem for israel.

it wants those two things decoupled. it wants a ceasefire that gone conditional, and then it wants talks at some point of its own choosing later on. >> hundreds of palestinians have died. and now 32 israeli soldiers have died and two civilians. will that add pressure to mr. netenyahu? >> i think international pressure is a factor. i think what was said today in the talk of a new commission of inquiry, and the claim that maybe israeli committed war crimes is a factor, and i think that international players like ban ki-moon and john kerry particularly being israeli's closest ally are important, but i think the thing that weighs most heavily is the political

situation in israel and the israeli public opinion. those two things show that prime minister netenyahu has a lot of support for the ongoing military operations in gaza. >> well, james thanks for that. james bayes reporting from west jerusalem. the latest assault on gaza is the third in the past six years. all of them were launched according to israel to stop rocket fire coming from gaza. operation cast lead lasted for three weeks. after 1400 palestinians were killed. operation pillar of defense, an eight-day israeli incursion into ga gaza, left 132 palestinians dead in 2012, this latest operation named operation protective edge has claimed more than 650 palestinian lives already.

gaza has a small christian minority. as the bombardment continues several churches are being used as safe havens. >> reporter: a place of worship and now a place of refuge. but there is no guarantee of safety here. this woman is 22 years old, she has three children, and was six months pregnant when the bombing started. her home was destroyed when she came to this church and began to bleed. >> translator: i began to bleed. when i got to the hospital, i collapsed. the doctor said my child had died and they had to remove it from me. >> reporter: she seeks comfort from her friends, but is heart broken about losing her baby. >> translator: we were treading on the dead bodies as we ran. the israelis not only have killed our sons, but the baby

inside of me. >> reporter: more than a thousand have come to this church to seek shelter. every few minutes we continue to hear very loud explosions. in another corner of the church we wound this woman. her son mohammed is just 20 days old. the israeli military also destroyed her home. she tried to find shelter in a nearby school, but there was no room. >> translator: i can't describe the fear. our families split up trying to find safety in different places. my house is destroyed. i don't know what we're going to do now. >> reporter: cradling our child while she prays the bombing will stop soon. new life surrounded by so much death in a place where there are very few if anyplaces to hide. the battle for control in the airport of libya's capitol is intensifying.

rebels were in control. they are being challenged by rivals. the fighting has been continuing for more than a week and at least 47 people have died. iraq's parliament has delayed a vote to elect itself next president as part of a wider negotiation to form a new government. the prime minister coalition took most of the seats, but fell short of a majority. lots more toment come here on al jazeera, including still missing after 100 days. we're in nigeria where there's criticism of the search effort for the kidnapped schoolgirls. ♪ (

tank shelling coming from where we are, here. >> every single one of these buildings shook violently. >> for continuing coverage of the israeli / palestinian conflict, stay with al jazeera america, your global news leader. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow. that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would.

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♪ welcome back. i'm stephen cole. the united nations is about to vote on a resolution on the gaza conflict. it was suggested that israel could be committing war crimes. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry just concluded two separate meetings with the un secretary general and the palestinian president. john kerry discussed the conflict in gaza, and met with the israeli prime minister in tel-aviv. heavy weapons are being used in the fight over libya's airport in tripoli. 47 have been killed in the fighting. let's move to taiwan, where a passenger plane has crashed in a failed emergency landing. at least 51 people have died.

rob mcbride has been reporting that story for us, and sent us this update. >> reporter: the aircraft involved is a relatively small twin engine computer aircraft on a domestic flight from the south of taiwan to an island in the taiwan straights. the aircraft was apparently trying to make an emergency landing when it crashed. eyewitnesss talk about survivors emerging from the wreckage when tragically fire took hold and the whole aircraft burst into flames. those injured have been taken to nearby hospitals while the investigation starts into the cause of this crash. it was known at the time there was a heavy rain form, the remnants of a typhoon which has been passing through taiwan and now into mainland china. that has closed down eye juan

island for the last couple of ways. it was thought the worst was over when this accident happened. pro-russian separatists have shot down two ukrainian military jets. both pilots were able to get to safety. >> reporter: video has emerged of what appears to be the crash site of one of the su25 ukrainian fighter jets which was brought down by separatists. now at the crash site, the separatists seem to be telling whoever is filming that they are searching for the pilot. we understand that both pilots managed to eject themselves in time, but there are reports that one of the pilots may have died. in the video as well. separatists are looking through the wreckage for the black box. we understand from the ukrainian

forces that these aircraft were supporting ukrainian forces on the ground who were on a mission when they were fired upon by anti-aircraft missiles. we have spoken to the minister of defense of this self declared region, and he has told us that one aircraft was brought down. but all of this shows how much this conflict is escalating into a real fierce battle between the ukrainians who want to take back this eastern part of ukraine, and the separatists who are trying to defend the major cities, including donetsk where we are. that incident comes as the first bodies from flight mh17 arrive interested in the netherlands. ♪ >> they were met at the airport by dignitaries including the dutch king and queen, and other leaders of that country, which

has lost citizens. investigators have warned the indication process could take some time. david is there and joins me now. david an emotional day for the area, and indeed for all of the netherlands. >> yes, it was. it was a day of national mourning and flags flying at half mast just before the hercules transports came in carrying the victims of mh 17, all of the church bells across the netherlands started ringing. and then there was a moment of silence. the king, the queen, the dutch royal family, and the dutch prime minister, there were about a thousand relatives of those who died in mh17 as well. what a gruelling day for them. they saw the coffins being off loaded from the cargo planes, 40 f them, and they didn't know

whether their loved ones were inside. so a sharpening of their anguish and grief as they watched the seen, but at least they gave these victims a bit of dignity and respect in stark contrast to those pictures we all saw last week, with the bodies lying in the field unattended, being lined up on the roads in the baking heat. here at least they got the dignity and respect they deserve. >> thanks, david for that. now back to geneva because you remember lauren taylor was talking about that vote. i don't know if the vote has happened, but let's go back to lauren. lauren taylor, what is the latest? this >> yes, they have just voted here after an hour's long meeting, so 29 in favor, one against, and 17 abstentions, which means that the draft resolution which was put to the

council here has been adopted, so it takes in the palestinian request for an independent international inquiry into the events going on in gaza. we had a final plea from the united states saying they were calling for a vote no, because they said it was unbalanced, and they said the existing mechanisms of the united nations would cover the kind of things that the inquiry was looking into. we also heard from the eu who then urged their members to abstain on the vote. and that seems to have been what happened. they said the text was unbalanced and couldn't support it, even though they tried to find other ways to get around it. so it seems the palestinians have got a majority of the council on their side in supporting this independent inquiry into the events in gaza. obviously what will happen next is the big question, because they have to figure out the

details of the mandate and setting it up and finding out who is going to run it. so that doesn't mean that anything is going to happen immediately, stephen. >> that will be an interesting part of the process. thanks very much lauren for that update. lauren taylor talking about the vote having passed draft resolution has passed for an independent inquiry. let's get some analysis on that from our senior political analyst who has been watching all of this from london. a lot of activity at the un today. we are asking questions about israel possibly violating un security council resolutions. we're hearing from nave pile, that israel may be guilty of war crimes, and now there is going to be an dent inquiry. does anybody take any notice of this? >> you know, they do. there should probably be much

more. at the end of the day there is no other mechanism in the world to manage international relation shuns but international law. and especially international humanitarian law. palestine is a state but not a full member state in the likes. in israel, palestine, the question has always been emptied out, if you will, by itself international legitimacy, it has basically been deposited with the united states for any kind of sponsor. so in a way, if it wasn't for washington's continued defense of israel, if it wasn't for washington's continued veto, if washington at least cooperated with the rest of the international community on this question, i think israel might have been a bit more amenable to

be more respective of international law. >> so what is john kerry doing then? he goes around the region with his shuttled diplomacy, shakes a lot of hands, and makes a lot of nice statements, he walked on briefly with netenyahu and then walked off again. so what is he doing? just being mr. nice guy? because if israel isn't listening to washington, what is the point? is this >> there's two aspects to this stephen. aspect number one is that he has been selling us a lot of hot air over the last year. he said something about nine months and it was extended and nothing came out of it. it just seemed that there was just a lot of movement, but very little benediction as they would say in arabic. but at the end of the day, i think he is attempting to come to something. and has been giving positive vibes about there's progress,

and some steps have been taken forward, but a lot remains to be seen, all which means he doesn't have much of a solution for the current impasse. but the other aspect of it is that he doesn't necessarily have all of the full strategic leverage and backing of the white house for all of this stuff. meaning if president obama really wanted to put his weight behind his diplomacy, i think we would have seen slightly more pressure on israel and the palestinians and the arabs to move forward, but i think president obama has for a while -- as one white house official said, let them stew in their own juice. which reminds me of in the early 1990s, secretary of state then baker said you want something from us, this is our phone number, call us, because we're definitely not going to be interested in anymore spending the capitol of the white house on your own losses. >> interesting.

all right. thank you for that. senior political analyst. let's go to nigeria, two separate bomb attacks have killed at least 44 people. the blast happen interested in the northeastern city in the first attack a suicide attack targeted the convoy of a prom next cleric, and the second attack went off in a busy marketplace. tell us more about these bombs. >> reporter: yes, well, the first explosion, police say targeted a very prominent muslim cleric here who has been very outspoken and critical of boko haram. earlier this month he gave a powerful speech in which he said the group is misusing the name of islam and the religion, and he was targeted earlier this month and escaped unharmed. today once again he escaped

unharmed, but unfortunately 25 people have died in the process. shortly after that another blast targeting a very crowded area. not clear what the target there is, at least 19 people died in that attack. there has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attacks would appear to bare the hallmarks of boko haram. authorities in the state are telling us they have imposed a 24-hour curfew for now. >> moving away from the bombs but not necessarily boko haram. 100 days since the schoolgirls were taken hostage, prisoner, what is an update on their condition or the search for them? >> yes, 100 days, and very minimal information about the search and rescue effort. the parents finally had a face-to-face encounter with the president. they emerged very comforted, but

authorities are not still giving any details about any operations, or possible negotiations to ensure their release. however, they are telling us over the past 100 days, they have been able to deepen the quality of their intelligence, and that intelligence has lead to the arrest of key figures within the boko haram movement. >> thank you. okay. well, we have some moving stories this half hour, including that draft resolution at the united nations, which has just been passed, calling for an independent inquiry into what has happened in gaza. with the accusation today from nave pile that israel could be guilty of war crimes. and we'll be asking how israel reacts to that accusation. a lot of the stories we're

covering of course on our website, aljazeera.com is the address. that's the home page. also news from northern nigeria, more bombs there, but gaza under heavy attack despite the truce efforts. a day of diplomacy, all of the top stories here on al jazeera. ♪ hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you're in [ chanting ] reporters on the grouped during the gaza israeli crisis are only able to provide a tiny window into what is really happeningment you'll hear from three close to the action on what they are not getting to tell you. plus, left politician and real talk from those affected the most by the ongoing violence. later... ..what is more effective in bringing about change - political protest or food and laughter.